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When you're done getting gas and packing the car, check out the live results from MapQuest above to see what's standing between you and the start of your three-day weekend.

Mapquest scans for parade routes, ongoing construction, block parties and traffic jams. If your route is green, your good. If it's red, you may be headed into a line of rubbernecking fools. Good luck! 

The rush from Beacon Hill to the westbound turnpike this week had as much to do with two of Worcester's political sons beating feet from the capitol as with the impending Memorial Day weekend.

As Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray attempted as graceful an exit as possible from politics, fellow Worcester Democrat Rep. John Fresolo made his hasty escape under an ethics cloud feeling "marginalized" by his peers and pressured to resign, which he did.

If not for those two storylines, the focus may have been on the Senate's breakneck budget debate concluding Thursday night as senators wiped their hands clean of 725 amendments and passed a $34 billion fiscal 2014 budget without the need for Senate President Therese Murray to threaten a Friday or Saturday workday.

But on this week in late May, Tim Murray one of his wishes, for better or worse, as the gaze of the Boston political media was affixed firmly for once on central Massachusetts.

Murray leaves the administration after next week to take over as president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, a job closer to home and his family that will pay at least $75,000 more than he was earning as a sidekick to Patrick. He'll finish his service with one last sniff of power as acting governor when Patrick travels to Chicago on Friday to headline the Organizing for Action Illinois State Founders Summit. 

Murray said he was not actively looking to leave before his term expires. But his decision was not a total shocker since Murray already pulled the plug on his political career in January when he decided not to run for governor, the job many that he would pursue after running in lockstep with Patrick for so many years.

For the most part, the arranged marriage between Murray and Gov. Deval Patrick turned out to be a happy and prosperous one. Since 2006, Murray has rarely, if ever, contradicted Patrick on policy or politics, and he was a foot soldier in the 2010 reelection campaign while maintaining good ties with municipal leaders who mostly like and trust the former mayor.

However, the Worcester Democrat's star started to dim in the winter of 2011 after a poorly explained pre-dawn car crash on a Sterling highway and subsequent questions about his ties to corrupt former Chelsea Housing Authority Director Michael McLaughlin. 

All Murray wanted to do on Wednesday was take a bow, talk about his work on municipal partnerships and STEM education, and sail off into the Worcester sunset. Instead, what he got was more questions about McLaughlin, the possibility of a future indictment and whether he had any regrets.

"Tim, I just want to tell you, once a part of this family, always a part of this family and as a grateful governor, a grateful citizen and friend I'm awful glad we passed this way together," Patrick told Murray at his farewell press conference, before joking (maybe, not entirely) that he was "miffed" Murray was leaving him to deal with Terry, Bob and the Governor's Council alone.

The founders of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts saw fit to create the position of lieutenant governor, but did not see the office as important enough to warrant a replacement should its occupant leave office. And so it is that Patrick will finish - or not - his second term without a lieutenant, and Secretary of State William Galvin moves within one Obama nomination of the governorship.

Massachusetts voters may not have heard the last of Tim Murray. Not sure if Murray really wanted to lump himself in with the likes of Mark Sanford and Anthony Weiner, but he did anyway when he said he would not rule out a future return to politics. "There's all these comeback stories. Just read the news," he said.

While Murray was saying goodbye on Wednesday, Fresolo, too, decided to pull the plug on his political career while under investigation for undisclosed ethical violations that, according to some involved, included abuse of per diem travel expenses.

Fresolo told the Telegram and Gazette he felt "marginalized" by the process and could no longer effectively serve his district while on the outs with his colleagues. Fresolo's suggestion that he was pressured to resign, and did so after negotiations with the Ethics Committee, prompted a flat denial from House Speaker Robert DeLeo, the only official words to emerge from the investigation.

"No member or officer of the House of Representatives pressured John Fresolo to resign. His resignation was not the product of negotiations," a DeLeo spokesman said in a statement. 

The public may never know what really happened behind closed and guarded doors in the State House where the Ethics Committee took nearly 20 hours of testimony, but one source said Fresolo "got hammered" during the proceedings, and there seemed little doubt a public airing of his transgressions would have followed had he not resigned. Since that was probably not what Fresolo or his House colleagues wanted, the resignation card was played and the House never had to deal with laying out to the public a case for any sort of punishment. 

The other Murray - Senate President Therese Murray - spent her week shepherding the other 38 members of the Senate through what could be her penultimate budget debate, navigating 725 amendments to produce a $39.989 billion spending plan for fiscal 2014. Though she did let Majority Leader Stan Rosenberg wield the gavel a bit more than usual.

