News Nearby: Maldonians Speak, Camp Out at Occupy Boston

Each Saturday, Melrose Patch will run a round-up with links to stories from surrounding communities that are of interest to Melrosians.

• : BOSTON—While activists have yet to camp out in Malden Center, the "Occupy Wall Street" movement has inspired at least some Malden residents to camp out in Boston's Dewey Park this week.

• MEDFORD—A Cambridge man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of manslaughter in connection to the beating death of a man in a Salem Street apartment in 2010, prosecutors said. Christopher Toppi, 29, pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn the charge and was sentenced to 15 to 18 years in prison, according to a press release from the office of County Attorney Gerry Leone.

• : WAKEFIELD—Although tempted by the idea of building a brand new school, the Wakefield community decided that renovating the auditorium and gym and building a brand new classroom wing is Wakefield's preferred option for the Galvin Middle School project. This is mainly because building a new school would most like mean the loss of the school's auditorium, which has been deemed an "important community space" by town leaders and residents alike.

• : STONEHAM—SWAT teams and Stoneham Police blocked off the Central and Elm Streets area in Stoneham on Monday night responding to a report of an armed man barricaded in a Central Street home, who is now in police custody.