Boston
Broken water pipe closes state building
The John W. McCormack building — which houses the attorney general, the state comptroller, housing and economic development, the state elections division, and other important agencies — was shut down Wednesday after a water pipe broke, spewing huge amounts of liquid through ceiling panels onto the front entryway below and drawing a response from Boston police and firefighters. Facility Manager Parrish Rossi sent an e-mail to state workers in the building, which sits across from the State House, and told them to leave the office tower from a back entrance. The building, he said, is closed “effective immediately’’ because of a broken, chilled water pipe. Officials said the pipe that burst was original to the building, which was completed in 1972. They believe its age plus freezing temperatures contributed to its breaking.
Wellfleet
Fourth shark found frozen to death
A shark conservation group says a fourth thresher shark has been found frozen off the coast of Cape Cod. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Program Director Michelle Wcisel tells the Cape Cod Times the shark carcass was discovered New Year’s Eve in an ice pack near Wellfleet. Wcisel says rough conditions stopped researchers from recovering it. Three other sharks washed ashore last week. Authorities believe all the sharks succumbed to cold shock. Cape Cod Bay’s surface temperature sank to 41 degrees last week. (AP)
Alexandria, N.H.
Woman charged for neglecting 22 dogs
Authorities say a woman kept 22 German shepherds in a barn with no heat or fresh water in sub-zero temperatures. WMUR-TV reports police in Alexandria said it was 11 below zero in the barn Tuesday and that the dogs’ water bowls were frozen. Jennifer Choate is facing 22 counts of animal cruelty.The dogs are being evaluated at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Choate was already charged with one animal cruelty count last month after 36 dogs, mostly puppies, died in two fires at her property in nearby Bristol. Police say nine German shepherds were also seized from that property. Choate referred questions to her attorney. (AP)
Providence
Senator introduces bill to ban bump stocks
Democratic state Senator James Seveney has introduced a bill to ban devices in Rhode Island that can make a semi-automatic rifle mimic the firing action of a fully automatic weapon. He introduced the legislation to ban bump stocks on semi-automatic firearms, calling them ‘‘horrific devices’’ when the state’s General Assembly convened its 2018 legislative session Tuesday. Authorities say Stephen Paddock used a bump stock while firing on concert-goers from his Las Vegas hotel room Oct. 1. Fifty-eight people were killed, including Rhonda LeRocque, 42, of Tewksbury, Mass., and hundreds more wounded. In November, Massachusetts became the first state to ban bump stocks since the deadly shooting. (AP)
Manchester, N.H.
Overdose deaths declined in city in 2017
Emergency responders say the number of overdose deaths decreased by 27 percent last year from 2016. WMUR-TV reports the ambulance service American Medical Response says the total number of overdoses, including nonfatal ones, went up by 11 percent in 2017. It says the use of Narcan by emergency personnel to treat overdoses was down 23 percent. However, its use by people not professionally or specifically trained to administer it was up by 442 percent since 2016. The service says the Safe Station program, which allows any person dealing with addiction to walk into a city firehouse 24 hours a day to seek help, was visited 1,267 times in Nashua and 1,922 times in Manchester. Both stations were set up in 2016. (AP)