Many amendments were adopted, adding $64.8 million in spending to the bottom line for salary increases for human service workers and other programs. The Senate also joined the House in agreeing to pay raises for judges. More amendments were rejected than adopted, including a large block related to public assistance the Senate chieftain said would be addressed when she rolls out a welfare reform bill in the coming weeks.

While Sen. Mark Montigny quarreled with some of his colleagues about the value and appropriateness of addressing policy in a budget versus the traditional committee process, few had qualms with tacking on systematic reforms to the Sex Offender Registry system. The Senate added new classification and disclosure rules that address one of the few named priorities to get addressed by either branch this session.

"A lot of these predators are incurable recidivists. We are going to have to figure out what to do. At least the folks will have the ability to know that the person living three doors down is an animal," Sen. Gale Candaras said, contending for quote of the week.

Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez also made a strong play for most quote-worthy by calling U.S. Rep. Ed Markey "pond scum" for approving a critical ad juxtaposing his picture with that of Osama bin Laden. That's how Gomez capped a week that started side-by-side in Dorchester with Sen. John McCain, who believes in Gomez even if he did call him Gabriel Giffords.

Markey, meanwhile, accepted an endorsement from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino as he absorbed incoming fire for missing votes in Congress while maintaining a light public campaign schedule. And to cap it off, the Malden Democrat, on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, succumbed to pressure and made available eight years of tax returns dating to 2005.
The debates can't start soon enough.

STORY OF THE WEEK: Lt. Gov. Tim Murray headlined Worcester week in Boston, becoming the first lieutenant governor since Secretary of State John Kerry to step down from the post mid-term.

POPPY AND NONNA: Governor. His Excellency. Deval. And now Poppy. He goes by many names, but Gov. Deval Patrick this week became a grandfather when his eldest daughter Sarah gave birth to Gianluca Noah Patrick Morgese in San Francisco. First Lady Diane Patrick wants to be called Nonna. Born two months early, the newest addition to the Patrick family is said to be doing well, and the grandfather is "over the moon." Expect the governor to be travelling west soon, and leaving the keys temporarily to Acting Gov. Galvin.

Massachusetts is currently one of only 11 states that tries 17-year-olds as adults. A bill passed this week by the state's House of Representatives would make these teenagers juvenile defenders, according to a report by 7News Boston. That will put the commonwealth in line with most other states, where adult court is reserved for individuals 18 and older.

The bill still allows the state to try 17-year-olds as adults in serious cases, like murders. But proponents hope the change will reduce cases of rape in the state's prison system by keeping younger inmates away from older, stronger convicts. 

What do you think? Are we getting too soft on younger defendants? Or is this a justified, compassionate change to protect teenagers? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Each week, we'll feature a different outstanding criminal case from around the region. Information is courtesy of MassMostWanted.com. If you have any information regarding the case, contact your local police department.

Theft - Case No. 130263
May 05, 2013
Abington: Brennan's News

Case Details:

On Sunday, May 5, a lone white male suspect exited a later model Jeep, dark in color, with multiple stickers or magnets on rear of vehicle.

The suspect then allegedly damaged the front glass door of Brennan's News in Abington before entering and stealing two cash drawers from register with and undetermined amount of money before fleeing northbound on Park Avenue in the Jeep. 

If you have any information about the identity of this person, please contact: 

Abington Police Department: (781) 878-3232 x5283
Investigator: Officer Thomas Delaney
Case Submission No.: 130263

We highlight homes for sale each week on Patch, but let's take a look at the rental properties available on Cape Cod.

Click on the homes on the map to explore what's available on Cape Cod now.

Thank you to all the Patch readers across the region who entered our most recent photo contest for best sunrise and sunset pictures. 

And, now to our winning photo . . .

Congratulations to Coleen O'Hanley for the winning photo, No. 13. Coleen will receive a $25 gift certificate.

To see the other entries in the contest, click through the gallery of photos.

Editor's Note: The winner of the contest was chosen based on the number of votes by readers for the winning image. 

Returning veterans are now facing a new enemy at home—long wait times for their disability claims.

The waiting times started increasing in 2010 when U.S. troops were withdrawn from Iraq causing a dramatic uptick in first-time filers, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. 

The data found that in most regional VA offices, not only did waiting times increase, but they vary dramatically with location: about 508 days in Baltimore, Maryland and 134 days in Fargo, North Dakota. The national average now stands at about 11 months, which is dramatically higher than in 2009 when it was 116 days.

Claims sent to the VA's Boston office take on average 411.6 days to process a disability claim. That's more than 13 months before the average claimant gets a decision. 

