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MassDOT addresses toxic lead paint chips falling from Tobin Bridge in Chelsea

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Environmental advocates in Chelsea say they are seeing less toxic lead paint chips fall to the ground from the Tobin Bridge due to mitigation efforts the Massachusetts Department of Transportation put into place after hearing calls for action.A temporary netting, installed in July, has been catching chips, and frequent vacuuming has collected the flakes that fall to the ground. Inspections are also being conducted weekly.These strategies are in place as MassDOT has its eyes on a much larger project that would clean the 2-mile bridge, which carries traffic over the Mystic River between Boston and Chelsea, and remove its decades-old paint with new coatings.The project, estimated to last up to four years and cost $127.9 million, would also repair more than 75-year-old bridge’s steel and concrete.MassDOT’s Capital Programs Committee on Wednesday approved moving the project to the agency’s Board of Directors, which is scheduled to meet next week.GreenRoots, a community-based environmenta...

Advocates push Massachusetts lawmakers to act on tax cuts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

A new report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation points to huge post-pandemic jumps in state revenue before urging the Legislature to use the time left in the year to finally get their act together on tax cuts.A pair of tax reform bills were passed by either chamber long before lawmakers went home for their August recess, but the conference committee working to merge the differing proposals has yet to show any sign lawmakers are moving closer to a compromised piece of legislation.Last year, a move to cut taxes by then-Gov. Charlie Baker was stopped short in the same committee.According to the MTF, the waiting routine is getting kind of old.“Tax relief has been at the top of the Beacon Hill agenda for 20 months since Governor Baker kicked off discussions with his proposal in January of last year. In that time, the plan has been expanded and improved in light of increasing competitiveness and cost concerns that pose a real threat to the state’s economic outlook,” the group wrote...

Battenfeld: Boston voters resoundingly reject unethical behavior [+election chart]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Voters in Boston resoundingly rejected two scandal-scarred City Council candidates but not necessarily the super woke progressive policies they espoused.What the preliminary election showed was that voters will tolerate some extreme left positions but not repeated above-the-law behavior exhibited by defeated incumbents Kendra Lara and Ricardo Arroyo.Lara and Arroyo, both proudly progressive, made history Tuesday night as the first incumbents toppled in a city preliminary election in four decades – not an easy feat.But it was their personal behavior that sank them, not their devotion to bike lanes, a fossil fuel ban and racial equity.Boston, one of the bluest and most reliably liberal cities in the country, didn’t suddenly become un-woke overnight. This was not a realignment.This was also not a repudiation of liberal Mayor Michelle Wu – in fact she showed her endorsement power by helping Enrique Pepen win one of the two finalist slots in District 5.Pepen was the leading vote-getter i...

Former suburban Detroit prosecutor gets no additional jail time in sentence on corruption charges

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A former Detroit-area prosecutor will serve no additional time behind bars after he was sentenced Wednesday on corruption charges that he embezzled more than $600,000 from drug and drunken driving forfeiture funds.A Michigan State Police investigation found former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith used the funds to throw parties, buy gifts and install a personal home security system.Smith, 56, accepted a plea bargain from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in which pleaded guilty to official misconduct, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit forgery while seven other counts against him were dropped. Smith apologized in court “for spending these drunk driving forfeiture funds as I did.” This sentence was ordered to be served concurrently with a 21-month federal sentence Smith already has served after pleading guilty to attempting to obstruct justice. Smith also was sentenced to four years of probation, a fine of $8,000, forfeiture of his pub...

Delaware man gets 7 1/2-year federal term in carjacking of congresswoman’s SUV in Philadelphia

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Delaware man has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in federal prison in the carjacking of a U.S. congresswoman’s sport utility vehicle in a Philadelphia park almost two years ago.Josiah Brown, 21, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, was walking to her parked car after a meeting in south Philadelphia’s FDR Park shortly before 3 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2021, when Brown and another person demanded her keys, police said. She handed them over, and one drove off in the car while the other followed in a dark sport utility vehicle, police said.Brown, then 19, said he didn’t know who the congresswoman was and his weapon was unloaded. He also didn’t know that the vehicle had a tracker that quickly led authorities to his Wilmington home. He and four juveniles were arrested at nearby Christiana Fashion Center in Newark, Delaware, about 45 miles (74 kilometers) from Phila...

