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Gloucester turns to new app to help with summer beach parking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

As summer approaches, Gloucester officials are hoping to make it easier for people to hit the beaches with the help of a new app aimed at helping beachgoers find a place to park. The app, called Blinkay, can be downloaded from the Gloucester city website. It is open to out-of-towners, who just need to fill out some information about themselves and their vehicle before applying for a parking permit for Good Harbor Beach, Wingaersheek Beach or Stage Fort Park.Among services, the app will also track cars as they leave to alert drivers when a parking space opens up. The hope, officials said, is to avoid mishaps from last year when spots and spaces were oversold. “We had one day that oversold by a few hundred,” said Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga. “We were able to set up an offsite parking area with shuttle service to the beach. So it was a headache for a day or so. But it worked out.”Beyond its spot near the beginning of the summer season, this upcoming holiday weekend also ...

Mets’ 5-game winning streak ends after unlucky 4th inning for Tylor Megill leads to 7-2 loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

CHICAGO — It felt like the Mets could do no wrong for five games.Then suddenly, it all went wrong in Chicago and the Mets’ winning streak came to an end. The comeback kids from last week couldn’t overcome an early 4-1 hole and lost 7-2 in the first game of a three-game series on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.Tylor Megill had two easy innings and 1 and 2/3 rough ones in the loss (5-3). He allowed four runs in the second but it was a flukey fourth that may have cost the Mets (25-24) and Megill the most.Both of the runs allowed by Megill in the fourth were unearned, but after a bobbled ball in left field by Tommy Pham, an overturned call on second base and a couple of two-out singles, the Mets were down 6-1 and Megill was pulled for Dominic Leone after 78 pitches.Down 4-1 coming into the inning, Mike Tauchman lined one to Pham in left field, but the ball fell out of Pham’s glove and he failed to make a circus-like play to get the runner out. Tauchman slid safely into...

Orioles twice blow leads in 6-5 series-opening loss to Yankees in 10 innings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

The Orioles were two outs from handing one of the best pitchers in baseball his first loss. One of the best hitters in baseball made sure it didn’t happen.Baltimore built a four-run lead off New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and was two outs from another series-opening victory before reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge homered off Orioles closer Félix Bautista with one out in the ninth to tie the game. An inning later, Anthony Volpe’s sacrifice fly off Bryan Baker gave New York a 6-5 victory.Judge’s home run meant Orioles starter Kyle Bradish’s pursuit of a win against an AL East opponent continued. Although Baltimore’s four-run advantage evaporated with Bradish on the mound, he exited in position for his first win in 16 divisional starts. Instead, he remains 0-8 with a 7.86 ERA despite being 6-0 with a 2.14 ERA in his 15 other starts. A run in the top of the sixth, scored on Terrin Vavra’s bases-loaded groundout, meant B...

Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe propel Yanks in win over O’s despite Gerrit Cole’s rough night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

Just before the Yankees began a three-game series with the second-place Orioles, Aaron Boone emphasized that he believes the American League East rival is for real.“They’re a really good team,” Boone said when asked about Baltimore, a consistent basement dweller not too long ago. The Yankees’ manager went on to describe a “frontline offense” while also praising the Orioles’ defense, running and pitching. “They’re legit,” Boone continued. “They’re a force to be reckoned with.“They’re a problem.”That they certainly were on Tuesday, especially for Gerrit Cole. All of the O’s runs were charged to the ace in the series opener, yet the Yankees still managed a 6-5 win after 10 innings.The comeback wouldn’t have been possible without the red-hot Aaron Judge, who provided ninth-inning heroics when he crushed a game-tying homer off Orioles closer Felix Bautista. Then came Anthony Volpe, whose...

Boston City Council split on new redistricting map ahead of vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

The City Council may have finally built a new redistricting map, but what’s not clear is how many councilors will actually vote to approve it on Wednesday.Five councilors voiced their dissent Tuesday with a handful of precinct changes the map tentatively agreed upon a day earlier would make in District 5, saying that they would undo decades of advocacy to make D5 an “opportunity district,” which allows communities of color to elect a candidate of their choice.The most vocal opposition came from City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara, who stated that the new proposal could land the City Council, which saw the map it approved last fall thrown out for constitutional violations, back in court.“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits any redistricting plans that result in the dilution of minority voting strength,” said Arroyo, who represents District 5.Arroyo and Lara spoke at length about their dissatisfaction with the removal of Mattapan precincts, 14-5 and 14-14 from District ...

