FROM THE REGION.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

COLUMN: FROM THE REGION

Northboro

ZBA sets hearing on Indian Meadows

NORTHBORO - The Zoning Board of Appeals has scheduled an Aug. 6 public hearing on a special permit application from a group that plans to buy Indian Meadows Golf Course.

Boston-based New England Baseball has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the 50-year-old golf club for $1.9 million to operate a competitive baseball facility consisting of four baseball diamonds. Tournaments would be held at the site, and it would become the new home of the New England Ruffnecks, a tuition-based program to prepare youths ages 13 to 18 to play top-level baseball in college.

The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. at the public library.

The proposal has received a lot of attention from residents and town officials.

Selectmen Monday night, in front of a packed audience, began discussions on the town's right of first refusal to purchase the property. The town has that right because the bulk of the property, about 63 acres in Northboro, had been given a tax break under Chapter 61B because it is used for recreational purposes.

The entrance to the property and the 19,093 square-foot building and six acres are in Westboro. Westboro's portion is assessed at $1,103,500. Property taxes for fiscal 2012 are $21,198.

Northboro selectmen said the 120 days they have to make a decision does not begin until they know how much of the $1.9 million is for the portion of the property in Northboro.

Worcester

Teens charged with armed robbery

WORCESTER - All police had to do to convince themselves they had the suspects in a series of recent robberies of delivery drivers was dial a phone number.

And that's exactly what they did early Tuesday after coming upon the two boys, ages 14 and 16, on Eastern Avenue.

According to police, there had been at least three robberies of pizza delivery drivers in recent days in the Rodney Street and Hooper Street area, near Eastern Avenue. In all the robberies, cash and food were taken from the drivers, with no injuries reported.

Police said a pizza delivery driver had told them early Tuesday morning that the day before he had made a delivery to a Rodney Street address. The delivery driver told police something didn't seem right; the address appeared to be a vacant apartment. He called the cellphone number provided with the order, and a tall male came out of the darkness and asked him to come over. The driver refused, and a second person came out of the darkness. The two people started walking toward the driver's vehicle, and the driver said he drove off, fearing he was about to be robbed. The pair threw rocks at the car, the driver told police.

A few minutes later, officers who had just spoken with the pizza delivery driver came upon a taxi parked on Eastern Avenue; a livery car was parked just behind it. The...