The "void" in the Big Dig tunnel will be filled with cement sometime next month by drilling holes around the area that will then have cement pumped through them. [Boston Herald] An elderly man from Raynham is the first Massachusetts resident to contract EEE in 2011. He became sick Saturday and was hospitalized Monday. [Boston Globe] Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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Tonight is the final debate for Massachusetts gubernatorial candidates. [WBUR]
A Democratic candidate in Rhode Island won't be getting any love from President Obama after saying Obama can "shove it." [CBS]
The main witness in Chuck Turner's bribery trial believes he'll be convicted on at least one count. [Boston Globe]
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Worcester police may have a break in several decades-old cases although the suspect is dead. [Telegram & Gazette]
Dozens of nonviolent offenders with outstanding warrants surrendered in Mattapan on the first of a 4-day leniency program. [Dorchester Reporter]
A long-forgotten collection of colonial artifacts from the Lexington house of John Hancock's grandfather was found in one of its closets. [Boston Globe]
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Yes, a pea can get stuck in your lung and start sprouting. [Boston Globe]
A NH State House candidate has apologized for his Facebook post about Sarah Palin and the Alaskan plane crash. [Union Leader]
The Manchester school system is considering guidelines to limit teacher-student interaction on Facebook, etc. [WHDH]
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Local little leaguers play the world's longest baseball game on purpose. [Attleboro Sun Chronicle]
The world's longest lobster roll was made in Portland yesterday. [NECN]
Falling clams and ice kill a man at a chowder plant. [CBS]
The mystery meat might have been grosser than you thought. Many local school cafeterias aren't regularly inspected. [Boston Globe]
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Results tagged “bigdig”
The least surprising personnel change in some time occured on Tuesday as outgoing transportation secretary Jeffrey Mullan fired district highway supervisor Helmut Ernst after an investigation into the collapse of a light fixture earlier this year. Ernst reportedly learned of his termination from media reports and hasn't heard from the Department of Transportation.
The Big Dig tunnel system is troubled by extensive leaks that could cost millions of dollars to correct, according to a blunt report from recently suspended lead engineer Helmut Ernst that the Boston Globe obtained. The Globe stressed that the tunnels are currently safe despite what Ernst described as "salty ground water that seeps in through cracks and other openings in the tunnels."
Patrick Kennedy married New Jersey schoolteacher Amy Petitgout at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport on Friday. [WCVB]. Jamaica Plain resident Amber DeVoe was found alive in Mexico City on Thursday. [Jamaica Plain Patch] Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Governor Deval Patrick wasn't alone in the dark on the issue of collapsing light fixtures in the Thomas P. “Tip" O’Neill Jr. Tunnel. Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan didn't know either. Those college interns tell the boss nothing.
Governor Deval Patrick's overseas trade trip to Israel and the U.K. was sandwiched between a few Massachusetts events that didn't reflect too well on him. When he returned, his plate was filled with two sensitive issues. Yet another Big Dig related crisis popped up as light fixtures were corroded at could fall onto cars passing through Big Dig tunnels. Also, Fidelity announced it was moving 1,100 jobs out of Massachusetts. In both cases, Patrick said he knew nothing about either issue in advance.
Scituate is the most Irish town in Massachusetts with 47.5% of residents claiming to be Irish. Working on Evacuation Day is still, well, understated, on Beacon Hill. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Massachusetts says the clips on some of the 23,000 flourescent lights in the Big Dig tunnels are corroded and at risk of falling. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Army, and Massachusetts are investigating the possible presence of depleted uranium at the Springfield Armory. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Former Big Dig boss Matthew Amorello admitted to "sufficient facts" for a conviction relating to an August 8 drunk driving crash. Judge Stephen Abany Haverhill District Court continued the case without a finding for one year and stripped Amorello of away his driver’s license for 45 days. He lost his license for 180 days for refusing a breathalyzer test when he was arrested. A guilty verdict could have sent Amorello to jail for 2.5 years. He said "It’s a horrible mistake I made. I am ashamed of myself. Today I took responsibility for my actions." He originally pleaded not guilty. [Herald]
Each of the four candidates had their say at the final gubernatorial debate last night. Bostonist focused on Charlie Baker and Governor Deval Patrick because that's the game a week out from election day. We defended Jill Stein's standing as a candidate (She really said Al Gore won in 2000) and think Loscocco-gate screwed Tim Cahill. But, neither will be elected next week.
