North Andover man's fight against breast cancer continues

PEABODY — Peter Devereaux didn't even know men could get breast cancer.

So when his doctor called to give him the news, Devereaux thought he had called him by mistake.

"I said, 'Doc, it's Peter Devereaux,'" he said, thinking his doctor would apologize and hang up.

He didn't, and within days Devereaux was back at the hospital, getting a bone scan and chest X-ray to see how far the cancer had spread within his body.

A Peabody native and North Andover resident, Devereaux, 50, was diagnosed with stage 3B invasive ductal carcinoma in January 2008. For the past 41/2 years, he has been battling the disease, which doctors discovered had spread to his hips, ribs and spine in 2009.

He is one of 82 men who have been diagnosed with male breast cancer believed to have been caused by water contamination at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina.

"It's the largest cluster ever recorded," Devereaux said.

Devereaux signed up for the Marines after graduating from Peabody High School in 1980. He served until December 1984, and in that time spent 16 months at Camp Lejeune.

"On average, you're 19 years old in the service, you work out like crazy, you work hard, you're drinking water by the quarts," he said. "None of us knew about the contaminated water."

In 2008, Devereaux said he received a letter telling him he may have come in contact with contaminated water. By then, however, he had already found a lump in his chest.

After his diagnosis, Devereaux underwent a mastectomy followed by numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Doctors removed 22 cancerous lymph nodes.

"It makes you appreciate a lot of things in a hurry," he said.

In 2009, after he began experiencing shooting pain up his spine, doctors discovered that his cancer has metastasized. He's still fighting, currently undergoing chemotherapy to beat the cancer.

In the meantime, Devereaux is doing all he can to be an advocate, to raise awareness of male breast cancer. There's still a perception that breast cancer is a women's disease, and many men don't think it can happen to them.

"It's difficult for a lot of guys to come to grips with having, at the bottom line, a women's disease," he said. "We've still got a long ways to go, we've still got work to be done."

Fortunately for Devereaux, family and friends have rallied around. One of seven children, Devereaux said his family, his wife and his 15-year-old daughter have been incredibly supportive.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Manual transmission died on low-mileage Toyota MR2

Do you have any idea why the manual transmission would have failed in less than 60,000 miles on my 2001 Toyota MR2? When the transmission was removed, I was told the clutch was fine, which hopefully indicates that this 60-year-old driver still knows how to shift and hadn't abused the transmission. The car was serviced by the book.

Is your car fitted with the standard manual transmission or the sequential manual transmission? Toyota had problems with its sequential unit, but the standard 5-speed does not appear to be problematic. You also did not say what type of failure the transmission experienced. Bearing failure is usually preceded by increasingly loud "whining" noises, while synchronizer or gear failure usually manifests itself as grinding, failure to go into a gear or popping out of gear.

My first thought was to focus on the lighter-weight lubricants used in modern manual transmissions. Typically, ATF (automatic transmission fluid) is the lubricant of choice in today's stick-shift cars.

But that's not the case with your MR2. Toyota calls for GL4 or GL5 75W-90 gear oil, depending on whether the transmission is equipped with a limited slip differential or not. The heavier gear oil is used because the unit is a transaxle assembly that incorporates the transmission and differential in a single case.

The only thing I noted when checking the Alldata automotive database is the difference between maintenance requirements between "normal" service and "severe" service. No transaxle fluid changes for the life of the car are suggested under normal conditions. However, Toyota does recommend fluid changes every 30,000 miles under severe service conditions. I've always maintained that the vast majority of motorists operate their vehicles under severe conditions the majority of time.

L L L

In May, I awoke at 5 a.m. to a loud boom followed by my neighbor pounding on my door. My son's car, a 2001 Chrysler Concorde that was parked in the driveway, was engulfed in flames under the hood. It was a total loss. The local fire chief believed the fire started on the left side, as the battery was melted and the front left tire was gone. Any thoughts as to what may have started the fire? The car had a remote start that would easily kick on if the button on the key fob was accidentally pushed while in a pocket.

I've done a number of vehicle autopsies over the years, including several vehicles destroyed by fire. While I'm no expert on fires, the melted battery would appear to indicate your vehicle suffered some type of dead short between the battery and chassis. Did the vehicle have any aftermarket audio equipment installed? I've seen several fires that originated with a wiring issue involving aftermarket equipment.

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I have a 1995 Nissan pickup with 224,000 miles, mostly on the highway. Since about 150,000 miles, I've noticed a moaning sound from the gas tank area when the weather is warm. I purchased a new gas cap but it still moans in warm weather. If I release the gas cap slightly, the moaning slows down or stops. No one seems to be able to tell me the cause and how to fix it. Can you?