B.C. aware of dike problems before destructive flooding in 2021, documents show

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Officials with the British Columbia government and the City of Merritt were aware of significant problems with dikes for several years before a series of atmospheric rivers flooded the community, documents released through a freedom of information request show.The documents obtained by the B.C. office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives show a registered professional engineer found numerous problems in 2018 with dikes protecting the community in the province’s southern Interior. The engineer, Aaron Hahn with the B.C.-based consulting company Interior Dams, reiterated the same concerns in2019, 2020and in June 2021, just five months before the flooding that forced more than 7,000 people out of their homes.Dike maintenance is the responsibility of local authorities, but the B.C. government provides regulatory oversight through the Ministry of Forests.At a news conference about B.C.’s wildfire, drought and flood conditions Wednesday, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston...

A timeline of the E. coli outbreak linked to Calgary daycares and a central kitchen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

CALGARY — More than 300 people, mostly children, have been infected in an E. coli outbreak linked to 11 daycares in Calgary. Twenty-one children are in hospital. Seven are on dialysis, which is a treatment for kidney failure. Here’s a timeline of key developments in the outbreak:Aug. 31 to Sept. 3: Patients start showing up with gastrointestinal illnesses at various hospitals across Calgary, including Alberta Children’s Hospital. Symptoms of E. coli typically appear three to four days after exposure, but can appear as early as one day after exposure to more than a week later.Some parents believe their children were infected on or around Aug. 29. Meatloaf, fresh vegetables and fruit are listed on the online menu for that day.Sept. 3: Fueling Brains says on its website that it has been notified by Alberta Health Services of a potential E. coli outbreak and is working with health officials to investigate the source. It says it has sent a note to families and closed its dayc...

‘Needle in a haystack’: Experts say finding daycare E. coli outbreak source complex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

CALGARY — Public health investigators and scientists in Alberta are working like detectives — interviewing people, gathering evidence and waiting for lab test results — to find out what caused a massive E. coli outbreak at several daycares.“Just like a criminal investigation, the idea is the same,” said Siyun Wang, an associate professor of food safety engineering at the University of British Columbia.“If you find the same DNA fingerprinting in the crime scene and on the suspect, then that’s the most straightforward link — the smoking gun.”But Wang and other experts say definitive answers may be hard to come by.As of Wednesday, there have been 310 lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection since the outbreak at 11 Calgary daycares was declared Sept. 4.Twenty-one children were still in hospital, with 20 having hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication affecting the blood and kidneys. Seven patients were on dialysis at Alberta Children’s Hospita...

Bonnie Crombie to step away from mayoral duties in October to focus on Liberal leadership bid

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie will take a leave of absence from her municipal duties this fall to focus on her bid to become the next leader of the Ontario Liberals.Crombie’s office confirmed with CityNews that the leave will begin on Oct. 7, with council to appoint an interim mayor.Crombie has not yet issued a statement on the matter.She officially launched her campaign for the leadership in June after being endorsed by Don Valley West MPP Stephanie Bowman.“We need to renew our commitment with Ontarians that the Ontario Liberal Party is representative of the whole province, from our northern and rural communities to our small towns and big cities,” Crombie said when announcing her run.“We need to rebuild our party’s aging infrastructure and modernize it to compete in today’s fast-paced political environment. That includes raising the money necessary to compete head-to-head with the other parties.”At the time, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it would be a “slap in the face” ...

Woman found guilty of throwing sons into Louisiana lake

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A woman was found guilty Wednesday of throwing her sons into a Louisiana lake, killing a 10-month-old and injuring the older child, authorities said.Jurors deliberated about two hours before returning unanimous verdicts against Ureka Rochelle Black, 34, of Shreveport, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office said.Black was charged with murder and attempted murder after she threw the 10-month-old and her older son, then 5, into Cross Lake on Sept. 24, 2021.The infant drowned. First responders rescued the other child, who told authorities his mother was responsible, authorities said. She was arrested at a rest stop in Texas near Louisiana, prosecutors said. Black, who served as her own attorney, faces a mandatory life term in prison upon sentencing on Sept. 28 before state District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.The Associated Press