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Pozniak: Constituent outreach vital part of job for local pols

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

The legendary Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, from North Cambridge, famously said “all politics is local.” While lobbying him in Washington, I remember asking the late speaker what he meant by those words. He explained that too often, elected officials fail to regularly communicate and engage with those they were elected to serve. He made the point of saying that elected officials need to be better at constituent outreach on the local level by meeting, listening and sharing information.Two former members of our Congressional delegation exemplified this; Robert Drinan and Niki Tsongas. Drinan, of Newton, was the first Catholic priest ever elected to Congress. As his communications advisor on human rights, I saw first-hand his high energy approach to constituent outreach. Every weekend, he traveled through his district meeting with constituents to learn what was on their minds and update them on the work he was doing in Congress. He was a discip...

Vaughn: End of virtual Housing Court sessions burdens low-income communities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

As residents of our affluent community, it is essential that we recognize the challenges faced by our fellow citizens in less privileged areas. Recently, I received information from a concerned constituent highlighting a growing issue that demands immediate attention: the detrimental impact of changes in the Housing Court system on low-income individuals and families.Across the state, both in public and private housing disputes, individuals are required to navigate the Housing Court, which serves as a separate part of the judiciary. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual proceedings through platforms like Zoom were successfully implemented, offering convenience and efficiency for landlords, tenants, and all parties involved. However, the introduction of a new head of the system has abruptly terminated these virtual practices, causing significant disruption and hardship.Under the new system, administrative matters that previously took a mere 30 minutes via Zoom now require a t...

Dear Abby: Married woman wants more from affair partner

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

Dear Abby: In high school, I had a close male friend, “Adam.” After graduation, I moved out of state. We remained friends for a while in college, calling, writing and visiting each other. He often declared his love for me, but I was interested only in a friendship. As with most high school relationships, we lost contact. Now, rereading old letters from friends, I realize there was a constant theme that we were perfect for each other and I should give him a chance.Fast-forward 20 years: My husband and I went back for a high school reunion and I met Adam’s wife. We all went out to dinner and had a very nice time. Adam and I exchanged phone numbers, agreed to stay in touch and we actually did. For eight years, we have been texting and staying in touch.Our marriages have deteriorated and we complain about our spouses, but also have real conversations and have grown very close. Three months ago, we met halfway between our two cities and began an affair. We now meet once...

CRSSD Festival to return to San Diego's Waterfront Park

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Ready for an electronic music experience? The CRSSD Festival is returning to San Diego this fall, aiming to converge the past, present and future of the genre.The event will take place at downtown San Diego's Waterfront Park on Sept. 23 and 24, concert officials announced Tuesday.Star performers include British live electronic pioneers Underworld and Fatboy Slim, Grammy-awarded Australian DJ Flume, British Production powerhouse Basement Jaxx, among others. Where to watch July 4th fireworks in San Diego Here are other performers on the Fall 2023 lineup:Amelie LensBarry Can’t SwimBasement Jaxx (DJ set)Ben Böhmer (live)BlackchildCassianCharlotte de WitteChris Lake B2B ClooneeChris StussyÉtienne de Crécy B3B DJ Falcon B3B BoombassEliza RoseElderbrookEmmit FennEnrico SangiulianoEwan McVicarFarragoFatboy SlimFidelesFisherFjaak (DJ set)FlumeHaaiInterplanetary CriminalJayda GKučkaLadytronLayla BenitezLP GiobbiMutoNikki NairObjekt B2B Call SuperOvermonoPatrick masonRöyksoppSal...

To fight berry-busting fruit flies, researchers focus on sterilizing the bugs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

Paul Nelson is used to doing battle with an invasive fruit fly called the spotted wing drosophila, a pest that one year ruined more than half the berries on the Minnesota farm he and his team run. In recent years, they’ve cut their losses closer to 5%, but it’s been labor-intensive and expensive.“It’s a pest that if you’re not willing to stick the time into it, it’s going to take over your farm,” said Nelson, the head grower at Untiedt’s, a vegetable and fruit operation about an hour west of Minneapolis.Nelson and other growers may someday get a new tool as a result of research at North Carolina State University into the insects, which ruin the berries by laying their eggs in them and have been estimated to cost growers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The researchers, using a concept called “gene drive,” manipulated the insects’ DNA so that the female offspring would be sterile, and the method they used to achieve it significantly reduced the chance...

