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State mulls steps to restrict cell phones in schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

The phone may not be ringing soon in Bay State schools.The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education began discussing options to silence cell phones to help kids learn.“I thought it was important to begin the discussion of the use of cell phones and their effect on kids,” said DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley. “I’m not sure we as a board have ever taken up this issue in a way that needs to be addressed.”Before several schools’ staff and students spoke on their cell phone policies Tuesday, Riley said the state would “likely” move to offer grants of up to $1 million to districts seeking to add cell phone restriction policies.“Not a mandate at this time,” Riley said. “But we certainly are interested in piloting more of this.”The policies may be practices to ban the use of phones on campus entirely — often using devices like lockable “Yondr Pouches” or more straightforward lockers — or restr...

Yankees Notebook: Carlos Rodon makes Yankee Stadium appearance as rehab continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

Carlos Rodon is still a long ways away from taking the mound at Yankee Stadium, but he did play catch in the ballpark’s outfield on Tuesday.The lefty, sidelined by a forearm strain early in spring training before a nagging back issue delayed his rehab, made about 45 throws and went up to 120 feet. Aaron Boone said that the Yankees could start discussing a bullpen at the end of the week; Rodon will need a few of those and some live sessions before pitching in minor league games.“Hopefully soon,” Rodon said when asked when he’ll return to the mound. “That’s kind of up to the training staff and how they think I’m proceeding throughout the throwing. I felt like I was capable today, but obviously, there’s patience involved in the whole process. But whenever they say to get on the mound, I’m sure I will be ready.“Honestly, it’s hard to put a date on anything. I want to be back as soon as I can.”Rodon added that he has...

No iLottery under state Senate spending plan, setting up conflict with House

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

There will be no online Lottery under the state Senate’s fiscal 2024 budget plan, planting the seed for conflict with House lawmakers who have already approved a proposal to make it mobile.Senators met in formal session on Tuesday to begin dispensing with the over 1,000 amendments lawmakers have filed to change the about $55 billion budget bill offered by their Ways and Means Committee, when a proposal presented by state Sen. Paul Feeney to add the lottery’s programs to the list of games Massachusetts residents can make mobile bets on was defeated without discussion or argument.Feeney’s amendment, “Modernizing the Lottery” or amendment 108, directed the lottery commission to “establish rules and regulations for lotteries conducted online, over the internet, through the use of a mobile application or through any other means.”“We’ve seen in other states and other jurisdictions that when they’ve done that, it actually helped boost the amount of revenue tha...

State Senate says ‘No’ to payroll transparency from quasi-public agencies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

The state Senate has rejected a plan by the Republican Minority Leader which would have required quasi-public agencies to make their payroll data available.Related ArticlesPolitics | Your Tax Dollars at Work Politics | Quasi-state 2022 payroll, including Massport: Your Tax Dollars at Work Gloucester state Sen. Bruce Tarr, one of three conservatives serving in the state Senate, offered an amendment to the upper chamber’s fiscal 2024 spending plan which would have aimed at increasing transparency by requiring every one of the state’s at least 42 public adjacent agencies to post their payroll on the state Comptroller’s website.“This is a matter of fundamental accountability,” Tarr said, as the Senate worked to digest the over 1,000 amendments filed to their budget.“We speak frequently in this chamber, and rightly so, about the need for increased transparency and one of the areas where transparency is particularly important is around government spending,”...

Marcus Smart denies report that Celtics still impacted by Ime Udoka’s dismissal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

MIAMI — The cloud of Ime Udoka’s dismissal has hovered over the Celtics all season. For most of the year, they seemed to handle the challenging circumstances well. But as they hit adversity in the Eastern Conference Finals, the topic resurfaced.With the Celtics on the brink of elimination, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the players came to grips with the departure of Udoka, who was issued a season-long suspension on the eve of training camp in September and ultimately let go in February after he committed violations of team policies.“This team, this locker room, they never got over Ime Udoka’s dismissal as head coach,” Wojnarowski reported. “These players did not accept the organization’s reasoning for doing it. They thought it was a wild overreaction.”At Tuesday morning’s shootaround prior to Game 4, Celtics guard Marcus Smart denied that Udoka’s dismissal was still affecting them.“No. No. Regardless of if Ime was here or not, we’re the ones out there playing,” Smart said....

