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MBTA board is ‘failing riders,’ transit advocate says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

TransitMatters Executive Director Jarred Johnson tore into the MBTA Board of Directors, saying it was failing riders with the “hands-off approach” taken during a time of crisis for the agency.Johnson said during the recorded public comment period of Thursday’s MBTA board meeting that he understands the panel’s job is not easy, “but neither is being a T rider these days.”“This board is failing riders,” Johnson said. “The system is in crisis, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t know that by watching a board meeting.”He said it has been incredibly frustrating to read about elevator and escalator safety experts or staff in charge of hiring subway dispatchers appearing before the board, and learning that board members asked no questions — amid continued service cuts.Johnson also pointed to the public first learning of a federal investigation into the MBTA’s subway system through the media.In the past, Johnson said he defended this current MBTA board, saying that he understood the hours of live p...

Food insecurity on the rise across Massachusetts, no end in sight, providers say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

Food insecurity is quickly on the rise across the state, hitting a level that food providers say mirrors what they saw during the thick of the pandemic.A distribution at the Salvation Army Chelsea Corps Community Center had to shut down more than 2 hours early Thursday after employees and volunteers supplied all 1,200 food boxes they had on hand in less than 4 hours.The crew provided roughly 900 boxes worth five days of food, hygiene supplies and baby formula by noon. After running out of the bigger boxes, 300 families received the remaining smaller boxes, worth just two days of food.The 1,200 families served is what the Chelsea community center averaged daily in 2021, said Jeffrey Bailey, the Salvation Army’s director of social services. He connected the massive demand to inflation.“I’m a big boy, I love eggs, but even I can’t afford to go into the store and get eggs,” Bailey said. “This is no longer supplemental food we are giving. This is what they’re going to live off of for the...

Jacque Vaughn: Ben Simmons limited to individual practice, ‘hasn’t scripted’ with first or second group

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

Embattled Nets star Ben Simmons has been limited to individual on-court work in practice as he battles a combination of left knee and back soreness that has sidelined him since the NBA All-Star break.Simmons missed his 15th straight game due to what the team has deemed left knee/back soreness, watching from the sidelines during Brooklyn’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.Vaughn said for the first time since Simmons both received a platelet-rich plasma injection and had fluid drained from his knee during the All-Star break that Simmons has only practiced in an individual setting.“It is not with teammates, and so I’ll say that piece of it,” the head coach said ahead of tip-off against the Cavaliers on Thursday. “He hasn’t scripted with our group — first group, second group or anything of that nature.”Considering practice time between the Feb. 9 NBA Trade Deadline — when Vaughn finalized a starting lineup of Spence...

Boston COVID wastewater data keeps dropping, Massachusetts virus cases down 20%

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

Boston is continuing to report that COVID wastewater levels are dropping, as state health officials on Thursday reported a 20% decrease in new virus cases and falling hospitalizations.Data from the Boston Public Health Commission’s wastewater surveillance program shows that the number of COVID particles in the wastewater plunged 42% over the past two weeks.Six of the 11 neighborhood testing sites had rates that were below the citywide average of 407 viral RNA copies per milliliter: East Boston, South Boston, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Roslindale/West Roxbury.The neighborhoods above the virus wastewater average were Allston/Brighton, Charlestown, Back Bay, Mattapan, and Roxbury.Related ArticlesHealth | Gathering for St. Patrick’s Day? Boston health officials recommend wearing a mask as COVID cases go down Health | Maura Healey ending Massachusetts COVID-19 public-health emergency, vaccine mandate in May Health | Il...

Burglar takes Massachusetts State Police-issued rifle from locked cruiser in Malden

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

A thief working a Malden parking garage figured out quite a puzzle: how to steal a rifle secured in a mount of a locked State Police cruiser.A State Police spokesman confirmed that a rifle was stolen from one of the force’s cruisers sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning and that an investigation into the burglary is ongoing.What the agency will say is that its preliminary investigation indicates that the burglar entered the vehicle by force before stealing a department-issued patrol rifle that was “secured in a mount.”“At this time we have no indication of the rifle being used subsequent to its theft,” MSP spokesman Dave Procopio wrote in a statement.