The primary suspect is the charcoal canister purge valve. This valve is electrically controlled by the engine management computer to open and vent fuel vapors stored in the canister into the induction system after the engine is started. It may be that this valve is no longer working, thus the fuel tank builds excessive pressure because the vapors are not being vented. The Alldata database pulled up a Nissan service bulletin addressing this type of noise that suggested installing the updated purge control valve, hoses and mounting bracket from the 1997 model year truck.

At least check the valve, located next to the air cleaner, to see if it is operating properly.

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Summer arts festival backed by Ted Cutler

Boston philanthropist Ted Cutler and his team are planning to turbocharge the city's sleepy summer arts scene with a world-class, 10-day outdoor festival in July that has already won the support of the mayor, the governor and a host of local arts organizations.

"I want to leave this as a gift to the city and the state," said Cutler, 82, a longtime benefactor of his alma mater, Emerson College, and several Hub charities. "Economically, the state and the city will be in a much better position with a big arts festival during a slow part of the summer."

"This is an opportunity to change the culture of the city. It's generational. If you take your child to the ballet or theater, they will take their child," added Cutler, who spent his college days working as a band leader and later booking big music acts in Boston.

Cutler, along with managing director Kevin Carlon, artistic director Sherrie Johnson and senior curator Randy Weiner, wants to highlight Boston's vibrant performing arts community and to make many shows free and accessible by bringing them to outdoor venues such as Boston Common, Copley Plaza or the Esplanade.

"I think it is absolutely extraordinary that Mr. Cutler is funding this," said Harron Ellenson, executive director of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. "He puts his money where his mouth is and it's wonderful."

This summer's inaugural Outside the Box Festival, which will run from July 12-21, is dedicated to the late Boston Landmarks Orchestra founder Charles Ansbacher, who died in 2010.

"(Ansbacher's) vision was that arts should be part of everyone's lives, that we should try to make art as free as possible — even though artists need to be paid. That's why (Cutler) is dedicating this festival to him," Ellenson said.

The Landmarks Orchestra plans to perform a specially commissioned piece titled "Fiesta Sinfonica" — which features the orchestra playing with a salsa band — at the Hatch Shell during Outside the Box as well as other pieces designed to get the audience up and dancing.

"I think the festival's going to be absolutely wonderful for the city," said Ellenson. "The spinoff effect for all the arts groups in the city will be great."

Julie Hennrikus, executive director of StageSource, said a Boston "fringe" festival has been considered for a long time and the Outside the Box

idea, with its inclusion and local focus, is a "thrilling solution."

Modeled on the huge Edinburgh Festival Fringe and other international gatherings, Outside the Box could become a big Boston draw.

"We expect tens of thousands of people each day over the 10 days," Cutler said. "If we get to our third year — and we will — the entertainers will start to say that they have to play Boston in the summer."

"This festival will bring new audiences to the artists and new artists to the audiences," he added. "I believe this will be something like the city has never seen before."

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Union: Raley's talks break down, strike called

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Union workers at Raley's supermarkets in northern California and Nevada are going on strike after contract talks broke down early Sunday morning, the union said.

Picket lines will begin a 6 a.m. PST Sunday, said Ellen Anreder, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

The announcement came a few hours after a midnight talks deadline passed and both sides said the existing labor contract was being extended on an hour-by-hour basis at the request of the federal mediator.

But the union says in a statement released early Sunday that "by late on Saturday evening it had become obvious Raley's offer to extend the contract for an additional three days and return to the bargaining table" was a delaying tactic.

A spokesman for the supermarkets didn't immediately respond to a phone call for comment.

On Saturday the two sides held a third day of bargaining aimed at heading off the first strike in Raley's 77-year history.

The grocer has 128 stores in Northern California and Nevada.

The two sides have been at odds over a proposed wage freeze, elimination of premium pay for Sunday shifts and health care benefits.

"Raley's has tried to dictate a laundry list of takeaways including devastating members' and retirees' health and welfare plan and nothing has changed. It's clear from their actions it's time to teach them the meaning of respect," the union statement said.

Raley's management had threatened to impose a contract with its terms on Thursday, but when a federal mediator became involved in the talks, the company said it would hold off until midnight Saturday.

Raley's says it needs to cut costs in the face of a weak economy and competition from nonunionized companies that also sell groceries, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

But union officials say the chain has not agreed to a full audit of its finances, failing to make the case for the concessions

West Sacramento-based Raley's is a privately-owned company that employs 13,000 people at 115 stores in California and 13 in Nevada operating under the Raley's name, as well as Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods, Food Source and Aisle 1 Fuel Stations, according to its website.

The United Food and Commercial Workers says it represents 7,400 of the chain's employees.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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'Facebook' for docs sees rash of success

Matthew J. Goldstein was stumped. Three months ago, the Brigham and Women's Hospital physician had a patient with a mysterious rash. So, uncertain what to prescribe, Goldstein obtained the woman's permission to post photos of it on Doximity, the equivalent of Facebook for doctors, seeking advice.

