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Boston seeking election deadline changes following redistricting ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

The city is working to push back the deadline for council candidates to submit nomination papers, set now for May 23, in light of a federal judge’s decision that barred Boston from using its new redistricting map in the November election.A day after a U.S. District Court ruling sent councilors back to the drawing board, a city spokesperson said Boston was “reviewing options for filing deadlines and determining how it will address any resulting changes to district boundaries and treat nomination papers that have already been submitted.”That means the city will look to “extend timelines for filing nomination papers and otherwise modify processes to ensure that potential candidates for the office of district City Council have an opportunity to run as district lines are redrawn,” the spokesperson said. “Potential candidates should continue to file nomination papers at the Boston Elections Department.”The city spokesperson added, “The city is committed to a speedy and smooth resolu...

HS Lacrosse: Hot Hulett leads Duxbury boys past Cohasset

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

COHASSET — Duxbury’s Colin Hulett has been among a handful of lacrosse players statewide whose name keeps coming up.Hulett, up to his usual tricks again Tuesday, is hardly playing himself out of those talks. The attackman buried four goals, including the eventual game-winner midway through the third quarter, as the Dragons pulled away in the second half for a crucial 6-3 victory over nonleague foe Cohasset.“(Cohasset) came out swinging with a lot of intensity,” said Duxbury coach Chris Sweet. “We just had to match the intensity. The game was won on the ground balls, the loose balls, fifty-fifties.”The matchup between one of the top teams in the Div. 2 ranks and the program to beat in the Div. 4 field, Cohasset (11-2), got off to a flying start. Senior midfielder Charlie Donovan sniped a long range shot to provide the Skippers a 1-0 lead just 1:43 into play.Duxbury (11-3) answered quickly as Liam Goodwin tallied the equalizer 1:02 later. This trend would continue; Braeden and Colin H...

Quincy restoring ladder truck, reaching staffing level not seen since 1985, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

The Quincy Fire Department is restoring a ladder truck that had been mothballed for more than 33 years, a move that might seem mundane to the public but one officials say has been a longtime coming.Adding a fourth ladder truck means staffing will also increase, reaching a level the city has not seen since 1985, officials said Tuesday. The engine and four new firefighters are slated to start working July 1.Residents in the Hough’s Neck, Germantown, Adams Shore and Merrymount neighborhoods will see quicker response times, with firefighters showing up to scenes within six minutes, Fire Chief Joe Jackson said.The ladder truck will be stationed at the Hough’s Neck firehouse on the city’s southeastern peninsula, surrounded by Quincy Bay, Hingham Bay and Rock Island Cove.“There’s been a big hole down that end of the city with ladder coverage for a long, long time,” Jackson told the Herald. “This mayor, thank God he recognized that, and he finally did something about it.”Officials spe...

Newburyport pharmaceutical plant that exploded last week to be demolished Wednesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

Demolition must begin Wednesday at the Newburyport pharmaceutical plant that sustained heavy damage during a chemical explosion last week.Newburyport officials expect the company, Seqens, to begin tearing down the building’s addition, where the explosion occurred early Thursday, killing worker Jack O’Keefe, 62, of Methuen.Seqens has until 8 a.m. to commence demolition, a deadline the city gave the company earlier this week.A hired contractor on Tuesday resumed cleaning up the site on Opportunity Way, in an industrial park near Route 1. Windy conditions Monday caused the building’s walls to shift, halting progress for an afternoon.A large crane is supporting the building’s remains.Officials say they are following a “careful, methodical pace” because chemicals in large storage containers that have to be drained and removed from the property cannot come into contact with one another.The same day the explosion occurred, U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Seth Moulton wro...

Lowell man pleads guilty to $3.5M scheme to defraud people desperate to get out of timeshare contracts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

A Lowell man who created a series of California companies to milk unhappy timeshare customers out of $3.5 million through a cycle of lies and fraud has pleaded guilty to one count against him, setting him up for up to a 20-year stint in prison.Michael McDonagh, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court for the Middle District of California on Tuesday to one count of wire fraud, though the April 28, 2022, indictment alleged a total of 29 counts of wire fraud each against McDonagh and his four associates.The feds say that McDonagh, who is currently a resident of Lowell, was the ringleader and founder in a scheme in which he created numerous timeshare “exit” telemarketing companies in Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties in California that each lied to people desperate to get out of their timeshare agreements.“In truth, during the scheme, the co-schemers had no intention of relieving the timeshare owners of their timeshare obligations for a fixed fee, but rather intended to obtain as m...

