Varsity Blues Scandal Heads To Court: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me at alex.newman@patch.com.

Today is Tuesday, September 7. Let's get started.

Two fathers charged in the college admissions scandal known as "Operation Varsity Blues" are the first defendants to bring their cases to trial.

Jury selection is expected to begin Wednesday in the trials of John Wilson, of Lynnfield, and Gamal Abdelaziz, of Las Vegas. Wilson, who founded real estate and private equity firm Hyannis Port Capital, is accused of paying William "Rick" Singer $1.7 million to get his three kids into the University of Southern California as alleged athletic recruits.

Abdelaziz, a former casino executive, is accused of paying Singer $300,000 to fraudulently get his daughter into USC as a basketball recruit.

Lawyers for the men have argued in court filings that they were conned by Singer and believed they were making legitimate donations.

Read more from The Boston Globe.

Top stories

The Salem-based Satanic Temple is hitting back against the new Texas abortion law on religious freedom grounds. A lawyer for the temple argued in a letter to the FDA that the church should have access without prescription to abortion-inducing drugs mifepristone and misoprostol for its "sacramental" abortion ritual. (Boston Herald)

Five Boston mayoral candidates backed activists who called for a boycott of the Mariott Copley at a labor protest Monday. The hotel fired 230 workers last fall at the height of the shutdown, without a guarantee to rehire them once business picked back up. Workers say they have to reapply for their jobs without assurances of returning to the same pay. (GBH)

A new poll of 453 Boston residents gives City Councilor Michelle Wu the edge in the mayoral race ahead of the Sept. 14 preliminary election. The MassINC Polling Group survey found that 30 percent backed Wu, with the second-place candidate, Acting Mayor Kim Janey, receiving support from 15 percent of respondents. (Commonwealth Magazine)

If you have a minute

A convicted rapist deemed too dangerous to live in society has been charged in a 33-year-old murder.

The Suffolk District Attorney's office said Richard Vega, 59, sexually assaulted and killed Judy Chamberlain in Boston's Seaport neighborhood. Chamberlain was found strangled in the basement of the former Fargo building on July 28, 1988.

"Our family has waited 33 years for someone to be arrested for the brutal death of our sister Judy," Chamberlain's brother said. "We thank all of those involved in his capture. Our sister can now lay in peace and our family has closure. We love and miss you, Judy."

Investigators first identified Vega as a suspect 10 years ago when they matched the killer's DNA to Vega's DNA profile, the district attorney's office said. Vega was required to submit a DNA sample following his 1990 conviction on three counts of rape in connection with a 1987 attack on an elderly woman in Revere.

Vega was sentenced to up to 20 years in state prison but was civilly committed as a sexually dangerous person in 2008, the district attorney said. Despite his profile matching that of Chamberlain's killer, prosecutors in 2011 did not believe they had sufficient evidence to convict Vega.

Investigators re-examined the case as part of an effort by District Attorney Rachael Rollins to find answers in 1,300 unsolved homicides in Suffolk County. A grand jury indicted Vega on a charge of murder Aug. 30.

"I would like to thank the Boston Police Department for finally finding the guy who took my sister's life," Judy's sister said. "He took our sister, my mother's daughter, and took Kevin and Carly's Aunt away from us."

Vega is the third person indicted in connection with an unsolved murder since Rollins took office. Suffolk County prosecutors previously indicted William Sanchez in the fatal 1995 shooting of Jorge Medina and Steven Fike in the 1980 rape and murder of Wendy Dansereau.

"Our commitment to these cases and the families of individuals whose lives were stolen by an act of violence does not fade with time," Rollins said. "Ms. Chamberlain's family has been waiting 33 years for answers. We were finally able to offer those answers some three decades later. Ms. Chamberlain's life mattered. And we will seek a lifetime of accountability for her brutal murder and callous disposal. Her family and loved ones never stopped loving and missing her, and we never stopped searching for answers."

Local voices

Commonwealth Magazine has dueling op-eds – one by state Rep. Natalie Blais and transportation advocate John Stout, and another by former transportation secretary James Aloisi – on transportation in rural communities. The former argues the $1 billion Pike project in Allston is moving forward at the expense of residents in western Massachusetts, while Aloisi says what's going on in Allston is being mischaracterized.

A lighter touch

They say the happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. The same can't be said for pools, which, thanks to an app called Swimply, makes the backyard leaf magnet anything but a depreciating asset. Somerville resident Marlon Davis says he's rented his pool through the app every day for the past month, raking in $60 per hour for the first five guests, then $10 a guest per hour for up to 10 people. (Boston.com)

What I'm reading today: Michael K. Williams was best known as Omar Little – and rightfully so, as "The Wire" is unassailable – but his turn as Atlantic City kingpin Chalky White in "Boardwalk Empire" was always my favorite. The actor was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment Monday at the age of 54. (Variety)

Weather:

The National Weather Service says sunny, with a high near 79. West wind around 9 mph. Mostly clear at night, with a low around 62. Southwest wind around 6 mph.

Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend.

– Alex Newman

About me: Alex is a Jersey transplant covering Arlington, Malden, Medford, Reading and Somerville for Patch. A graduate of Northeastern University, Alex has lived in the Boston area since college (though he still hasn't been able to bring himself to root for the Sox). He is an avid football and baseball fan, amateur woodworker and film geek. Alex lives in Chelsea with his fiancée, their dog and a revolving door of foster puppies.