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Beth Murphy, the Murphy’s Bleachers owner who battled the Chicago Cubs over the Wrigleyville rooftops, dies at 68

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Bleachers, a popular bar among Chicago Cubs fans, was as well-known in Wrigleyville as some of the players.Murphy’s battles with the Cubs over rooftop owners’ rights played out in newspapers and on local newscasts for years, pitting the small business owners against one of baseball’s oldest and most valuable franchises.It made Murphy a local celebrity and one of Wrigleyville’s most respected business owners.“She always valued the bar’s contribution to the neighborhood,” said Karen Cholipski, her longtime friend.Murphy, 68, died Monday after a long bout with kidney cancer.The bar announced her death on Twitter, saying she “peacefully passed away” in the morning. The marquee of the iconic bar at the corner of Waveland and Sheffield avenues simply said: “WE WILL MISS YOU BETH.”“She just always helped a neighbor out,” said Freddy Fagenholz, general manager of Murphy’s...

HS lacrosse: Reading boys bounce back vs. Billerica

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

READING — After its first loss of the season to BC High last weekend, Reading’s boys lacrosse program wanted to send a message that the Rockets still belong among the state’s elite.On Monday, the Granara trio delivered that message. Cullen Granara paced things with a hat trick, with Robbie Granara (two goals) sniping the eventual game-winning tally. Meanwhile, Finn Granara (10 saves) preserved the victory in the cage as Reading knocked off Billerica in a highly anticipated 8-7 thriller.“We didn’t think we played particularly well (against BC High),” said Reading coach Charlie Hardy. “Today, we played better. This is a good team, well-coached. Good athletes, hard nosed kids. (Billerica’s) a good program, as we all know.”The matchup featured arguably the top two squads in the Div. 2 field. From the opening whistle, the schools exchanged blows. After falling behind 3-1 early, the Rockets responded with three unanswered goals of their own. Cullen Granara buried his first tally with 1:57...

BC High has 16 hits, rocks St. John’s Prep

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

DANVERS — BC High’s first trip around the Catholic Conference is off to a roaring start.Andrew Manning blasted a three-run homer as part of a 16-hit effort while Mason Lombard fired a complete game as BC High overwhelmed rival St. John’s Prep, 16-2, in a five inning affair on Monday afternoon at Pete Frates Diamond in Danvers.The Eagles (5-3, 3-0) have now won three league games all via run rule.“Andrew’s first inning home run ignited us for sure,” BC High coach Steve Healy said. “We were relentless all game. Even the guys we cycled in got on base. Then Mason was efficient.”BC High got started in the top of the first inning as three straight hits capped off by a Cole Bohane double put the visitors up 1-0. That’s when Manning took center stage as the senior first baseman connected on a moonshot to dead center for a three-run home run to give BC High a 4-0 advantage.“I was looking for a fastball and got it and thankfully was able t...

That’s right!

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

The state’s first annual Right Whale Day was celebrated with some fin-fare at the New England Aquarium.The scientists say they’ve documented more than 100 individual North Atlantic right whales in Cape Cod Bay this season as they spend more time in recent years feeding in Massachusetts waters before moving north to Canada later in the spring.Dozens more whales have also been sighted during New England Aquarium aerial surveys south of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.Still, the whales remain endangered.Chomper Hartman,6, from Berlin VT, carries a stuffed turtle past an inflatable Right Whale on display outside the New England Aquarium on Monday, in Boston, MA. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald) April 24, 2023

'Someone has to protect our kids': Parents patrol elementary school

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Bird Rock Elementary has a new set of eyes looking out for the safety of their students. Parents on Patrol, or POP, have now rallied parent volunteers to take shifts walking the campus and perimeter of the school on the lookout for anything that might pose a threat to students inside. “We have phone in one hand and we have a radio in the other and all we do with the phone is we dial 9-1-1 if we see applicable trouble, and with the radio, we use that communicate to the faculty, staff,” said Todd Marchner, a parent volunteer who takes a shift walking the campus in the name of safety. DUI suspected in I-15 crash that killed 2, including 4-year-old The group was founded in the wake of the recent shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.“It was just very overwhelming, I felt very upset and I wanted to do something about it,” said Marchner. Gun violence has now overtaken car accidents as the leading cause for childhood death, according to the Center for Disease Control. Parents at ...

