BOSTON: Archdiocese pulls listing of closed church

BOSTON

Archdiocese pulls listing of closed church

The Boston Archdiocese has pulled the real estate listing of aclosed Roman Catholic church, saying it was causing confusion aboutits intent. Former parishioners at Holy Trinity Church in the SouthEnd asked the Vatican on Monday to stop any sale of the building,after it was listed at $2.3 million. They argued that thearchdiocese had not completed a process to convert it to secularuse, which is required before sale to a secular buyer. The Vaticanhas recently denied similar requests by other dioceses. Yesterday,spokesman Terry Donilon said the listing was meant to gauge themarket or attract a buyer from a Catholic organization. He said thearchdiocese never intended to prematurely sell the property to asecular buyer. (AP)

Firefighters' union chooses president

Edward Kelly, the tough-talking leader of the Bostonfirefighters' union, has been elected president of the ProfessionalFirefighters of Massachusetts, the state firefighters' union. Kelly,37, has served since Jan. 21 as interim president of theassociation, which has 12,000 members statewide. He was electedyesterday at a monthly membership meeting in Randolph that wasattended by some 700 firefighters. "I am honored by the faith themembership has bestowed in me. . . . We live in challenging timesand I pledge to work with all members to ensure that we keep thecitizens of the Commonwealth safe," Kelly said.

Woman gets nearly 5 years in bridal scam

A Pennsylvania woman who admitted cheating advertisers andexhibitors out of thousands of dollars for a fake Boston bridal showhas been sentenced to nearly five years in prison. Karen Tucker ofPittsburgh also was ordered yesterday to pay $117,000 restitution.Tucker pleaded guilty in October to wire fraud and identity theft.US District Judge Richard Stearns turned down a request for leniencyfrom Tucker's lawyer, who asked for a three-year sentence. Tuckerhas said she has been treated for schizophrenia and a socialdisorder. Elaine Barker of Haverhill, one of the cheated vendors,said in court that she felt violated and also embarrassed becauseshe unwittingly referred others to Tucker. (AP)

BOULDER, COLO.

UNH athlete is fatally shot in Colorado

A 20-year-old University of New Hampshire football player wasshot and killed yesterday during an apparent robbery attempt inBoulder. Todd Walker of Edwards, Colo., was shot around 2 a.m. nearthe University of Colorado campus, police said. Walker and a womanwere walking home after parties in the area when they wereapproached by a man. There was a verbal and physical confrontationand the woman was able to pull off the man's bandanna, police said.The suspect then pulled out a gun and fired one shot in the air anda second shot that hit Walker, who was pronounced dead at ahospital. (AP)

AVON

Motorist in commuter train crash dies

The driver whose car was hit Thursday by a Boston-bound commutertrain at a crossing in Avon has died, officials said. Ann Kireilis,91, of Brockton, was taken to Brockton Hospital after the accidentat the East High Street crossing at 11:45 a.m. A hospitalspokeswoman confirmed yesterday that she had died. Investigatorschecking the crossing's warning system found it was activated 39seconds before the train arrived at the crossing, said MBTAspokesman Joe Pesaturo. The warning gates were in the down positionwhen the accident took place, he said. He said the engineer appliedthe emergency brake when he saw the car, but was unable to stopbefore hitting the car.

GORHAM, MAINE

Web stream captures falcon laying egg

Two cameras that stream live video onto the Internet showed aperegrine falcon laying its first egg of the season in a nest on thecoast of Maine. The BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham saidthe event took place at 8:45 a.m. yesterday. The institute operatestwo cameras that are pointed at the nest 100 feet up in a tree. Theegg is expected to hatch in 34 days. The organization has othercameras that are aimed at eagle, osprey, and loon nesting sites inMaine. People can view live video on the institute's website,www.briloon.org. (AP)

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