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Boston to allow ‘dog-friendly spaces’ at beer gardens, outdoor dining areas through new policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

Restaurants with outdoor dining spaces or beer gardens will soon have the option to create “dog-friendly spaces” under new city variances, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday. Rolled out as a policy from the city Inspectional Services Department’s Health Division, this move will let restaurants apply for a variance to welcome dogs and their owners together in certain areas. In a statement, officials said the change comes “in response to feedback from Boston residents who have expressed interest in having their pets join them at outdoor businesses.”The new policy will require dog-friendly spaces to be entirely outdoors. Restaurants will also have to ensure that no food preparation is done in established dog-friendly spaces. Dog owners will be responsible for the behavior of their dog, which must remain on a leash, officials said.“We’re committed to making Boston a vibrant, family-friendly City, and that means rethinking our outdoor spaces to better build community,” Wu said thi...

OSHA cited Newburyport company for violations before explosion, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

An explosion at a chemical plant in Newburyport Thursday morning was not the first incident to happen at the site, officials said. Rather, officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said they had cited the PCI Synthesis for violations in the past. Speaking on Thursday, state and local officials in Newburyport also said the company has a history of troubling incidents, though this was the worst. “I would term it as more significant than previous incidents here,” said Newburyport Fire Chief said State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey. In 2021, a chemical fire prompted a major response and the drug manufacturer was ordered to temporarily shut down. Just months earlier, a series of explosions blasted a hole in the roof of the building. In 2019, OSHA fined PCI, which serves as the parent company for the local company Seqens, for serious violations for “process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals” which are procedures meant to prevent explosion...

Patriots TE Mike Gesicki connecting with Mac Jones, old friends in New England

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

FOXBORO — More than a decade before Mike Gesicki signed his free-agent contract with the Patriots, Bill O’Brien recruited him to play at Penn State.Several years later, Gesicki initiated a friendship with Hunter Henry as a young tight end looking up to another in the NFL.Then around the time he put pen to paper to become a Patriot, Gesicki called an ex-teammate, DeVante Parker, to learn what it’s like playing in New England.Parker, he said, only shared positive things. And so, the reunions were on.Gesicki took a break from the Pats’ voluntary offseason program Thursday to stand for his first press conference as a Patriot. The 27-year-old said his first few months in New England haven’t packed many surprises. Gesicki came prepared, starting with his familiarity with O’Brien, understanding of the organization as a former division rival and experience playing under ex-Patriot assistants in Miami from 2019-21.Inside the team facility, Gesicki is like ...

Three takeaways from Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s contract signing news conference

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson signed his five-year deal reportedly worth $260 million with the team Thursday morning, then fielded questions from reporters for the first time since Dec. 2. Jackson, flanked by general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh, talked for more than 30 minutes about why he signed now and why he thinks the Ravens are poised to chase that Super Bowl win he promised when he was drafted five years ago.Here are three takeaways on what he did and did not say:In Jackson’s telling of the story, he never wanted to be anywhere but Baltimore.Ravens fans could be forgiven for feeling whiplash after Jackson said he had asked for a trade at the end of March, only to sign his record-setting extension a month later. But he did not explain Thursday why he fired off that initial dread-inducing tweet — saying the team “has not been interested in meeting my value” — just as Harbaugh was about to speak with reporters at the NFL owners me...

Knicks preparing for Jimmy Butler’s return in Game 3; Immanuel Quickley struggling vs. Heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

After missing Game 2, you can bet the house Miami’s All-Star forward Jimmy Butler is going to be on the floor for Game 3 of this second-round playoff series between the Knicks and Heat.Saturday will mark five days of rest between Game 1, when Butler sprained his ankle then played through the pain for the final 5:05 of the fourth quarter to help power the Heat to victory at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, and Game 3 at Miami’s FTX Arena.The Knicks are expecting Butler to be back and close to full strength given the Heat had to save their star forward from himself and hold him out for Game 2.“I have a lot of respect for Jimmy, the type of player he is,” Knicks star Julius Randle said at practice on Thursday. “Mentally, you know he’s gonna be locked in and engaged regardless of how he feels bad, he’ll be great. So we just wanna make it as hard as we can for him and just limit our mistakes on our end when we’re guarding him.”The goo...

