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Local artist restores Worcester mural to fallen police officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

The Worcester Police Department is thanking a local artist for restoring a recently vandalized mural to fallen Officer Manny Familia, who died trying to rescue a teen from a pond in 2021.Artist Ferdinand Nazario returned to the mural on Friday to restore it after it was vandalized last week.“Mr. Nazario know how much we appreciate your talent and kindness! Thank you,” the department wrote in a release.https://twitter.com/WorcesterPD/status/1641515209050185744

Owners of big cat refuge from ‘Tiger King’ selling property

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The owners of a Florida-based sanctuary made famous by the Netflix docuseries, “ Tiger King, ” say they plan to move most of their big cats to an Arkansas facility and eventually sell their 67-acre (27-hectare) property.Howard Baskin wrote in a post on Big Cat Rescue’s website that he and his wife, Carole Baskin, had entered into an agreement with Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge to move most of their big cats to the accredited sanctuary in Arkansas.“”We have always said that our goal was to ‘put ourselves out of business,’ meaning that there would be no big cats in need of rescue and no need for the sanctuary to exist,” Howard Baskin wrote earlier this week in the post.Because recently passed federal law and a change in industry practices had reduced the size of the “cub petting” industry at roadside zoos and circuses, there were fewer big cats in need of caring, Baskin said.The cost per big cat of running t...

Remarkable Reunion: Medford dog found in NH nearly a year after going missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

It was a heartwarming reunion in Medford after a 5-year-old Hound/Pit mix named Bo was returned home to his owners nearly a year after going missing. “I was doing some yard work, my wife was in and out of the house, Bo was just relaxing on the patio, I went away for a little bit and he was gone,” recalled his owner, Ross Morrow, who said he and his wife had walked about 50 miles searching for their best friend.Now, 10 months later, Bo is back home after he was found wandering the streets of Pelham, New Hampshire, some 30 miles away from where he first went missing.He was brought home after investigators scanned his microchip.After Bo went missing, his family added a puppy sister to the family that he will now get to spend his time with.

Travel issues force Celtics to spend extra night in Milwaukee, delay return to Boston before Jazz game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

Grant Williams confirmed that the Celtics dealt with travel issues following their win over the Bucks on Thursday night in Milwaukee and the team landed in Boston later than usual before their game on Friday night against the Jazz.“We couldn’t get out last night after the game so we scrambled, stayed the night and flew out this morning,” Williams said.Williams said the team was on the plane for about 25-30 minutes before unforeseen circumstances forced them to spend an extra night in Milwaukee. The Celtics ultimately departed Milwaukee at 10:30 a.m. and landed in Boston at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, six hours before opening tip against the Jazz.Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla downplayed the travel issues they experienced and refused to acknowledge that something happened. They didn’t want to use it as an excuse.“At the end of the day, you have to be professional,” Williams said. “It can’t deter your energy, you can’t use it as an excuse. It’s easy to cop out if a team beats y...

Tornadoes slam Arkansas, shredding rooftops and tossing cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

By ANDREW DeMILLO (Associated Press)LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tornado raced through Little Rock and surrounding areas Friday, splintering homes, overturning vehicles and tossing trees and debris on roadways as people raced for shelter. There were early reports at least two dozen people hurt, some critically.Another tornado hit the town of Wynne in the eastern part of the state near the Tennessee border, and officials reported widespread damage there including destroyed homes and downed trees. There were more confirmed twisters in Iowa, damaging hail fell in Illinois and wind-whipped grass fires blazed in Oklahoma, part of a massive storm system threatening a broad swath of the country that is home to some 85 million people in the South and Midwest.The destructive weather came as President Joe Biden toured the aftermath of a deadly tornado that struck in Mississippi a week ago and promised the government would help the area recover. The Little Rock tornado tore first through n...

