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Regional Gaps in Auto Insurance Prices “Not Equitable or Fair,” Lawmaker Says

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

Some state lawmakers are looking to change how heavily a resident’s ZIP code weighs in determining the cost of their auto insurance, claiming that people of color in low-income and urban areas pay higher rates. But insurance companies say the move would take away one of the only tools left for them to determine rates, and could raise insurance payments for all.“Right now in Massachusetts, residents living in urban and diverse communities are being forced to pay substantially more than their suburban counterparts for auto insurance,” said Sen. Pavel Payano, who filed a bill (S 703) that would change the rating formula to give no more than 75 percent weight to a person’s local area and 25 percent weight to a statewide average, aimed at tempering the rates in urban areas.Payano based the formula off of Connecticut’s insurance rating territory policy. A 2006 report from the Connecticut Legislature’s research office said “the less weigh...

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla admits he made mistake not calling timeout on final play of Game 4 loss

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

Joe Mazzulla has trusted and empowered his players all season to make plays in late-game situations on the fly instead of calling a timeout. But with the benefit of hindsight, he would have changed his approach for the final play of overtime that cost the Celtics in their Game 4 loss to the 76ers.The Celtics trailed by one with the ball and 18 seconds to go in overtime on Sunday. Mazzulla didn’t call a timeout, and the C’s ultimately didn’t even get a shot off because they were too slow in their actions. Jayson Tatum found Marcus Smart for a 3-pointer that went in, but he released it after the buzzer.A day later, Mazzulla explained his thinking on the play before admitting he should have called a timeout.“It’s something we’ve talked about all year. I trust our guys to make the right play,” Mazzulla said Monday. “Prevented a team from getting matchups off the floor, prevented a team from getting their defense organized. Hindsight is always 20/20, so it sounds good to say, ‘Yes, we sh...

Woburn cop accused of helping plan 2017 white supremacist rally decertified

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

The state’s law enforcement licensing commission decertified a former Woburn police officer accused of helping plan a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., a move that adds the cop’s name to a national database of decertified officers.It is the first time the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission has decertified an officer under a 2020 police reform law that was created and passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.New records released Monday show that former Woburn cop John Donnelly entered into a “voluntary decertification agreement” with the POST Commission that was signed by POST Commission Chair Margaret Hinkle last month.“The respondent John Donnelly has entered into a voluntary decertification agreement under which he has agreed to the revocation of his certification as a law enforcement officer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the entry of his decertification in the National Decerti...

Had pink eye recently? There’s a chance it could have been from new COVID-19 strain

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

For some pollen allergy sufferers, eye irritation at this time of year is nothing new — but with the newest strain of COVID-19 circulating, local doctors are suggesting that if you have pink eye and a fever, you should test for COVID.The World Health Organization announced on Friday that COVID is no longer a global emergency, but the pandemic itself isn’t over and COVID continues to evolve.XBB.1.16, also known as Arcturus, is the newest subvariant of the omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading throughout the U.S. and much of the world. Like many COVID variants and subvariants that came before it, Arcturus is believed to be the most infectious strain of COVID yet.“It does seem to be more transmissible than the last variant XBB.1.5,” Dr. Timothy Friel, chairman of Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Department of Medicine in Pennsylvania, said. “That’s very telling because we thought XBB.1.5 was perhaps one of the most transmissible viruses that we’ve ever encountered.”Arcturus hasn’t become...

School bus drivers strike in Marlboro

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

School bus drivers took to picket lines in Marlboro Monday morning, after negotiators failed to agree on a contract through the weekend.“The Marlborough Public Schools has been notified that bus drivers will not be reporting to work today,” the district posted on their website early Monday, identifying walking routes and contingency plans for students and staff.The transportation company for the schools, North Reading Transportation, and Teamsters Local 170 union representing the drivers have reportedly been in negotiations since January.Another school bus driver strike was narrowly avoided in two neighboring districts. In Framingham, negotiators for NRT and the union reached a deal Sunday evening, a feat the school superintendent said felt like “a miracle.”In Westboro, no contract deal was reached, but drivers decided not to strike Monday as talks continue.An NRT spokesperson said the Marlboro talks are “centered around part-time jobs that currently ar...

