A number of custodians at the Whelan School have been suspended without pay in connection with the alleged theft of 26 heavy copper doors which were apparently sold to scrap metal dealers in Chelsea. The doors, which came out of the old Whelan School and were to be used in a new school being built,  had been stored inside the new Whelan facility.

According to videos examined by the superintendent of schools, and others, which were made inside the new Whelan School, custodians are shown carrying the heavy copper doors from the facility and placed into a truck.

City officials, including the mayor, are investigating the entire series of events and action is forthcoming.

The alleged goings on by certain city yard employees have caused a wide variety of reaction. In city hall action this week, the city council basically shut the door on a public debate about issues regarding theft because Councillor George Rotondo named names. Naming names is one thing. Shutting the door on debate about alleged outright theft is another. Outright thedft by city employees  will be nailed, and we’re certain Mayor Ambrosino will ultimately do the right thing. The notion put forth by some interests around here that the city is awash in corruption, that crime is running rampant everywhere - well - you have to look where those allegations are coming from. We’ve never spent time in jail for stealing from the people as some who write in this city have. And we aren’t paranoid, finding conspirtacies of every kind from SHirley Avenue to Mountain Avenue and everywhere in between.

If there is wrongdoing, Mayor Ambrosino will take the appropriate action - this we are sure of. Thank goodness taking care of wrongdoing is left to the mayor, and not to the misfits and jailbirds calling for lynchings at every turn.

The whether or not aspects of the big casino gambling question is not so hard to predict. It isn’t whether and it isn’t or not - the real and compelling question is when? When will the Legislature do the turn around around necessary to give the OK to the governor’s plan for licensing three major casino operators?

As much as we try, we cannot figure out how Wonderland fits into the process. We have no doubt that Mr. Sarkis, Wonderland’s owner, can raise the money to be one of the finalists and in fact, to score a license but what then? Wonderland simply isn’t large enough to house a full blown casino.

Mr. Sarkis would ultimately be forced to partner with Mr. Fields, the owner of Suffolk Downs - who himself is going to be bidding for a license and can raise the money and has the space on which to place a large facility.

Bottom line - now the Globe is reporting that the governor may be having second thoughts about a casino at Suffolk Downs - which of course is more about the Globe than reality. The reality is that c asino gambling is coming, Suffolk Downs is large enough for a major facility, Boston is a tourist destination - end of discussion.

Increasingly, the governor’s casino gambling initiative is looking like a chess game. Now the governor is telling us he may present the legislation allowing casino gambling to the senate before the house in order to sidestep the negativity of many house members, including the leadership. By sending the legislation to the senate first, the governor hopes to gain momentum with the senate passing his bill and sending it on to the house, which would then be under considerable pressure to approve it - much more so than if the house received the legislation first.

Suffolk Downs looks like a sure bet as a casino. Wonderland, we understand, refused to be bought by Suffolk owner Richard Fields before the governor’s plan was revealed. Now Fields is apparently uninterested in adding Wonderland to his stable, so to speak.

What a difference a few weeks makes.

Governor Deval Patrick is just hours away from announcing his plan for licensing casino gambling in the state. Over the weekend, numerous news agencies reported that the governor’s plan is to license three operators to run casinos in different georgraphic areas of the state.

One such casino will be licensed for the Boston area, and presumably, Suffolk Downs will be that spot if owner Richard Fields can raise the money. Fields, it is believed, can raise whatever is necessary to build a casino and to pay the price for licensing it with the state - which could cost his investment group $200 million or more.

The reasl question, no matter what the governor has to say today, is whether or not the House of Representatives would sanction such a plan for licensing. House Speaker Sal DIMasi is opposed to casino gambling - and the House is in step behind him.

We’ll see what happens.

Cambridge City Councillor Anthony Galluccio beat all his rivals in the special election held Tuesday to fill the vacant seat formerly occupied by former Senator Jarrett Barrios. Senator-elect Galluccio won convincingly in Revere and in Everett. In Everett, he won by  more than 1,000. In Cambridge, voters gave Galluccio the edge. Long into the night, final figures were elusive.

At about 9:00 p.m., Galluccio declared himself the winner. He received concession and congratulations calls from all his rivals in the moments that ensued. An ecstatic Galluccio said he was humbled by the great show of support he received from thousands of voters throughout the district and pledged to serve them well.

Ward 6 in Revere goes to the polls tomorrow to decide on a new senator to replace Jarrett Barrios. Voters in Revere, Chelsea Saugus, Somerville, Everett, Charlestown and Cambridge will all be voting.

The special election has been vigorous with four candidates vying for the seat - Paul Nowicki from Chelsea, Jeff Ross from Cambridge, Anthony Galluccio from Cambridge and Tim Flaherty, also from Cambridge.

Flaherty’s campaign has soared in the past ten days. He has received the endorsement of  the Boston Globe and the Cambridge Chronicle. The betting is that this race will be between Galluccio and Flaherty, with these two beating themselves up in Cambridge, leaving Galluccio without his traditional base and that voting in Charlestown may also be split with Everett holding the key.

It is one of those elections which will determine whether or not Galluccio is going to have a life outside of Cambridge, and whether or not he can outlive the onslaught by Flaherty.

Vote tomorrow.

Charlie Patch and Victoria Laws continue their personal battles to win the seat being given up by Councillor Mark Casella.

Patch is fighting the lies and inuendo being heaped upon him by Internet idiots who are out of control. Although Laws says she does not want the support of one of the idiots, those who support Patch say they are as attached to one another as Siamese Twins - and she can’t shake the attachment, and frankly, it could ruin her first attempt at public office.

Revere Beach was packed on Labor Day as the last day of the summer of 2007 went into the local history books. With the beach still all chopped up while receiving its new public face, it didn’t look nearly as good as it will look next year at this time.

Next year at this time the beach will be a veritable boomtown as new developments should be well underway by that time.

In many respects, the city itself is far better off today than it was just 6 years ago - and if Mayor Ambrosino leaves shortly as expected, his legacy will be all the development ongoing that will not be finished when he is gone.