Worcester

Holy Cross drops knight as logo, mascot

The College of the Holy Cross says it will stop using the image of a knight as a logo and mascot even though trustees last month decided to keep the nickname Crusaders for its athletic teams. The president of the Jesuit college, the Rev. Philip Boroughs, wrote in a letter to students, alumni, and staff Wednesday that the depiction of a knight with the moniker Crusader is an inevitable reminder of the religious wars and violence that marked the Crusades. Boroughs says such imagery ‘‘stands in contrast’’ to the college’s stated values’’ but notes the word ‘‘crusader,’’ in its modern sense, means someone who stands for positive principles. In place of a knight, Holy Cross will use an interlocking HC on a purple shield as its primary logo. (AP)

Scituate

Baker bond bill would address climate change

Governor Charlie Baker on Thursday outlined plans to borrow $300 million to address effects of climate change in 74 coastal cities and towns as well as many inland communities. “A big piece of this will be for things like sea walls, culverts and watersheds and all that sort of thing,’’ Baker told reporters after a press conference at the Scituate Harbor Lighthouse with lawmakers and environmental activists to announce a larger, $1.4 billion environmental bond bill. One of the ambitious goals of the bill is to build resiliency along the coast, a potentially unwinnable challenge in areas where homes and buildings that rose up over decades are encountering rising seas and storm surges that are moving further inland. The bill, if passed, would put into statute a municipal vulnerability preparedness grant program that about 70 communities have already enrolled in — Scituate signed up this week. Baker said all communities need to have plans and emphasized that money is available to support guidance and consulting work. (SHNS)

Concord, N.H.

Bill would study plan for N.H. train route

A bill supporting a study for commuter rail expansion has passed the New Hampshire House. The House bill on Thursday includes the federally funded study as part of the 10-year state transportation plan. The project would extend passenger rail from Boston to Manchester, N.H., with two stops in Nashua, a stop at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, and a stop in downtown Manchester. Republican Governor Chris Sununu and the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Intermodal Transportation included $4 million for project development in the state’s 10-year plan. (AP)

Warwick, R.I.

Paz arrested on assault charge at his home

Former boxing champion Vinny Paz was arrested early Thursday for assaulting his girlfriend and resolved the case hours later with a one-year suspended sentence and probation, after officers forced their way into his home to take him into custody, officials said. The incident unfolded shortly before 3 a.m., when the girlfriend told a relative in New Jersey that Paz assaulted her, and the family member contacted authorities, Warwick police said. Responding officers heard Paz, 55, shouting when they arrived at his residence, but the din stopped and the lights went out when they knocked, the statement said. Officers had to force their way into the home through the garage. The woman had facial injuries “consistent with an assault’’ and Paz also showed “physical signs’’ of an altercation, police said in a statement. Paz was booked without incident on disorderly conduct and simple domestic assault charges, both misdemeanors, officials said.

Montpelier

Weather service warns of avalanche risk

The National Weather Service and Vermont officials are warning that the recent snowstorms and previous warm weather have increased the risk for avalanches. The weather service said Thursday, the conditions have created the potential for avalanches in exposed back country of the Green Mountains in Vermont and the Adirondacks in northern New York. The warning comes a day after an avalanche injured six Army soldiers who were training on the edge of Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak. The weather service urges people venturing into the back-country to ski, snow shoe, hike or ice climb, to avoid exposed, open slopes, including vulnerable spots at the bottom of steep terrain. The soldiers were undergoing training through the Army’s Vermont-based Mountain Warfare School. None of the soldiers were seriously injured. (AP)