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Healey’s 43-year-old high court pick has never been a judge

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court nominee Elizabeth “Bessie” Dewar is not a judge, has never been a judge, and is too young for her age to go without mention or discussion, several members of the Governor’s Council told the high court nominee.Despite those qualifications, during a hearing on her appointment to the state’s top judicial body held on Wednesday, Dewar’s remarkable career as an attorney, law clerk, and state solicitor seemed enough to convince the eight elected members of the executive council that Gov. Maura Healey’s pick for the post is a good one.“You have to tell me…why I’m going to vote for someone who was three years old when I started practicing law — so help me out with that — and who has never been a judge?” Councilor Terry Kennedy asked.“I’m already voting for you,” Kennedy immediately added. “But answer the question anyway.”Dewar, 43, was nominated by Healey after Justice Elspeth Cypher announced she would retire early in 2024. If her nomination...

Massachusetts Legislature continues to ‘let down’ mother of Plymouth boy who died in dirt bike crash

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

The mother of a 14-year-old boy who died in 2012 after being struck by a dirt bike driver near a Plymouth cranberry bog is continuing to fight for justice at the State House.Jill Ward on Tuesday made her case to state lawmakers, again, that drivers of snow or recreational vehicles who injure or kill someone else should face stiffer penalties. Her testimony came a day after the 11th anniversary of when her son James was buried.“I have spoken before, written letters and continue to be let down by the Commonwealth time after time,” Ward told the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.A proposed law, dubbed ‘The James Ward Act,’ seeks to increase the penalty of a hit-and-run with a recreational vehicle that causes bodily injury from a fine between $500 and $1,000 to a jail sentence of one year, a fine between $500 and $1,000, or both.It also sets penalties for a hit-and-run that results in death of another individual with a jail sentence of no more than two-and-a-half years, a fine of no more...

Trump’s opponents come out against Colorado decision to boot him from ballot

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

Republicans reacted with predictable outrage and concern at the precedent set by the decision of a Colorado court to remove their party’s presumptive nominee from consideration in the 2024 presidential contest.Allies and critics of former President Donald Trump alike, some of whom are actively running against him, both decried the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump’s involvement leading up to and inaction during the events of January 6, 2021, disqualify him from serving a second term according to the U.S. Constitution.“I do not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States, by any court. I think he should be prevented from being the President of the United States by the voters of this country. That’s what I think. And I don’t believe that it’s good for our country if he’s precluded from the ballot by a court,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, perhaps the most outspoken of Trump’s critics, said at a campaign e...

Former NBA player allegedly admitted to fatally strangling woman in Las Vegas, court documents show

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former NBA G League player allegedly admitted to fatally strangling a woman whose remains were found earlier this month near Las Vegas, according to court records obtained Wednesday.Chance Comanche, 27, was taken into custody last week in Sacramento, California, where he described for Las Vegas detectives the alleged murder of Marayna Rodgers, 23, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department affidavit.“I cannot comment on the substance of any statements made to law enforcement, Comanche attorney Michael Goldstein said Wednesday. “We made our initial appearance yesterday, and the allegations will be addressed in court.”The basketball player, who is being held without bond, appeared in a Sacramento County court Tuesday and agreed not to fight his transfer in custody to Nevada, where authorities said he’ll face murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges.“We’re going to let the courts deal with it,” Goldst...

Healey ‘exploring’ using old Cambridge courthouse as night shelter for homeless families

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

The Healey administration is “exploring the possibility” of using a nearly empty former courthouse in Cambridge to house homeless families, and has reached out to Secretary of State William Galvin’s office to discuss the details, an official told the Herald Wednesday.The move comes as Gov. Maura Healey is less than two weeks away from a Dec. 31 deadline to set up one or multiple overflow shelter sites with $50 million in funding for families with children and pregnant people seeking emergency assistance from the state.A spokesperson for Galvin, Deb O’Malley, said Gov. Maura Healey’s office reached out to the secretary’s office last week to discuss whether the state-owned building that houses the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds “would be suitable” as a night-only shelter.“The indication they gave to us was that they were looking at locations for future use should they be needed, sort of scoping out locations that could be used in the future if necessary,” O’...