Former Brockton RMV manager pleads guilty to fraudulently handing out learner’s permits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

A former manager of a Brockton Registry of Motor Vehicles location in Brockton pleaded guilty to giving out passing test scores to those who failed if they bribe her.Mia Cox-Johnson, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper has scheduled sentencing for July 20, when Cox-Johnson could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.Cox-Johnson was criminally charged in federal court in Boston on March 2, but she accepted a plea agreement she reviewed the day before, according to the date on the signature lines of the agreement filed with the court.According to the charging document, an applicant, identified in the document as “Individual A,” for a Massachusetts learner’s permit had taken the test in the applicant’s “primary language six times on the computer and had failed each time.”One of the co-conspirators told another that there was a person at the Brockton RMV...

MassGOP Chair: Geoff Diehl campaign liable for bulk of party’s $600K debt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

MassGOP officials say the party should not be on the hook for its whopping $600,000 debt, pointing to an audit that shows losing Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl’s campaign is responsible for a majority of the charges.Party Chair Amy Carnevale said the bulk, or $404,000 of the $602,000 in unpaid invoices she inherited from past Chair Jim Lyons are from advertising and media-related expenses authorized and signed by the Diehl campaign, “but incredibly were billed well after Election Day to the MassGOP.”“Not on my watch,” Carnevale said in a Friday email to state Republicans. “We are auditing all these invoices to determine who is ultimately responsible for paying them because we have not received sufficient documentation from the vendor.”The majority of these charges were for radio and television ads related to the governor’s race, according to MassGOP Executive Director John Milligan. The audit, he said, will differentiate between what expenses the party is liable for,...

Clarke Schmidt gets his first real chance to stick in Yankees’ rotation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

Clarke Schmidt has gotten the short end of the stick during his Yankees tenure.The 2017 first-round pick spent nearly his entire college and minor-league career as a starting pitcher however, despite a few spot starts here and there, he’s yet to have a real opportunity to become a mainstay in the Bombers’ rotation.That will change beginning Saturday afternoon.Schmidt will take the ball for the Yankees — with a tough act to follow after Gerrit Cole’s record-setting Opening Day performance — in their second game of the season against the San Francisco Giants.The right-hander began spring training in competition — after Frankie Montas’s shoulder surgery that will keep him out until at least the second half of the season — with Domingo German to become the clubs’ fifth starter. However, a forearm injury to the newly-signed southpaw Carlos Rodon and a lat injury to Luis Severino has extended that competition through the beginning week...

Louis Coleman, convicted of kidnapping Jassy Correia resulting in her death, ordered to pay $60K+ restitution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

The man convicted of kidnapping and killing Jassy Correia in February 2019 has been ordered to pay more than $61,000 in restitution, with most of that intended for Correia’s young child who was left motherless.A federal jury in Boston convicted Louis Coleman III in June of 2022 of kidnapping resulting in Correia’s death. U.S. Chief District Court Judge Dennis Saylor IV sentenced Coleman to life in prison without the possibility of parole.That judgment was amended Friday to include a total of $61,362.68 in restitution. The bulk of that restitution, $50,000, is listed as payable to “Representative of the Estate of Jassy Correia, for benefit of her Minor Child.” Another $8,800 is earmarked for the Massachusetts Compensation Fund and the remaining $2,562.68 will go toward the Federal Crime Victims Fund.Correia’s daughter was only 2 years old at the time of Jassy’s death.Coleman’s defense attorneys Jane Peachy and David Hoose wrote a terse letter later in the day announcing that they wou...

A bit of luck: Padres pride in full bloom at this Del Mar garden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO – The Padres’ season has finally arrived and the fans across the county have rallied behind the team, from wearing the team’s jerseys to new Friar-themed offerings.But, there’s one hidden gem garden in Del Mar that is celebrating the team’s return to Petco Park with an extra special display all about the Padres.Gwen’s Garden, a memorial garden for a beloved animal friend just steps away from Dog Beach, has been decked out in a display all about the Padres in honor of the season opener last night.The garden was created by North County resident, Jimmy Joe Gooding, through the “Adopt a Spot” program through the City of Del Mar, gaining approval for it about five years ago. It was dedicated to his yellow Labrador Retriever named Gwen who passed about two years before. Padres City Connect jerseys draw fans in for second year He planted new flora in the area that was once known for being a sort of “eyesore,” giving it new life with flowers, succulents and other greenery. Durin...