Gloucester

BOSTON (Reuters Life!) - A string of shark sightings over the past few weeks has rattled swimmers in Massachusetts at the height of the summer vacation season and sparked memories of the "Jaws" movie hysteria.

Route 128 in Danvers and Gloucester is getting a multimillion-dollar reconstruction, the first major change to ramps and bridges since the highway opened north of Boston 70 years ago. Cloverleaf-shaped interchanges at Routes 35 and 62 in Danvers are being replaced with new ramps built in the shape of a diamond. Ramps are already closed and detours set up to keep traffic moving, while work crews move mountains of dirt. Three bridges, including one old railroad bridge that runs beneath Route 35, will also be replaced as part of the project, due to be completed in 2013. Sound barriers will be put up to muffle the sound of an estimated 110,000 vehicles that travel the highway each day. ``It's like the Indianapolis Speedway out there,'' said Ken Herwig, who lives on Florence Street, directly across from a Route 35 ramp. ``It's a good project. It's going to make the street safer. . . . We'll see if the sound barriers make it quieter.'' An 8-foot berm, which will be planted with trees, is bei

Nearly a month after a federal judge rebuked the government for prosecuting a Department of Homeland Security official who employed an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper, a member of the jury that convicted Lorraine Henderson said the case was a miscarriage of justice and that prosecutors were motivated by ``publicity and political reasons.'' In an unusual letter to US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock that was made public yesterday, Jacquelyn F. Smith, of Gloucester, said Henderson acted imprudently by paying a Brazilian housekeeper, who was in the country illegally, to clean her house every couple of weeks from 2004 to 2008. Henderson worked as the Boston area port director for Customs and Border Protection, and her duties included keeping New England's ports secure from illegal immigration. Nonetheless, Smith wrote on July 8, ``it appeared blatantly obvious to me that the problem was not the employment of an illegal immigrant but the need to explode this incident for publicity an

Alford, a wisp of a town on the New York border, has no gas station or stores, much less history-book landmarks like Concord's Old North Bridge or natural beauty on the order of Truro's sand dunes. But now it has this chestnut to offer tourists: an official state designation as one of 1,000 ``Great Places'' in Massachusetts. Even some residents are incredulous. ``Have you ever been here?'' asked Carol Sue Donelan, an outgoing member of the town's Historical Commission. ``There's nothing in the town center. I can't imagine why people would visit.'' With fanfare yesterday, a state panel and tourism officials released a list of 1,000 places in Massachusetts they deem so noteworthy they should not be missed. The long list of attractions, the brainchild of a Legislature looking for ways to spur tourism and spotlight lesser-known locations across the state, naturally featured mainstays of the state's Colonial past and landmarks on the order of Fenway Park. But many spots with seemingly limit

G LOUCESTER - The view from the roof deck at the Bass Rocks Ocean Inn is of the endless expanse of the Atlantic. But five months ago, wild wind from a winter storm blew off the roof, leaving many of the 51 guest rooms exposed to the elements. More heavy rain followed in March, pushing the total damage cost to nearly $1 million. Along with the roof, rugs, furnishings, artwork, and wallpaper had to be repaired or replaced. The red-brick facade of the building facing the ocean was replaced with white stucco. Front porches were extended by 4 feet, and six concrete columns were installed beneath. ``We've made the whole thing bigger, heavier,'' said owner Tracy Muller. ``There won't be any more roof blowing off.'' A new roof is on, the repairs nearly complete, and bookings strong. ``We've had good weekends,'' Muller said, standing on the roof deck. ``It looks like we might be getting back to normal.'' Essex County's $675 million tourism industry has weathered a tough fiscal storm in recent y

Audit: Federal fishery cops misspent fine money paid by fishermen on cars, boats, travel. An audit of how fishery police used millions in federal fines collected from fishermen has found they misspent it on items including cars for managers, a $300,000 luxury undercover boat and a weeklong training workshop in Norway.

Former captain Steve Borthwick, who led England in the last Six Nations championship, has been left out of the 32-man elite squad for next season announced by national team manager Martin Johnson on Thursday.

Great white spotted off Mass. for 1st time this year; officials say there's no need to worry. State officials and shark experts moved quickly to reassure beachgoers Monday after a tuna boat snagged a great white shark, the first confirmed sighting in Massachusetts waters this summer of one of the sea's most feared creatures.

A group of parents filed a lawsuit yesterday against the top state education officials, alleging that they approved the opening of a charter school in Gloucester in ``blatant violation'' of the state Board of Education's regulations governing the granting of school charters. In the suit filed in Essex Superior Court, the parents argued that the approval was given after the state inspector general issued a report that found the charter for Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, slated to open in September, was ``never validly awarded and should be deemed void.'' ``The law states that charter school applicants must pass a rigorous, professional evaluation before a charter is awarded, but the Gloucester school failed its evaluation,'' said Ian D. Roffman, a Boston lawyer representing the parents. ``The state should not reward that failure by taking money away from the Gloucester public schools and giving it to the failed applicant.'' State education officials declined to comment on the

Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant of Gloucester hopes to buy the liquor license for Tabu Ultra Lounge and Nightclub, even though the Saugus Board of Selectmen last spring revoked the license after a string of late-night violent incidents at the club on Route 1. The state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission on Wednesday will hold a public hearing on an appeal filed by JMLT Enterprises Inc., the owner of Tabu, challenging a decision by the selectmen to revoke the license last March. It will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the commission office in Boston. A decision to uphold the selectmen's decision would mean that Tabu does not have a license to transfer. A decision to reverse the board's decision would clear the way for the license to be sold to Jalapeños, which is run by restaurateur Alejandro Pardo of Gloucester. Ralph Sacramone, executive director of the ABCC, declined to comment on the hearing. Jalapeños has applied for a transfer of the liquor license. The selectmen opened a public hearing

South and North Korea Friday marked the 60th anniversary of a war which killed millions and officially remains unfinished, accusing each other of fuelling the current high tensions on the peninsula.

