An early morning incident on Storrow Drive in Boston, and a subsequent investigation by Massachusetts State Police, led to the arrest of an Uber driver for a reported rape.

At about 1:15 a.m., State Police received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted by an Uber driver on Storrow Drive near the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston.

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Nathan Cinelli of the Boston Barracks, Troop H Detective Trooper Timothy Burns, and Sergeant Joel Balducci of the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County led to the arrest of the driver, DAUDAH MAYANJA, 37, of Waltham, on two counts of Rape.

State Police Crime Scene Services personnel and an MSP chemist collected potential evidence for forensic analysis.

MAYANJA was booked at the Brighton Barracks before being transferred to the Boston Barracks and held on $25,000 bail pending his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court on Monday.

The victim in this case, an adult female, was transported to an area hospital for treatment.

New Bedford High School’s main gymnasium was packed with business and community leaders for Mayor Jon Mitchell’s annual State of the City Address on March 28. The huge assembly rose in unison as the school’s JROTC Color Guard entered for a traditional Presentation of Colors ceremony to officially start the municipal function. The Color Guard’s flawless execution according to precise military protocol is not surprising to those who know about their years of service, training and discipline.

Each school year, the New Bedford High School JROTC hosts two battalion formations – one in the winter and one in the spring. On March 27, the day before the State of the City, the JROTC conducted its second battalion formation of the year to recognize and promote student cadets.

The formation began with each of the five companies – Bravo, Charlie, Alpha, Delta, and Echo – taking turns to pronounce their company motto’s loud and proud. Following battalion formation, recognition and promotion exercises of cadets from each company were conducted.

Among those cadets recognized, Sergeant Edgar Feliciano was awarded the Professionalism Award. Sergeant Feliciano showed exceptional leadership skills when he assisted another student in the hallway – that every other student seemed to be ignoring. Sergeant Feliciano alerted school administration to get the other student the help that they needed.

The winner of the Honor Company Competition was also announced. Throughout the year, each company competes with one another to earn this prestigious title. With a score of 88 out of 100 points, the Delta Company prevailed by fractions of a point. To celebrate their much earned win, the Delta Company simultaneously and proudly shouted their motto.

Colonel (retired) Stephen Bethoney has been a Senior Army Instructor at New Bedford High since 2014. He and his other colleagues, Master Sergeant (retired) Raymond Como and Sergeant First Class (retired) Gerald Bedard, supervise the JROTC program.

The mission and purpose the JROTC program at New Bedford High school is to motivate young people and students to become better citizens and to teach citizen and leadership skills, while instilling self-esteem, teamwork, and discipline. The NBHS JROTC program has been the longest continually running program in the history of JROTC and has been in place since 1881.

Colonel Bethoney said that having these battalion formations, allows for the cadets to practice their command and leadership skills. The students led the formation with Bethoney, Como, and Bedard standing to the side supervising.

As the closing of the battalion formation commenced, Colonel Bethoney gave the cadets a spirited message to motivate them through to the end of the school year. He encouraged them to, “finish strong and continue the hard work.”

The Community Preservation Committee has submitted its Community Preservation Act FY19 Project Funding recommendations totaling $1,547,875.00 for seventeen projects.

Here’s a details look at each project:

03.28.2019_CPA_FY19_FUNDING_RECOMMENDATIONS

On Sunday, March 24, Wareham Department of Natural Resources Officers were dispatched to 3030 Cranberry Highway, Lakeside Trailer Park, for a report of animal cruelty where a man threw a dog into a dumpster located on the property.

Officers responded to the scene and observed a man removing a small black and white dog out of a commercial type dumpster. Officer McIntosh, first on the scene, approached the visibly upset male subject and learned that the individual was the dog’s owner. He identified an individual named James, who was staying at his house, had thrown the dog into the dumpster.

A second witness also reported seeing a man exit the dog owner’s house while holding the dog, walk over to the dumpster, lift the small dog over his head and heaved the dog into the dumpster.

Officers made contact with 28-year old James M. Balboni of Dover, New Hampshire, and learned that he threw the dog into the dumpster because he was tired, had not slept, and the dog would not stop bothering him.

Mr. Balboni has been charged with cruelty to animals under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 272 Section 77. He is set to be arraigned at the Wareham District Court at a later date.

The dog did not sustain any injuries and is in the possession of the owner.

