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Bottle redemption law expansion also includes higher deposit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

Forty years after the state added a five-cent deposit on some plastic bottles in order to encourage recycling, climate advocates say it’s “the right moment” to expand state’s bottle redemption law.Proposals before the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy would increase the bottle deposit from its current five cents to 10 cents and add more types of beverage containers to the program, putting a deposit on water bottles, vitamin drinks, nips and bottles for other drinks that weren’t contemplated when the initial law was adopted in 1982.Efforts to update this bill have failed in the Legislature for years, and voters in 2014 shot down a ballot question to tack the five-cent bottle deposit onto drinks besides beer and soda.Without success in expanding the deposit, advocates told lawmakers at two Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy hearings Wednesday (as House and Senat...

Police: Man charged with DUI after hitting police cruiser head-on in Manchester, NH

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

A man allegedly driving under the influence struck a police cruiser in Manchester, New Hampshire Saturday night, police said.The police officer in the vehicle was forced to crawl out of the passenger side of her cruiser after it was hit by 60-year-old Craig Young of Weare, who was charged with a DUI.Around 7 p.m., the officer was blocking off a road in the area of 163 South Mammoth Road to keep traffic away from downed power lines. Around 9 p.m., while the cruiser had the emergency lights activated, Young’s Toyota Landcruiser struck the cruiser on the driver’s side.The officer was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and Young was not injured.

Trump leaves Washington courthouse after pleading not guilty to federal charges. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

Follow along for live updates as Donald Trump appears in federal court Thursday after being indicted by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It’s the third criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House. — Here’s a breakdown of the sprawling election indictment— Trump lawyer hints at a First Amendment defense in the Jan. 6 case— Republicans are remaining silent about the latest charges against Trump— The judge assigned to Trump’s case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters— Here’s where the various cases involving Trump standTRUMP LEAVES COURTHOUSETrump has left Washington’s federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to federal conspiracy charges alleging a plot to overturn the 2020 election in a bid to cling to power. Trump entered his plea in the same courthouse where more than 1,000 of his supporters have been charge...

Massachusetts state budget proposes limit on prices for commissary items in prisons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

Prisons, correctional facilities, and contractors working with those facilities in Massachusetts would be barred from charging incarcerated people more than 3% of the purchase cost for commissary items under a policy included in the state’s pending fiscal 2024 budget.Advocates in support of the measure said incarcerated people in Massachusetts are often forced to pay for basic necessities like food and hygiene products at commissaries. But not everyone is on board with the plan, which includes language that would bar state and county facilities from receiving commissions or other financial incentives in any contract with a seller, supplier, or vendor for commissary items.“While the sheriffs recognize the concern regarding commissary commissions, eliminating or reducing these revenues without a separate funding stream would have a significant if not devastating effect on the current programming and re-entry services dedicated to improving successful outcomes for all of the just...

Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Wrigley Field got lights and why Cubs fans had to wait past 8/8/88 to raise ‘W’ flag

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

Maybe Charlotte Newfeld prayed for rain.Two weeks before the Chicago Cubs were set to play their first game under Wrigley Field’s $5 million permanent lighting system, Newfeld stood outside the stadium during a Cubs Care fundraiser, for which the lights had been switched on. As the president of Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine (CUBS), she opposed the Cubs playing homes game at night.Then she said something prophetic: “It may rain Aug. 8.”It did.CUBS wasn’t successful in stopping nighttime baseball from coming to the North Side forever. Mother Nature was — for one day. Weather was a key factor 35 years ago when the Cubs became the last major league team to add lights to its home field.Wrigley Field had hosted events after dark previously — they just weren’t Major League Baseball games. Jim Londos pinned Ed “Strangler” Lewis for the world heavyweight wrestling championship on Sept. 20, 1934, preceding MLB’s first nigh...

