The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • B1

Boston ad firm Arnold Worldwide names new chief as industry slump lingers Web services may turn DVDs into dinosaurs Company 401(k) matches staging a comeback PAGES B5-11 Comcast's new online backup service is powered by EMC technology DOW JONES 10,309.24 40.43 NASDAQ 2,226.29 12.10 Yvonne Abraham Metro Horror and humanity Business THE BOSTON GLOBE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010 BOSTON.COMLOCAL library may cut 10 of its branches SAUGUS Sometimes, one story just can't cover it, so here are two. Both are about good men, both about death and its aftermath. But one story captures the best of us, the other the worst. The first story takes Boston weighs layoff of quarter of staff ies, a system which has outposts from Hyde Park to Charlestown and includes the nation's first branch library, established in East Boston in 1869. "Closing branches should be our last resort," said Mayor Thomas M.

Menino, who met for three hours earlier this week with the library president. "But I think the library also has to have a transformation in how they LIBRARY, Page B4 there is a sense of urgency," Ryan told a board of trustees meeting packed with more than 80 people. "The status quo can't work. We cannot sustain the system as it is currently configured." Ryan's proposal also calls for significant cuts at the library's headquarters in Copley Square and in behind-the-scenes administrative offices. But the most visible impact would be in the city's 26 neighborhood librar- Amy E.

Ryan, the library's president, said yesterday that because of steep budget cuts the only alternative to closings would be slashing hours at 18 library branches, with the smallest facilities open only one to three days a week. "As we think about the shortfall, By Andrew Ryan GLOBE STAFF The Boston Public Library is considering closing up to 10 of its neighborhood branches and laying off one-quarter of its staff, cuts that would irrevocably alter America's oldest municipally funded library system. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiv ilYF flir JTafl iiiiiiiiiiBv HHHHHHHr iiiiilllllllllllllllH HV JV JIIIIIIIIIBv iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiflr -HMVQ as ivh. SPKHb Ik alawawaaaaaaaawMaw-m Vummmm 1 livlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllBiSEk. aJw vammmr' PHOTOS BY DAVID L.

RYAN GLOBE STAFF DNA links convict to 72 killing of woman Suspect died in '01 while jailed for rape By David Abel GLOBE STAFF Thirty-eight years after authorities found Ellen Rutchick partially clothed and strangled with an electrical cord in her Back Bay apartment, police said yesterday that they have cracked the case, one of an increasing number of old crimes solved with new forensic methods. Using DNA matching technology, cold case squad investigators identified Michael Sumpter as the suspect in the 1972 slaying of the 23-year-old secretary. Police also named him as a suspect in the 1985 rape of a 21-year-old woman who also lived in the Back Bay. No charges will be filed. Sumpter died in prison in 2001, while jailed on a separate rape conviction, prosecutors and police said.

"This development demonstrates that although sometimes justice may be delayed, with dogged detective work, dedicated prosecutors, and highly-skilled crime lab technicians, justice does not have to be denied," Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said in a statement. In 2002, police identified Sumpter in the 1985 case as part of a project to reexamine unsolved sexual assaults using DNA evidence, an effort that has led to more than 600 matches. Three years later, said prosecutors, Rutchick's relatives asked DNA, Page B4 THE BEGINNING OF LENT he faithful lined up yesterday at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. John Wilkins (right) received his ashes in the shape of a cross administered by the Rev.

Philip Dabney. The ashes are usually the residue of unused palms burned after the previous year's Palm Sunday, mixed with oil to make a paste. They remind believers: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." place at the Hammersmith Inn in Saugus, a pastel-decorated diner that was the center of the universe for Christos Agganis. After his beloved wife Helen died, Agganis bought a condo across the street from the blond-brick diner on Main Street. He needed to be close to family, and the Hammersmith belonged to his niece and nephew, whom he adored.

Agganis, 81, was parked at the booth nearest the counter most days. He showed up at 5:30 every morning for his English muffin. Lunch was always soup. In the afternoons, he sat with the old guys who come in for coffee and gossip. He came back for dinner around 5:15.

He liked the fish. "He was a gentle man," said Peter Politis, who helps run the diner and is married to Agganis's niece Demetra. Politis was in his uncle's usual booth yesterday, remembering Jan. 28, the day he lost him. "I saw him coming across the road," Politis said softly.