Cape Cod shark researchers have tagged more than 300 great whites, sharks still detected off Massachusetts in mid-December

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

After another successful shark research season along Cape Cod, local scientists have now tagged more than 300 great white sharks since their tagging program started more than a decade ago.Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, tagged 34 white sharks off the Cape during 22 research trips this season.Since the Division of Marine Fisheries began its tagging program, 304 individual white sharks have been tagged off the Cape.Also, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy for the second year used drones to collect video footage of white sharks in Cape Cod waters. The scientists have been looking at whether the technology is effective for shark surveillance off the Cape.Many people have proposed using drones as a shark surveillance technology at local beaches, but the concern is that sharks could disappear from sight when the Cape waters turn murky.“The footage collected is being used to investigate potential rela...

Boston-area COVID wastewater data spikes before the holidays, variant JN.1 on the rise: ‘A worrisome situation’

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

Here comes the holiday spike yet again.Like clockwork, just as we approach Christmas and New Year’s gatherings, the local COVID wastewater data is surging and a new variant is on the rise.Both the south-of-Boston and north-of-Boston virus wastewater levels have jumped in recent weeks. The COVID wastewater data is the first sign of virus cases in the community.The south-of-Boston virus wastewater weekly average is now up to 1,435 copies per milliliter, which is double the amount from late November in the days after Thanksgiving. The north-of-Boston average is now 1,123 copies per milliliter — also about double from last month.Meanwhile, the total number of reported COVID cases have been climbing in Massachusetts during recent weeks, and a new variant is quickly spreading.“This is a worrisome situation,” said Davidson Hamer, a Boston University School of Public Health infectious diseases specialist, adding, “The rise of the new variant, JN.1, which has be...

Boston man sentenced for 3 shootings in Cambridge and Somerville

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

A Boston man will spend at least five years in state prison for three attempted shootings in Cambridge and Somerville.Lennox Pierre-Louis, 22, of Boston, pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to three attempted shootings: a Dec. 27, 2021, shooting on Marshall Street in Somerville; another on Windsor Street in Cambridge on March 11, 2022; and another in Cambridge on June 18, 2022.Middlesex Superior Court Judge James Budrea sentenced Lennox Pierre-Louis, 22, of Boston, to five to six years in state prison for the June 2022 and the December 2021 shootings, which are to be served concurrently, as well as two and a half years for the March 2022 shooting.“Over the course of the past year we have seen an alarming increase in the frequency of random gun violence, especially among young people. These bullets are striking homes and vehicles indiscriminately,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement following the sentencing. “Clearly, it is only a matter of time before...

Signing day: Georgia has top class after 5-star flip; Ohio State igh of relief on No. 1 player

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

The early signing period in college football opened Wednesday with some five-star drama.Georgia likely locked up the top recruiting class by flipping an in-state blue-chip player away from Florida State. The consensus No. 1 recruit in the country had Ohio State coach Ryan Day literally sighing with relief, and then still waiting to make it official. Florida managed to hold on to a couple of five-stars amid a flurry of late de-commits.Meanwhile, the long and winding recruitment of Dylan Raiola ended bright and early with the highly touted quarterback signing a national letter of intent with Nebraska, the school where his father was an All-American offensive lineman.College football’s early signing period, jammed into what has become an overloaded December calendar with postseason games and players transferring, has become the signing period.“The schedule is not good. It’s chaotic,” Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters.The big schools sign the bulk of their recru...

Numerals ‘2024’ arrive in Times Square in preparation for New Year’s Eve

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:02 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s beginning to look a lot like New Year’s Eve in New York.The numerals “2024” were delivered Wednesday to Times Square for its famous street party to ring in the New Year.Organizers said the lighted display arrived in the famous square following a coast-to-coast road trip covering more than 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers).After being tested out Wednesday, they’ll remain on display through Friday for people to see and photograph up close.“Like every good Broadway show, we have dress rehearsals, so we want to get them out,” explained Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance. “We want to test them out, make sure that they work.”The numerals will then be raised atop One Times Square, where they’ll light up when the ball drops to mark the beginning of 2024.Teresa Hui, a Brooklyn resident who was among those on hand for Wednesday’s ceremonial arrival, said she comes out every year despite her general aversion for the tourist mecca.“This is one of my favorite da...