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‘Final mile of the marathon:’ BPS strategizes addressing decades of neglect in school infrastructure

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

Boston school officials are on the “final mile” of plotting out how to address decades of neglect and disinvestment in school facilities, district officials announced.“After many decades of the firm decision making, shifting our physical footprint will be disruptive,” said Superintendent Mary Skipper ahead of a presentation on the facilities plan at the Nov. 15 School Committee meeting. “In some cases difficult. Tools we’ve developed over the last 18 months will enable greater transparency, collaboration with our communities to understand how and why certain decisions are made.”With about half of facilities built before WWII and some around 100 years old, Skipper said, the project is an “ambitious” and unprecedented undertaking for the district but necessary to provide students “fully inclusive, high quality education.”The district will complete and present a long-term facilities plan to DESE next month as part of its...

Lucas: DiZoglio vote reveals split among state Dems

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

Bring back Gus Bickford?Who? Why?Gus Bickford. He is the former head of the Massachusetts Democrat Party who, willingly or not, was replaced after a string of successes.After six years at the helm of the Democratic State Committee, Bickford was succeeded in April by veteran political operative Steve Kerrigan, a one-time candidate for lieutenant governor, who had the support of Gov. Maura Healey.Since then, things have not gone so well.A week ago, Republican state Rep. Peter Durant of Spencer flipped a Democrat held state Senate seat in a special election.  The seat had been held by former Sen. Anne Gobi of Worcester who gave it up to take a job with Healey Administration.Spencer, who made illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, beat Democrat Rep. Johnathan Zlotnik of Gardner, despite Kerrigan’s all out support and Healey’s endorsement. Former GOP Gov. Charlie Baker endorsed Durant. The vote was 11,985 to 9,183.While no big deal in the scheme of things in one-party Democra...

Instant analysis from Ravens’ 20-10 win over Los Angeles Chargers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 20-10 win over the host Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday night’s Week 12 game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.Brian Wacker: The Ravens defense did it again despite Baltimore’s offense doing its best to give another game away.After struggling mightily to move the ball for most of the night against a Chargers defense that is one of the worst in the NFL, Baltimore relied on its defense to hold on to a game the Ravens were somehow in danger of losing until a fourth-down blitz from cornerback Arthur Maulet ended any chance of another blown lead. Then rookie Zay Flowers showed why he’s the team’s best receiver, breaking free for a 37-yard touchdown run to seal the victory with just over 90 seconds remaining.There’s no sugarcoating it: The Ravens offense was disjointed. That’s going to happen sometimes, but it seems to happen in games the Ravens should ...

Walpole sons reviving fathers’ title hopes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

WALPOLE – Doug Cantrell and Chris Mackenzie had their time as part of the renowned Walpole football program.More than three decades later, they are relishing in the success of their sons.Noah Mackenzie has blossomed into one of the premier quarterbacks in the state. Cash Cantrell has followed in his father’s footsteps and become one of the better receivers for a Timberwolves’ team competing in the Div. 3 state championship game Thursday night at Gillette Stadium against Milton.For Doug Cantrell, seeing his son make it to the championship game helps erase some of the disappointment he faced. A wide receiver under the legendary John Lee, Cantrell graduated in 1988, one year before Walpole stunned Brockton 6-2 to win the 1989 Super Bowl.“Part of me was pissed at the time, I was so jealous of those guys,” Cantrell says with a laugh. “Now I am so happy that this is happening for these kids. It’s great to see these kids keeping the tradition alive.“I’m really happy...

Junior Traffic Reporter contest winners announced

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

Congratulations to the winners of the Junior Traffic Reporter contest brought to you by 407 ETR!Out of hundreds of entries the following three were selected through online balloting in their respective categories:Grades 1-4: Zayna Yazdan from P.L. Robertson Public School in Milton Grades 5-8: Viera Bennett from Calderstone Middle School in Brampton Grades 9-12: Isabella Cortes from the Regional Arts Program at St. Roch Catholic Secondary School in Brampton Not only have all three won $500 for themselves but also $500 for their respective schools as well as a tour of the CityNews 680 newsroom.

Israel and Hamas look open to extending truce on its final day, with one more hostage swap planned

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel and Hamas appeared open to extending a cease-fire in Gaza that has halted their deadliest and most destructive war but is set to expire after Monday, with a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel planned for later in the day.Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the four-day truce, which came into effect Friday after several weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.But Israel also says it remains committed to crushing Hamas’ military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters, and where dire conditions persist despite the increased delive...

Biden to convene new supply chain council and announce 30 steps to strengthen US logistics

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday will convene the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council, using the event to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data and other programs tied to the production and shipment of goods.“We’re determined to keep working to bring down prices for American consumers and ensure the resilience of our supply chains for the future,” said Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council and a co-chair of the new supply chain council.The announcement comes after supply chain problems fueled higher inflation as the United States recovered from the pandemic in 2021. While consumer prices are down from last year’s peaks, polling shows that inflation remains a political challenge for Biden going into the 2024 presidential election.Among the 30 new actions, Biden will use the Defense Production Act to have the Health and Human Services Department invest in the domestic manufacturing of n...

Jill Biden says White House decor designed for visitors to see the holidays through a child’s eyes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ninety-eight Christmas trees, more than 142,000 twinkling lights and nearly 34,000 ornaments deck the halls of the White House in ways that Jill Biden hopes will inspire visitors to embrace their inner child and experience the “magic, wonder and joy” of the season. It’s her theme for the holiday decor.“Each room on display is designed to capture the pure, unfiltered delight and imagination of our childhoods, to see this time of year through the wondrous, sparkling eyes of children,” she says in remarks prepared for a Monday afternoon reception to formally unveil the decor and thank hundreds of designers and decorators who volunteered to spend last week transforming the executive mansion. Throughout the decor are numerous nods to the 200th anniversary of the publication in 1823 of the poem and book, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” The Library of Congress provided samples of editions from the past 200 years that are on display along the ground floor c...

Beijing police investigates major Chinese shadow bank Zhongzhi over suspected crimes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Police are investigating suspected crimes of a Chinese wealth company owned by Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau, days after the firm told investors it was insolvent.In a statement published on the social media platform WeChat over the weekend, the police said they had taken “criminal enforcement measures” against several suspects to investigate and had urged affected investors to lodge a complaint. “Investors are requested to actively cooperate with the police in investigating and collecting evidence and safeguard their rights and interests through legal channels,” the statement said. Authorities did not specify what crimes they were investigating.Zhongzhi did not immediately respond to an email for comment and phone calls to a number listed for the company did not connect.The investigation came after media reports last week that Zhongzhi had apologized to investors in a letter, saying it was insolvent with up to $64 billion...

Almost half a million people left without power in Crimea after Black Sea storm

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:26:20 GMT

Almost half a million people have been left without power and one person was killed after a storm in the Black Sea area flooded roads, ripped up trees and took down power lines in Crimea, Russian state news agency Tass said.The storm also hit southern Russia and sent waves flooding into the beach resort of Sochi, blew the roof off a five-story building off in Anapa and damaged homes and schools in Kuban, the state news agency said.It was part of a weather front that earlier left one person dead and hundreds of places without electricity amid heavy snowfall and strong blizzards in Romania and Moldova on Sunday.The storm prompted several Crimean regions to declare a state of emergency after it became the strongest recorded in the past 16 years with wind speeds reaching 144 kph (almost 90 mph), Tatyana Lyubetskaya, a Russia-installed official at the Crimean environmental monitoring department, told Tass.The government in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, told people to...