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MBTA auditing buses after driver safety mics failed at high rates, emails say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

The MBTA is in the process of auditing its fleet of buses after a review of 30 across three garages found issues with emergency communication equipment, including a covert microphone drivers can use to talk to dispatchers, according to internal emails obtained by the Herald.The emails show top safety officials acknowledging the issue this week, coming up with a workaround for the covert microphone problem, pledging to continue auditing a sample of buses this weekend before turning to a larger fleetwide review next week, and saying they communicated the issue with dispatchers.Deputy Chief Safety Officer Dennis Lytton told MBTA officials about the emergency communication equipment failure rates on the 30 buses in a Friday email that mentioned the covert microphones and other safety features like an interior camera.“Besides a much larger audit of the fleet as a first step, I think there needs to be a discussion about how we communicate this to bus operators, bus dispatchers, and others...

Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean Peninsula, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.Sevastopol was put under an air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed. Loud blasts were also heard near Vilne in northern Crimea, followed by rising clouds of smoke, according to a pro-Ukraine Telegram news channel that reports on developments on the peninsula. Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022.Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of...

Saturday Forecast: High 70s, warm welcome to Fall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

Saturday: Decreasing clouds & a bit breezy. ESE 5-15 mph. Air quality is Moderate to Good for Chicagoland. High 78, 72 lakesideSaturday Night: Partly cloudy & mild. E 5-15 mph. Low 60, cooler outlying areasChicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Sunday: Partly sunny and mild temps. Slight chance of an iso. shower. ESE 5-15 mph. High 74, upper 60s lakesideExtended outlook calls for a chance of showers/sprinkles into Monday with mostly cloudy skies and temps in the comfortable mid to low 70s. Partly sunny skies and temps in the low 70s on Tuesday. We'll see more sunshine and warmer temps to near 80 by the end of this week. 

Why you might want to wait to get the new COVID booster

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – An updated COVID-19 vaccine has arrived, but it may be too late to do anything to turn the tide on the months-long summer surge we've seen in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. If you're one of the many, many people who has come down with the virus in recent weeks, do you really need to rush out to get another immunity boost?At the very least, you should wait until you're feeling better and out of your isolation period before you get a vaccine dose, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises. But you may want to consider waiting even longer, the CDC acknowledges. Because you get some natural immunity from a recent infection, waiting up to 3 months to get a booster shot could "extend that protection out by delaying," explained Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, health officer in Seattle and King County, in a recent briefing on updated vaccinations. Who shouldn’t get the new COVID booster? "Everyone needs to look at their own personal situation," said Duchin. Someone ...

9 rattlesnakes of Texas and how to spot them

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Hiss! It's that time of year in Texas when rattlesnakes are slithering out as temperatures (hopefully) start cooling.The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has a handy education guide on snakes of Texas, including copperheads, cottonmouths and coral snakes. But the most plentiful type of snake in Texas is the rattlesnake, which we'll focus on. Rattlesnakes are out and about, and here’s what to do if you get bitten The department notes that Texans should not kill or disturb snakes, not even poisonous ones. Snakes will generally retreat from humans if they can.Here are the nine types you'll find in the Lone Star State.Western DiamondbackLooks like: Typically about 3.5-4.5 feet long with brown diamond-shaped marks down its back. Tail usually has black and white stripes ahead of the rattle (see second photo below for better view).Lives near: Found all across Texas, except for the easternmost part.Crotalus atrox, western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-back, venom...

Police look for suspect in Austin store robbery

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is asking for help identifying a suspect in an East Austin store robbery.APD said the robbery happened Aug. 24 just after 11:30 a.m. at the Conn's HomePlus store in the Capital Plaza off Interstate 35. Police said the suspect made threats to shoot the store employee and left the store with merchandise. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 20 and 30. Police said he is 5 feet, 2 inches in height and about 120 pounds. APD said he has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing glasses, a gray Reebok shirt, a black jacket, blue jeans and black Nike shoes. Police said people with information should contact its robbery unit at 512-974-5092 or the Capital Area Crime Stoppers program at austincrimestoppers.org or 512-472-8477.

Soucheray: Like a moth to a flame, like a squirrel to a squirrel-proof feeder, I’m drawn …

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

My horrible summer compulsion began with the “weight-activated squirrel-proof” bird feeder, advertised on social media in videos of spinning squirrels thwarted in their endless pursuit of bird food. Imagine a small child, uninjured, flung off a spinning tilt-a-whirl.Joe SoucherayThe sales pitch shows an outdoorsy homeowner in L.L. Bean flannel installing a tall, sturdy cylindrical feeder with a round, wire platform on which the birds perch. Ah, but if a squirrel grabs the same wire, it spins wildly — weight activated! — and the squirrel flings off into the bushes or onto the ground.This looked like colossal fun. I ordered immediately. Two feeders hang outside the window of what passes for my office. I have immensely enjoyed watching the feeding birds only to have the birds frightened away by marauding squirrels who grab onto the feeder inelegantly and devour its contents.Now, thanks to some genius, I had the solution on order. With excitement normally reserved for ...

Police searching for suspects after bar shooting in Downey 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

A search is underway for the suspects who opened fire and wounded four people at a bar in Downey early Saturday morning. According to the Downey Police Department, the shooting took place shortly before 1:20 a.m. at Joseph’s Bar and Grill, located in the 11000 block of Downey Avenue. Upon arriving on scene, officers discovered four victims – three men and one woman – suffering from gunshot wounds. They were each transported to area hospitals in serious condition.  The shooting took place shortly before 1:20 a.m. at Joseph’s Bar and Grill, located in the 11000 block of Downey Avenue. (KTLA)The shooting took place shortly before 1:20 a.m. at Joseph’s Bar and Grill, located in the 11000 block of Downey Avenue. (KeyNews)A man being transported to a nearby hospital after being shot at a bar in Downey, California on Sept. 23, 2023. (KeyNews)The men have since been downgraded to stable condition, but the woman is fighting for her life, authorities said.  Woman ar...

Cleaning up the city’s mess is downright criminal in San Jose

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

The old saying that “No good deed goes unpunished” was on full display in San Jose this week when city officials suggested that fines might be in order involving the historic but dilapidated First Church of Christ, Scientist building overlooking St. James Park. Not just for property owner Z&L Properties, which allowed the site to become blighted, but for Garden City Construction’s Jim Salata — whose crews removed the tarp and boarded up open windows last month.City Councilmember Omar Torres says city staff told him Salata’s team trespassed to do the work and that while Salata was well-intentioned “a crime is a crime.”Madness! This is real “Alice in Wonderland” stuff, and — based on the responses on neighborhood email lists, letters to the Mercury News and social media posts — a lot of people think so, too. Jon Ball, a retired construction executive who has lived in San Jose for nearly 30 years, wrote an email to t...

Caltrans closes Highway 87 for major pavement repairs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

Highway 87 closuresAfter closing northbound Highway 87 for major pavement repair work from Sept. 22-25, Caltrans is set to do the same in the southbound direction the weekend of Oct. 20. Closure will start Fridays after 9 p.m. and conclude the following Monday by no later than 5 a.m.Highway 87 will be closed between highways 280 and 85  to allow for concrete pavement in traffic lanes to be replaced. Detours will be in effect. All work is dependent on weather and other conditions. These weekend closures are intended to reduce the number of overnight lane closures needed to complete this work by 2024 instead of completing in late 2025.Caltrans will perform major pavement rehabilitation on the two center traffic lanes in both the northbound and southbound directions of Highway 87. The roadway has become worn and in need of major repairs due to decades of high traffic use.For more information, visit https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-santa-clara-sr87-roadway-r...