Sheriff's investigate inappropriate use of social media allegations against substitute teacher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

ALPINE, Calif. -- Authorities were investigating allegations of inappropriate use of social media by a substitute teacher in East County, according to law enforcement.The San Diego County Sheriff's Department was informed about the allegations against a substitute teacher at Joan MacQueen Middle School within the Alpine Unified School District, Lt. Anthony O'Boyle stated in a release Tuesday. Former ‘Teacher of the Year’ accused of having sex with a student "The Alpine School District and the Sheriff's Department are taking these allegations very seriously and are actively investigating this incident," O'Boyle said. "Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, no other information is available at this time."Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sheriff's Child Abuse Unit at (858) 285-6293 or after hours at (858) 565-5200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Chief Justice Roberts says Supreme Court can do more on ethics, but offers no specifics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday that there is more the Supreme Court can do to “adhere to the highest standards” of ethical conduct, an acknowledgment that recent reporting about the justices’ ethical missteps is having an effect on public perception of the court.Speaking at a law dinner where he was honored with an award, Roberts provided no specifics but said the justices “are continuing to look at the things we can do to give practical effect to that commitment.”He said he is “confident there are ways to do that consistent with our status as an independent branch of government and the Constitution’s separation of powers.”The court has resisted adopting an ethics code of its own, and Roberts has raised questions about whether Congress could impose a code of conduct on the court.All nine justices recently signed a statement of ethics that Roberts provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee. His remarks Tuesday suggested he knows that statement is not ...

Trump lawyers seek meeting with Garland as Mar-a-Lago investigation shows signs of winding down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump on Tuesday asked for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of winding down.In the letter, which Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, attorneys John Rowley and James Trusty asserted that Trump is “being treated unfairly” and asked for a meeting to discuss “the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors.” The language echoed some of Trump’s own complaints in recent months about the investigations being led by special counsel Jack Smith.It was not immediately clear what specifically prompted the letter, but the yearlong documents probe appears to be nearing an end. Agents and prosecutors have interviewed a broad cross-section of witnesses, including attorneys for Trump, former White House officials and other close aides.The investigation is seeking to determine w...

As India’s electrical grid strains, rural hospitals and clinics find reliable power in rooftop solar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

RAICHUR, India (AP) — In the searing heat that often envelops Raichur, an ancient town in southern India, a ceiling fan that spins without interruption brings sweet relief for the newborn babies and their mothers at the Government Maternity Hospital.But such respite wasn’t always guaranteed in a region where frequent power cuts to India’s overmatched electrical grid can last hours. It wasn’t until the hospital installed rooftop solar panels a year ago that it could depend on constant electricity that keeps the lights on, patients and staff comfortable and vaccines and medicines safely refrigerated.The diesel generator that used to provide emergency backup — spewing planet-warming gases and toxic smoke within breathing distance of newborns every time it was running — is gone. So is the need to use flashlights to see during one of the hospital’s roughly 600 births per year, as staff sometimes had to do amid a sudden blackout if the old generators weren’t ...

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific sacks crew members accused of discriminating against non-English speakers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:42 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has dismissed three cabin crew members after a passenger accused them of discriminating against non-English speakers, in a case that drew criticism from Chinese state media. Airline CEO Ronald Lam expressed his apologies Tuesday to the passenger and the community over the incident, which occurred on a flight from Chengdu in southwest China to Hong Kong on Sunday. He reiterated his company’s “zero tolerance” of any serious breach of its policies and code of conduct. “There is no compromise for such violations,” he said in a statement. The sacking came after the passenger complained in an online post that some crew members were disrespectful to passengers who did not speak English or Cantonese, the language widely spoken in Hong Kong. The person accused them of making fun of passengers’ English ability when they asked for blankets and other disrespectful behavior.Cathay issued an apology on Monday on the Chinese soc...