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Average Energy Bill Could Drop $115 Under National Grid Summer Rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Bay Staters who get their electricity through National Grid’s basic service could see their monthly bill drop by more than $100 under a new rate that would take effect in May, but the cost of power will still be higher than last summer. The utility filed its proposed summer supply rate with the Department of Public Utilities this week, proposing a shift from the winter rate of 33.89 cents per kilowatt hour to a rate of 14.12 cents/kWh for the six-month period from May through October. The company said a typical residential customer would see their bill drop from $297.22 to $181.83 if the rate is approved by DPU, a decrease of $115.39. “We understand that high energy costs have been challenging for customers,” Helen Burt, National Grid’s chief customer officer, said. “We are pleased that these new summer rates will help bring down the overall cost of electricity starting in May. We also know our customers pay bills, not rates. So, as summer heats up and ...

AP source: Patriots re-sign long snapper Cardona for 4 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Free agent long snapper Joe Cardona is returning to the Patriots on a new four-year contract worth $6.3 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiation said Friday.The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the contract hadn’t been announced.The deal was first reported by NFL Network.Cardona has been a staple part of New England’s special teams since joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He appeared in every game each of his first seven years in the league, but missed the final three games last season after being placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.He will be working with a new punter next season after 2020 All-Pro Jake Bailey was released last week.

Man arrested for ‘threatening folks with his rat’ at MBTA station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

A man “well-known” to police for causing disturbances with his pet rat on public transit was arrested for using the rodent to threaten people.Jeffrey Stewart, 57, of Boston was taken into custody at Oak Grove station on Thursday “for threatening folks with his rat,” MBTA Transit Police said.“He also was consuming alcohol, being disorderly (and) refused to leave,” Transit Police said on Twitter.The rat, Jerry, was turned over to animal control, Transit Police said.Stewart, who is facing disorderly conduct, trespassing and threats charges for Thursday’s incident in Malden, is known for scaring people with his rat, according to a December social media post from Transit Police.On Dec. 1, 2022, a Transit Police officer responded to a report of a disturbance on an MBTA bus and found Stewart sitting with a rat on his shoulder.“Other riders felt unsafe and exited,” Transit Police said at the time.The officer explained the T’s policy regarding animals on public transit, and escorted Stewart ...

Orioles’ left-handed bats hoping to continue forcing tough roster decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Kyle Stowers is happy with how feels mentally and physically. The young Orioles outfielder is as “confident as I think I’ve ever felt.” But each of his past few games, he’s been left with one at-bat he’s unhappy with.“If I feel like I’m swinging at pitches with the intent I want to have on those pitches, and if I get out doing that or strike out, then so be it,” Stowers said. “But if I go through an-bat and kind of seem to be on the pitcher’s terms a little more, that’s the thing that can be a little more frustrating.”Each at-bat will be vital for Stowers over the next two weeks as the Orioles sort out the final spots on the offensive side of their roster. He doesn’t set numerical benchmarks for himself and, amid spring training, he’s not even necessarily concerned with getting hits. But he wants to do everything he can to show he deserves one of Baltimore’s 26 roster spots come March 30.His co...

Cactus League report: Cubs catchers’ big-picture approach to competitions — and Oscar Colás tries out center field for Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Cody Bellinger finally hit his first spring home run — at least the first one that counted.Bellinger’s homer last week against Team Canada is not applied to Cactus League totals because it was an exhibition matchup. His home run Thursday, though, prevented the Cubs from getting shut out in a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Left-hander Drew Smyly went 4⅓ innings, giving up two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out four batters.Jameson Taillon threw 72 pitches in a minor-league game against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday after his sim game was rained out Wednesday. He surrendered four runs and seven hits, walked one and struck out seven in five innings.Sox manager Pedro Grifol saw some positives from the rain that canceled Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.“I didn’t plan the weather but when I saw it (in the forecast) a few days ago it was something that we thought would be good for us,” Grifol said Thurs...