Within 24 hours, he received a half dozen responses from other physicians, most recommending a high-dose steroid cream for what turned out to be a case of dyshidrotic eczema.

"Doximity is like a remote consult service," Goldstein said. "The ability to get real-time advice from colleagues around the country about a difficult case I'm having is really helpful."

He isn't the only who thinks so. Started in San Mateo, Calif., two years ago, Doximity already counts some 100,000 doctors — one in six U.S. physicians — as users, according to Jeff Tangney, the company's founder.

Tangney saw a need for such a Web site because doctors, for liability and patient-privacy reasons, often are discouraged from using Facebook. In addition to being a social-media site, Doximity.com acts as a referral service for lawyers looking for an expert witness and Wall Street analysts and hedge-fund managers seeing stock advice on medical products, he said. Clients pay an average of $500 to the doctor and $200 per interview with a physician to Doximity.

Alexi Nazem, another Brigham and Women's doctor, uses its mobile app to keep up-to-date on medical news and find the internal numbers of other hospitals. Doximity also has a separate mobile app called Amion that Nazem uses to find out who's on call at his hospital.

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Mayor Menino poised to approve redistricting plan

The third time appears to be the charm in convincing Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to sign off on a plan to redraw voting lines within the city.

"The mayor is inclined to sign it," Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said after the vote yesterday.

The council approved a third new redistricting map, this one put forward by Councilor Tito Jackson, 11-2, with Councilors Bill Linehan and Charles Yancey opposing it.

"It's a status quo map to protect incumbents," Yancey said after the vote. "It maintains white majority rule on the council."

Other councilors argued the map keeps five districts relatively untouched and is the best plan to address changing neighborhoods.

"This is the best we can do. This is a fair map," said Jamaica Plain Councilor Matt O'Malley.

Two previous plans backed by the council were vetoed by Menino, who said they did not reflect the city's racial makeup.

The proposed voting plan "will decisively chart a new course — one that is more reflective of our diversity and better represents and serves the residents of this great city," said Councilor Ayanna Pressley.

Councilor Felix G. Arroyo said, "This new map is in the best interest of the residents of the city of Boston."

The plan, however, does shift parts of Jamaica Plain's Woodbourne area either to Dorchester or Mattapan, which may upset some.

"Although this map will have its detractors, we did something that will move the city forward," Jackson said.

Linehan, who led the redistricting panel, said some councilors tried to shrink South Boston's white base to harm him politically. "I was a target throughout this," he said. "I tried to be fair to everyone, but there were others who only wanted to be fair to themselves."

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Springfield developers blast gambling honcho

The head of the state gaming board encouraged a top casino exec who had been considering Springfield to mull Boston, raising ethical questions from industry watchdogs as well as the ire of developers who claim the conversation helped sink their project.

Two Springfield developers who were working with Hard Rock International to build a proposed gaming palace in the city blasted Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby yesterday for suggesting to a top Hard Rock executive that the firm consider Boston, where Suffolk Downs racetrack is the odds-on favorite to land a coveted casino license.

"In the chairman's zeal to find a competitor for Suffolk Downs, he severely undercut and damaged our ability to deliver a world-class project for the city of Springfield," said Anthony Ravosa, a former Springfield city councilor whose company, Western Mass Development, was working with Hard Rock. "I think it's entirely inappropriate."

The conversation occurred in August between Crosby and Hard Rock chief financial officer Brad Buchanan at a gaming board hearing in Springfield.

Anthony Cignoli, another Western Mass Development partner, said the conversation led the businessmen to believe that Crosby was urging them to consider a Boston license, rather than Springfield. Hard Rock pulled the plug on its Springfield plans last month.

"I think it's a step over the line," Cignoli told the Herald. "To have a commissioner take an international player like Hard Rock and suggest to them they should be somewhere else besides Springfield is really egregious."

Crosby downplayed the flap, saying he made a "passing comment" to Buchanan, whom he said he had never met before the meeting.

"Somewhere in the course of that conversation I said, 'It's great to have you interested in western Mass. You should look at eastern Mass. too,' " Crosby said last night. "It was a complete nothing. It's totally silly to say that had anything to do with the Hard Rock's actions.

"It's certainly appropriate to talk to people about the various opportunities in Massachusetts," he added. "I don't think it would be inappropriate for us to sort of generically encourage all people to look long and hard at the competitive opportunities."

Crosby has been pushing for more competition in the Boston region for months. Casino experts question whether Crosby — who will be tasked with approving casino license applicants — may have crossed an ethical line.

"I don't think it's appropriate," said gaming expert Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor. "He's not supposed to be going out soliciting bids."

Sources say Hard Rock has, in fact, turned its sights to the Boston area and is eyeballing a site in Everett. So far, the only competition for Suffolk Downs is Crossroads Resorts in Milford, but the developers of that project have yet to reveal any formal plans.

