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Former pro, Olympic pitcher Monica Abbott opens up about ‘perseverance’ in new book

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

Monica Abbott, the two-time Olympic silver medalist and recently retired professional softball player, was in her fifth-grade class when she declared her athletic intentions. Assigned to research, write, and present a paper about one of the states in the Union, she’d been hoping for a familiar state but was disappointed to have been given Georgia. Until she learned that Atlanta was hosting the Olympics the following year and that softball was making its debut at the Games. USA brought home the Gold.(Photo courtesy of Monica Abbott)At the end of her presentation on Georgia, Abbott said, “And I’m going to pitch in the Olympics. I’ll see you there!”Abbott, who grew up in Salinas, California, a place she calls a big city that thinks it’s a small town or vice versa, started playing softball with the Salinas Salad Bowl Bobby Sox, a softball league established to give young women a chance to experience the excitement of playing fast pitch softball.She was 12 years old when she negotiated w...

In new documentary, Orlando’s gay history unfolds on film

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

Matthew J. Palm | Orlando SentinelORLANDO, Fla. — It was 36 hours after the Pulse nightclub massacre of 2016 when Rick Todd decided the history of gay, lesbian and transgender people in Central Florida needed to be told. Sitting in a meeting of LGBTQ leaders reacting to the tragedy, he realized the help that would be forthcoming had its roots in the past.“Who created this community?” he asked himself. “Who laid this foundation?”The end result of his questions is the film “Greetings from Queertown: Orlando,” which debuted at the Florida Film Festival on Monday. For Todd, and others, it has been both a personal journey — and an educational one.“I say I was raised by Orlando’s gay community,” says Todd, the publisher of gay-issues newspaper Watermark and executive producer of the film. “I wanted to honor the people who raised me.”“Greetings from Queertown” features interviews with notable figures on Central Florida’s LGBTQ scene: City commissioner Patty Sheehan, playwright-actor Michae...

Robert Kennedy Jr. announces Democratic presidential run

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will join the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat, the environmental lawyer announced at the Park Plaza hotel.“Under normal circumstances, I would not do this,” Kennedy said during his announcement speech. “But these are not normal circumstances. I’m watching my country being stolen from me.”Kennedy, the 69-year-old son of former presidential candidate and U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, is the second Democrat to announce a 2024 presidential bid. He joins writer Marianne Williamson on the road to likely face President Biden, who has not yet announced a re-election bid, in the Democratic primary.Speaking to a couple hundred enthusiastic fans packed into the Boston hotel, Kennedy said he is running to “unite the country” and address the “corrupt merger of state and corporate power” he argued the political establishment is failing.The lawyer and environmental ...

Boston Pride’s Corinne Schroeder named PHF Goaltender of the Year

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

The Premier Hockey Federation announced that Boston Pride’s Corinne Schroeder has been selected as the PHF Goaltender of the Year for the 2022-23 regular season.The award was determined by PHF hockey operations in consultation with all team presidents and general managers. Schroeder set  PHF single-season records for Boston, including 19 wins, seven shutouts that shattered the previous mark of three, and 761 total saves.Her overall record of 19-1-1 was compiled over a franchise-record 22 starts and helped the Pride finish in first place in the league’s regular season standings. She became just the third goaltender in PHF history to blank the opposition in her first start and continued her impressive debut with a record three straight shutouts to launch her professional career.

After Pioneers Run Crew was blocked by Newton Police at the Boston Marathon, civil rights group calls for independent investigation into ‘racial profiling’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

A Boston-based civil rights group is calling for an independent investigation into “racial profiling” at the Boston Marathon after a predominantly Black running group was blocked by police officers at their cheering spot in Newton.On Monday, cops with bicycles lined up at Pioneers Run Crew’s tent along Heartbreak Hill at Mile 21. This restricted the group’s cheering access to the road and their ability to give out high fives to runners. Police officers also took positions behind the group’s tent.The police officers did this after the Boston Athletic Association had alerted Newton Police three times about spectators crossing the rope barrier and impeding runners. Pioneers Run Crew and other running groups have noted that thousands of spectators jump onto the course, but this type of police presence only happened to a group of predominantly Black and Brown spectators.In the wake of this, Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston on Wednesday wrote a letter to the C...