Man accused of shooting teen in Boston arraigned on federal charges

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

The gang member accused of gunning down a Boston teenager in broad daylight now has been indicted in his federal case, advancing those proceedings.Csean “Shizz” Skerritt, 34, faces a federal charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, the grand jury also gave the feds the go-ahead to seize anything he gained from his alleged drug-dealing.This is an incremental change for the federal case against Skerritt, who the G-men already had charged by criminal complaint last month with the same count of dealing the powerful opioid fentanyl.This moves the case along, as the feds need a grand-jury indictment to continue prosecution of any felony charge. He’d been charged by complaint last month, with an FBI agent filing an affidavit saying that Skerritt had sold about 55 grams of the drug to a confidential informant.This case, however, isn’t really why the people of Boston have seen Skerritt’s face on the news va...

MBTA explores low-income fare program, estimates revenue loss

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

The MBTA expects to be able to implement a low-income fare program in 12 months, should the $5 million start-up cost included in the governor’s state budget proposal make it through the legislative process.Roughly 60,000 additional riders between the ages of 26-64, with incomes  at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, are expected to become eligible for half-price fares through this program, according to a presentation shared at Thursday’s Board of Directors meeting.“The implementation of a low-income fare program is a significant and complex project with a lot of different moving pieces,” said Steven Povich, MBTA director of fare policy and analytics.Healey, when presenting her state budget earlier this month, characterized means-tested fares as an equity initiative, saying the $5 million investment would provide start-up costs to implement such a program.Those funds would go toward building an online application, hiring additional staff, conducting the standard fare change ...

Surge in eating disorders spurs state legislative action

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Stranded at home amid pandemic lockdowns in spring 2020, Emma Warford stumbled down a social media rabbit hole in her quest to get in shape. Viral 28-day fitness challenges. YouTubers promising “hourglass abs.” Diet videos where slim-stomached influencers peddled calorie-tracking apps.Warford, then a 15-year-old starting volleyball player, bought a food scale and began replacing meals with energy drinks hawked by social media stars. Soon, her calorie cutting became a compulsion. By season’s end, she began volleyball games benched, too feeble to start. A year into the pandemic, her heart rate slowed and she was rushed to the hospital.Stories like Warford’s are why lawmakers in Colorado, California, Texas, New York and elsewhere are taking big, legislative swings at the eating disorder crisis. Warford, who’s now in recovery after two years of treatment, is among nearly 30 million Americans — about the population of Texas — who will struggle with an eating disorder ...

Senate Ethics admonishes Graham for campaign solicitations

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Ethics Committee is admonishing South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for soliciting campaign contributions inside a federal building after a Nov. 2022 Fox News interview in which he asked viewers to donate to a GOP candidate. Graham violated Senate rules and standards of conduct because he was in a Senate office building when he did the interview, the leaders of the ethics panel said in a rare public letter released on Thursday. “The public must feel confident that Members use public resources only for official actions in the best interests of the United States, not for partisan political activity,” wrote Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Chris Coons, D-Del., and Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, the panel’s Republican vice chairman. “Your actions failed to uphold that standard, resulting in harm to the public trust and confidence in the United States Senate. You are hereby admonished.” Coons and Lankford wrote that Graham solicited campaign contributions...

Appeal Court hears trucker convicted of killing Edmonton woman wants new trial

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:24:00 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta’s Court of Appeal heard arguments Thursday that a former Ontario truck driver should be tried for a third time in the 2011 death of an Indigenous woman.Bradley Barton, 55, was sentenced to 12 1/2 years for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman who bled to death in a bathtub at the Yellowhead Inn in Edmonton.Peter Sankoff, one of Barton’s lawyers, said the exclusion of some evidence and the question of consent should warrant a new trial.Sankoff said Barton was unlawfully detained for an exceptionally long period of time.“You try spending 6 1/2 hours in police custody,” Sankoff told reporters outside the courthouse. “That is not a pleasant time no matter how many coffees they bring you. You’re not allowed to leave. That’s the problem.”During the hearing, Sankoff referred to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.“Everyone has rights,” he said. “To deny someone their rights just...