The backlog has also partly been blamed on the VA still using paper to process their claims. In 2011, the Department started implementing a computerized system in several of its regional offices. However, despite spending $537 million on the new program and employing 3,300 claims processors, 97 percent of veterans’ claims are still on paper.

Still, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki pledged back in March that the VA will end the enormous backlog by 2015.

While Memorial Day, which is celebrated this Monday, is officially a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, in practice it's often a day to recognize living veterans locally. 

The data above was obtained by The Center for Investigative Reporting from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and is updated weekly. 

Falmouth's boys’ lacrosse team will take on Bishop Feehan in the preliminary round of the MIAA Boys’ Lacrosse East Division 2 playoffs on Wednesday, May 29 at 5 p.m. at Bishop Feehan.

The boys, who finished 10-7, are ranked 26th in the tournament. Bishop Feehan is ranked seventh and finished the year 17-3.

Editor's note: The following information has been provided by local police departments, courts and state agencies serving Patch towns. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, they do not indicate a conviction.

Milton police received a report of an attempted breaking and entering into a sailboat at the Milton Yacht Club, where an unknown perpetrator allegedly attempted to pry open the cabin hatch of local resident's boat. 

Two Braintree children who were allegedly kidnapped Monday afternoon, an incident that prompted Braintree and Massachusetts State Police to issue an Amber Alert, were found safe later that night in Connecticut. 

State police troopers helped a woman deliver her child in the breakdown lane of on the southbound side of Route 3 in Braintree this week.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police this week urged Hingham boaters to make the long Memorial Day weekend a safe one on the Harbor.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston salvaged an Eastern Milk Snake from a South Hingham yardon Monday.

A Mass Most Wanted suspect responsible for committing a rape in Weymouth in 1978 was sentenced this week to 36-40 years in prison.

A Boston church official from Weymouth was arrested on charges of stealing money from the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem Church.

A Weymouth woman was transported to the hospital after she drove her vehicle into the Maple Garden Apartments.

A Weymouth man was arrested after he told police he stole loose change out of unlocked Hingham cars to pay for gas and cigarettes. 

Ten individuals were arrested for trespassing at Pilgrim Station in Plymouth.

Plymouth officials this week investigated the cause of a fire that broke out Mondaymorning during start-up at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, causing the plant to go offline again.

A 69-year-old Somerville man was rescued off Megansett Harbor in North Falmouth.

Falmouth police said this week that they are cracking down on loud exhaust pipes and will be targeting their Memorial Day weekend enforcement in various areas. 

On Martha's Vineyard, an Edgartown man was arrested for a second offense of operating under the influence. 

Edgartown police officers this week also served and protected an at-risk duckling.

For some, the thrill of going to theme parks with family or boating at the beach is the best way to spend the summer.

Others find solace in having a summer staycation and relaxing in their own backyard.

We want to know where Falmouth residents are choosing to spend their summer. Do you go to the same vacation destination every year? Do you use the summer to do home improvement projects?

TELL US: Share in the comments below where you plan on hanging out this summer. 

The Falmouth Police Department provided the following. It does not indicate a conviction.

Notable incidents from Thursday May 23, 2013

Police responded to a report of sex offenses at 8:51 a.m.

Police went to Roberta Jean Cir. on a follow up investigation at 10:02 a.m.

Police arrested John D. Saxe, 52, of Falmouth during a motor vehicle stop on Teaticket Hwy. at 10:36 a.m. Saxe was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer.

Police responded to a report of a restraining order violation on Walker St. at 1:25 p.m.

Police went to Roberta Jean Cir. on a follow up investigation at 2:01 p.m.

Police responded to a report of larceny on Ter Huen Dr. at 3:47 p.m.

Police responded to a report of assault and battery on Teaticket Hwy. at 9:17 p.m.

Police arrested Kimberly Spuhler, 40, of Falmouth while responding to a report of an unwanted guest on Sand Pointe Shores Dr. at 10:56 p.m. Spuhler was arrested on an outstanding warrant. 

Today there is the annual Memorial Day Parade at 9:45 a.m.

The parade starts on the Village Green and proceeds to Memorial Ln.

A ceremony will be held following the parade at the Falmouth Public Library.

Following the ceremony the Elks are hosting a light lunch at the Falmouth Elks Lodge. 

Got the day off for Memorial Day? Need to know what is open and closed? 

Here's a run down of what's open/closed:

All municipal, state and federal offices and facilities will be closed. This includes schools, libraries, and the post office. 

All MBTA buses and trains will running on a reduced weekend/holiday schedule. 

Liquor stores: Open at the owner's discretion.

Retail, supermarkets and convenience stores: Open at the owner's discretion. 