South Korea's president urged North Korea Friday to stop its "reckless military provocations" as the two countries marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of their war.

South Korea's president urged North Korea Friday to stop its "reckless military provocations" as the two countries marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of their war.

South Korea's president urged North Korea Friday to stop its "reckless military provocations" as the two countries marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of their war.

GLOUCESTER - Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy ``The Norman Conquests'' was originally written for the British playwright's longtime theatrical home, a small theater in the seaside resort of Scarborough. So it's a natural fit for another small theater in a seaside resort, the North Shore's Gloucester Stage. Gloucester opens this summer's season with the first play in the trilogy, ``Table Manners'' - but it's worth emphasizing that the three comedies, which each look at a disastrous family weekend from a different perspective, don't need to be seen together in order to be enjoyed. It's also worth noting that the enjoyment to be had is of a slight and ephemeral nature: Think of Ayckbourn as Neil Simon with a British accent, and you won't go far wrong. Of course, Simon is enjoying a certain renewed popularity, perhaps because people - and, even more, producers - look for tried-and-true comedies in uncertain economic times. So why not Ayckbourn? The two share a mid-20th-century-male outlook on life

GLOUCESTER - When Tia Strong wanted to score a job at the new Olympia Sports store, she moved as quickly as she does on offense for the Gloucester High field hockey team. ``There's always that one job for two people,'' said Strong, 16, stocking Crocs shoes in the store at the Gloucester Crossing strip mall. ``Basically teen jobs are a competition.'' It's tough for teens to get into the employment game. The jobless rate for Bay State teens, ages 16 to 19, was 16.2 percent last year, compared with the national rate of 24.3 percent, the highest since the recession struck in 2007, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The spike shows how hard the worst economy since the Great Depression has hit teenagers. A loss of high-paying jobs, such as in manufacturing, has created more pressure in the teen labor market. Teenagers now face off with unemployed adults for jobs in such traditionally youth-friendly fields as retail and food services, a labor market economist said. ``Older worker

Allison Geissert delivered the student commencement address at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she graduated with high honors with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. She spoke of the privilege of going to college, and the responsibility that comes with a sheepskin. Geissert, 24, spent her senior year working on global health issues. On her winter break, she traveled with some classmates to the Republic of Ghana, to volunteer in a health clinic and organize a nursing conference in the country in West Africa. Her honors thesis evaluated the H1N1 flu vaccination program at UMass. And today, she has no full-time job offers. Neither do many of her 70 classmates who graduated with bachelor's degrees in nursing last week. ``We kind of feel a little bit hopeless,'' said Geissert, who lives in Boxborough. ``We've worked so hard. Then we're told there are no jobs out there.'' The economic downturn forced a sudden shift in nursing employment. Hospitals that once begged for nur

If the 1970s represented a golden age of film, its luster derived not just from the movies that were made but also from the extraordinary acting careers that were minted in that decade. Al Pacino. Meryl Streep. Robert De Niro. Richard Dreyfuss. Gene Hackman. While a few of them had movie roles in the 1960s, they all became big stars in the '70s, and they all had one thing in common: At one time or another, they all acted opposite a guy from Revere who never came close to their marquee status but who made each of them better actors. His name was John Cazale, and he is the subject of a splendid (though lamentably short) documentary titled ``I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale,'' airing tonight at 8 on HBO. Cazale appeared in only five movies before succumbing to lung cancer at 42 in 1978 - but what movies they were! And what a squirmily indelible presence he was as Fredo Corleone in ``The Godfather'' (1972) and ``The Godfather, Part II'' (1974); as Hackman's surveillance partner

If the 1970s represented a golden age of film, its luster derived not just from the movies that were made but also from the extraordinary acting careers that were minted in that decade. Al Pacino. Meryl Streep. Robert De Niro. Richard Dreyfuss. Gene Hackman. While a few of them had movie roles in the 1960s, they all became big stars in the '70s, and they all had one thing in common: At one time or another, they all acted opposite a guy from Revere who never came close to their marquee status but who made each of them better actors. His name was John Cazale, and he is the subject of a splendid (though lamentably short) documentary titled ``I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale,'' airing tonight at 8 on HBO. Cazale appeared in only five movies before succumbing to lung cancer at 42 in 1978 - but what movies they were! And what a squirmily indelible presence he was as Fredo Corleone in ``The Godfather'' (1972) and ``The Godfather, Part II'' (1974); as Hackman's surveillance partner

Senate President Therese Murray said yesterday that she would oppose an attempt by Senate Republicans to pass a controversial measure this week that would bar illegal immigrants from receiving state and federal benefits in Massachusetts. Murray, a Plymouth Democrat, said Republicans are targeting a problem that does not exist, because the state already checks applicants for public benefits using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, or SAVE. ``I think they know the SAVE program is already done in almost every one of our agencies, so it's kind of a little smoke and mirrors here,'' Murray told reporters during an impromptu interview in a State House hallway. ``We already do this stuff.'' Just steps away from Murray, the Senate's five Republicans held their own press conference to advocate for the measure, which failed narrowly in the House a few weeks ago and is scheduled for debate as part of the Senate's budget this week. Republicans predicted the amendmen