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Federal judge won’t rule on Boston’s new redistricting map

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

The federal judge who deemed the city’s old redistricting map unconstitutional said there’s no need for her to weigh in on the new voting lines.U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris, did, however, urge both sides to quickly resolve the lawsuit that resulted in her tossing the first map approved by the Boston City Council last fall, to avoid a disruption to the Sept. 12 preliminary election.“It’s important to bring some closure to this, and rebuild some trust, and move forward in the democratic process,” Saris said at a Thursday status hearing.She said the purpose of the day’s hearing was to “clear the air,” and stated outright that she had no intention to rule on anything.“There is, in fact, a serious question in my mind as to whether the case is moot,” Saris said. “The original complaint only addresses the old map. The City Council has adopted a new map, and with the possible exception of a request for attorneys’ fees, I don’t see anything active with respect to the old case.”Saris...

Breaking down the Chicago Bears’ growing number of options in their stadium search

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

Since the Chicago Bears hit a financial roadblock in their proposed move to Arlington Heights, other municipalities have been vying in a sort of roulette to attract — or in Chicago’s case, keep — the team.Naperville, Rockford, Chicago and, most recently, Waukegan have placed themselves in the running to land the white whale of the NFL — though some officials concede the team may be using them for leverage in negotiations with Arlington Heights.The franchise, a founding member of the league, valued at $5.8 billion by Forbes, is looking for a new home. Team officials hadn’t been planning an immediate move from Chicago’s Soldier Field until Arlington International Racecourse went up for sale in 2021. They jumped at the chance and closed the deal to buy the property for $197 million this year.But Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi raised the valuation of the 326-acre property to nearly the sale price, which would have quadrupled the taxes to about $16 m...

Massachusetts firefighters heading to Quebec to battle wildfires, smoke from fires has impacted East Coast

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

Nearly a dozen state wildland firefighters are heading to Quebec to battle some of the more than 124 wildfires that have burned since the start of June.The out-of-control wildfires have wreaked havoc on Canada, and the smoke from the wildfires has impacted the air quality across Massachusetts and along the East Coast.Gov. Maura Healey and other officials on Thursday sent off the 11 firefighters at the state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Bureau of Forestry and Fire Control headquarters in Carlisle.“Over the last several years we have seen the impacts of the climate crisis here at home and around the world, in the forms of extreme weather and increasingly severe wildfires that continue to ravage our forests,” Healey said.“We are proud of these 11 Massachusetts wildland firefighters who are heading up to assist our Canadian partners in battling these intense wildfires,” the governor added.Related ArticlesLocal News | Massachusetts ...

Crime Briefs: Taunton mayor’s daughter missing from Ohio rehab facility; Feds: former Bosnian prison guard lied about his past to get US citizenship

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

The 18-year-old daughter of Taunton’s mayor has disappeared from an Ohio rehab facility and may be presenting herself under an alias.“Ted and I are devastated and extremely worried about her safety and well being,” Shaunna O’Connell posted on her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.“We are working with the facility, police and missing persons to find her as soon as possible to bring her home. We are praying for Riley’s safe return. Please keep Riley in your thoughts and prayers,” the one-time GOP state rep added.O’Connell said that her daughter, Riley O’Connell, went missing the night before from the Evoke Wellness, a facility in Ohio that according to its website offers “medical detox and residential treatment programs. She was last seen wearing red shorts, a white tank top and no shoes, according to a wanted poster shared by the mayor.Riley O’Connell is 18 years old, 130 pounds, 5-foot-5, with long blonde hair with red tips and may be going by the aliases “Tiffany Rose” ...

Landon Thome savors Nazareth’s state title. Having his dad, Jim Thome, in the dugout ‘makes it even better.’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

Shortly after Nazareth won its second straight Class 3A state title on June 10, freshman second baseman Landon Thome posed for photos with the championship trophy.Joining him was a very special assistant coach: his father, Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who played for the Chicago White Sox from 2006 to 2009. They soaked in the moment together.“That was great,” Landon Thome said. “Getting to experience this with him makes it even better. It’s something that really hit me when it happened. Not many people get to have their dad with them throughout their baseball lives, so it’s really cool.”The 2023 season was certainly an amazing journey for the Thomes.Landon Thome cracked the starting lineup and was a significant contributor for the Roadrunners, who beat Grayslake Central 7-2 in the Class 3A state championship game at Duly Health & Care Field in Joliet.Jim Thome, meanwhile, got to be part of it all as an assistant.“I never won a state title,...

