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South Beach Seafood Festival returns for 11th year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

South Beach Seafood Festival is back for its 11th year of finger lickin fun. Just make sure to wash your hands.It kicks off at the start of Miami’s famous stone crab season, but there’s plenty more fish in the sea.This highly anticipated event promises an unforgettable experience for foodies and fun seekers alike.You know how they say there are plenty of fish in the sea? I have not found that to be true of the dating scene but definitely for eating.At Lummus Park over the next four days, endless tastings, chef competitions and cooking demonstrations.Plus, an open bar. Oh, I’m sold.The South Beach Seafood Festival is, in a way, the whole point of living here.Valerie: Sun, sand, beach, cocktails, it’s great.”And if that’s not enough.Alex Miranda: “I do love a fish filet from McDonald’s. What are you going to tell me to get me to come out to the festival?”Valerie: “Well, do you love stone crabs? Do you love sushi? Surf and tur...

Fire engulfs North Lauderdale home, forcing family out

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

A family was forced out of their North Lauderdale home by flames.Fire tore through their back patio, then spread to the roof of their home Tuesday afternoon.Firefighters called out to tackle the flames along Southwest 16th Court and 65th Avenue.Fortunately, no one was hurt.Officials believe someone was cooking on the patio when that fire ignited.

Authorities capture juvenile cross-country carjackers in Miami

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

A cross-county carjacking led to a chase and capture.Police said four juveniles tried their best to avoid being caught in Lauderdale Lakes Tuesday morning after bailing from a stolen car.Officials also said that they took the victim’s vehicle at gunpoint from a Miami gym.All four were eventually taken into custody.

Massachusetts State Police union seeks tougher penalties for move over law violations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Drivers could be slapped with higher fines and possible jail time for failing to slow down and change lanes for roadside emergency vehicles, as part of changes to a 2009 “move over law” sought by the State Police Association of Massachusetts.Failure to comply with this law has led to injury and death for state troopers, firefighters and tow truck operators, state police union representatives testified at a Tuesday legislative hearing, where several bills on the matter were considered.“It is imperative to protect our first responders so we can protect you,” said Patrick McNamara, president of the State Police Association. “Failure to obey this law results in lives disrupted, irrevocably altered and lost in a blink of an eye.”“Virtually every instance” where a motorist failed to slow down and move over, and then ultimately hit a first responder was preventable, he added.Three proposed bills are seeking to update what state Sen. Walter Timilty called an “archaic” penalty structure that...

Winthrop police officer cleared of wrongdoing in shooting, killing perpetrator of racist, deadly 2021 rampage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Winthrop Police Sgt. Nicholas Bettano, who shot and killed a committed racist who killed two black bystanders during a rampage in 2021, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.“Our investigation makes clear that the officer’s actions were justified that tragic day,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement released with the investigation’s findings on Tuesday.“Indeed, it is likely that this officer’s brave actions saved others from being injured or killed as a result of Nathan Allen’s racially motivated rampage,” the DA added. “This was a terrifying incident for Winthrop, rooted in Nathan Allen’s deep White Supremacist hatred.”DA: Winthrop rampage shooter Nathan Allen. (Suffolk DA photo.)Allen, 28, had written in his journal, in an entry decorated with a Swastika and featuring many racial epithets, at an unknown date that he had determined that “Racism is good. Natural. Killing (expletive) is in our blood. We need to do this while we are apex predators.”Come...

Gun control proposal will get a vote after lawmakers attach it to budget bill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Following a procedural move gun rights groups are calling a legislative “shell game,” lawmakers will vote on a controversial new gun bill this week, after House leadership revealed they had attached much of the bill to the 2023 close-out budget.On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee polled its membership on whether they might vote in favor of recommending “H.4090 ‘An Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2023 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects’ in part, as amended; see attached.”Attached to that bill, which was submitted in September by Gov. Maura Healey with an aim toward closing the books on the state’s fiscal 2023 budget, was the third version of the House’s gun legislation.Originally proposed by Stoneham Rep. Michael Day as HD. 4420, or An Act modernizing firearms laws, gun owners met the first draft bill with alarm at many of its provisions. As written, according to opponents, the bill would mak...

Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, Norfolk Tides, sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings but expected to stay put, sources say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

The Norfolk Tides, the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, are being sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns more than 20 minor league baseball teams, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed Tuesday.The ownership change puts the team in no danger of leaving the market, the sources said.The Tides are owned by a group led by longtime food service executive Ken Young, who spearheaded the team’s purchase in the early 1990s.Norfolk is operating under a player development contract that runs through 2030. The club signed a two-year extension to its Harbor Park lease with the city that runs through the 2024 season and is expected to be extended long-term in the near future.Last month, the Tides won their first International League title since 1985. They followed that by winning the Triple-A National Championship Game in Las Vegas.Norfolk’s roster this season included several of the Orioles’ most highly regarded prospects, including 19-year-old shortstop ...

Analysis: Red Sox outfield was mixed bag in 2023 but promising future ahead

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

The Red Sox outfield played out simultaneously as expected and unexpectedly in 2023.Like the team overall, the outfield was a mixed bag. Unlike the roster as a whole however, which is a giant question mark heading into the offseason, the outfield is set up for success for several seasons to come.After making a bold declaration at spring training, Alex Verdugo followed through with a strong defensive campaign. He led the Red Sox with plus-9 Defensive Runs Saved, and ranked in the 95th MLB percentile in arm strength. His plus-1 Outs Above Average tied for sixth among Major League right fielders, an improvement over minus-1 OAA in two seasons prior.Unfortunately, the 27-year-old still struggled to maintain consistency at the plate. There was a slight increase in power – he matched his career-high 13 home runs – and his walk rate jumped to 7.5 percent, up from 6.5-percent in 2022. However, his batting average and on-base percentage dropped while his strikeout rate climbed to 15.5 percen...

Were college campuses COVID hot spots? Boston University study shows that test-trace-isolate strategies prevented spread for most COVID cases

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

While many worried during the heat of the pandemic that college campuses would be COVID hot spots, a new study out of Boston University shows what strategies worked to limit the virus’ spread on campus.The study from Boston University’s COVID Clinical Testing Lab and Contact Tracing — along with researchers from Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine — has found that public health interventions prevented transmission for most COVID case introductions at BU.Only two major campus outbreaks were identified from January to May 2021, according to the scientists.The university’s test-trace-isolate strategies were “highly effective in limiting respiratory infection transmission,” the researchers said. These findings have implications for transmission protocols for other respiratory diseases and possible future outbreaks, they noted.“We found that genetically linked cases overlap with outbreaks identified by contact traci...

Mariano raises questions about Gov. Healey’s limit on emergency shelter capacity

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

House Speaker Ron Mariano raised questions Tuesday about Gov. Maura Healey’s gambit to put a capacity limit on emergency shelter available to newly-arrived migrants and homeless families in Massachusetts.The state’s right-to-shelter law requires officials to provide homeless families and pregnant women with temporary housing, including migrants who are in Massachusetts lawfully. The mandate has created what public leaders have described as an unsustainable situation — a non-stop flow of new arrivals makes for a never-ending demand for shelter.But Healey said Monday the state would limit the number of families in emergency assistance shelters to 7,500 and put those who cannot fit on a waitlist, a move Mariano said creates uncertainty for many.“I don’t know if she has the authority to cap it,” Mariano said. “What happens if someone shows up? What does she do? We haven’t got a clear answer for that. If there is no place to put them, where do they go?”Healey said the state will no...