Overcast 46°
Business
Popular Apple Juice Brand Recalled Due To High Arsenic Levels Popular Apple Juice Brand Recalled Due To High Arsenic Levels
Popular Apple Juice Brand Recalled Due To High Arsenic Levels A recall has been issued for a popular brand of apple juice due to high levels of arsenic. S. Martinelli & Co. said the recall is for a single lot of Martinelli’s Apple Juice, one-liter (33.8-ounce) bottles.  The recalled product has a “Best By” date of “09MAR2026” or “10MAR2026” on the front of the bottle above the label.  The product was shipped between March 13, 2023, and September 27, 2023, with the majority of the product shipped before July 28, 2023. This recall results from a sampling by the State of Maryland that found samples from one produc…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Business
Major Mall-Based Chain To Close 543 Stores After Filing For Bankruptcy Major Mall-Based Chain To Close 543 Stores After Filing For Bankruptcy
Major Mall-Based Chain To Close 543 Stores After Filing For Bankruptcy A retailer primarily located in malls is set to close all 543 of its stores following its third Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Closures for all rue21 locations are expected to be completed within the next two months with going-out-of-business sales coming soon. Founded in 1970, rue21 specializes in women's & men's casual apparel and accessories. In its filing on Thursday, May 2, the company said, "It became clear that offers to buy the debtors' assets at their current worth could not exceed the expected profits from selling off the closing stores and assets.  "As a result, the deb…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
News
$1M Lottery Jackpot: 'Jaws' Returns To Martha's Vineyard With Latest Lottery Winner $1M Lottery Jackpot: 'Jaws' Returns To Martha's Vineyard With Latest Lottery Winner
$1M Lottery Jackpot: 'Jaws' Returns To Martha's Vineyard With Latest Lottery Winner "Jaws" has returned to Martha's Vineyard, but everyone is all smiles this time.  Gecimar Silva, of Tisbury, won $1 million playing the Massachusetts State Lottery's new "Jaws" scratch-off game. He said he chose the $10 ticket because the 1975 blockbuster was filmed in the area.  Related: Mass Woman Wins Second $1 Million Lottery Jackpot Silva chose to take the lump sum payment of $650,000 rather than the annuity.  He plans to take his first vacation in 30 years with some of that money.  Silva bought his ticket at Depot Market at 141 Upper Main St. in Edgartown. T…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Lowell Murder-Suicide Victims ID'd As Husband, Wife, Child Lowell Murder-Suicide Victims ID'd As Husband, Wife, Child
Steven Johns Killed His Wife, Kaydion Dawson, And Daughter Police have identified the man who police say killed his wife and their child before turning the gun on himself last week.  Steven Johns, 52, is accused of killing his wife Kaydion Dawson, 45, and their 7-year-old daughter at their home and calling people before killing himself before officers arrived, the Middlesex District Attorney said Friday, May 3.  Officers were called to the Warren Street apartment on Sunday, April 27, just after 6:30 p.m. The caller said he had just killed his wife and child and had several guns in the home.  When police arrived they found all three …

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Obituaries
Support Pours In For Family Of Central Mass Man Killed In Needham Wreck Support Pours In For Family Of Central Mass Man Killed In Needham Wreck
Support Pours In For Family Of Central Mass Man Killed In Needham Wreck Nearly 150 people have donated to help the family of a Worcester County man who was killed in an early morning crash earlier this week, leaving behind a wife and three young children.  Dylan Chaves, 31, of Fiskdale, was killed just after 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, when he lost control of his pick-up truck and turned into on-coming traffic on I-95 South in Needham, State Police said. The vehicle went perpendicular on the wet roadway, and he was T-boned by a driver from Nashua, New Hampshire.  The other driver was taken to an area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening …

