Week in Review: Proposed T Cuts; Pot Arraignment for Pizza Shop Owner; City Denies False Arrest Charge

Here's a look at some of Medford's top headlines this week:

The owner of a local pizza shop had his bail set at $10,000 last week on a charge alleging he was caught loading about 250 pounds of marijuana into his pick-up truck in August. Nikita Yanakopulos, 34, of Medford, was arraigned in Middlesex County Superior Court last Thursday on a charge of trafficking over 100 pounds of marijuana, according to a press release from District Attorney Gerry Leone. Prosecutors have estimated the pot was worth about $750,000.

While the , the state legislature is likely to come up with its own. The MBTA Caucus of the state's legislature - state representatives whose communities are served by the MBTA - met Tuesday, and are actively meeting to develop their own plan as alternative to the transit authority's offerings, State Rep. Carl Sciortino said Wednesday. "I believe the legislature has a responsibility to look at this and address this," Sciortino said. Local political leaders are critical of proposals offered by the MBTA to resolve its funding crisis, and some believe there is a clear alternative - revisiting the commonwealth's gas tax. "MBTA fares have more than doubled since the gas tax was last raised in 1991 and now," Sciortino said in a phone interview Wednesday. "We have to have a conversation again about the gas tax."

The city has denied any wrongdoing in response to a lawsuit filed by a local man who claims police twice arrested and held him on a recalled warrant. James Twohig, 31, is suing the city in federal court for $500,000, claiming it violated his 14th amendment rights when Medford Police held him from June 25 to 28, 2010 and again on April 22 to 25 this year on a warrant out of Norfolk County that had been recalled. In a court filing submitted Jan. 13, the city denied Twohig's claims and sought to have the case dismissed. Twohig was arrested both times because the state's warrant management system indicated he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, City Solicitor Mark Rumley said in a brief phone interview Tuesday. "On both occasions when they were called they checked the warrant management system," Rumley said. "And on both occasions they had no choice but to arrest him."

Richard Saunders, of Reading allegedly stole a minivan from a Medford car dealership, then drove it in the wrong direction on I-93 Monday, police said. It isn't the first time Saunders allegedly drove the wrong way on the highway, according to police. He was also wanted by Reading Police on similar charges from a previous incident.