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Twit does damage to Twitter

It took a 29-year-old hedge fund analyst and political operative with a sick compulsion for inciting panic to expose the dark side of Twitter earlier this week.

Using his widely followed account @ComfortablySmug, the New Yorker posted false updates on Monday claiming disastrous scenarios during already-disastrous Hurricane Sandy. He preyed on fear and caused people to waste precious time refuting his lies. Among his hoaxes: that the New York Stock Exchange had flooded, Governor Cuomo was trapped, and that Con Edison would shut off all power in Manhattan. He sprinkled truth amid fiction, lending credence to his con. Some of the ploys received more than 600 retweets.

Every number I called for Shashank Tripathi appeared to have been disconnected yesterday. He issued a public apology only after being outed by the web site Buzzfeed on Tuesday, and resigned his job as manager of a GOP congressional campaign.

It seems as if Tripathi falsely yelled "fire" in a virtual crowded theater. But the metaphor used by the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes as the classic example of unprotected speech is not an accurate reflection of what's punishable today.

"It's a very handy metaphor, but it doesn't represent the state of the law today," said Jeff Hermes, director of the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

For @ComfortablySmug to face charges, he would have had to incite lawless activity, such as a riot. There are enough unenforceable laws on the books anyway. But as the ultimate in crowd-sourced information, Twitter failed to self-correct for the truth.

"So many people who are respected kept re-tweeting him," said Jim Manley, the former aide to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and a relative newcomer to Twitter, who called out Tripathi. "I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with it."

Manley was trying to decide whether to "unfollow" those who retweeted the falsehoods without checking the source. It's simply not enough that we all include in our profiles the disclaimer that retweets aren't endorsements. That's not gonna fly when a similar con artist finally incites that riot.

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Taylor Swift's 'Red' sells 1.2 million copies in debut

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift's new album is called "Red," but its true color is a brilliant platinum. The 22-year-old sold 1.2 million copies of her latest album in its first week — the largest sales week for any album in a decade.

Nielsen SoundScan confirmed the blockbuster sales on Tuesday night. "Red" marks Swift's second straight album to sell more than 1 million copies in its first week; "Speak Now," her third album, sold a little over 1 million copies when it was released in 2010. She is the only woman to have two albums sell more than 1 million copies in its first week.

"They just told me Red sold 1.2 million albums first week. How is this real life?! You are UNREAL. I love you so much. Thanks a million ;)," Swift tweeted Tuesday night.

The only other act to sell more than 1 million copies of an album in its debut week twice was 'N Sync.

Swift isn't a boy band, but she's certainly got the appeal of one: the country crossover has a huge following, particularly among teens who have followed her since she was a teen herself, releasing her first album. But she's also a critic's darling: The Grammy-winner's "Red" garnered plenty of acclaim when it was released last week.

Swift was omnipresent in the week of the album's release, appearing on such shows as "Good Morning America" and "Katie." She also joined with two untraditional partners — Papa John's and Walgreens, which offered the album for sale. And she announced her upcoming tour.

The last album to sell more than 1 million copies in its debut week was Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which sold 1.1 million copies last year. However, that album was deeply discounted on Amazon.com in its first week.

Swift has the opportunity to celebrate for a second time this week: As the reigning "Entertainer of the Year" at the CMA Awards, she has the chance to capture the trophy again when it is held Thursday in Nashville.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Chestnut Hill to add 3 restaurants

The Mall at Chestnut Hill wants to expand its footprint so it can fit in three new restaurants and spiff up the front of the upscale shopping center.

Owner Simon Property Group's plans come amid a flurry of competing Route 9 retail developments taking shape around the mall.

"They're looking for flexibility to turn some retail space to restaurant space and slightly bump out the facade for these new potential tenants," said Alexandra Ananth, a Newton senior city planner. "It's sort of in response to improving their visibility on Route 9."

A spokesman for Simon acknowledged it wanted to add some "great restaurants to the dining mix" but declined further comment. Plans filed with the city show space for patio seating, a relocated mall road and new signs.

Newton Mayor Setti Warren said he's excited about the expansion but wants to ensure residents' and city officials' input guides the permitting process.

"There's also questions about parking on the site that need to be answered," said Warren, who called infrastructure improvements and other projects on Route 9 "transformative."

Directly across from the mall, a Wegmans grocery store will anchor Chestnut Hill Square, a 340,000-square-foot retail, restaurant, residential and medical office project.

Adjacent to the mall, the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center is expanding to 406,000 square feet, and Bernard's Gourmet Asian Cuisine is relocating there from the mall. Other new tenants include Del Frisco's Grille, Davio's Cucina and Shake Shack.

The nearby Atrium Mall, recently sold by Simon, is being converted into medical offices with some retail.

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