Restaurants and bars: Most will be open, but call ahead. It's up to the owner. 

Watching movies is my favorite new family ritual. Now that my 5-year-old daughter spends her days running through neighbors’ backyards until dinner, television time has lost that guilty edge. In fact, in our multi-generational home, it’s the only moment when my parents, husband, 5- and 2-year-olds, and I are silent. (Well, not the 2-year-old so much. “That’s a bad guy, Momma?” “Yes, honey.” “Why, Momma, why that’s a bad guy? I want snack.”… You get the picture.) 

Really there’s nothing quite as charming as Grandpa sharing his beloved Peter Pan with his Tinker Bell-obsessed granddaughter, and explaining to her that Captain Hook was quite clever to make Tink jealous so she’d give up Peter Pan’s location.

And now, here comes Planes—another Disney special, as always, perfectly attuned to kids’ imaginations and parents’ need for acknowledgement, with a believable bit of indulgence. It reunites Goose and Iceman (Yes, of Top Gun fame), and for the kids, tells the story of a plane who’s afraid of heights. My daughter’s first summer movie is perfectly timed for her first-day-of-kindergarten jitters because its tagline is “All the Courage in the World.”

Moms, here’s what you need to know: Dane Cook voices the unlikely hero Dusty Crophopper, a crop duster who dreams of flying with the big guys in spite of his fear of heights and inadequate frame. The big guys are none other than Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards, invoking their Top Gun legacy as Echo and Bravo, respectively.

So let’s pause here a moment of reflection on Top Gun. It was the ‘80s movie I was too young to watch but did—over and over and over—dreaming of being THAT girl in the bar (no-go). The staggered electric keyboard beats and guitar riffs that make you feel a part of the machinery running those slick planes is right there in the Planes trailer. It transports you instantly back to the 8th grade sleepover party where you ogled Tom Cruise on his motorcycle for the first time. Well done, Disney. Well done.

Iceman and Goose are good too. Disney’s done Broadway, but now we get a take on the ‘80s good vs. evil. Back then, it was unabashedly bad bad guys with cocked heads facing off against arrogant good guys with toothy smiles—and perfectly shaved faces for all! Not to mention one of the greatest movie lines of all time: “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.” Bring it, Planes!

While I fully expect the first viewing of Planes to be an awesome big-kid moment for my daughter, it’s the repetition that counts. When Planes makes it into our home, I know our 2-year-old—who just asked me, “I can’t go in sky, right, Momma?”—will see that anything is possible. Again and again and again.

Planes is coming to theaters August 9.

What began as a 10-day trip to Haiti in 2011 for Taryn Silver turned into a new home and about 50 new friends.   

Silver, a former Sharon resident, helps run the Association Sportives des Jeunes Filles de Fond des Blancs (The Sports Association of Young Women of Fond des Blancs), a girls soccer club in the rural town of Fond-des-Blancs, about 70 miles west of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Silver moved to Haiti in 2012 to work for the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation in Fond-des-Blancs.

It was there where she met Andover native Molly Klarman who had started the club last year.

"On the streets and fields in Haiti you almost always see only boys playing soccer. This club offers the girls of Fond-des-Blancs a chance to play soccer, exercise, and have fun," Silver said in an email to Sharon Patch.

"We have 53 girls on our roster. The ages range from 13-22 with a few girls who are older (24, 26, 28). All of our girls are in school and live within a 35-minute walk to the practice field," she said.

The club offers an opportunity that Haitian women rarely get due to lack of funding, time and also due to the cultural roles Haitian men and women often play, Silver said.

"Most girls that go to school have tons of chores they are responsible for doing after school. Including getting water, cooking food for the family, doing laundry and taking care of younger siblings," she said.

"I think it has mainly been for boys because of the gender roles in Haitian culture. We hope this club will help to shift those in the community and offer the girls a chance to be in the spotlight," said Silver.

When it first began the club had 20 girls. This year the roster has more than doubled in size.

"Molly and I visited the schools in the community [in January] to invite new girls who might be interested. We thought we might have 25 girls interested, but now we have over 50 and girls keep showing interest," said Silver.

Silver said the club has been a success because it is fun for the women and it gives them confidence.

Some of the girls shared why they like soccer and what the club means to them.

The following are statements from some of the girls in the club that have been translated from Creole into English:

Marie Danise Azor – 16 years old

"I want to play soccer, because I love it so much. It is something important and that’s reason I want to play soccer. For me it mean the biggest thing as a young woman in Fond des Blancs and I would like to be a player, I would like if we find sponsors, and we can find a lot of support. Thank you!!!!"