Nearly 40 New Bedford firefighters responded to a house fire at 11 Spruce Street in New Bedford at around 11am. The fire was concentrated on the second floor.

One of the residents was injured and sent to St. Luke’s Hosptial with minor injuries. All other residents were not home or made it out safely. No firefighters were injured.

No cause is known at this time and it is still being investigated.

Video by Michael Silvia.

Last October, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mithcell submitted ordinance changes that would fine owners of clothing donation bins $300 for not maintaining them and allowing them to overflow.

After committee discussion and votes, this evening the New Bedford City Council takes up the proposed ordinance changes that would fine unattended donation box owners $300 per offense.

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New Bedford Mayor Mitchell submitted a loan order to the City Council, appropriating $2,266,968.00 for Accelerated Repair Projects at the John Avery Parker Elementary School and Trinity Day Academy.

The loan order will be taken up by the City Council this evening at 7pm.

The 43-page report can be read here:

Communication-Loan_Order-Accelerated_Repair-School

On Thursday, March 28, 2019, at approximately 12:45 a.m., while conducting a property check of Apponagansett Beach, Dartmouth Police Officer Michael CARREIRO observed a vehicle parked in the lot with two occupants.

As the parking lot has time restrictions, Officer CARREIRO proceeded to identify the two male occupants, at which time he learned that one of them, Angel DEJESUS RODRIGUEZ, 32, of Chancery Street, New Bedford, had an active extraditable warrant out of Suffolk County, New York for dangerous drugs.

Based on the warrant, DEJESUS RODRIGUEZ was arrested and charged with being a fugitive from justice.

A Whitman man was arrested and charged Tuesday in federal court in Boston with sexual exploitation of children.

Matthew Murphy, 22, was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children. Murphy appeared in federal court yesterday afternoon and was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for today at 3:30 p.m.

According to charging documents, the investigation began when Murphy, posing as a teenage girl, used a Snapchat account to extort nude photographs from a Massachusetts middle school boy. Federal agents obtained portions of the Snapchat account Murphy had created in the fake identity and uncovered evidence of similar extortion of other minors in the area.

During the execution of the search warrant at Murphy’s home, Murphy admitted that the fake account was his, and investigators found forensic evidence of the account on some of his electronic devices. Murphy was subsequently arrested.

Law enforcement is actively working to identify additional victims. Members of the public with questions or information about this matter should call 617-748-3274.

The charges of sexual exploitation of children each provide for a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and no greater than 30 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. The Whitman Police Department provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and a member of his Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

New Bedford High School’s 2018 four-year cohort graduation rate has increased to 76.0%, the highest in 12 years, based on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) recent reporting on statewide graduation rates. The 2017 four-year cohort graduation rate was 72.0%, a 4.0% increase, representing tremendous growth from the 2010 low of 61.4%.

NBHS English Language Learners (ELL) had the highest increase from 30.6% in 2017 to 53.5% in 2018 – up 22.9%. “This remarkable progress is a direct correlation to the recent budget investments made in our students’ future,” Superintendent Thomas Anderson stated. He also noted that, “This reflects the dedication to the overall teaching and learning process that is supported long before students enter high school. This progress is something that all staff can and should be proud of, from the Pre-K teachers to every staff member in the high school.” Superintendent Anderson also expressed his appreciation to the willingness of all staff to work with students to provide opportunities for them to be successful.

New Bedford High School has also experienced a sharp decline in its drop-out rate, another key metric reported by DESE. The 2010 dropout rate of 7.4% is a stark contrast to the 2.7% drop in 2017 and the new low of 1.4% in 2018, the lowest since DESE began reporting this information in 2007.

Mayor Jon Mitchell said, “It is encouraging that New Bedford High School’s graduation rate continues to improve thanks to the hard work of educators and students as we continue to focus on improving our schools. The graduation rate is more than a statistic – it means that more students are prepared for success after high school. New Bedford Public Schools have made significant strides in the past few years, and this is yet another indicator of progress.”

Headmaster Bernadette Coelho said, “The entire staff is focused on preparing every one of our students for graduation, ready for college and other opportunities. I’m proud of our hardworking students and staff; it is because of their determination and diligence that we continue to see larger and larger graduating classes. It can only happen if every student matters, and as I’ve said before, we know that with a plan, every student can and will succeed.”