Firefighters Expected To Clash With Mayor

BOSTON -- Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is scheduled to give his annual State of the City address Tuesday night at the Strand Theater in Dorchester, where he is expected to run into some friction from city firefighters unhappy with current contract negotiations.

The firefighters' union has been working without a contract for the past 18 months and has also been at odds with the city in recent months over proposals to institute random drug and alcohol testing.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that members of the Boston firefighters' union plan to demonstrate outside the theater, just as they did in 2001.

Menino's plan for random testing follows the deaths of two firefighters who were killed while fighting a blaze in West Roxbury over the summer. A special commission recommended random testing after autopsies revealed that one man had a blood-alcohol level three times above the legal limit and the other had traces of cocaine in his system.

Some of the other issues Menino is expected to touch on in the speech include a new education initiative to double the number of advanced placement courses in city schools and instituting a new diploma program for advanced students. He is also expected to talk about the city's crime rate.

The State of the City address will be carried LIVE on NewsCenter 5 at 7:30 p.m.