Man hit, killed by Amtrak train

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Authorities were investigating Monday after finding a man hit by a southbound Amtrak train, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.The collision occurred around 12:47 p.m. in the Bay Park neighborhood near the intersection of Santa Fe Street and Balboa Avenue, Sgt. Jason King said in a release.The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, according to first responders. DUI suspected in I-15 crash that killed 2, including 4-year-old The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy to determine the identity of the victim and manner of death.The incident comes two weeks after two pedestrians were struck by trains in Carlsbad in a span of ten days.Anyone with information about the case can call the Sheriff's Department's non-emergency line at 858-565-5200.

Sheriff's department to hear public comments about military equipment

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is hosting a community engagement meeting Monday night to talk about its military equipment use with the public. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at County Operations Center Campus Center Chambers, located at 5520 Overland Avenue in Kearny Mesa.The meeting is part of a state law that went into effect in January 2022. AB-481 requires departments post a report of its inventory of military equipment, cost and how the military equipment is used, plus hold a community engagement meeting to answer questions.The sheriff's department 72-page report details the San Diego County Sheriff's Department military equipment and its uses. It includes inventory such as unmanned aerial systems, drones, surveillance robots, armored vehicles, guns, ammunition, rifles, grenades, pepper spray and more. DUI suspected in I-15 crash that killed 2, including 4-year-old “It’s just transparency, I don’t see any kind of issue except the bad guys are going t...

City Council approves Civic Center revitalization project

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Council voted 8-1 Monday in favor of a proposal to redevelop six blocks with city-owned buildings in the downtown civic core.The Civic Center Revitalization Project declares five blocks as surplus while carving out a block for a new city administration building.Jay Goldstone, the mayor’s special advisor and lead planner for the project, says the dilapidated buildings are wasting taxpayer dollars. Body found in rural East County was victim of hotel murder: police “In terms of the new city administration building, there's no question that this building is outdated. We're spending more money just maintaining it each year than if we were to build a new building," said Goldstone.Another goal of the revitalization plan is to create more housing, including 1,000 to 1,500 units of affordable housing.“I think when we're all upset about homelessness, and rightfully so, the fact the matter is that is driven by our housing affordability crisis and one of the w...

Biden says teaching should not be ‘life-threatening’ job

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden honored the nation’s best teachers Monday, saying they go above and beyond by providing food and supplies out of their own pockets and often find themselves “explaining the unexplainable, from banned books to duck-and-cover drills.” “Teaching should not be a life-threatening profession,” Biden said, referencing deadly school shootings that plague the United States. “And educators should not need to be armed to feel safe in the classroom.” He spoke at a Rose Garden event that honored the Council of Chief State School Officers’ 2023 teachers of the year from each state. Tulsa, Oklahoma, math teacher Rebecka Peterson was named overall teacher of the year. Biden spoke of the challenges of the modern-day teacher, including gun violence and a growing movement from the right to ban books in classrooms, particularly those that reference gender and sexual identity. Attempted book bans hit an all-time high in 2022.“I never thought...

Fort Wayne cop in fatal crash had 4 previous on-duty crashes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:17:17 GMT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A Fort Wayne police officer whose vehicle fatally injured a pedestrian in a crosswalk was disciplined for four previous crashes while on duty, the department said Monday.Sgt. Joshua Hartup was suspended for a car crash in 2007, and he received letters of reprimand for crashes in 2000, 2005 and 2019, the police department said in a news release.The department’s “hearts go out to the family, friends and colleagues” of Henry Najdeski, the man who was struck by Hartup’s unmarked vehicle while crossing a street just before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, police spokesman Jeremy Webb said in a statement.Najdeski, a partner in a law firm, died Saturday, his online obituary said.Hartup took a blood test at the scene of the crash and returned to work the following day. Police have begun internal and criminal investigations.Indiana State Police are assisting in the case, Webb said.Hartup said in a statement Monday that as he was completing a turn at an intersection Wednesday, “I ...