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Personality: No doubt Shaq has it

P R O V I D I N G H O P E

TO HAITI,WITH LOVE

ON THE WEB � Check out a special Haiti report from our sisterpaper, The Enterprise, at P a t r i o t L e d g e r. c o m .

SEE OUR SHOW � More scenes from Haiti in a specialslide show P a t r i o t L e d g e r. c o m .

Collegeboardasks fora rulingCity solicitor to determinewhether vote was legalBy Jack EncarnacaoTHE PATRIOT LEDGER

QUINCY – During a three-hour meeting punc-tuated with bizarre charges involving trash pickingand lying about it, a divided Quincy College gov-erning board attempted to resolve a long-simmer-ing dispute over the hiring of a new president.

In the end, the board voted Tuesday to askCity Solicitor James Timmins to determinewhether its vote to hire Mount Ida College ad-ministrator Philip Conroy was legal, and, if not,how to fix the situation.

“We have to move on,” board member Don-ald Gratz said.

At issue is whether the board’s June 14 votewas invalid because the board contained morenon-Quincy residents than the four allowed un-der the 1994 law that created the board.

Three meetings to address the matter were can-celed earlier this summer. The state attorney gen-eral’s office refused to weigh in, Timmins said, be-

St. Boniface group embarks on new missionBy Jennifer MannTHE PATRIOT LEDGER

More than sixmonths afteran earthquakedevastated Portau Prince,

about 24 million metric tons ofrubble are still strewn aboutHaiti’s capital. Tent cities havetaken the place of buildings,occupying every spare bit of land,even a 10-foot-wide median stripalong a highway.

Progress is hard to pinpoint. Arecent visitor said she spotted onlythree or four of the heavy ma-chines that are supposed to bepicking up piled debris. She wasleft with the image of a man whoresolutely tapped with a pick, stilldigging for pieces of his life amidthe devastation.

But that is not the whole storyin Haiti. Seventy-three milessouthwest of Port au Prince, in therural town of Fond des Blancs, is

TERRY SEBASTIAN PHOTO/ST. BONIFACE HAITI FOUNDATION� A young patient who was injured in the earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12 uses a walker to get around.

HAITI/PAGE 3

Ground Zero flapa non-issue locallyNo change in Ramadan ritesBy Lane LambertTHE PATRIOT LEDGER

QUINCY – Like their brethren across thecountry, South Shore Muslims are beginningRamadan observances today under the darkestcloud of controversy since the Sept. 11, 2001,terrorist attacks.

A plan to build a $100 million Islamic com-munity center and mosque two blocks from theWorld Trade Center Towers site in New YorkCity has provoked intense protests from somewho see the project as an affront to the victimsof the attack.

A local imam said that hostility hasn’t touchedthe Muslim community here, and won’t dampenthe monthlong season of prayer and fasting.

“We watch the news like everyone,” saidImam Khalid Nasr, the spiritual leader of the Is-

What should Shaquille O’Neal’s nickname be inBoston? A lot of monikers have been bandied about– including by Patriot Ledger followers on Twitterand Facebook. Vote for your favorite atP a t r i o t L e d g e r. c o m .

TAKE OUR POLL

� The Big Shamrock� The Big Leprechaun� The Green Monster� Shaq-et on the Parq-et� Boston Pops� Shaqzilla

� CelShaqTic� Bo-Shaq� Sean McShaq� Jolly Green Giant� Red Auershaq

By Catherine GrouxTHE PATRIOT LEDGER

BRAINTREE – As theBoston Celtics we l co m ebasketball legend andjokester Shaquille O’Nealto the team, some may beskeptical about his playingabilities, but not about his“Diesel” p e r s o n a l i t y.

“I think he’s a uniqueathlete, but at the same timeI think it’s going to sell and

put people in the seats,”said Brian Macauley ofHolbrook. “I think it’s agood thing.”

Matthew Guest of Brain-tree said the man who hasbeen called everythingfrom Shaq Fu to the BigAristotle will bring a new,charismatic energy to Bos-ton, and hopefully some

SHAQ/PAGE 2

R A M A DA M / PAGE 5

QUINCY COLLEGE/PAGE 2

COLUMBIAN SQUARETHAT NEIGHBORHOOD FEELINGLEDGERLAND 9

STOPPING PIRACYON THE HIGH SEASBUSINESS 23

STOPPING PIRACYON THE HIGH SEASBUSINESS 23

GoodAfternoon

The latest news fromthe South Shore and the world

NATION / WORLD

CHINA BRACES FORMORE LANDSLIDES� Heavy rains today lasheda remote section ofnorthwestern China whereweekend flooding killed atleast 702 people, as hopesof finding more survivorsfaded and crews worked tostave off outbreaks ofdisease. PAGE 22

S TAT E

JOBS BILL COULD BEACE IN THE HOLE� A vote by the U.S. Houseto approve a $26 billion jobsbill revives talk on BeaconHill about casino legislationdeclared all but dead just aweek ago. PAGE 7

LOCAL

ALFREDO’S PASTAFOUNDER DEAD AT 82� Alfredo Aiello, who diedMonday at 82, built acompany that became knownthroughout New England forits fresh fettuccini and lobsterravioli. PAGE 12

BUSINESS

S P O RT S

COMINGTOMORROW

NO IMMEDIATE JOB CUTSSEEN FROM WEYMOUTHPOWER PLANT SALE� Constellation Energy saysthere would be no job cutsin the short-term ifConstellation’s $1.1 billionbid to buy the Mystic andFore River power plants issuccessful. PAGE 23

HE’S HAVING FUN P L AY I N G� Scituate native MikeConroy, who was drafted inthe first round by theCleveland Indians nine yearsago, is playing with arestored love for baseball asa member of the BrocktonRox. PAGE 17

BACK IN THE SADDLE� Despite offstagedistractions, Aerosmithregroups and is ready to torock Fenway Park in Bostonon Saturday.

W E AT H E RTo n i g h t :

Partly cloudy,Low of 65ºTo m o r r o w :

Clouds and sun,High of 77º

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Dear Abby 28Business 23, 24Classified 29-32Comics 15Editorial 6Food 25-27Locals 9-14Obituaries 21, 22Sports 17-20TV listings 28