Rachel Polica – 18 years old

"Hi! I want to say why I like soccer:

Soccer is my favorite sport and it the only one that I like. I play it and I watch it, but I don’t have enough opportunity for that. I give it my time anyways because I love it so much, and it open my mind and I learn better. It makes me not get sick very often, for all that I love soccer so so much."

Dialanne Guerlande – 17 years old

"I’m Dialanne I can tell you I started to play soccer when I was 7 years old and I love it so much. I feel proud, sometimes when I’m playing some people want to discourage me, but that never works especially my parents, but that never works. I want to say some things. I’m in the club and I don’t get anything, I’m proud of myself. I am smart, and for me what I want to do for the club and I want to thank Taryn and Molly because they make us popular, I want them to encourage me more. I don’t ask anything. I want the club to go far and I would like to visit some other towns in Haiti.

The important thing for me is I love soccer for life I love it, I love it, I love it, but please encourage me more that I can come for the club, and I want us to be more popular.

Thank you so much for your help."

Sarafina Joseph – 15 years old

"I love soccer because it is interesting for me to play. It is a good sport and I really like to play soccer. I would like to be a good player in soccer and I love it. I want the soccer team to be a reality and the other young women that is interesting I advise them to come play soccer with us. Thank you so much."

Nicole Pierre – 20 years old

"I like to play soccer because it a nice game. It helps me to be healthy and have resistance especially when I’m running, my health is normal I don’t get sick often.

I had some experiences in the women’s soccer last year is I played in some games in Port au Prince, Fond des Blancs, and I played in my school too. I play defense.

Now, I feel I have more encouragement and more strength to continue to play soccer because I found a club to play, and that’s why I ask God to always to give the soccer club’s leaders opportunity, and protect all the girls in the club. We can progress. I would like that we can play with clubs from other countries, and we will have more experience. I love soccer."

Rosena Bernadel – 15 years old

"I love to play soccer because I love it so much it really interesting me play and it a good sport, I want to be a good soccer player.

Thank you so much."

Judette Fils-Aime – 18 years old

"I love soccer because it really interesting for me to play, and it is a good sport. I really like to play it, and I would like to be a good soccer player. I want the club to be a reality and other young woman should come to play soccer. I am really thankful to the people who created the club. They left to come in Haiti and interest us to play soccer and become good players and please encourage us more that we can keep going. Ok thank you."

Currently, Silver and Klarman are asking for donations to the club to help provide the girls with things like snacks, water, uniforms, cleats, transportation, linesmen, referees and a small stipend for the three coaches.

So far, they have raised over $4,000 are are hoping to reach their goal of $6,000 soon.

"Donations have been coming from family and friends and their networks," Silver said.

"The money is being used to provide the girls with water for practice and a small snack," she said. "We think this is important as the girls are expending a lot of energy during practice and often do not have the opportunity to have more food in their households."

To make a donation, visit www.gofundme.com/1zy0ro.

"I think this club is a good thing for the girls as it allows them a safe, comfortable space for them to learn to play soccer, to exercise, and to have fun," Silver said.

"I think it is important for the girls to have an activity that is only for girls and where they are free to act carefree and have fun like girls their age should," she said.

The Massachusetts State Senate has unanimously approved a “Good Samaritan Bill” aimed at protecting off-duty first responders from lawsuits if they provide  assistance at an emergency scene. 

The issue of protecting first responders and others from lawsuits has come up at various times in recent years, but quickly regained traction in the aftermath of the recent Boston Marathon bombings. 

“While the many off-duty firefighters and EMTs who rushed to help in the aftermath of the Marathon bombings brought this into sharp focus, the fact is we are lucky to have brave men and women who come to the aid of their fellow citizens every day in emergencies from car accidents to heart attacks,” said State Senator Katherine Clark, who chairs the Judiciary Committee. “They shouldn't have to worry that doing the right thing could result in legal action.”

According to an announcement from Clark’s office, this legislation would specifically place off-duty first responders under the state’s existing Good Samaritan Law, which protects average citizens from frivolous lawsuits if they provide assistance to somebody during an emergency.

“On Marathon Monday, many off-duty firefighters and emergency medical technicians came to the immediate aid of the hundreds of people impacted by the blasts and, as good Samaritans, they should be provided with the same legal protections,” said State Senate President Therese Murray.

State Senator James Timilty, a Walpole Democrat, is the lead sponsor of the bill.

“This legislation not only seeks to protect those who risked their lives to help on Marathon Monday, but the everyday occurrences of an accident on the side of the road or a child injured on the ball field. We should do everything in our power to ensure that those with the adequate training to help do not hesitate out of fear of a lawsuit,” said Timilty.