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Aging dams in central and western Massachusetts to be removed in $25M project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

Eight aging dams in central and western Massachusetts will be removed as part of a $25 million initiative announced Friday by state environmental officials.The structures to be dismantled include the abandoned high-hazard Bel Air Dam in Pittsfield.Removing the dams will restore fish and other wildlife habitats, increase biodiversity, improve water quality, promote climate resiliency and make communities safer, officials said.“This summer, we saw firsthand the catastrophic impacts of severe flooding and the stress and pressure it puts on our dams,” Gov. Maura Healey said.The floods earlier this year put a few dams at risk and raised concerns that the structures may increasingly be at risk as the region is hit by stronger and wetter storms.There are thousands of dams across New England and many were built decades if not centuries ago, often to help power textile mills, store water or supply irrigation to farms. The concern is they have outlived their usefulness and climate chang...

Massachusetts EMS providers blast Department of Public Health over new vaccine regulations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

Ambulance services across Massachusetts are required to submit the vaccination status of their employees annually to the state Department of Public Health under a new regulation that EMS providers say is a “blatant overreach.”The state Public Health Council in September adopted a series of regulations regarding COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, clumping licensed ambulance services together with health care facilities where patients reside or are treated.Most fire departments across the state operate licensed ambulance services, and EMS providers say the new regulation adds an additional “significant unfunded burden” to their plate.Ambulance services are now mandated to require and maintain proof of each employee’s current vaccination status against COVID-19 and the flu or the “individual’s exemption statement,” and they need to run a central tracking system.The data then must be submitted to the state every year.DPH sent a memo to EMS providers last week outlining steps needed to fulfi...

Massachusetts ‘mourns’ with family of Pittsfield native who died in Osprey crash, Warren says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the entire state “mourns” with the family of a U.S. Air Force member who died in an Osprey crash off the coast of Japan earlier this week.Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher was killed Wednesday during a training mission off the southern coast of Japan, according to the Pittsfield Police Department. Galliher is the only identified member of the eight-person crew of an Osprey V-22 that crashed into the ocean.Courtesy / Pittsfield PDU.S. Air Force member Jacob “Jake” Galliher (Courtesy / Pittsfield PD)Warren said her “deepest condolences” were with the family of the Pittsfield native.“My heart breaks for his wife and two sons, and his family in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. Staff Sgt. Galliher was a brave, smart, and talented young man who served his nation with honor. I am pressing the military for answers about this aircraft’s troubled history and action to keep airmen safe,” Warren said in a statement.Pittsfield police said Galliher graduated Taconi...

Defense head calls out those who advocate isolationism and ‘an American retreat from responsibility’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday denounced those who advocate “an American retreat from responsibility” and said sustained U.S. leadership is needed to help keep the world as safe, free and prosperous as possible. He also urged Congress to end the partisan gridlock that has stalled the federal budget and war spending.The United States must reject calls to turn away from global interests and become more isolationist, he told an audience of lawmakers, corporate and defense leaders and government officials attending a security conference. Those who “try to pull up the drawbridge,” he said, undermine the security that has led to decades of prosperity.In his remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California’s Simi Valley, Austin delivered a lengthy defense of U.S. support to Israel in its war against Hamas and to Ukraine in its struggle to battle Russia’s invasion. He said “the world will only become more dangerous if tyrants and terror...

Racist remarks cited before cannabis regulator’s suspension, court documents say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ top cannabis regulator made race-based and “culturally insensitive” remarks, including referring to Asian people as “yellow,” before she was suspended, according to court documents.The allegations against Shannon O’Brien were included in a court filing she made in her Suffolk County Superior Court lawsuit against Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who suspended her as chair of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. O’Brien also defended herself from the accusations, which were not previously public.O’Brien, a former state treasurer and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, said she wants a fair hearing process. “After a long career in public service, I deserve a legitimate opportunity and not a sham process, to defend my good name and reputation, which has been unfairly maligned,” she said.Goldberg issued a statement in September saying she suspended O’Brien based on “several serious allegations” in a report compiled by an ou...