Two one-way flights or one round-trip ticket: Which is better?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Booking a flight involves navigating a maze of decisions. Is it better to fly with a budget airline or full-service one? How about basic economy versus regular economy? And would you prefer pretzels or a cookie?Choosing between a single round-trip or two one-way tickets is the most basic decision and — you might be surprised to learn — one of the more nuanced.The cost between the two is usually the same for domestic flights but can vary significantly for international routes.Given that airfare was 26% more expensive in January 2023 than January 2022, according to the latest consumer price index data, budget travelers need to save every penny they can.In general, it can be more convenient to book a round-trip flight for a trip with specific start and end dates, but other considerations, such as cancellation policies and pricing, could make booking one-ways more appealing in some cases. And everything works differently for flights booked with miles.Let’s break it down.Domestic flights...

Commuters feel stranded by decision to replace decommissioned Scarborough RT with buses until 2030

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

For nearly four decades, thousands of Torontonians have relied on the Scarborough RT as an essential part of their commute. But when the transit line is decommissioned later this year, it will be replaced with shuttle buses until the Line 2 East Extension opens in 2030 — seven years from now.“Seven years! That’s horrible. I used to drive for the TTC and the shuttle buses, I tell you, is not the answer. Not the answer at all,” said John Petch, a commuter who uses the Scarborough RT.“They waited way too long,” Petch continued. “We still haven’t got a subway all the way out to Scarborough. And it’s been, what, 50 years now? 50 years is a long time. I mean, the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup was in 1967.”“I have to travel to Kipling and coming to Scarborough Centre every day and taking [the] blue line,” said another commuter, Monica. “If I don’t have this, it will become longer for me.” In 2022 alone, nearly five million trips were take...

Mass to be held in honour of victims in Quebec town where pedestrians struck by truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

AMQUI, Que. — A memorial mass will be held this evening in the Quebec town where two people were killed and nine injured when a pickup truck crashed into pedestrians.Two men, Gérald Charest and Jean Lafrenière, died after being struck on Monday afternoon.Police have said those injured in the crash range in age from less than a year old to 77, and on Thursday a Quebec City hospital said two injured adults remained in critical condition.The mass will be held at Saint-Benoît-Joseph-Labre church in Amqui.A candlelight vigil was held in front of the church Thursday evening in the town about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.Steeve Gagnon, 38, is facing two counts of dangerous driving causing death, and prosecutors have said more charges will follow.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2023.The Canadian Press

Discarded explosives in South Sudan kill 10, including kids

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — At least 10 people in South Sudan, including three children, have been killed after mistaking unexploded ordnance for scrap metal, an official said Friday.The commissioner of Jur River county, James Bak, confirmed Thursday’s accident in Western Bahr el Ghazal and said two other children were injured.He said people in Jebel-Mille area had been gathering mangoes when they came across the unexploded ordnance and assumed it was metal scrap. They started collecting it for sale when it exploded, he said.“It killed seven women and three children,” Bak told The Associated Press. The wounded children’s mothers were among those killed.Mines and other unexploded ordnance remain a major problem in South Sudan, which is recovering from a five-year civil war that ended in 2018. More than 5,000 South Sudanese have been killed or injured by land mines and unexploded ordnance since 2004, according to the United Nations Mine Action Service. Hundreds of victi...

UK officer guilty of misconduct for clubbing ex-soccer star

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British police officer was allowed to keep her job Friday after a disciplinary panel found her guilty of gross misconduct for unlawfully clubbing former professional soccer player Dalian Atkinson, who died after another officer used a stun gun and kicked him in the head.An independent police disciplinary tribunal gave constable Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith a written warning after finding she unlawfully struck the Black former Aston Villa striker three times with her baton after he was subdued by her partner during an altercation in August 2016.The West Mercia officer could have been stripped of her badge by the panel that was convened in Telford after she was acquitted at a criminal trial of causing bodily harm.Bettley-Smith’s conduct was “indeed serious” but she was on the periphery of the event and her partner’s role was “several stages of magnitude different,” prosecutor Dijen Basu said at the hearing.Constable Benjamin Monk was sentenced in 2021 to ...