"He was 15 feet away." Then a gray blur knocked his uncle into the air. "It sounded like two cars crashing," he said. "He was bleeding pretty bad." Because it was going so fast, nobody could tell what model of SUV had hit Agganis. There were no skid marks on the street. The driver didn't even slow down.

"Any normal human being would have stopped," Politis said, shaking his head. "People hit animals and they pull over." Police have no leads. And so the family is offering a $5,000 reward for information on the person who killed an old man and kept on driving. Maybe cash will induce somebody to do what basic decency hasn't. The second story happens at a pretty green house in Newton.

That's where Elinor Beatrice sat in her living room last October, wiping tears from her eyes. Her husband, Jeff, a beloved youth sports coach, had died suddenly, leaving 1 1 children and an $844,000 mortgage. After years of financial turmoil, the green house, the one Jeff had grown up in, was in foreclosure proceedings. The auction was days away. The Beatrices couldn't even focus on their grief.

But Jeff, a big, jolly guy, had left a huge impression on hundreds of local families. And so, as word spread of the Beatrices' predicament, a movement began. Attorneys and politicians went to battle with the mortgage company and got the auction delayed. People left meals on the porch, small donations at the local bank, appeals on Facebook pages. They held yard sales, a benefit concert, a sports-a-thon.

Money poured in, from Chestnut Hill and California, from neighbors and strangers. By January, the massive effort to save the Beatrice family from a second disaster had raised a miraculous amount, $500,000, mostly from small donations. Finally, last week, the Beatrices got their house back. "It's overwhelming to think so many people are willing to help just this one family," Elinor said this week. "It's hard to feel so happy when I don't have my husband.

But I can't express enough thanks." The Beatrices may not be able to afford to stay in the house indefinitely. And the family is still broken: Two of Elinor's children are battling emotional problems. She dissolves when she's in the car alone. Still, the Beatrices have the luxury of knowing this: People are good. That's a gift the family of Christos Agganis could use right now.

iiiiiiiiiiiiiKK. Wellesley park trees felled in error Abutter's hired crew 'just cut too many' said town officials counted more than 90 trees damaged, over almost an acre of land. The felled trees remain at the reservation. "It's the most serious problem we have had with our trees since I've been on the commission," Seaborn said. The trees that were cut down represented a variety of species, Seaborn said.

Many were 60 to 70 feet tall and TREES, Page B4 Belkin's property manager, Bob Campana, said he hired a crew to remove the trees last month after a wind storm toppled some of them across a walking trail. He said the fallen trees had posed a safety hazard, but the workers cut far more than he wanted. Campana said he counted approximately 25 trees that were felled. But Neal Seaborn, chairman of the Welles-ley Natural Resources Commission, By Caitlin Castello GLOBE CORRESPONDENT WELLESLEY Town officials are investigating the unauthorized clearing of a swath of mature trees in Boulder Brook Reservation behind the Weston property of Steve Belkin, an owner of the Atlanta Hawks. PROPOSED EXPANSION Stalled Fitchburg rail project gets a federal boost Fitchburg Wachusett Station yf s-Si) LPorter Square smiles 1 hubs with struggling economies, is critical to the state's economic future.

"This is another example of a project or an issue or a need that has been languishing for decades," he said. "It's huge in terms of the number of jobs right now." With better access between Fitchburg and Boston, recent college graduates and young families could settle in the Fitchburg area, where housing is relatively cheap, yet retain access to jobs inside Interstate 495, FITCHBURG LINE, Page B15 By Noah Bierman GLOBE STAFF The federal government plans to spend $55.5 million to extend the Fitchburg commuter rail line and build a new station, part of an effort to reduce gridlock on Route 2 and help people who cannot afford to live near Boston get to jobs in the city and its close-in suburbs, officials announced yesterday. Governor Deval Patrick said revitalizing "gateway cities" like Fitchburg, regional Yvonne Abraham is a Globe columnist. She can be reachedatabrahamglobe.com. SOURCE: Montachusett Regional Transit Authority DAIGO FUJIWARAGLOBE STAFF February wtmress mmWBM Men's high end running shoe now only We feature Sale A Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, Soccer and Field Hockey OFF Women's stability rimninci stine Select men's women's shoes Save 18o- 49 now only 40 HHH YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE MUST BRING IN THE COUPON NOW THRU SSJ8010 BG ll 1 Great Deals on kid's shoos Select kid's shoes-Save 14o-20o Selectmen's women's apparel Save 25o- 58" 5 S.

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