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MBTA releases documents detailing worker safety failures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

A track worker was hospitalized after being struck by a 2000–pound counterweight on the Blue Line in April, one of the more egregious safety failures outlined in new documents released by the MBTA.The redacted documents, shared with the Herald on Friday, provide a closer look at the six workplace incidents that prompted such concern from federal officials that they ordered the MBTA to completely revamp its policies and procedures around employee right-of-way access. The T’s plan is due on Monday.Five of these violations involved employees who were nearly struck by trains. These so-called “near-misses,” along with the injury on the Blue Line, all occurred within the span of a month, from March 13 to April 14.While MBTA officials had previously provided details on the near-miss events, and the breakdown in safety communication that prompted them, little had been shared about the incident that left an employee seriously injured until this week.According to the documents, Transit Police...

Carlsbad boy returns home months after trampoline accident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- An 8-year-old boy is back home in Carlsbad after spending over four months at the hospital.Leeland Korman sustained a serious traumatic brain injury in a trampoline accident in January.The homecoming celebration filled the street of his Carlsbad neighborhood Friday when the third grader came home. Dozens of his friends and classmates from Magnolia Elementary School walked over to welcome him back.Casey Sershon, Korman's stepfather, says the family survived on the strength of their community. No graduation: 8th graders turned away from ceremony; parents furious “This is something most people don’t go through and we had no idea how to navigate," Sershon said. "Even just little things from having meals delivered to words of encouragement.”In January, Korman bumped heads with his sister while jumping on the trampoline at his brother's birthday party. A few days later, he had a seizure and was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital. Since then, it's been months surge...

Local leaders lambast California housing policy for homeless

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- "Housing First works for some -- it's not the panacea that everyone expects it to be," said San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who joined local leaders at a news conference Friday, saying the state government's housing policy has backfired.In 2016 under Gov. Gavin Newsom, California adopted Housing First, which aims to get anyone experiencing homelessness into government-subsidized housing as quickly as possible, while also removing barriers to access the housing such as requirements for sobriety and no criminal background.“If you had a loved one or family member that needed drug treatment or needed mental health treatment, would you send them to a facility that did not require programs or treatment? That's exactly what the government's doing and that's exactly what Housing First allows," said Desmond. Mayor says Coronado’s approach to homelessness works, but would it across the bay? Desmond was joined by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Vista Mayor John Franklin and ...

Man critically injured in stabbing at Kennedy Station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

A man has been rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed at the TTC’s Kennedy Station in Scarborough.Toronto police were notified of a stabbing at the subway station on Friday night.Officers located a man with injuries deemed life-threatening. The victim was rushed to the hospital via an emergency run, police noted.A suspect or suspects fled from the station. The investigation is ongoing.STABBING:Kennedy Subway– reports that someone has been stabbed– police o/s– officers located a man with injuries– @TorontoMedics o/s – taking the patient to hospital with life-threatening injuries via emergency run– suspect(s) fled– ongoing investigation#GO1258360^al— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 3, 2023

Even Nebraska’s nonpartisan Legislature is divided from acrimonious 2023 session

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Legislature has long prided itself on being a paragon of collegiality and function, as the only single-chamber, nonpartisan Legislature in the country.But after a vicious 2023 session in which the body of 49 lawmakers remained irreconcilably split, Nebraska’s statehouse is beginning to reflect broad, national discord.The acrimony was on full display as a handful of progressive lawmakers carried out an epic filibuster of nearly every bill that came up for debate — even ones they supported — to protest a bill targeting transgender minors. The filibuster drew national media attention, revealing lawmakers’ deep divide over political ideology — which was expressed through yelling, name-calling, crying and the refusal of some to even speak to other lawmakers.“I never saw anything even close to what we witnessed this year,” said Patrick O’Donnell, who served for 45 years as clerk of the Nebraska Legislature until his retirement in Decembe...