The truth is out there: A mega 30th anniversary ‘X-Files’ convention happening this fall

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

A major X-Files convention, featuring a lineup of supporting cast members and producers from the cult-favorite sci-fi franchise, is coming to the Mall of America this fall.The convention, named PhileFest, will take place Sept. 8–10, to mark the 30th anniversary of “The X-Files.” The series originally ran on Fox from 1993 to 2002 and returned for two additional seasons in 2016 and 2018.“The X-Files” creator Chris Carter and other producers will be in attendance, along with a sizable roster of actors. William B. Davis, a.k.a. Cigarette-Smoking Man, will be there, as will later-season star Annabeth Gish and recurring cast members Nicholas Lea and Chris Owens. Plus, all three Lone Gunmen: Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood and Dean Haglund.The full schedule of general-admission panel discussions and cast meet-and-greets has yet to be announced.PhileFest, a convention marking the 30th anniversary of the TV show “The X-Files,” is coming to the Mall of America in September. A sizable roster of t...

Early homer, solid pitching leads Franklin past Catholic Memorial

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

WEST ROXBURY – Coming in with an undefeated mark, the Franklin baseball team looked just as advertised against nonleague opponent Catholic Memorial on the road Wednesday afternoon.Using a gem of an outing from senior captain Alfred Mucciarone, along with some timely hits from the middle of the lineup, the Panthers downed the Knights, 9-2.“It all starts on the hill,” said Franklin coach Zach Brown. “A really good effort again from Alfred and he set a good tone for us. He left a couple pitches up in that first inning and CM was able to scrape one across.”Mucciarone finished with six strong innings while striking out 11, including fanning the side in the fourth on just 10 pitches. He allowed just one run on four hits, with two of those hits coming in the first inning.“After the first, I was kind of rolling,” Mucciarone said. “I was trying to hit my spots and pound the strike zone down and away.”Franklin (6-0) was able to capitalize on a pair of walks in the first inning as senior catch...

With warmer weather, Joshua Tree National Park beckons again

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

The weather was so unsettled in March that I postponed my annual trip to Joshua Tree, where it was even colder than it was here. Rather than travel, my primary birthday-month activities were 1) shivering and 2) wringing out my socks.With the forecast calling for a sunny and warm Easter weekend, though, the timing felt right. I booked a cheap motel and headed east in my trusty Fiat for my first overnight trip in months. Gangway!This was my third visit to Joshua Tree. I like it.For starters, the landscape is compelling, especially in the national park, which is primarily dirt, rocks and scrubby plants, including picturesque Joshua trees.More on Joshua TreeBirthday road trip to Joshua Tree is a gasA Fiat must really be foreign in Joshua TreeJoshua Tree, a desert trip worth takingIn the commercial districts of Joshua Tree and its neighboring communities, quirky shops and galleries add flavor, and many restaurants have eclectic fare. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you would not starve. ...

Skilling: Cloudy, warm before possible thunderstorms Thursday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

The predicted huge north to south temp spread Wednesday has materialized as the Chicago area finds itself divided between warm southerly winds south of a warm front headed toward the city—and the chilly southeast winds coming off 44-deg Lake Michigan waters.At mid afternoon—temps varied 35 degrees from 41-deg at Waukegan Harbor to 76 degrees (and still rising) south of Chicago in Peotone and Roselawn, IN.Clusters of t-storms have dotted sections of Illinois and Wisconsin—but have avoided Chicago proper as of post time. Hail described as ping ping to golf ball size has rained down on sections of downstate and far northwest Illinois and southern Wisconsin.Temperatures will rise in Chicago tonight as a northbound warm front passes ushering tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico into the area. That air mass has generated temps as warm as 84 on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign/Urbana and 88-deg in downstate Terre Haute, Indiana.Spotty t-storms can't be ruled out overnight int...

Federal prosecutors rest in 'ComEd Four' bribery trial

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

CHICAGO -- Federal prosecutors rested their case on Wednesday after more than a month of grueling testimony in the "ComEd Four" trial. The "ComEd Four" are former Madigan confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty. All have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery conspiracy.Federal prosecutors accused the four defendants of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for support of the utilities legislative agenda. Judge tentatively OKs $725M Facebook settlement: How to apply for a payout Madigan was charged in 2022 with racketeering, bribery and other crimes. He’s denied wrongdoing. A year earlier, he resigned from the Legislature as the longest-serving House speaker in modern U.S. history amid speculation that he was a federal target.The indictment accused Madigan, among other things, of reaping the benefits of private le...