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Disconnected: Eurocrats go unlisted in EU phone book

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

The faceless bureaucrats slaving away on EU legislative proposals are now nameless, too.Under a new policy, the European Commission has removed the names of lower-level staff from the EU WhoisWho directory. The online database used to have email addresses and phone numbers for officials up and down the ranks of the EU executive. But that apparently made them too easy prey for those seeking to influence EU policy. So now only their bosses — heads of unit and above — will be included in the public-facing directory.Lobbyists are not pleased.Removing contact information for the Commission’s worker bees “will make the work of those in public affairs more difficult, represent a setback for transparency and lead to a more opaque EU decision-making process,” said Emma Brown, vice president of the Society of European Affairs Professionals, a Brussels lobby for Brussels lobbyists.  The Qatargate bribery scandal in the European Parliament and revelations about a top Commission official’s ...

UK parliament’s elite police unit received hundreds of complaints

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

LONDON — The elite Metropolitan Police unit that provides U.K. lawmakers and diplomats with armed protection has received hundreds of complaints about the conduct of its officers in the last three years. In response to a freedom of information request by POLITICO, the Met said officers from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) unit had received 439 complaints in 2020, 2021 and 2022, including a total of 264 by members of the public. The unit has been in the spotlight since one of its officers, Wayne Couzens, was convicted of raping and murdering Sarah Everard in 2021, and another serial rapist, David Carrick, was jailed earlier this year. It comes after a review of the wider force found it was institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, with the PaDP singled out for particular condemnation. A separate review of the unit launched in 2021 and led by former West Yorkshire Police Chief Dee Collins is ongoing. The Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Uni...

Revenue, Convenience Expected As Temporary Plates Law Kicks In

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

Under the terms of a new law, Massachusetts car dealerships and sellers can now start issuing temporary registration plates to out-of-state residents who purchase vehicles here. Rep. Smitty Pignatelli of Lenox, who co-filed the original version of a bill former Gov. Charlie Baker signed on his way out the door on Jan. 5, said the Registry of Motor Vehicles made a new “non-resident short-term registration transaction” available for the first time Wednesday. By allowing dealerships to issue temporary registrations for buyers who live in other states, drivers can take their vehicles home off the lot rather than wait for delivery. That will save dealerships the cost of delivery and ensure that the sales tax revenue flows to Massachusetts, not to a buyer’s home state, Pignatelli said. “I am very pleased at the RMV’s decision to begin the process of issuing temp tags,” Pignatelli said in a press release. “Not only will these changes ease the proce...

Former Keolis employee accused of stealing over $8M meant to operate MBTA Commuter Rail system

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

A former Keolis employee is facing federal charges in connection with a scheme to defraud the company of over $8 million meant for MBTA Commuter rail repairs, according to U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins.John P. Pigsley, 58, was indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of tax evasion, one count of filing a false tax return and four counts of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. Pigsley was arrested Wednesday morning and is set to appear in federal court in Boston at 1:45 p.m. will appear in federal court in Boston at 1:45 p.m. Also charged was 69-year-old John Rafferty of Hale’s Location, N.H., who agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.“There is perhaps no single state agency that impacts the daily lives of the millions of people who live and work in the greater Boston area more than the MBTA,” Rollins said in a statement. “Over the...

Gaming Company Wants Permission To Take Marathon Wagers

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

The Boston Marathon will bring thousands of runners and spectators together along its historic 26.2-mile course from Hopkinton to Boylston Street on April 17 for its 127th running, and a sports betting company headquartered on just the other side of Copley Square from the finish line is asking state regulators to let people bet on it legally for the first time. “Due to its traditions, duration, and qualification-based entry system, the Boston Marathon has established itself as the premier event in the sport of road racing. The Boston Marathon was originally a local event, but its fame and status have attracted runners from all over the world,” Boston-based DraftKings wrote in a request that the Mass. Gaming Commission is expected to hear more about at its meeting Thursday. The meeting agenda includes a potential vote on the request to add the Boston Marathon to the catalog of events approved for wagering in Massachusetts. DraftKings told the commission in a request to ad...

