Top Stories - July 21, 2006

Do Bostonians Screw Up Every Time They Build Something?


The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority has settled its lawsuit against three of the project's architects and design firms for $24 million.

The deal, approved by the authority's board of directors today, will cover repairs to the building, primarily its roof drainage system, mechanical air handling units, and roadway expansion joints and drains.

In its suit against Rafael Vinoly Architects, R.G. Vanderweil Engineers, Shen Milsom & Wilke, and HNTB Corp., the authority blamed them for design errors, which the agency said increased the cost of the project. Shen Milsom is not named in the settlement agreement. The building opened in June 2004.

Also today, the Ted Williams tunnel eastbound, shut down yesterday by Mitt Romney, reopened to buses this morning.

Minimum Wage News


BOSTON --Gov. Mitt Romney sent back to lawmakers Friday a bill that would raise the state's minimum wage to $8 per hour, the third highest in the nation, and instead recommended an increase to $7 per hour.

Romney's proposed 25 cents per hour raise would take effect in January. Romney's proposal would also require the state to study a new minimum wage every two years.

Lawmakers haven't raised the state's minimum wage for seven years.

Under the bill approved by lawmakers, the minimum wage in Massachusetts would increase from $6.75 per hour to $7.50 per hour as of Jan. 1, 2007. A year later, it would increase by another 50 cents, to $8 per hour.

Somebody Doesn't Like Taxes


STAMFORD, Conn. --Robert Brinkman made millions of dollars as a money manager, but the Connecticut man was determined not to pay taxes.

Last year, the 42-year-old Easton resident filed a tax return in which he reported income of $5,090 for 2003 when he actually earned $2.7 million, authorities say. Brinkman also sought tax refunds of more than $600,000 dating back to 1997.

"At the time he had a belief that the income tax laws did not authorize the federal government to tax earned income from wages," his attorney, Elliot Warren, said Thursday.

But federal authorities disagreed.

Brinkman pleaded guilty this week to filing false tax returns and a stolen property charge. The total tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service associated with Brinkman's false filings is about $1.5 million, authorities say.

Alleged Hate Criminals Arrested

POLAND, Maine --Two juveniles were arrested Friday and face a string of charges in connection with the break-in and vandalism of a mobile home shared by two lesbian women, police said. The June incident prompted an anti-hate rally Saturday in Portland.

The juveniles, ages 14 and 12, were each charged with burglary, theft, aggravated criminal mischief and two counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, said Capt. Raymond Lafrance of the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department. Their names were not released because of their ages.

A report on the incident is to be turned over to the state attorney general's office.

Also today, Julie and Hilary Goodridge, lead plaintiffs in Massachusetts's gay marriage case, have announced their split. A spokeswoman for the couple says they are focusing on doing what is best for their 10-year-old daughter.

(Most of this article shamelessly copied from boston.com)