Final arguments on health care reform
President Barack Obama is making a final push for the health care overhaul as he heads to Capitol Hill to meet with rank and file House Democrats ahead of tomorrow's scheduled vote. Democratic leaders and Obama are focusing last-minute lobbying efforts on two groups of Democrats. They include 37 who voted against an earlier bill, and 40 who voted for it only after first making sure it would include strict abortion limits.
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Obama looks beyond health care reform
Health care isn't the only reform on President Barack Obama's mind even with a make-or-break House vote Sunday. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama reiterates the need for serious reform in the financial system to prevent another meltdown.
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MA targets bosses in insurance crackdown
Massachusetts has fined more than a thousand companies more than $18 million for failing to offer insurance to their workers. That's a small fraction of what some business owners fear could happen on a national scale if President Barack Obama signs a sweeping health care overhaul.
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Fatal crash investigation on I-95 in NH
State police say a teenager was killed and two others were injured when their pickup truck collided with a tractor trailer on Interstate 95, crossed a grass median and flipped over before stopping. New Hampshire State Police say the vehicle driven by 18-year-old Brandon Petit, of Raymond, N.H., cut in front of a tractor trailer while trying to get off at Exit 1 on Friday evening.
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Mass. immigrants preparing for DC reform march
Around 1,500 Massachusetts immigrants and their advocates are heading for an immigration reform rally in Washington, D.C. Fifteen buses are scheduled to leave the Bay State late Saturday for the planned Sunday march at the National Mall.
A bus from Fitchburg will transport some of the city's large Uruguayan population while buses from New Bedford will bring a large Central American group.
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Exhibit features portraits of Mass. war dead
The seventh anniversary of the Iraq War is being marked in Pembroke with a display of the portraits of about 130 Massachusetts soldiers who have died since the start of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The portraits are part of a traveling exhibit called Operation Home Ties: Faces of Remembrance. They will hang in Pembroke Town Hall through 8 p.m. on Saturday.
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Report takes closer look at NH Superfund site
A new study indicates that the cleanup of chemicals at a New Hampshire Superfund site has resulted in declining levels, but that past activity at the site may be related to elevated levels of arsenic found in some homeowners' wells. The state Department of Environmental Services and the Environmental Protection Agency are holding a public meeting in Raymond on Wednesday night to talk about it.
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Advocates: Don't cut state aid to Mass. towns
Education advocates are pushing back against proposed cuts in local aid and education spending as the state struggles with the recession's lingering effects. Legislative budget leaders have warned Massachusetts cities and towns to brace for a local aid cut of up to 4 percent in the coming budget year.
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RI asst. principal on leave after accusations
An assistant principal at a Providence high school has been placed on leave until police complete an investigation into child abuse accusations. Police said no charges have been filed in the ongoing probe of Mount Pleasant High School assistant principal Kela Moore, whom the school placed on leave Friday. Acording to a police report, the father of Moore's 8-year-old daughter reported Moore assaulted the girl last month.
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Child struck by police cruiser in NH
New Hampshire police say a 7-year-old girl was struck by a police cruiser after darting out from between parked cars onto a Manchester street. Police say the officer was traveling at a low rate of speed when the accident happened at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, but he was unable to avoid the girl, who bounced off the hood and back onto the street.
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Cape mom wants son's 2003 death probe reopened
The mother of a 10-year-old Massachusetts boy who was found dead in the White Mountains in 2003 says she's disappointed New Hampshire's attorney general isn't reopening the case. Attorney General Michael Delaney said Friday there's insufficient evidence to look into prosecuting someone in the death of Patric McCarthy of Cape Cod.
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NE Landscapers ready to come out of hibernation
Landscapers are hoping an extra-white winter along the East Coast means they'll be seeing a lot of green by repairing the damage left behind. A series of strong storms plagued the seaboard from Virginia on up this winter. Hurricane-strength winds blew through New England last month, and flooding also plagued the area.
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Kitty litter box theft suspect in Andover
An Andover man has been charged with stealing an automatic kitty litter box cleaner. Steven Beltran was arrested this week after police said he stole the automatic litter box cleaner valued at $300 from a Petco store in North Andover.
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Pope blasts Irish church officials for abuse scandal
Pope Benedict is rebuking Irish bishops for what he calls "grave errors of judgement" in handling clerical sex abuse. He's ordering a Vatican investigation into the Irish church to wipe out the scourge.
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| CBS |
Stoughton hospital suspending new admissions
State health officials have announced that New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton has voluntarily suspended admission of new patients after state officials cited the hospital for "serious concerns." The State Department of Public Health said in a statement Friday that a recent inspection identified "a number of serious concerns regarding documentation procedures, skin and wound care, intravenous medications and overall patient safety at the hospital."
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| Carol Shea-Porter |
Shea-Porter says she'll vote yes on health care
New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter says she will be voting yes to the health care bill. The Democrat made the decision after seeing the latest language. In a statement Friday, Shea-Porter says she supports the bill because it provides affordable health care for the middle-class and small businesses, and because it will reduce the deficit by $138 billion over the next 10 years.
