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By Scott Zoback • SCANNER SPOTTING: You never know what you'll hear during the course of a random morning hour on the Worcester police scanner. In a little more than 60 minutes on Wednesday morning, police were dispatched to North High after a note was found in the girl's bathroom there stating that a bomb was going to go off at the school at 10:30. According to conversation on the Worcester police scanner, a search of the building was complete by 10:40, and the students were let back in at 10:45. A few minutes later, a call came in for a cruiser to respond to another school for an out-of-control 7-year-old; in another incident, a responding officer asked the dispatcher if he was going to "[that] crazy landlord ... oh boy." • MONEY IN THE BANK: Next time you look at Lt. Gov. Tim Murray's campaign financial reports, remember that he has a few more bucks than you're seeing at first glance. In his latest filing, Murray transferred $200,000 of his ever-growing fund to a Certificate of Deposit. The transfer allows a substantial amount of Murray's money to grow with interest; it also means that the 200K won't show up as quickly on the balance line of future filings. It's a savings tactic that is generally reserved for huge accounts — Sheriff Guy Glodis has made similar moves over the past couple of years. • GLODIS GOLD: For example, Guy Glodis's most recent filing for the second half of February shows that he brought in $36,225 over the two-week period, ending the month with a $151,464.17 balance. However, his year-end report for 2007 shows that he has more than $350,000 in savings that don't show up on his month-to-month ledger balance. The total Glodis balance at the end of 2007 was $539,986.64 to Murray's $311,853.04 at the same point. However, Murray spent $316,773.42 to Glodis's $62,630.99 over the year. • THE SURGE IS DELAYED: The New England Surge is going to have to wait an extra week to get down to the games. According to a press release from the indoor football team, their first game against the Lehigh Valley Outlawz is being postponed, so that Lehigh University can use the arena for Men's and Women's Patriot League playoff games. The game is being rescheduled for June 14; the Surge's first game will be on March 28 in Flint, Michigan, and the first home game will be on April 20. • LET ME UPGRADE YA: The restoration of the City Hall Alderman's Chamber/Levi Lincoln Chamber is proceeding, even if it's not on the scale that some had originally hoped. The chamber is no longer being designated for immediate use as the "new" City Council chamber, as was once planned, but will be used for subcommittee and commission meetings until the full project is eventually complete. Additionally, the city manager reported on Tuesday, the outdated bathrooms on the third floor of City Hall are being redone, making them ADA accessible, as part of the "Phase 1" redesign. The bathrooms are considered a key development in City Hall: They're virtually inaccessible, and haven't been updated in years. Total cost for the two-part Phase 1 project? Approximately $959,000. • LET'S MAKE A DEAL: The University Park Lofts auction was called off last week, and it looks like the developers are still hoping to sell the remaining units in the traditional way, if slightly marked down. According to Raveis.com, one 986-square-foot unit was just marked down from $199,900 to $194,900. Another 817-square-foot unit is listed at $164,900, down from $169,900; a third 682-square-foot unit is marked at $124,900, from $129,900. • DIG IT: The "Dig of the Night" award from Tuesday's Council meeting goes to Mayor Konnie Lukes. After Councilor Phil Palmieri asked if an aspect of the cable contract was gospel, Lukes retorted, "Anything is possible ... you're here," to a quiet chorus of headshakes from the audience and councilors. • RICK AND THE RESEARCH BUREAU: And it wouldn't be a Council meeting without at least a few words or glares between Mayor Lukes and Rick Rushton. After the meeting started, Rushton left the building to go to a wake; he got back near the end of the night, but not in time for the item he was hot on talking about. Rushton apparently wanted to discuss the Research Bureau report on public bidding for construction, but when he got back, the item had been taken up, and the Council had moved on. A visibly upset Rushton had some quiet words for Mayor Lukes, before returning to his seat. A few minutes later, he had the item reconsidered and held until next week, where it will be the first item of business. o
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