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Church community in Jamaica Plain reacts after homophobic messages spray painted on wall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

A church community in Jamaica Plain reacted on Thursday after someone spray painted homophobic messages on one of their church’s walls. Pastors at the First Baptist Church on Centre Street said they got a call telling them about the vandalism on Thursday morning. Speaking later in the day, pastors said they hope whoever is responsible finds the love they need. “This is everything that we stand against,” said pastor Ashlee Weist-Laird. “It’s very disconcerting, of course, to see this kind of message of hate posted on the wall of the church,” Weist-Laird continued. As crews worked to remove the spray paint, investigators began canvassing the surrounding neighborhood, where they found a can of spray paint left behind. The incident, Weist-Laird said, “obviously feels like an attempt of intimidation.”First Baptist Church pastors said they want the LGBTQ community to know they are loved and welcome at the church. “The transformative power of God is that it can red...

Reading elementary school students create ‘Art for the Sky’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

Students in Reading have a big space to fill — to create “Art for the Sky”! Only visible from the sky, students wear different colors to form a work of art.Daniel Dancer is the artist for the masterpiece. He travels around the United States to different schools to make art from the ground up. He made it to J.W. Killam Elementary School on Thursday. “It’s about gratitude because every one of these images is like a gift for the earth and the sky as a thank you for the all the blessings we get every single day,” Dancer said, “just being alive on this planet.”First, Dancer creates an outline on the grass. Then, the fun starts. More than 400 kids dressed in different colors pile into the design, with some direction.The students made a koala, their school mascot, that can only be seen from up above. The kids and staff were excited to be a part of such an important message.“I’m excited to see the koala with all of our school,” student Meghan Kane said.Lebeque also said a picture...

Students mark last day at Matignon as Cambridge Catholic school permanently closes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

It was an emotional day for some at the Matignon School in Cambridge Thursday as school let out for good, just over a month after leaders announced the school will not reopen in the fall. Matignon Board of Trustees President Marc-Anthony Hourihan signed the announcement sent to school community members early last month, citing financial challenges as the main reason for the Catholic school’s closure after 75 years of operation. On Thursday, students spent their last day saying goodbye to their teachers and snapping pictures in front of the Matignon sign with friends. Speaking with 7NEWS, some said they’re sad to go but excited for their next chapters.“On the last day in school, the teachers gave me some gifts and we had pictures,” one student said “We hugged each other. We miss each other.”“It was pretty sad, just because all the teachers are leaving, everyone’s leaving,” another student said. Parents also spoke, discussing the Matignon c...

Group sets up inflatable tube men at pond in Lynn to keep geese away

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

A group in Lynn has got creative to stop problematic geese, using inflatable tube men to help scare the birds away. The geese have made a mess at Goldfish Pond and the park around it, according to Sunil Gulab of the Goldfish Pond Association, with the number of geese increasing from year-to-year. One year, Gulab said, the city had to cordon off the area due to poor water quality in the pond.Gulab said community members tried other measures such as a cutout of a coyote and sparkling reflective ribbons to keep the geese at bay. After the geese adapted to the items, though, Gulab said the Goldfish Pond Association turned to the inflatable men. Purchased at auction, the inflatables go off on a timer, rising and dancing from spots within the Goldfish Pond area. To date, Gulab said they have been effective.“It might end up being the solution for this year,” he said. “But hopefully this chases them away.”

Improving Smoke and Improving Temperatures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

While smoke wasn’t an issue for us today in New England, it was once again an issue for cities up and down the East Coast. Very unhealthy to hazardous air was reported this morning from New York, to Philly, and Washington DC. Now, at 4pm, we’re already seeing the improvements as the maroon and purple shadings are gone with only the reds left on the map. It’s still unhealthy air, but it’s already better than it was and we’ll continue to see improvements in the next couple of days.The screenshots below are forecast air quality. For much of this week we were using model smoke to show the smoke plumes, this is just a different way to look at the impacts. Notice the reduced air quality never comes back to New England and continues to improve up and down the entire 95 Corridor through Friday and Saturday.We have another unsettled day in the forecast tomorrow, probably the most widespread rain chances we’ve had this week as scattered showers and thunders...

