Bill McEvoy is pushing for at least a simple memorial at the mass burial lots, which are neglected and unmarked and lie on an island co-owned by the state, federal, and city governments.

Many of the state?s 37 vocational schools have come under fire recently for using their admissions criteria to screen out struggling students. Over the past two decades, the schools have been transformed from their blue collar roots into high-tech training centers that prepare students equally for college or for well-paying jobs in the trades. Today, some are better funded than nearby public schools ? and they have become increasingly selective in who they admit.