No tweaks to MIAA Statewide Tournament for at least another year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

Those hoping for tweaks to the MIAA Statewide Tournament will have to apparently wait one more year.On Tuesday morning the MIAA Tournament Management Committee announced that there will be no changes to margin of victory or the power rankings formula used to determine state tournament seeding for the 2023-24 interscholastic athletic season.At its June meeting the TMC will vote on whether or not tournament games should be played at neutral sites prior to the state semifinals as currently outlined.“I disagree with waiting (to discuss tweaks) but I get it,” Wellesley athletic director and TMC member John Brown said. “I think once we get to the spring season’s conclusion we should look at the two full years of data and see if we have to make adjustments. That’s what we said we would do. That’s what I would do. We will see if we do that.”Back in June 2021, the Tournament Management Committee and Board of Directors both outlined a two-year window ...

1 dead, 1 wounded in downtown shooting at Central Library

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- One person was killed and another wounded in a shooting at the downtown Central Library Tuesday afternoon, according to San Diego police.Officers were dispatched to the San Diego Central Library, located in the 300 block of Park Avenue, around 12:15 p.m. after receiving reports of gunshots at the building. According to Lt. Jud Campbell with the SDPD Homicide Unit, Central Division officers found the two victims upon arrival and began providing aid.One of the victims, identified as a 20-year-old man, was pronounced dead on the scene, Campbell said. The other victim, a 24-year-old man, was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The suspect, described as a man of an unknown age and height wearing dark clothing, has not yet been identified, according to SDPD.It is not known at this time whether the victims knew each other or the suspect. South Bay elementary school secured after firearm found in student’s backpack The firearm used in the shoot...

JPMorgan Chase defends lawsuit by blaming US Virgin Islands for Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase defended itself on Tuesday against a lawsuit by the U.S. Virgin Islands accusing it of empowering Jeffrey Epstein to abuse teenage girls by arguing in court papers that it was the islands, not the bank, that enabled the financier to commit his crimes.Lawyers for the bank said in the Manhattan federal court filing that the government of the Virgin Islands was complicit, letting high ranking officials be bought off by Epstein and actively working with him while “reaping the benefits of his wealth.”“He gave them money, advice, influence, and favors. In exchange, they shielded and even rewarded him,” providing lucrative tax breaks worth millions of dollars, they wrote.Most troubling, they said, was that officials from the islands “protected Epstein, fostering the perfect conditions for Epstein’s criminal conduct to continue undetected.” The lawyers added: “For two decades, and for long after JPMC exited Epstein as a client, the entity that most directly fa...

2 killed, others hurt in severe storms north of Houston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

CONROE, Texas (AP) — Two people were killed and several others were hurt Tuesday afternoon when a home that was under construction collapsed as strong storms hit north of Houston in the Conroe area. A home under construction in the Ladera Creek area fell sometime after 3 p.m., news outlets reported. Two workers were killed and seven injured victims were taken to a hospital, according to Conroe Assistant Fire Chief Mike Legoudes. The conditions of the injured workers weren’t known. Conroe Fire Chief Ken Kreger stopped short of saying that the collapse was caused by the storms, but said that his department got the call just after the storms passed. The series of storms prompted warnings in the area of incoming tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Storm damage was also reported north of Conroe in Huntsville.More than 18,000 customers were without power as of Tuesday evening in Montgomery County, where Conroe is located, as well as in neighboring Walker County, where Huntsville is locate...

More than half of N.W.T. wildfires so far this season caused by humans: officials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:13 GMT

HAY RIVER, N.W.T. — Officials in the Northwest Territories say more than half of the wildfires in the territory this year were started by people. A total of 15 wildfires have burned 161 square kilometres across the territory so far this season, eight of which are suspected to have been caused by humans.Wildlife information officer Mike Westwick said usually between eight and 20 per cent of wildfires in the territory are human-caused each season. Nine fires are actively burning in the N.W.T., including an out-of-control wildfire about 32 square kilometres in size on the K’atl’odeeche First Nation that is believed to have been human-caused. About 3,500 people from the reserve and nearby town of Hay River remain displaced after evacuation orders were issued May 14. The First Nation said 18 buildings have been damaged on the reserve while no damage has been reported in Hay River.“This kind of incident can happen to any of us in our communities, which are susceptible to...