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill has message for Chiefs when he faces former team — and has retirement year in sight

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to visit the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 season, and that means Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill will play against his former team, with which he won a Super Bowl and earned six Pro Bowls.Hill had a message for the Chiefs in an interview with a Kansas City radio station released Tuesday night.“Chiefs Kingdom, when the Miami Dolphins come to Arrowhead Stadium this year, guess what we’re going to do,” Hill proclaimed before wrapping up an interview with Sports Radio 810 WHB. “I hate to say it, man. I hate to throw up the peace sign against y’all. I hate to do it. But guess what. I’m going to be y’all worst enemy that day. I’m going to be y’all worst enemy that day.”The peace sign is Hill’s patented taunt when he speeds away from opposing defenses for a long touchdown. Starting it in Kansas City, he kept it going with the Dolphins in 2022.Hill also plans to use his familiarity with p...

Does online therapy actually work?

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

People with mental health concerns now have more options than ever for how they receive treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted psychotherapists to open new avenues for care, from video sessions to text-based counseling. And in 2023, many therapists have returned to their offices to see clients who prefer in-person sessions.Anyone who is experiencing psychological challenges has plenty of company. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to wane in February, some 32.3% of American adults were experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to health policy nonprofit KFF’s analysis of federal data. These ills are even more common among young people, including about half (49.9%) of those ages 18 to 24.The expansion of therapy settings does complicate your decision about how to get therapy. So here’s a briefing to help you or a loved one find the optimal path to improved mental health.Online therapy is as effective as in person for many issuesThe first thing to know is ...

City Councilor Kenzie Bok tapped to lead Boston Housing Authority

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

City Councilor Kenzie Bok will become the new leader of the Boston Housing Authority, a role she’ll begin to transition into next month, creating a vacancy in the District 8 seat, Mayor Michelle Wu announced.Bok will officially take the reins of the public agency charged with providing affordable housing to more than 62,000 Boston residents later this summer, when current Administrator Kate Bennett steps down.“The Boston Housing Authority has been a lifeline for generations of Boston families, and in this moment of housing crisis, the BHA must be a model for housing as health, safety, opportunity and community,” Wu said in a statement.“Kenzie brings a deep commitment to our BHA communities along with an expansive vision of how public housing should anchor our neighborhoods and city.”Bok, 33, was the senior advisor for policy and planning at BHA, before being elected to represent District 8 on the City Council in 2019. She spearheaded BHA’s efforts to vary the subsidy amount of...

Former SDPD detective pleads guilty to running illicit massage businesses

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A former San Diego Police Department detective, along with his co-defendants, each pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with a years-long operation involving five illicit massage businesses.According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Peter Griffin, 78, who left the police department in 2002, was connected to a scheme that exploited woman to engage in commercial sexual services under the guise of offering massages. National City repeals decades-old ban on cruising Griffin, along with Kyung Sook Hernandez, 58, Yu Hong Tan, 56, and Yoo Jin Ott, 46, owned and operated Genie Oriental Spa, Felicita Spa, Blue Green Spa, Maple Spa and Massage W Spa between 2013 and August 2022, officials said. The massage businesses were located in the San Diego area and in Tempe, Arizona.The DOJ says the defendants were recruiting and employing women to perform commercial sexual services in the businesses while benefiting financially from the illegal enterprises.The defendants were report...

Complaints about telecommunications companies increase as Rogers outage top of mind

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:12:39 GMT

TORONTO — Complaints about Canada’s telecommunications companies were up 12 per cent from a year ago, while a service outage at Rogers Communications last summer helped make the company the most complained-about provider for the first time, according to a new report.The mid-year report by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services’ (CCTS) found Rogers led the way with 17.4 per cent of all complaints. The report tallied complaints about 144 companies received from Aug. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31. Nearly 7,500 complaints were accepted, of which 88 per cent were resolved.Rogers was the subject of 1,294 complaints, as its total for the six-month period rose 29 per cent compared with a year earlier.The number of complaints by Rogers customers about complete loss of service issues almost doubled, largely driven by the 187 complaints accepted by the CCTS related to the company’s outage on July 8 and dissatisfaction with the subsequent compensation it offered.Ro...