Winter weather in Pacific Northwest cuts power to thousands in Seattle, dumps snow on Cascades

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Winter weather brought high winds and snow to parts of the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power in some areas and dumping fresh snow across the Cascade Range.Thousands of households were without power Saturday morning in the greater Seattle area after a night of rain and wind, the Seattle Times reported.Seattle City Light reported 17 outages affecting more than 1,700 customers as of late morning, roughly two-thirds of them in South Seattle, according to the utility’s outage map. The utility said it was investigating the cause.Smaller outages, some caused by fallen trees, were affecting other neighborhoods throughout Seattle, according to the Seattle Times.Communities across the region were affected. Puget Sound Energy reported 79 outages impacting more more than 4,700 customers as of about 11:30 a.m. The outages stretched from Kitsap County to as far south as the state capital Olympia, the news outlet reported. In Oregon, more than 2,000 cusotmers in the Portla...

Group of swing state Muslims vows to ditch Biden in 2024 over his war stance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledged to withdraw support for U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday at a conference in suburban Detroit, citing his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.Democrats in Michigan have warned the White House that Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him enough support within the Arab American community to sway the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.Leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania gathered behind a lectern that read “Abandon Biden, ceasefire now” in Dearborn, Michigan, the city with the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States.More than 13,300 Palestinians — roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza — have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Some 1,200 Israelis have been killed, mostly during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.Biden’s unwill...

Ontario Liberal Party leadership down to Bonnie Crombie and Nate Erskine-Smith

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

The race for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party will go to a third and final ballot with Bonnie Crombie a stone’s throw away from emerging as the winner.After there was no clear winner on the first ballot, Crombie picked up 488 points on the second ballot to give her a total of 6,047 point, putting her at 46.7 per cent. Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith received 472 points for a total of 3,792 or 29.3 per cent. Yasir Naqvi picked up 341 points for 3,101, leaving him in third place which means he will drop off the ballot for the final vote. Naqvi’s supporter’s votes are now being tallied up and added to the points of the remaining two candidates to determine the next leader. The magic number to win the leadership is 6,471 points.Both Erskine-Smith and Naqvi previously endorsed each other as second choices in a bid to stop Crombie from becoming leader, though their supporters were not obligated to rank them that way on the second ballot.Under the ranked ballot s...

Did you know there's only one 'town' in Pennsylvania?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Pennsylvania is home to 2,560 municipalities, which can be boroughs, townships, cities, and towns. And though there are 956 boroughs, 96 townships, and 57 cities, there's only one town. Pennsylvania's only town is Bloomsburg, which is located in Columbia County and has a population of 12,730. As explained by Britannica, the town was founded by Ludwig Eyer in 1802 and was previously known as Eyersburg and Eyertown. In 1870, it was incorporated with Bloom township, becoming the only incorporated town. How many of these In-N-Out secret menu items do you know? When you visit Bloomsburg, you can take a photo with the welcome sign that reads, "Welcome to Bloomsburg - The only TOWN in Pennsylvania."WHTM previously reported that, per local "unofficial historian" Oren Helbok, the town designation is really just a municipal technicality. "In a borough, the mayor is the chair of the meeting but does not vote," Helbok said in August 2022. "[In Bloomsburg], the mayor c...

Texas blasts Oklahoma State 49-21 to win Big 12 title, Longhorns await CFP fate as other title games unfold

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas needed to finish off its Big 12 Conference era in style in hopes of impressing the College Football Playoff selection committee enough to have a shot at garnering a top-four ranking.The Longhorns certainly did that, pounding Oklahoma State 49-21 in the Big 12 title game Saturday at Cowboys Stadium. All the Longhorns can do now is wait until Sunday to learn its CFP fate. It's the fourth Big 12 title in the program's history.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersLonghorns quarterback Quinn Ewers had a career day to help his squad win the conference title, throwing for 452 yards on 35 of 46 passing with four touchdowns and an interception. He broke the Big 12 title game record for passing yards in a game previously held by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and tied the record for touchdown passes.Texas wideout Adonai Mitchell had 109 yards on six catches while tight...