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NH DOT commish: Don't put toll in Salem
New Hampshire's transportation commissioner has decided against installing tollbooths on Interstate 93 in Salem. In a letter sent to Gov. John Lynch on Friday, Commissioner George Campbell says that even though there is a $250 million shortfall in funding for the $800 million I-93 expansion project, the state shouldn't build the tolls.
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| John Hemingway, center, was discovered missing after his boat ran aground in Nantucket (WBZ-TV) |
Coast Guard suspends search for missing man
The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Nantucket man who went missing while sailing a skiff with his family. Thirty-six-year-old Jonathan Hemingway was reported missing Thursday after a sailing trip from Hyannis to Nantucket. Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen said the Coast Guard suspended the search late Friday morning.
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| President Barack Obama speaks about health care reform at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Friday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) |
Obama rallies support for health reform; Docs, AARP endorse plan
Counting down to the final votes on his health care legislation, President Barack Obama says the only question left to answer is: Will the country let the insurance companies win again? Rallying support at a campaign-style rally in northern Virginia on Friday, Obama said the insurance industry will continue to "run wild" if the House vote set for Sunday fails. Republicans are united in opposition to Obama's proposal, and House Democrats are still searching for the 216 votes they need to pass the Senate version of the sweeping overhaul bill and send it to the president for his signature.
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| Photo: MassDOT |
Green Line repairs finished early
MBTA Green Line service between Reservoir and Newton Highland Stations is back up and running. The rail line was shut down after rains from last weekend's storm washed away 60 feet of rail bed underneath the tracks. In just over three days, the MBTA says it was able to install a 250-foot, 18 inch diameter concrete drainage pipe, create a retaining wall, rebuild the rail bed and restore power to the overhead wires.
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State faces another budget shortfall
State officials say Massachusetts is facing a new budget gap of up to $295 million this year that could mean another round of cuts before the fiscal year ends in June. Patrick administration officials blamed the gap on rising demand for the health care program for low-income residents known as MassHealth, increasing demand for homeless shelters, and a shortfall in revenue from state fees and and federal aid.
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| Crews at work in Danvers (WBZ-AM) |
Sinkhole repairs underway in Danvers
They escaped serious widespread flooding, but the now the people in Danvers are dealing with a giant sinkhole in the middle of one of their most heavily traveled roads. In Danvers plan on detours if you need to travel on Route 62.
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| Patric McCarthy |
NH AG: Not enough evidence to prosecute death
New Hampshire's attorney general says there's not enough evidence to look into prosecuting someone in the case of a 10-year-old Massachusetts boy who was found dead in the White Mountains in 2003. Attorney General Michael Delaney was briefed on the case of Patric McCarthy last fall, when he took over as the state's top prosecutor.
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| U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (WBZ-TV) |
Congressman Lynch explains his opposition to health reform bill
Slowly but steadily, support is building behind President Barack Obama's health care legislation in the House, the result of intense lobbying and politically targeted changes aimed at reassuring waverers and winning over critics. However, one local Democrat is already breaking ranks. Congressman Stephen Lynch of South Boston tells WBZ NewsRadio he doesn't like what the Senate did to the original bill. "Unlike the bill I voted for in the House, the Senate bill has stripped out basically all the significant reform in the health care reform bill, it puts back the ability of the insurance companies to operate as monopolies. We had stripped that out."
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| Kim Peno in court Thursday (WBZ-TV) |
Rehoboth mom charged in death of 2-year old son
Authorities have filed a charge of murder against a Rehoboth mother after her 2-year-old boy she had allegedly beaten died in hospital. Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter says an upgraded criminal complaint was filed at Taunton District Court against Kim Peno on Friday afternoon, just hours after her son died at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I. The 38-year-old Peno was originally charged with assault and battery of a child causing substantial injury. She was held without bail at her arraignment Thursday in Taunton District Court pending a competency evaluation. Peno's lawyer says his client has a history of mental health issues.
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| Photo: Chiofaro Company |
Menino: We are not going to 'Manhattan-ize' the Greenway
A Boston developer says he will ditch plans to build a pair of skyscrapers near the New England Aquarium unless the city relaxes height restrictions and approves buildings tall enough to make the project economically viable. Don Chiofaro tells The Boston Globe the towers need to be 45 to 50 stories tall to attract investors willing to underwrite the costs of building on the waterfront. Mayor Tom Menino tells WBZ NewsRadio, "We are not going to Manhattan-ize the Greenway with high structures to block the view of the harbor and also the view of people that live around the neighborhood."
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MA immigrant advocates in final push for census
Immigrant activists in Massachusetts have began a final push to make sure that the state's immigrants take part in the U.S. Census.
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Springfield man charged with stabbing student
A Springfield man has been ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty to fatally stabbing a 17-year-old high school soccer star attending a birthday party at a city restaurant.
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| Jeff Thompson, a quadriplegic who died from injuries sustained in a wheelchair service-call incident Dec. 2007 in Boston. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Thompson family) NO SALES |
Family of paralyzed man sues over wheelchair death
A Boston family claims their quadriplegic son died after his wheelchair malfunctioned during routine maintenance, pinning his legs under a table and causing him to suffer seizures.
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| WBZ-AM |
Nor'easter clean-up tips
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director offers these tips for residents after the nor'easter of March 2010. If you have been evacuated, listen to the media and your local Public Safety officials. Do not return home until authorities indicate that it is safe to do so.
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