The National Weather Service reports a tornado touched down near Conway, on the west side of the Connecticut River, during yesterday's storms.
The maximum estimated speed was 110 MPH, however most of the damage is estimated to have occurred with 80 to 100 MPH winds. Most of the damage occurred in Conway, MA with a brief touchdown in Goshen, MA in Hampshire county.
Prevailing sentiment in progressive haunts is “2016, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Between a stressful election season, acts of terror, and the crisis in Syria, many of us will be glad to see the calendar page turn on Sunday night. Still, to every cloud there is a silver lining, and at least when it comes to tackling climate change in the US, Massachusetts was a bright spot amidst the clouds of 2016.
SAN DIEGO: Dunkin' Donuts Opens to Huge Crowds and Rave Reviews.
Here, a new Dunk's would be greeted like, "Oh, cool, now we don't have to cross the street to get to the Dunkin' Donuts there." But in San Diego, people reported waiting more than an hour to get some donuts.
WSRS, way up there on the FM dial, way out there in Worcester, is now pumping out Christmas music, Tyler reports.
A man convicted on two counts of "misleading" state troopers in a criminal investigation had one of the counts tossed today because only some of his lies might have changed their investigation into how somebody got smashed in the head with a bottle during a brawl at a house party he and his sister threw. Read more.
Time for some "Brake for Moose" signs south of the Merrimack? The Westborough Fire Department shows us what they were up to overnight: Helping a motorist whose car smashed into Bullwinkle. The driver received minor injuries; no immediate word on the status of the moose.
The weekly state drought map now shows that more than half the state is experiencing an "extreme drought."
Things have gotten so bad in Worcester the city is now spending $1.7 million a month to buy water from the MWRA, which still has plenty of water in the Quabbin Reservoir.
Dana Worby-Robinson had plenty of time to photograph these two trucks completely blocking a ramp to 495 from the turnpike westbound around 9 a.m. She reports:
One was broken down in lane and other tried to get around him. By doing so he got stuck.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that owners of apartment buildings have the right to a hearing to decide whether they should be forced to install sprinklers if they make major renovations. Read more.
The Telegram reports Princeton residents will hold a vigil at 7 p.m. on the town common to support the family of Vanessa Marcotte, who was found murdered Sunday afternoon. She was a 2011 graduate of Boston University.
Proposed rail routes
Transportation fficials from three New England states and Quebec are looking at a plan that to better link Boston with New Haven and Montreal via track upgrades and the purchase of trains that could reach a peak speed of 79 m.p.h. - faster than what trains can do on most of the tracks now but far slower than typical intercity trains in Europe and Japan. Read more.
Ted Busiek is a Republican running for the Middlesex and Worcester state-senate seat now held by Jamie Eldridge (and once held by Paul Cellucci). Today, he tweeted: Read more.
Finn alerted us to an update from the T earlier this morning:
Fitchburg Update: Train 1400 is operating 70-100 min late between South Acton & North Station at reduced speed due to a mechanical problem.
The T posted a couple photos today of the Springfield site where a Chinese company is building a factory that will build new Orange Line and Red Line cars, which are expected to roll out between late 2018 and 2022.
WBUR reports state alcohol regulators have suddenly decided a law that let Nashoba Valley Winery bottle wine and run a restaurant for 16 years really means it can't bottle wine and run a restaurant.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today the state can force the owner of an old gas station in Athol to clean up the mess left over from a 1994 gasoline spill despite a state law that exempts "petroleum" spills from rigorous cleanups. Read more.
The Littleton Fire Department shows us what happens when a truck carrying potatoes rolls over and gets mashed against a guardrail, in this case on Rte. 2 eastbound at 495 Friday afternoon.
H/t Rick, who surmises the driver didn't keep his eyes peeled.
Worcester Magazine recaps yesterday's Worcester City Council meeting, which included some in-your-face'ing towards Boston because the Worcester Public Health Division is the first in the state to receive accreditation by a national public-health accrediting board:
Toomey: I know everybody wants to say congratulations to a world-class team from a world-class city.
Rosen: This is yuuge. I heard the Boston City Council met last week, and with over 1,000 employees - we have 23 - they have a huge budget, we have a small budget – and they tried to get this, and couldn’t. Boston is envious of the city of Worcester, as they should be.
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