Chelsea deadly stabbing: Woman dies after she was stabbed ‘numerous times’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

A 59-year-old woman was stabbed to death in a Chelsea residence Monday morning, according to police.The victim was “stabbed numerous times” in a dwelling on Lafayette Avenue, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Suffolk DA’s Office are investigating along with Chelsea Police.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Dorchester man accused of stabbing boyfriend 29 times then jumping out of 12th story window arraigned for murder Crime & Public Safety | Two missing Medford men found dead in Brighton storage unit “Active Death Investigation,” Chelsea Police tweeted. “Chelsea Police, along with State Police Detectives assigned to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden’s Office, are involved in an active death investigation at 44 Lafayette Ave. CPD and DA’s office will update as info becomes available.&...

May Gray continues with light rain, gusty winds arriving in San Diego

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- After a couple days of sunny skies, some more gusty winds and scattered showers are expected to come in later this week, as another low-pressure storm system heads to the region.Breezy winds Monday will be the first impact of the storm, the National Weather Service said. By Tuesday afternoon, these winds will develop to strong, gusty west winds that will persist into Wednesday evening.Isolated, peak gusts during this time, according to NWS, could reach speeds from around 60 miles per hour to 70 miles per hour in the mountain and desert areas.While no wind advisory has been put into place yet, NWS says that wind conditions could become hazardous for small crafts along coastal waters.Light precipitation could also develop across the coastal region Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. NWS forecasts that this local rainfall will likely not exceed a few hundredths of an inch near the coast to one-quarter of an inch near the mountains. Salutations in the Sun: 4 spots for y...

1 killed, several injured in North County crash

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was killed and several people were injured Sunday in a four-vehicle freeway crash in North County, officials said.According to the California Highway Patrol, the four-vehicle crash happened around 2:15 a.m. on southbound Interstate 15, south of Gopher Canyon Road in unincorporated San Diego County.The crash happened when a 32-year-old man driving a Dodge Challenger came to a stop in the #1 lane for unknown reasons, CHP Public Information Officer Hunter Gerber said in a news release.At that time, a 47-year-old man driving a Infinity G37 crashed into the back of the Dodge, which was followed by an Acura MDX crashing into the Infinity. The Acura then hit the side of a Honda CRV that was in the #2, lane according to CHP. Overturned Tesla prompts temporary lane closure on SR-94 CHP officers and emergency crews responded to the scene of the crash, where the driver of the Dodge was ultimately pronounced dead.The driver of the Infinity and his two passengers were transpo...

County officials vow to fight NYC mayor’s migrant bus plan

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Officials representing a suburban New York county where New York City’s mayor wants to send migrants for a four-month hotel stay vowed to fight the plan Monday through fines and a state of emergency.“We are not equipped to humanely assist these individuals, which eventually we’re going to have to do,” Rockland County Executive Ed Day said at a news conference where he was joined by U.S. Rep Michael Lawler and other officials opposed to the plan. Day, a Republican, called Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to bus up to 300 single adult male migrants to hotels in Rockland and neighboring Orange counties “the same as throwing people out to the middle of the ocean who can’t swim and saying ‘go to shore.’ It can’t work.” Lawler, a Republican whose Hudson Valley district includes Rockland County, said he was “vehemently opposed to this plan which would shift the cost for housing, food and health care for folks who may be here illegally on to Rockland County and our municip...

Thousands march in silence in Serbia after mass shootings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands marched in silence on Monday in Serbia in a major outpouring of grief and anger against the populist government and how it reacted after two mass shootings last week that left 17 people dead and 21 wounded, many of them children.The gatherings in Belgrade and the northern city of Novi Sad were dubbed “Serbia against violence.” They were called by opposition parties, which demanded the resignations of government ministers and the withdrawal licenses to the state controlled mainstream media that promote violence and often host convicted war criminals and crime figures on their programs.After the protest officially ended, some of the protesters chanted slogans against Serbia’s increasingly autocratic president, Aleksandar Vucic, demanding that he step down, as they passed by government headquarters in Belgrade.The shootings — on Wednesday in Belgrade at an elementary school, and on Thursday in a rural area south of the capital — left the nation s...