Florida executes Duane Owen, convicted in rapes and murders in Boca and Delray

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

STARKE — Duane Owen was executed Thursday for killing a 14-year-old babysitter and a 38-year-old mother of two in separate attacks months apart in 1984 while children were sleeping in the homes he targeted in Palm Beach County.Owen was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. One of Florida’s longest-held death row inmates, Owen was 23 at the time of the attacks and 62 when he was executed.He was sentenced to death for the March 24, 1984, rape and stabbing attack on Karen Slattery, 14, in Delray Beach and for the rape and killing of Georgianna Worden, 38, in May 1984, in Boca Raton.Owen attacked two other women in Palm Beach County who survived. All four attacks occurred just before and after Owen’s 23rd birthday. Of the more than 290 people on Florida’s death row, Owen was one of the longest held there.Besides his death sentences, he also received six life sentences.Owen awoke at 7 a.m. Thursday and recei...

Chicago White Sox 3B Yoán Moncada returns to the the injured list with lower back inflammation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

Yoán Moncada’s back has landed him back on the injured list.The Chicago White Sox placed the third baseman on the 10-day IL with lower back inflammation, the team announced Thursday. Moncada previously was on the IL from April 11-May 12 with lower back soreness.Moncada has a .232/.279/.370 slash line with eight doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs in 38 games. He was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with manager Pedro Grifol saying before the game at Dodger Stadium they were “giving him the day” and that the back was “going to be an ongoing thing.”“We’ll see how we move forward on that and take care of that,” Grifol said Wednesday. Jake Burger started at third and homered twice in the 8-4 victory.Moncada’s IL stint is retroactive to Wednesday. In Thursday’s corresponding move, the Sox selected the contract of infielder Zach Remillard from Triple-A Charlotte.A 10th-round pick by the Sox in 2016 ...

Column: Could the Chicago Bears choose your suburb as their new home? 20 more sites for a potential stadium.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

Your suburb could be home to a professional football team, making it the envy of all your neighbors.Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren is accepting applications.Act now before this offer expires.The Bears’ pursuit of a new state-of-the-art stadium to replace Soldier Field has gone off the rails since Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi called an audible, significantly raising the valuation of the Arlington Park property the McCaskey family purchased for $197 million.Naperville officials quickly pounced on the fumble, holding two meetings with the Bears about the possibility of moving to their leafy suburb 40 minutes west of downtown Chicago. Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor then wrote Warren proposing a lakefront stadium there, and a Rockford politician chimed in to lobby for his town.Everyone wants to be associated with the Bears.To no one’s surprise, the Bears, estimated by Forbes to be worth $5.8 billion, appear to be using the towns’ interest to help leverage a...

Massachusetts shark season is ramping up: Seal with shark bite washes up on North Shore beach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

While much of the local shark focus is centered along Cape Cod, researchers want to remind people that sharks hunt for seals all along the state’s coast — as seen in a recent confirmed shark sighting.A seal with a shark bite washed up dead on a North Shore beach on Wednesday, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app. The dead prey was reported at Beverly’s West Beach.This doesn’t happen too often along the North Shore, but scientists get these reports from the north of Boston region every year, according to shark researcher John Chisholm.“They’re not super common, but they do happen every year,” Chisholm, who runs the MA Sharks Twitter account and confirms shark sightings for the Sharktivity app, told the Herald.“Most of the focus is on Cape Cod, but these sharks can show up everywhere,” he added. “They travel all along the coast.”In addition to this dead seal from a shark bite in Beve...

SDPD officer hit by vehicle in Pacific Beach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego Police Department officer was struck by a vehicle Thursday in the Pacific Beach area, authorities said.The crash occurred at Garnet Avenue and Kendall Street, the SDPD watch commander confirmed with FOX 5 at 3:45 p.m. Bartender fighting for life after hit-and-run while walking to work According to police, the officer was hit from behind by the vehicle.The status of the officer is unknown at this time.No other details were released about the incident.Check back for updates on this developing story.