Official: Gunman kills 3, then self in rural Georgia town

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

By JEFF AMY and RUSS BYNUM (Associated Press)A Georgia man shot two of his relatives and a fast food worker dead before killing himself on Thursday in rural south Georgia, the local coroner said.The shooter killed his mother and grandmother at two neighboring homes and killed a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Moultrie, Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock told The Associated Press. He said the gunman then shot himself.Brock did not provide the identities of the shooter or the victims. He said he did not know whether the gunman and the McDonald’s worker knew each other.The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement only that there had been “multiple fatalities” at different crime scenes in the area. As the state’s leading law enforcement agency, the GBI said the Moultrie Police Department requested its assistance, as is typical in major crimes in Georgia.“We are working to learn more information and track down some addition...

Governor General, 3 Indigenous leaders meet with King Charles ahead of coronation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

Just days before the King’s coronation, Governor General Mary Simon met with the new monarch alongside, for the first time, three Indigenous leaders in Canada.Roseanne Archibald, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Cassidy Caron, President of the National Metis Council and Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapirlit Kanatami, met King Charles at Buckingham Palace Thursday afternoon.Simon sat down with Lisa LaFlamme to share more about the meeting today.“It was amazing. I think it’s the first time that the three national Indigenous leaders have had an audience with the royal family in this way,” the Gov. General said.According to Simon, the meeting had been months in the making and resulted from a combination of events that have happened over the last while.“The leaders were very articulate in their presentations and talked about their realities in Canada and talked about themselves a bit,” said Simon. “And the king, of course, did a...

Some call NYC subway choking criminal, others hold judgment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The choking death of a man at the hands of another New York subway rider was setting off powerful reactions Thursday, with some calling it a criminal, racist act even as authorities reserved judgment on the killing.New York has become one of the nation’s safest large cities but the emotional responses recalled the metropolis of decades ago, when residents felt besieged by crime and fatal vigilantism made national headlines.Manhattan prosecutors promised a “rigorous” investigation into whether to bring charges in the death of the Black man, who was tackled by fellow passengers and put in the chokehold by a white Marine veteran.The medical examiner’s office ruled Wednesday night that Jordan Neely, 30, died in a homicide caused by compression of the neck but the office said that any determination about criminal culpability would be left to the legal system.Regardless, many New Yorkers saw the choking as the latest in a long history of attacks on Black city residen...

Attorney general alerts online companies to B.C.’s new image-sharing law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s attorney general has sent a letter to technology companies warning they could face orders to stop the distribution of intimate images of B.C. residents that have been shared without their consent.Niki Sharma said Thursday the Intimate Images Protection Act will come into force in the coming months and create new legal mechanisms to stop the online distribution of images such as near-nude photos, videos, livestreams and digitally altered content.In a letter sent to companies, including Twitter, Meta, OnlyFans, and Pornhub, Sharma said they could be required to delete, de-index or destroy images, or provide information that is needed to help with the removal.“The letter’s very clear, and they’re all on notice, that circulating or distributing intimate images is sexualized violence and will not be tolerated,” Sharma said at a news conference. “I expect these technology companies to join me in condemning these terrible ac...

Environment Canada opens Fisheries Act investigation into Kearl tailings releases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:30 GMT

EDMONTON — Environment Canada has opened an investigation into whether Imperial Oil broke federal laws with two releases of tailings from its Kearl oilsands mine in northern Alberta.Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the move comes after weeks of sampling and testing of water near the site, where tailings ponds seeped into groundwater and where 5.3 million litres of wastewater overflowed from a containment pond.“The decision to move from an inspection to launch a full investigation means that the file has reached a stage where officers will determine if charges are warranted,” Guilbeault said.“It means the process is underway to hold the company to account.” Imperial said it will co-operate with investigators.“We have been providing information on the situation at Kearl and have hosted regulatory officials for tours and testing at our site,” spokeswoman Lisa Schmidt said in an email. In May 2022, Imperial workers discovered what they at f...