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T Faulted for Unmet, Unclear Track Inspection Responsibilities

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

A lack of clarity around the roles and responsibilities of positions within the MBTA, especially those in charge of track inspections, is the first and primary cause of issues that have plagued the troubled transit system in recent years, according to a new report.“Contributing to the situation is the limited track maintenance experience of individuals with track inspection responsibility, inadequate training for these individuals, the absence of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the visual and vendor inspections and a vendor inspection process that does not adequately engage the MBTA individuals with front line responsibility for timely verification and action associated with track defects,” the independent audit by Carlson Transport Consulting, LLC says.The secondary root cause, the review says, is that individuals were not “completely fulfilling the responsibilities” of track maintenance and safety standards for the Blue, Orange, Red and G...

Tobago a warm and friendly solo travel destination

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

Lacey Pfalz | (TNS) TravelPulseWhen traveling to Tobago, you’ll find that the Caribbean ocean and the balmy tropical temperatures aren’t the only warm things on the island. The people are, too.Solo travel can be a tricky thing to plan, but Tobago offers a small enough place to get around easily, with enough attractions to ensure you will have enough to do by yourself.Crown Point is the village closest to the airport, where travelers will find hotels, cozy bed and breakfasts or apartment rentals to suit whatever travel style you’re looking for. The village also has convenience stores within walking distance for travelers who choose to stay somewhere with a kitchen, while those looking to get in touch with local cuisine and culture can enjoy the various bars and restaurants around town.For visitors looking for wellness and seclusion opportunities, to get in touch with themselves or the world around them, the Kariwak Village hotel is a great choice. It offers daily yoga sessions and lu...

Lawsuit filed against SeaWorld San Diego for failure to pay rent

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- SeaWorld San Diego was pushed in the deep end Thursday after being handed a lawsuit by the very city in which it operates.The legal action claims that the theme park owes $12.23 million in unpaid rent, penalties, and interest on the nearly 200-acres of city-owned property.City attorney Mara Elliott announced the lawsuit around 11 a.m. on behalf of San Diego taxpayers who she says are owed by the corporation. The Forum Carlsbad adds three new stores “SeaWorld owes San Diego taxpayers more than $12 million -- a delinquency they acknowledged in their annual report,” Elliott stated. “Their efforts to shift their financial obligations to hard-working San Diegans is repugnant and will not be tolerated. ”SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. earned $1.7 billion in revenue last year, according to its annual report. Elliott says the theme park must pay a minimum of $10.4 million per year, plus a 3% surcharge, under the terms of its lease agreement with the city.The suit comes after the...

Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh predicts ‘concrete steps soon’ to address ethics concerns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told a judicial conference on Thursday he hopes there will be “concrete steps soon” to address recent ethics concerns surrounding the court, but he stopped short of addressing calls for justices to institute an official code of conduct.“We can increase confidence. We’re working on that,” Kavanaugh told the conference attended by judges, attorneys and other court personnel in Ohio. He said all nine justices recognize that public confidence in the court is important, particularly now.Public trust in the court is at a 50-year low following a series of divisive rulings, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade federal abortion protections last year, and published reports about the justices’ undisclosed paid trips and other ethical concerns.“There’s a storm around us in the political world and the world at large in America,” Kavanaugh said. “We, as judges and the legal system, need to try to be a little more, I think, of the calm in ...

6 men arrested, 40-plus charges laid in $1.9 million GTA auto theft ring

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

Peel Regional Police have made six arrests and laid over 40 charges in an extensive auto-theft crime ring spanning the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as authorities search for two other wanted men.Police said on Thursday that Project Vinny began in September 2022. The nearly year-long investigation was in response to several vehicle thefts across Peel Region and the GTA.Investigators confirmed some of the stolen vehicles were being “re-vinned,” fraudulently re-registered and illegally sold to members of the public. “Re-vinning” a car is the action of changing the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from a stolen one to a legitimate one.In all, police said six men were arrested, 42 charges were laid, and 22 vehicles at a value of $1.95 million were recovered. Those vehicles include 13 Land Rovers, two Porsches, five Dodge Rams, one Honda CRV and one Cadillac SRX.Deputy Chief Marc Andrews said officers were able to link similar types of vehicle thefts in Peel and Y...

California lawmakers approve new tax for guns and ammunition to pay for school safety improvements

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday voted to raise taxes on guns and ammunition and use the money to pay for gun violence prevention programs and security improvements at public schools. The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition nationwide. The government gives that money to the states, which spend it on wildlife conservation and hunter safety programs. California’s proposed tax, if it becomes law, would be 11% — matching the highest tax imposed by the federal government on guns.Most states don’t have a special tax just for guns. Pennsylvania collects a $3 surcharge on gun sales and uses the money to pay for background checks. Fees in California total more than $37 on gun sales, with most of that money covering the cost of background checks.The bill — authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Encino — cleared the California Senate on Thursday. It has already passed the state Assembly, but Assembly members must v...

An ailing American explorer trapped 3,000 feet deep in Turkish cave awaits difficult rescue

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the cave’s entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkey’s communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.“The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface,” said Dickey. “ … I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge....

Ta’Kiya Young, killed by police in an Ohio parking lot, is mourned along with her unborn child

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ta’Kiya Young treated her two little boys like kings, dressing them sharply, letting them have too many sweets, cooking them big gourmet meals of T-bone steak with broccoli, cheese and rice.The royal life also awaited her unborn daughter.When Young found out she was pregnant with her third child — a girl — she was thrilled. The 21-year-old Ohio mom and aspiring social worker bought a stack of adorable onesies in anticipation of the baby’s arrival. She scheduled a photo shoot to show off her baby bump. She applied for public housing and looked forward to the day when she and her growing brood would have a place to call their own.Instead, Young’s grieving family held her funeral on Thursday, exactly two weeks after a police officer in the Columbus suburbs fatally shot her in her car in a supermarket parking lot.About 100 people showed up at the Church of Christ in Columbus for Young’s service, many of them dressed in various shades of vibrant pink — her favorite ...

Severe flooding in Greece leaves at least 6 dead and 6 missing, villages cut off

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Widespread flooding in central Greece left at least six people dead, six missing and dozens trapped, with severe rainstorms feeding raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges, hurled cars into the sea and left large areas without power or drinking water.Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, with rescue teams in Turkey on Thursday recovering the body of a 53-year-old man who had been missing since floods gushed through a campsite near the border with Bulgaria, sweeping away bungalows. The recovery brought the death toll in Turkey to eight, and to a total of 18 in all three countries since the rains began Tuesday.In Greece, authorities deployed divers and swift water rescue specialists as residents in some villages took refuge on the roofs of their homes to escape floodwaters that rose to more than 2 meters (6 feet).More than 60 people, including a baby, were airlifted to safety in an operation involving te...

Kosovo’s president says Serb investigators are dragging their feet over attacks on NATO peacekeepers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:00:36 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Kosovo’s president on Thursday accused Serbian investigators of dragging their feet over an inquiry into attacks on NATO peacekeepers earlier this year in which dozens of troops and police officers were injured, some of them seriously.President Vjosa Osmani also called on European Union officials to refrain from showing any favoritism in talks next week aimed at improving Kosovo’s tense relations with Serbia.“Those who attacked NATO on the 29th of May are clearly known to law enforcement agencies,” she told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels after talks with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Video footage, Osmani said, shows that some “are police officers who came all the way from Serbia.”“They have not been suspended from their jobs,” she said. “They’re not facing any consequences whatsoever.”The clashes happened after Serbs living in the north of Kosovo boycotted local elections there. When newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors began to move into their new...