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Halloween ban in Northboro schools met with boos

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

Boo! Elementary students in Northboro may not be allowed to dress up as Power Rangers and princesses, nor listen to the Monster Mash, at school this Halloween.That’s because district officials in the small town outside of Worcester initially decided to remove anything Halloween-related during school hours, including the popular holiday parade, in order to be more inclusive of all students, they say.But after hearing parents screech over the horror the past few days, Superintendent Gregory Martineau has agreed to reconsider his decision, which reeks of tricks, not treats.“I understand that the Halloween parade was a wonderful memory-making experience for many students and families,” Martineau said at a School Committee meeting Wednesday. “However, this is not the case for many students.”Martineau did not immediately respond to a Herald request for comment Thursday.If there is an in-school ban on Halloween, the parent-teacher organization and other community organizations will be task...

Orioles facing tough rotation decision ahead of ALDS, with 2 open spots for 3 pitchers

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

Manager Brandon Hyde has been tight-lipped about the tough decisions the Orioles have to make ahead of the American League Division Series this weekend.None are more important (or more challenging) than how to sort out the starting rotation.Instead of the standard five-man rotation — or the six-man system Baltimore employed for the majority of the season’s final two months — the Orioles have to cut their starting corps down to four. All five starters in Baltimore’s rotation ended the regular season pitching well, making the decision on whom to leave out a difficult one.Hyde said that depth — perhaps the Orioles roster’s greatest strength — is a good thing to have entering the postseason.“To be able to have starting pitchers be available out of the bullpen is a plus,” Hyde said during the team’s workout at Camden Yards on Wednesday. “Starting pitchers normally have multiple pitches to go to, instead of just ...

Ticker: Powerball climbs to $1.4B; September revenues below benchmark

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.4 billion after no players matched all six numbers and hit it rich Wednesday night.The winning numbers announced were: 9, 35, 54, 63, 64 and the Powerball 1.In Massachusetts, two Quic Pics each won a $50,000 prize by matching four out of five numbers plus the Powerball. Those tickets were sold at South End Liquors in Fall River and Pick ‘N Pay in North Attleboro.Players will next have a shot at the Powerball jackpot Saturday night in hopes of ending an 11-week stretch without a big winner. The odds to win are terrible, just 1 in 292.2 million.The latest Powerball jackpot is the world’s seventh-largest lottery prize. The last time someone won the top prize was July 19.September revenues below benchmarkState tax revenues came in below benchmark again last month, the Department of Revenue announced, leaving the state $170 million short of where it expected to be one quarter into fiscal year 2024.DOR tax collectors raked in $4.187 b...

Railroad unions want scrutiny of remote control trains after death of worker in Ohio railyard

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

By JOSH FUNK (AP Business Writer)OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Most of the reaction to the predawn death of a rail worker who mistakenly stepped in front of two CSX locomotives last month has focused on whether the 19-year veteran should have seen the train coming and not on the actions of a worker who could hardly see the front of the locomotives he or she was operating using a remote control.Some railroad unions want more scrutiny of the safety of remote control operations major railroads have used for years in and around railyards without significant problems. Remote control helps limit costs by using less experienced workers to move locomotives that help assemble trains — a task that once required licensed engineers who are among the highest-paid rail workers. Even if the CSX remote control operator in the Sept. 17 incident in Walbridge, Ohio, did everything right, as the railroad suggests, Don Grissom, president of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen union, questions why locom...

Paul Pierce talks Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and importance of Celtics connection

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

For about 30 minutes after Thursday’s practice, the clocks at the Auerbach Center turned back 15 years. On one court, a trio of 2008 Celtics champions – Paul Pierce, Eddie House and Sam Cassell – engaged in an intense three-point competition with a few other C’s staffers.Jayson Tatum walked out of a media scrum and watched the festivities from the side as the three former teammates went at it, trash talking one another.“He’s making a comeback!” Tatum joked as Pierce launched 3-pointers from the corner. “We got one more spot! We got one more spot on the team!”All week, former Celtics have taken over the Auerbach Center with training camp starting. Pierce and House have joined the proceedings for several days. Cassell is now an assistant coach. Earlier this week, Leon Powe and Satch Sanders stopped by. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has made it a priority to keep an open door to the building for the past. He sent out an email to all of the franchise’s former players with an open invitatio...