Historic Boston church where the Revolution was sparked to host its first play

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Old North Church played a pivotal role in the nation’s fight for independence and has continued to be an active house of worship for 300 years. Today, one of Boston’s most popular tourist attractions is also, for the first time, a theater hosting an original play.“Revolution’s Edge,” set the day before the start of the American Revolution, is a dramatic imagining of the interactions of three real people with different views whose lives are about to be upended by the impending war, and explores what the events will mean for their families.The play opening Thursday is set just hours before two men hung two lanterns in the church’s bell tower on April 18, 1775 — to signal that British soldiers were heading across the Charles River, and to Lexington and Concord. The event has been immortalized in the line “One if by land, and two if by sea” in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1860 poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.”“This is a moment of intense drama and a moment...

No winning ticket sold for Tuesday’s $10 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

There was no winning ticket sold in Tuesday’s Lotto Max $10 million draw.The jackpot for the next draw on June 16 will be an estimated $15 million.The Canadian Press

An Amazon rainforest rite of passage in threatened territory

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

ALTO RIO GUAMA INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil (AP) — The Indigenous adolescents danced in a circle under the thatched-roof hut from nearly dawn to dusk while parents looked on from the perimeter. Some of the adults smoked tobacco mixed with the wood from a local tree in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. The seemingly endless loop of the procession, taking place over six long days this month, was leaving some Tembé Tenehara youngsters with swollen and bandaged feet. They were receiving little to eat and spending each night sleeping in hammocks slung in the hut. But in the Alto Rio Guama territory, it is all part of a vital rite of passage known as “Wyra’whaw.”Girls taking part in the coming-of-age ritual had already had their first period. Boys’ voices had begun to slip into lower registers. Upon the final day, the girls and boys would be viewed by the Teko-Haw village as women and men, and assume their roles leading the community into an uncertain future. “We know of other ethnic (Indigenou...

18-year-old trainee shot 3 soldiers at firing range on Japanese army base, killing 2, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An 18-year-old army trainee shot three fellow soldiers at a firing range on a Japanese army base Wednesday, killing two of them, officials said.The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene in Gifu prefecture in central Japan, police said. The suspect fired a rifle at other soldiers during a shooting exercise at the Hino Kihon firing range, police said. Among the three wounded is a 25-year-old soldier, police said. The Ground Self Defense Force, Japan’s army, confirmed that two of those wounded were later pronounced dead at a hospital.A number of other people were believed to be participating in the training when the shooting occurred, but details are still under investigation, an army official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.Japan has been known for its safety, with strict gun control laws, but high-profile violence has occurred in recent years, including shootings and random knifings on subways and arson attacks, and there is g...

Toyota shareholders reject proposal demanding better performance on climate change

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:53 GMT

TOYOTA, Japan (AP) — Toyota executives fielded challenges and reaped praise from investors at an annual general meeting Wednesday where shareholders ultimately rejected demands the automaker do better on fighting climate change. The investor proposal was initiated by AkademikerPension, a $20 billion Danish investment fund. It accused Toyota Motor Corp. of lobbying to weaken efforts by governments around the world to phase out the internal combustion engine. Shareholders applauded in rejecting the proposal, as expected, at the meeting in Toyota city, central Japan.The majority of Toyota shares are held by the company and its group companies, retired employees and others sympathetic to the company’s perspective.The shareholders’ proposal challenged the reappointment of Toyota’s chairman, Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company founder and a board director, arguing the company has lagged in keeping up with the global shift to battery electric vehicles.Toyoda and other company ...