Money laundering trial ends for former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The trial of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and 14 others for alleged money laundering related to their purchase of a publishing company concluded on Friday, starting the clock on the 30 days the judge has to issue a verdict.Martinelli, a 71-year-old supermarket magnate who hopes to seek re-election next year, had back surgery the week before the trial started and was not present.The case, known locally as “New Business,” dates back to 2017 and concerns the 2010 purchase of a publishing company that owns national newspapers.Prosecutors maintain that through a complex series of foreign money transfers totaling $43 million, companies that had won lucrative government contracts during Martinelli’s presidency, funneled money to a front company that was then used to purchase the publisher. The front company collecting the money was called “New Business.”In closing statements, prosecutor Emeldo Márquez requested the maximum sentence for Martinelli, which...

Serial killer Paul Bernardo moved to medium-security prison in Quebec

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

Canadian child serial killer Paul Bernardo has moved to a medium-security prison in Quebec.Correctional Service Canada does not usually comment on offender transfers, but officials from the Union of Canadian correctional officers confirmed Bernardo’s move.A statement provided by spokesperson Kevin Antonucci says, “While we cannot comment on the specifics of an offender’s case, we assure the public that this offender continues to be incarcerated in a secure institution, with appropriate security perimeters and controls in place.”According to the union, Bernardo was transferred to medium-security La Macaza Institution near Mont-Tremblant on Monday.“Public Safety is the paramount consideration in every decision made by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).”Family lawyer Tim Danson said he and his clients were “surprised and disappointed by the decision.”“We need far more transparency in our corrections and parole system,” ...

Mexico arrests 2nd migrant in detention center fire that killed 40

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities have arrested a second migrant for his alleged involvement in a March fire set inside a border detention center that left 40 migrants dead and dozens injured, two federal officials said Friday.One of the officials, who both requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the arrest publicly, said the Venezuelan man was arrested Thursday night at a hotel in Ciudad Juarez where federal authorities had been housing migrants discharged from hospitals.On March 27, a small number of the migrants being held in the detention facility across the border from El Paso, Texas, started a fire in their cell apparently to protest conditions. Their highly flammable mattresses quickly filled the area with smoke and guards fled without unlocking their cell.Most of the victims were Central Americans and Venezuelans.The head of Mexico’s National Immigration Institute Francisco Garduño and another high-ranking official face charges related to a f...

Lawsuit alleging ex-deputy falsified arrest report settled for $250K

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by a Washington oyster farmer accusing a former county deputy of falsifying an arrest report and urging a person to lie during a domestic-violence investigation has been settled for $250,000. Gerardo Rodarte, the owner of Samish Gold Seafoods, sued Skagit County and former deputy Joseph Gutierrez in 2020, after Rodarte was acquitted by a jury of domestic-violence assault charges, The Seattle Times reported.The charges were based on the deputy’s sworn statement and reports. Court documents show Gutierrez, who was fired in 2018 over allegations of having sex while on duty and failing to aid other officers during a jail escape, refused to testify at trial. Rodarte’s lawsuit alleged that Gutierrez conspired with Rodarte’s niece, who was also an oyster farm employee, to falsely accuse her uncle of assaulting her in exchange for help with her immigration status.The niece called the Sheriff’s Office on June 7, 2017, and claimed she had been assaul...

Report: Buffalo’s snow-removal equipment, communications fell short during deadly blizzard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:31 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo’s snow-removal fleet was no match for the historic Christmas week blizzard that left 31 people dead in the city, and officials fell short in issuing warnings and providing shelter, according to a report released Friday. The 175-page review of the city’s response by New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service found shortcomings in snow-removal resources, utilities and communications as hurricane-force winds and whiteout conditions raged for 37 hours, trapping people in freezing homes and cars.“Rescue vehicles got stuck in the snow or frozen to the ground, rescuers became disoriented and lost, emergency vehicles couldn’t get through, and motorists got stranded,” according to the report, which said the blizzard lasted longer than any prior storm below 5,000 feet of elevation in continental U.S. history.A total of 46 people died across Erie County, which is home to Buffalo. Mayor Byron Brown commissioned the report amid q...