Cannabis chair’s hearing scrapped, Treasurer will meet over her removal

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

A hearing to have the courts consider whether to order the ousted Cannabis Control Commission chair returned to her position leading the state’s pot board has been called off — for now.According to an attorney representing CCC Chair Shannon O’Brien, a hearing seeking a court order to have her reinstated was continued after the state treasurer agreed to hold her own hearing on the matter “which will take place on November 7, 2023.”“After being suspended by the State Treasurer without cause and no due process on September 28, 2023, Chair O’Brien then immediately requested a meeting with Treasurer Goldberg and received no reply on that request until yesterday,” Howard Cooper, a founding partner with Boston law firm Todd & Weld, said in an emailed statement.Cooper said his firm “filed a notice with Suffolk Superior court this morning stating that (O’Brien) was voluntarily continuing tomorrow’s court hearing as a result of Goldber...

Mortgage bite: Average rates hits 7.49%, highest since 2000

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

The cost of financing a home surged again this week as the average long-term mortgage rate climbed to its highest level since December 2000, further dimming the affordability outlook for many would-be homebuyers.The average rate on the 30-year home loan rose to 7.49% from 7.31% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.66%. The average rate  is now more than double what it was two years ago, when it was just 2.99%.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loan, also increased. The average rate rose to 6.78% from 6.72% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.90%, Freddie Mac said.The combination of elevated rates and low home inventory has worsened the affordability crunch by keeping home prices near all-time highs even as sales of previously occupied U.S. homes have plummeted 21% through the first eight months of this year versus the same stretch in 2022.Home loan applications fell to the l...

A man seeking Wisconsin’s governor illegally brought guns to the state Capitol – twice in one day

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man illegally brought a loaded handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, police said Thursday.The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governor’s office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The 43-year-old man said “he would not leave until he saw Governor Evers” so he could talk about “domestic abuse towards men,” Capitol police said in a bulletin sent to lawmakers and their staffs.Evers was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governor’s office, conference room and offices for the attorney general. The man was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into th...

Ramaswamy says protesters slammed a car into his vehicle while he was campaigning in Iowa

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says protesters in Iowa slammed a car into his vehicle while he was campaigning in the early voting state Thursday.“Had a civil exchange with protestors today, right before two of them then got into their car & rammed it into ours,” he posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Those two should be held accountable, but the rest of the peaceful protestors shouldn’t be tarred by the behavior of two bad actors.”Ramaswamy was campaigning in Grinnell, a small city in central Iowa east of Des Moines and home to Grinnell College, a small liberal arts school with an enrollment of about 1,700 in Poweshiek County. A message left with the Grinnell police chief wasn’t immediately returned Thursday afternoon. Thomas Beaumont, The Associated Press

US Customs officials seize giraffe feces from woman at Minnesota airport

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:34:51 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal customs agents pooh-poohed the plans of a Iowa woman who wanted to make jewelry from giraffe feces she picked up on a trip to Kenya and brought back to the U.S. in her luggage. The woman declared the small box of feces when she was selected to have her belongings inspected upon arriving at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on Sept. 29, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The woman, who was not identified, told officials she planned to use the waste to make a necklace, as she had done in the past with moose poop. The agency’s agriculture specialists seized the small box and destroyed the giraffe poop.“There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” Customs and Border Protection’s Chicago field Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke said in a statement. “If this person had entered the U.S. and had not declared these items, there is high possibility a person could have contracted a disease from this jewelry and developed seriou...