Biden condemns wave of state legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights, says ‘these are our kids’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday condemned a wave of “cruel” and “callous” state laws curbing the rights, visibility and health care access of LGBTQ+ people, especially children, leaving them feeling under attack like never before and the White House with limited options to intervene.“These are our kids. These are our neighbors. It’s cruel and it’s callous,” Biden said at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “It matters a great deal how we treat everyone in this country.”Biden commented hours after the White House postponed a large Pride Month celebration with thousands of guests Thursday night on the South Lawn because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. The president noted steps he has taken to help protect the rights of non-heterosexual people, but said “our fight is far, far from ...

Amazon mulls ad-tier on Prime

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

Amazon is exploring the launch of an ad-supported plan for its Prime Video streaming service, following a trend led by other rival outlets looking to boost revenue by adding commercials to their offerings.The ecommerce giant is considering running ads against its programming while offering customers the option to pay more to watch the shows commercial-free and with other features, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. No decision has been made on an ad-supported tier, the Journal said.Amazon declined to comment.If it goes through with the plan, Prime Video, known for shows including “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” would join a long list of streaming companies that offer ad-supported options to attract subscribers and retain existing customers.Last year, Netflix launched a cheaper plan with ads, after years of being adverse to advertising on its platform. Disney+ also began offering a plan with commercials, while increasing the price of its standard...

Chicago Bears leaders to chat with select group of Arlington Heights-area community members at invite-only meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

Despite headlines this week about the Chicago Bears’ proposed Arlington Heights stadium project possibly being “at risk,” the football team’s brass will come face to face with about 300 people later this month at a meeting meant to promote communication between local stakeholders and the team.The Bears, operating as the Chicago Bears Football Club, has proposed a multibillion dollar stadium development at the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse the team purchased in February.“We will hear directly from Kevin Warren on his experience with stadium development and what it’s going to take to make Arlington Park the home of the Chicago Bears,”a meeting announcement states.The meeting, set for June 26 at the Metropolis Center for the Performing Arts in Arlington Heights is an initiative of the newly formed Touchdown Arlington group, a private group that sees the arrival of the team as an economic opportunity for the village and ...

Heat need to get back to the basics — energy and effort — after Game 3 loss to the Nuggets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

That wasn’t Heat basketball.A Miami team that scrapped and clawed its way into the NBA Finals and stole home-court advantage from the Denver Nuggets thanks to physical play in Game 2 looked unrecognizable during its Game 3 walloping back in South Beach on Wednesday night.After a 109-94 defeat sent the Heat spiraling into a 2-1 deficit, Miami is now on the ropes: another loss at home in Game 4 on Friday will swing all the momentum in Denver’s favor with the series returning to the Mile High City for Game 5.And only one of the 36 NBA Finals series to reach a 3-1 status has ever seen a team overcome the deficit to win the title: LeBron James’ 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.The Heat hope to avoid those circumstances with a victory on Friday, and according to All-Star Jimmy Butler, there’s no tactical adjustment that can save this series.“I feel like we’ve just gotta come out with more energy and effort, and that’s correctable,” Butler said after...

Ticker: Mortgage rates retreat from highs; Unemployment applications climb

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:56 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased back from a seven-month high this week, a welcome change for homebuyers navigating high borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell to 6.71% from 6.79% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.23%.The pullback follows three straight weekly increases, which pushed up the average rate to its highest level since early November, when it climbed to 7.08%.The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with those refinancing their homes, also fell this week, slipping to 6.07% from 6.18% last week. A year ago, it averaged 4.38%, Freddie Mac said.“While elevated rates and other affordability challenges remain, inventory continues to be the biggest obstacle for prospective homebuyers,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.Unemployment applications climbThe number of Americ...