Boston school safety issue up again at school committee, city council

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

School safety concerns are on the docket again at upcoming School Committee and city council hearings — following continued pressure from families to address incidents of on-campus violence and safety risks.“We want to support the school in making positive movement to have a better safety plan,” said David Searles, a local reverend and leaders of advocacy group Boston S.O.S. “We want there to be some substantial change that really makes a difference, not just trying to give a public façade that something’s been done.”The two scheduled meetings dealing with safety issues come as youth violence in the city rose starkly in 2022 and several high-profile safety incidents — including fights and attacks that have left students and at least one teacher hospitalized and a recent string of hospitalizations related to the consumption of pot edibles — have drawn a swell of concern among school communities.At Wednesday’s school committee meet...

Mattapan man identified as deadly shooting victim: Boston Police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

A 37-year-old Mattapan man has been identified as the victim of the Sunday night deadly shooting on Wildwood Street, according to Boston Police.Gavyn Henry was killed following the shooting in the area of 66 Wildwood St., in Mattapan, police said.Officers responded to the scene at around 8:32 p.m. on Sunday. Upon arrival, officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds.Both victims were transported to local hospitals, where Henry later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The second victim’s injuries were considered non-life threatening.Meanwhile Sunday night, a different man suffering from a gunshot wound was dropped off at a local hospital. The man was later pronounced dead. Detectives determined that the man was shot in the area of 381 Centre St., in Dorchester.Also, another shooting victim went to an area hospital Sunday night. The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries, and police believe that shooting occurred in the area of 35 Kingston St., in...

Biden: US-Mexico border will be 'chaotic for a while'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden predicted Tuesday that the U.S.-Mexico border would be “chaotic for a while" when pandemic-related restrictions end, as 550 active-duty troops began arriving and migrants weighed whether or when to cross. The restrictions have been in place since 2020, and allowed U.S. officials to quickly return migrants over the border. They are ending later this week and the U.S. is putting into place a set of new policies that will clamp down on illegal crossings while offering migrants a legal path to the United States if they apply online through a government app, have a sponsor and pass background checks. Biden said his administration was working to make the change orderly. “But it remains to be seen," he told reporters. "It's going to be chaotic for a while.” Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spoke for roughly an hour Tuesday to discuss the border. Mexico shares a 1,951-mile border with the United States, so the nation is key to the...

Planet Fitness offering free memberships to teens this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Planet Fitness is providing a way for teens to keep active this summer when gym class is not in session. The gym will be providing free memberships for teens as part of its High School Summer Pass Program.Starting May 15, kids from ages 14 to 19 can go to Planet Fitness for free once they sign up. The company says they want to help kids prioritize mental and physical well-being. Teenagers also have an opportunity to win scholarships with the program if they post a TikTok about their experience. Actor Scott Baio says he’s leaving California after 45 years Teens wanting to take advantage will need to pre-register online, then download the Planet Fitness app. If they're under 18, they'll need to sign up with a parent or guardian either online or at a Planet Fitness location.

Tunisia: 3 killed, 10 injured in attack near synagogue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:34 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian naval guard shot and killed a colleague and two civilians Tuesday as he tried to enter a synagogue on the island of Djerba during an annual Jewish pilgrimage, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said. The attacker was slain by security guards, and 10 people were injured.The civilians killed were French and Tunisian, the ministry said. It was not immediately clear if they were pilgrims attending ceremonies near the 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue.The injured include six security agents and four civilians, the ministry said.The assailant, a guard affiliated with the National Guard naval center in the town of Aghir on Djerba, first killed a colleague with his service weapon and then seized ammunition and headed toward the Ghriba synagogue, the ministry said.When he reached the site, he opened fire on security units stationed at the temple. The synagogue was locked down and those inside were kept secure while authorities investigate the motives for the attack...