Top 10 Melrose Headlines—July 2011

Here's a look at the top headlines from Melrose Patch for the month of July.

In order, these were the 10 most-read stories last month:

1) : A 21-year-old Melrose man died from a reported drug overdose on during a week in which Melrose Police responded to three reported overdoses.

2) : A Melrose man accused of throwing his seven-week old child at the baby's mother—where it subsequently landed face-first onto concrete —was arraigned in Malden District Court, with the court holding him without bail until a second hearing on the status of his release for next Tuesday.

3) : Approximately 4,000 Melrosians didn't have electricity in their homes early on a Tuesday morning after a squirrel caused an almost-hour long power outage. A National Grid spokeswoman said that a squirrel made contact with one of the switches (called a load break switch) on the line, breaking the circuit, thereby causing the outage.

4) : Marty Stanton, assistant principal at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School, has informed the school department that he will be leaving that role before the new school year starts, Superintendent Joe Casey said.

5) : The Eastern Bank branch at 441 Main St. was robbed on Friday afternoon by a man who passed a teller a note, according to scanner reports. Melrose Police believe the same man may be the person who robbed the Eastern Bank branch at 27 Melrose St. twice in the last two weeks, on July 6 and July 16. .

6) : Nice to know this came in handy. Our list of nearby fireworks displays for the Fourth came in at sixth.

7) : A Melrose Police officer climbed through the window of a moving car to avoid being dragged by the vehicle, according to police, after pulling that car over in the early morning hours last Friday. The driver of the car was arrested on charges of assault to murder; two counts of assault and battery on a police officer; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; and 12 other charges, mainly motor vehicle infractions.

8) : For our weekly Patch Picks column, which runs every Thursday, : what's your favorite hair salon in Melrose? Our Facebook Page buzzed with activity on this question, and in this article we compiled what you told us.

9) : The FA Project, a Melrose-based non-profit that supports those living with the debilitating disease Freidreich’s Ataxia, has partnered with Boston’s Best Cruises to raise funds for the cause. The company has pledged to donate a portion of its Harbor Cruise and Sunset Cruise ticket sales to the organization.

10) : A 54-year-old Melrose man was arrested on charges of a third OUI-alcohol offense and negligent operation of a motor vehicle after he allegedly crashed into a parked vehicle at 333 Washington St. Also in the log: an alleged Foodmaster meat thief was summonsed to court; and a bag containing marijuana was found in the Roosevelt School yard.