MBTA agreement with union gets unanimous approval from Board of Directors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

To the eventual applause of those in the room, the MBTA Board of Directors unanimously accepted an agreement between the T  the union representing frontline workers for a pay hike.The contract between the state’s beleaguered transportation system and Carmen’s Local 589 — the union representing the T’s maintenance workers, bus drivers, train drivers, and other mostly non-management employees — will provide an 18% wage increase over the next four years while codifying a number of attraction and retention measures, such as sign-on bonuses and sick leave, and offers better pay progression for new hires.“The four-year contract is going to give the agency and our workforce long-term stability and that’s very important to us as we look forward to the future here, but also to immediate needs,” MBTA General Manager Philip Eng told the Board before their vote.Coming in at a cost of about $55 million, the new contract will be paid for as time advances, Eng told the Board, with the first ...

Carlos Carrasco allows 6 ER in start, Mets get swept by Royals after 9-2 loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

KANSAS CITY — This time last week, the Mets were still clinging to hope that they would keep the 2023 group together and have a shot at a run. But if there was ever a series that validated the front office’s decision to sell at the trade deadline, it was this one.The Mets (50-58) were swept by the Kansas City Royals on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium in a 9-2 loss. They were defeated by the owners of the league’s second-worst record for the second game in a row.Sure, the Mets were playing with a depleted roster, but there were several regulars in the lineup and a veteran on the mound in Carlos Carrasco. It was more of the same from Carrasco, who has battled through bone spurs and ineffectiveness all season.The right-hander allowed six earned runs on eight hits over six innings, walking one and striking out none. He pitched into the seventh inning but failed to get an out and was chased from the game after Drew Waters drove a three-run shot into the right field bleache...

Hot Property: Summer fun in Falmouth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

Location, location, location matters on Cape Cod, too, and 149 Clinton Avenue in Falmouth captures the essence of Cape Cod living.Nestled in Falmouth Village’s coveted Belvidere Plains neighborhood, the home occupies a prime corner lot between downtown Falmouth Village, Surf Drive Beach, and Falmouth Harbor. Spend the day at the beach, hop on your bike and cruise down the Shining Sea Bikeway, and end your perfect summer days with dinner at one of the many local downtown eateries.The four-bedroom, three-bath shingle-style home dates to 1870 and has been lovingly maintained and updated throughout the years without losing that warm and familiar coastal magic.Step inside and be captivated by the serene sunroom and the open dining and family room area with a wood-burning fireplace offering cozy comfort. A first-floor bedroom adds convenience. Upstairs, discover a spacious ensuite primary bedroom and two additional bedrooms sharing a full bath, providing ample space for relaxation a...

Mets Notebook: Starling Marte hoping to be activated in Baltimore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

KANSAS CITY — Starling Marte is nearly ready to be activated off the injured list.The right fielder has been with the team in Kansas City this week working out. He’s been taking swings in the cages and running the bases. Marte also took batting practice on the field Thursday ahead of the Mets’ series finale against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.The hope is that he’s ready to play Friday when the Mets start a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, the AL’s best team. However, it’s still tentative, given he’s still having migraine headaches.“Compared to previous weeks, I feel a lot better,” Marte said through a translator Thursday. “I’ve been working to try to get better and, God willing, I’m able to continue to stay healthy and be on the right track so I can be out there on the field.”Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list July 20, when he was having migraines on back-to-back...

Illegal immigrant who tried to scam Westport couple out of $6,000 let off too easy, Bristol County DA says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:42 GMT

Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III is ticked off at a Fall River judge who set a bail he says is “clearly too low” for a 28-year-old illegal immigrant who allegedly tried to scam a Westport couple out of $6,000.Assistant District Attorney Nicole Cheney pressed Judge Thomas Barrett to hold Hector Arias-Guzman, of Boston, in jail on $25,000 cash bail during an arraignment earlier this week on attempted larceny and conspiracy charges.Arias-Guzman, however, has been free since he immediately posted a $4,000 cash bail that Barrett set during the Tuesday court appearance. Customs and Border Protection apprehended the defendant in January for entering the United States illegally via the Del Rio area of Texas, according to Quinn’s office.“The amount of cash bail set in this case is clearly too low,” Quinn said in a release yesterday. “The defendant entered the country illegally in January and while residing here in Massachusetts is alleged to have used deception and manipulation to ...