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Bedford Man Admits To Killing Child 58 Years Ago, Leaving Body In Western Mass River Bedford Man Admits To Killing Child 58 Years Ago, Leaving Body In Western Mass River
Bedford Man Admits To Killing Child 58 Years Ago, Leaving Body In Western Mass River A 75-year-old man has admitted to beating a 10-year-old Hampden County girl with a rock and leaving her to drown in a river in Western Massachusetts.  Donald Mars, of Bedford, pleaded guilty Thursday, May 2, to manslaughter after he was indicted in the 1966 murder of Betty Lou Zukowski, the Hampden County District Attorney said. He will serve two and a half years in prison and two years probation, and he must register as a level-3 sex offender after his release.  “Sadly, Betty Lou’s parents are deceased, and are not able to see Donald Mars answer for the brutality he inflicte…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
$2M Bail For Boston Man Accused Of Shooting That Injured 5 Last Year; Second Person Charged $2M Bail For Boston Man Accused Of Shooting That Injured 5 Last Year; Second Person Charged
$2M Bail For Boston Man Accused Of Shooting That Injured 5 Last Year; Second Person Charged A 25-year-old Boston man accused of opening fire at a family barbecue in Dorchester in September will remain behind bars before his trial unless he can come up with a $2 million bail, a judge ruled Thursday, May 2.  Micah Ennis, of Roxbury, is charged with five counts of armed (firearm) assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm, the Suffolk County District Attorney said.  Ennis is accused of firing multiple shots into a family gatheri…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Remains Of Woman Found In Western Mass Woods Identified After 35 Years Remains Of Woman Found In Western Mass Woods Identified After 35 Years
Remains Of Woman Found In Western Mass Woods Identified After 35 Years The remains of a 65-year-old woman whose body was found in a wooded area in Franklin County have been identified thanks to new advancements in DNA testing. How she ended up there remains a mystery, but prosecutors have a person of interest.  Constance Holminski Bassignani was found not far off the road on Route 76 in Warwick on June 24, 1989. She had been living in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, with her husband, William Bassignani.  Constance was last seen alive on Memorial Day in 1989. Soon after, her husband told friends she had moved back to her native Hawaii, but investigator…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
News
$100K Lottery Tickets Sold In Westfield, Western Mass $100K Lottery Tickets Sold In Westfield, Western Mass
$100K Lottery Tickets Sold In Westfield, Western Mass Two Bay Staters had a very good week when they won $100,000 playing the Massachusetts State Lottery.  The winning tickets were claimed on Wednesday, May 1, and were sold at Big Apple Market & Deli at 294 Littleton Road in Westford and Big Y at 650 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee.  Related: Mass Woman Wins Two $1M Lottery Jackpots In 10 Weeks Both won their jackpots by correctly guessing all five numbers of the daily "Mass Cash" drawing. Those were 6, 11, 18, 24, and 26.  The winners' names were not released. Each store will receive a $1,000 bonus for the sale.  …

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
News
Damaged Bridge To Be Demolished After Fiery I-95 Crash, Causing Days-Long Closure Damaged Bridge To Be Demolished After Fiery I-95 Crash, Causing Days-Long Closure
Damaged Bridge To Be Demolished After Fiery I-95 Crash, Causing Days-Long Closure This story has been updated. A closure in both directions on I-95 in Connecticut caused by an early morning crash and fire involving a tanker with thousands of gallons of gas will last for several days as a damaged overpass is removed, authorities have now announced. New Update - Watch Live - Work In Progress: Crews Repair Fire-Damaged I-95 Stretch The incident happened at the outset of the morning commute on Thursday, May 2 in Norwalk near exits 14 and 15. "Extensive damage occurred to the Fairfield Avenue overpass bridge," according to the Norwalk Fire Department. The Connecticut Dep…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Business
Nationwide Recall Issued For Ground Beef Products Due To Possible Contamination: View Labels Nationwide Recall Issued For Ground Beef Products Due To Possible Contamination: View Labels
Nationwide Recall Issued For Ground Beef Products Due To Possible Contamination: View Labels A nationwide recall has been issued for ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli. Cargill Meat Solutions, headquartered in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is recalling approximately 16,240 pounds of the raw ground beef products, the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Wednesday, May 1. The raw ground beef items were produced on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, 27.  The following products are subject to recall: 2.25-lbs. plastic-wrapped trays containing "93% LEAN 7% FAT ALL NATURAL LEAN GROUND BEEF" with lot code 117 and estab…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Ex-Western Mass Schools Superintendent Who Sent Threats To Police Chief Candidate Sentenced Ex-Western Mass Schools Superintendent Who Sent Threats To Police Chief Candidate Sentenced
Ex-Western Mass Schools Superintendent Who Sent Threats To Police Chief Candidate Sentenced The former superindentent of a Hampden County school district will avoid jail time for lying to FBI agents about sending nearly 100 threatening messages to a candidate for Chicopee police chief, authorities said.  Lynn Clark, 53, of Belchertown, was sentenced to a year of probation and a $1,000 fine on Tuesday, April 30, after pleading guilty to two counts of making false statements in January, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Clark had been head of the Chicopee School District when she made the threatening texts, authorities said.  Acting US Attorney for Massachuset…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier