Patrick reclaims power after surgery

Patrick reclaims power after surgery

Deval Patrick has resumed his full powers as governor of Massachusetts.

The 53-year-old Democrat reclaimed his authority from Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray last Friday, three days after he underwent hip replacement surgery.

In a statement, Patrick said he is “on the road to a complete and speedy recovery.”

He was discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital on Sunday, and is continuing his recuperation at his vacation home in the Berkshire Mountains.

Patrick injured his hip in a truck accident in 1978 while he was working on a United Nations youth training project in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Federal judge clears Romney in firing lawsuit

A federal judge has cleared former Gov. Mitt Romney and several aides in a lawsuit filed by a former Massachusetts Civil Service Commission chairman.

William Monahan claimed he was wrongfully fired in 2003 after barely a month on the job when reporters inquired about a two-decade-old real estate deal between him and a Boston mob boss.

In a ruling made public last Friday, Judge Nancy Gertner found that Monahan voluntarily resigned, and in any case had received due process in the matter.

The 75-year-old Monahan complained Romney ignored their long friendship and did not properly vet the allegations with him.

Romney testified in April that he let an aide approach Monahan about resigning but later called to offer help finding him another job.

BNN to present Web 2.0 forum Saturday

Boston Neighborhood Network’s Charles J. Beard II Media Center in Egleston Square will be the site of a conference this Saturday aimed at “demystifying Web 2.0 … for individuals, families, community organizations, nonprofits” and others interested in expanding their technological reach.

Sponsored by BNN in conjunction with Northeastern University’s John D. O’Bryant African American Institute and the Organizers’ Collaborative, the “Technology 2.0: Yes, We Can!” conference will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Instructors will help participants learn how to use a range of Internet technologies, such as blogging, image-sharing and social networking tools, in their work and personal lives.

“Participants will leave with an understanding of which technologies are readily available to them now; community organizations, nonprofits and technology centers will find a renewed mandate; and the community of technology practitioners can be encouraged to employ new technologies in their work with their communities,” BNN said in a statement.

Workshops will be led by Richard O’Bryant, director of Northeastern’s O’Bryant Institute; Roxbury native Topper Carew, a nationally acclaimed film and television producer; and Suren Moodliar of the Organizers’ Collaborative, a nonprofit provider of technological assistance to community-based organizations. Registration is open to all ages on a first-come, first-served basis.

For registration details and more information on the conference, e-mail membership@bnntv.org or call 617-708-3224.

Hub after-school program seeks student mentors

Leaders in Education, Action and Hope (LEAH), a mentorship program that trains Boston high school students how to work as mentors and places them in elementary and middle school out-of-school-time programs to lead activities, is looking for new recruits.

Any Boston Public Schools student in grades nine through 12 is eligible to become a LEAH mentor, with preference given to 10th- and 11th-graders. Mentors’ training focuses on leadership, science and how to teach younger children.

Once accepted, LEAH mentors are required to attend two Friday meetings per month; participate in two months of training sessions, held on Monday and Wednesday afternoons at Northeastern University during November and December; work two afternoons a week at an after-school program from January through June; and participate in various community events.

LEAH mentors are paid $9 per hour during the training period and $10 per hour once training is completed. There is one caveat for prospective applicants whose extracurricular slates are already full: Program officials said that, generally speaking, LEAH cannot accept students who play on school sports teams or are released from school after 3 p.m.

Applications are due Sept. 25. Accepted applicants must attend one of two family orientations, scheduled for Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, and will begin work Oct. 30.

For more information about applying, visit http://www.bpsdeltas.org/LEAH.

BU dental school nets $2.1 million federal grant to expand children’s health ed programs

Armed with a new government grant, Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine plans to expand three “pipeline” programs aimed at helping minority and low-income children start on the path to becoming dentists or dental health professionals.

The $2.1 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s Health Career Opportunities Program will help the dental school spread the programs, previously limited to Boston, to locations across the state, BU said in a statement.

The programs — Program White Coat, the Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC) and the Delta Dental of Massachusetts Scholars Program — “intend to build a pipeline of underserved children who will pursue dental health careers and treat patients in underserved communities,” according to the school.

Program White Coat is a weeklong program that allows children ages 9 to 11 to become “dentists for a week,” exploring the field through lessons and field trips. A collaboration with the Boston Public Health Commission, the BAHEC offers paid internships at the dental school to city high school students interested in health sciences. The Delta Dental program is a scholarship offering half-tuition to dental school for recipients who agree to either practice in an underserved Massachusetts community or teach full-time for a period after graduating.

The first expanded program will open later this year in Springfield, because of the town’s high number of minority and economically disadvantaged populations, the dental school said.