A judge at Haverhill District Court "dropped" an arrest warrant on Matthew Amorello after his attorney confirmed the former Big Dig boss remains hospitalized following a drunk driving incident on Saturday morning. Defense attorney William Hogan III confirmed Amorello missed a court date on Monday because he was in UMass Medical Memorial Hospital in Worcester. Amorello now has a court date on August 24. [Globe]
Matthew Amorello used to be the boss of the Big Dig. Now he needs to dig himself out of some big trouble. Amorello is hospitalized at University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospital for an unknown reason, a fact that prevented him from appearing in court for his arrest for drunk driving on Saturday morning. Amorello's attorney also failed to show up at Haverhill District Court today, causing the judge to issue a default warrant. On Saturday, Amorello crashed into two parked cars and a curb before reportedy driving away on three tires. The Herald has a booking photo of Amorello that is quite bad. All charges alleged until proven under law. [WCVB, Herald]
- She formed half of an iconic pair of furniture pitch people in the memorable Bernie and Phyl's Furniture ads, and now Phyl Rubin is going public with her 40-year battle with multiple sclerosis. [WCVB]
- WBZ-TV won't renew the contract of sports reporter Alice Cook, a former Olympic figure skater. In 2008, Channel 4 dropped Bob Lobel from its sports roster. [Boston Herald]
- Lisa Stump of Andover lost a ring that she considered an heirloom. She found two other rings as she searched for her rings. [WBZ]
- Comic legend Betty White says she will appear on "Saturday Night Live" at some point and in some capacity. [Boston Globe]
- With another night of competition on tap tonight on "American Idol," the best friend of Cape Cod's Siobhan Magnus is speaking out about Idol. [Cape Cod Times]
Scott Brown went to D.C., had a sit down with Boston Mayor Tom Menino and meets with Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday. Tomorrow's session with Patrick could have some substance to it as Brown "respectfully" disgrees with how he is disbursing stimulus funds allocated to Massachusetts. The Herald reported the Patrick administration has spent $2.4 billion of $4.3 billion received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Bostonist might - might - consider making out with Senator Brown if he takes down corporate bad guys.
- After a near collision yesterday and another mishap involving trains in Massachusetts today, does Jeffrey Mullan really want to run the new MassDOT when it opens up for business on November 1? Really? [Boston Globe]
- The Massachusetts House of Representatives may vote as early as Thursday on a bill that would allow Gov. Deval Patrick to pick a temporary replacement for Sen. Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate. Channel 5 reports the bill would pass the House but not necessarily the state Senate. [WCVB]
- Tim Cahill doesn't want to be a Senator. He wants to be Governor, though. [Boston Globe]
- John McCain can't vote in our special election to replace Senator Kennedy. That fact didn't stop him from butting into the Bay State's business by tying to get Curt Schilling to run. [CNN]
The looney lawsuit brought against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority by celebrity lawyer Jan R. Schlichtmann no longer looks so promising after a Superior Court Justice denied, in no uncertain terms, the plaintiffs' motion for an injunction against the Pike. Justice H. J. Smith, Jr. wrote, "At this juncture, the court finds that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they are likely to prevail on the merits of their contention that the MTA's tolls are unconstitutional taxes." (Hat tip to BlueMassGroup for hosting the order.)
After two Aggregate Industries managers pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges about a month ago, their testimony has been used to convict four other managers of the same type of charges. Aggregate managers conspired to deliver more than 5000 trucks of concrete that was unusable for a variety of reasons. The company paid $50 million in settlements and fines to address the matter, $27 million of which was originally earmarked for use on Big Dig repairs. The payments kept Aggregate eligible for government contracts, including $4.2 million in stimulus funds received this year. The convicted managers are expected to be sentenced in November.
-- Two managers of Aggregate Industries NE, Inc. pleaded guilty to charges that they participated in a conspiracy to deliver substandard concrete to Big Dig construction sites. Gerard McNally and Keith Thomas were two of six men charged in the case. McNally and Thomas will testify against their co-defendents as a condition of their plea agreements. [Herald]
-- Boston police have issued a warning about a string of sexual assault cases that began when the victims got into the wrong cab. Five incidents of sexual assaults involving cabbies or livery drivers have been reported since October 4th. Suspect descriptions have varied, and at least one suspect has been jailed. The BPD offers a list of prevention tips to keep women safe. Among the most useful: only hail cabs that have Boston licenses, stay in groups, and never get in the front seat of a taxi. [BPDNews]
Massachusetts has reached a settlement with Modern Continental, the bankrupt Big Dig contractors responsible for bolting in those deadly tunnel ceiling tiles. The $21 million agreement bars Modern Continental from performing further work on the Dig. Project managers Bechtel/Parsons Brinkerhoff settled earlier this year for $407 million, and Powers Fasteners (who made the glue used along with bolts to hold up the tiles) paid out $6 million. At least the Green Line tunnels aren't falling down... yet?
Remember the Silver Line? The world's fanciest and most often maligned bus routes will finally be joined by the world's most expensive tunnel if the MBTA has its way. The "Little Dig" (or, more formally, "Silver Line Phase III") will cost more than $1.2 billion, take more than five years to complete, and quite possibly cause the entire Bay Village neighborhood to slide below the Earth's crust. The completely broke MBTA has no plan to pay for the project, aside from federal matching funds, which would leave the T on the hook for more than $500 million, plus any budget overruns. Every blogger in Boston thinks that it's a bad idea. How about you?
After years of construction, destruction, reconstruction, and tragedy; our city has another public works project named after someone in the Kennedy clan. The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, which formally opened on Saturday, stretches from Boston's boot to bonnet.
-- A high-caliber shooting near Donnelly field left a pair of Cambridge houses riddled by bullets. A pedestrian, who remains at large, fired a .45 caliber pistol at a moving car, according to police. [Cambridge Chronicle]
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