Fitchburg Leominster News Magazine - Local News, Articles, Sports - Fitchburg Leominster MA

A person was spray-painted in the face Tuesday during a city council meeting in Worcester, Massachusetts. City Manager Eric Batista said Wednesday that the incident occurred around the start of a meeting at Worcester City Hall. Police responded to a report of a fight around 6:30 p.m., arriving to find a resident with paint on his face. He told officers he was spray-painted on the third floor at the Esther Howland Chamber, where the council meets. The victim did not suffer any major injuries, but was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center before being released. Witness accounts and surveillance footage led police to identify John Piccolo as the person they believe is responsible, city officials said. A warrant was issued for their arrest. About an hour before the incident, police were in front of and behind Worcester City Hall in response to “a disorderly call on the Worcester Common.” Police left to make a report before the fight occurred. “The safety, security, and well-being of all persons present inside City Hall, during City Council meetings, other public meetings, and regular business hours is not only a priority for my administration but a responsibility of the municipality,” Batista said in a statement. “No individual should feel threatened or intimidated by another member of the public or by a public employee while conducting business in municipal settings. Violence and aggressive behavior of any kind toward any person inside City Hall and other public facilities is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.” Batista added that he’s confident Worcester police will find the person responsible. More Worcester news Worcester Nov 12 18 years after losing necklace in Maine, Worcester man is reunited with it Worcester Nov 12 19th-century book due back to Worcester Public Library in 1973 is returned

A moped driver died in a crash with a utility pole in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, police said. The moped appeared to have crashed into the pole, on Marginal Street near Highland Avenue before 2 p.m., without crashing into any other vehicles, according to Chelsea police. The driver was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, police said. They didn’t share the driver’s identity. State and local police were investigating the cause of the accident. More Chelsea news Chelsea Nov 18 Massive warehouse fire breaks out overnight in Chelsea, Mass. Massachusetts Nov 15 Woman, man arrested in deadly stabbing at Chelsea park, prosecutors say

Forty-one dolphins were rescued and 13 died in a recent week on Cape Cod, according to a local animal rescue group, which said the intense workload highlights an extraordinary year of strandings. So far this year, the International Fund for Animal Welfare has dealt with 342 strandings of live dolphins, which is more than five times more than the average for a year, 67, the organization said Wednesday. Included in that total is the largest mass dolphin stranding in American history, in which 102 were rescued on cape Cod and another 44 died this July. Dolphin strandings are so common on Cape Cod that IFAW last year built a dedicated facility there, the Dolphin Rescue Center. “Though Cape Cod has always seen more live dolphin strandings than anywhere else in the world, the numbers this year have reached historic highs,” the organization said in a statement. An IFAW staffer with a stranded dolphin on the Cape Cod Coast Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. It’s not immediately clear why the 54 strandings reported the week of Nov. 9 to 16 took place, according to IFAW, though all the dolphins may have been part of one pod. Reports of dolphin strandings rolled in throughout the week, and a minke whale became beached as well — it died of natural causes, IFAW said. Wednesday brought the organization’s 500th animal in distress of the year so far. More Cape Cod dolphin news Cape Cod Sep 17 Rescuers work to save bottlenose dolphins after ‘unprecedented' Cape Cod stranding Animals and Wildlife Jul 16 Cape Cod's shape makes it a global hotspot for mass dolphin strandings Jul 13 Dolphin mass stranding on Cape Cod found to be the largest in US history

Four Massachusetts institutions are waiving tuition for families with annual household incomes under a certain amount. Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are the latest schools to announce the move, joining all four University of Massachusetts’ campuses and College of the Holy Cross. The institutions will offer free or half tuition for students whose families make less than a certain amount starting in the 2025-2026 academic year. Brandeis announced The Brandeis Commitment, a financial aid package that will offer grants and scholarships to cover the full cost of tuition for families with household incomes of less than $75,000 and cover half that cost for families who make up to $200,000. At MIT, tuition will be free for students whose families make under $200,000, an initiative that will start in the next academic year. All four UMass campuses will offer free tuition for Massachusetts students whose families earn $75,000 or less. This will be covered through a combination of federal, state and university-funded financial aid. UMass President Marty Meehan said the university system has always been very low cost. He said 92% of students from Massachusetts households that make less than $75,000 already had no tuition expenses at UMass campuses. Last month, Worcester’s College of the Holy Cross announced the expansion of their current plan covering student tuition. Students whose families have a total income of $100,00 or less are eligible. The expansion raised this number from $75,000. Attending college in the Bay State can be expensive. Earlier this year, two Boston area schools broke $90,000 in annual student costs — Wellesley College and Boston University. These costs include tuition, books, food and housing. But Brandeis wasn’t too far behind, with costs up to $89,824, and MIT said their student costs before any aid is $85,960. More tuition news Education Oct 29 UMass offering free tuition to in-state families making under $75K a year Oct 11 College of the Holy Cross will cover more students' entire tuition news Sep 4 Cooper Union college restores free tuition for graduating seniors

A man died in a fire in Leominster, Massachusetts, overnight, according to fire officials. The Leominster Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in a condominium building on Meadow Pond Drive around 2 a.m. Firefighters arriving at the scene found a fire in the living room of one unit and a badly injured older adult inside. Firefighters removed the man, who was in his 60s and had limited mobility, and took him to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. His name has not been released. The fire was brought under control a short time after firefighters arrived at the scene. A second resident of the condo was displaced as a result of hte blaze. The fire is being investigated by Leominster police and fire, along with state police investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Worcester District Attorney’s Office. Investigators found evidence of smoking materials and home oxygen equipment in the residence. “This is the second fatal fire in less than a week where investigators found home oxygen equipment,” State Fire Marshal Jon Davine said in a statement. “There’s no truly safe way to smoke, but smoking around medical oxygen is especially dangerous. Oxygen will allow any fire to spread faster and burn hotter. If you or a loved one use home oxygen, please don’t smoke.” More Massachusetts stories Hartford 11 hours ago Police ID suspect in drive-by shooting that killed Massachusetts mom, baby in Connecticut Boston 8 hours ago Woman killed in Roxbury dog attack remembered as ‘wonderful person'