Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:16] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Tuesday, March 17. A cleanup is underway following the overnight high winds and heavy rains here in Quincy and a utility pole came down right behind the 7:11 on Washington street at about 5 o' clock this morning taking some power lines with it. No one was injured. A tree came down on Rishooty Drive in West Quincy. Traffic lights were out at center and west streets and there are some spotty power outages across the city. National Grid and city tree crews are responding to clean up the debris and restore power.
[00:00:55] A proposal to appropriate over $2.6 million for new firefighter turnout gear in Quincy remains in committee. City Council last night voted 5 to 4 to keep the request in the Finance Committee after an extensive presentation regarding the expense. The Mayor is seeking the funding to purchase new turnout gear that is free of cancer causing chemicals. The firefighters union says it's found a manufacturer that produces PFAS chemical free gear and brought in an expert to testify that the new gear does not contain those chemicals. Some counselors wanted more information about the city's efforts to recoup the costs of the current gear. Other counselors questioned whether the new gear could contain other dangerous chemicals.
[00:01:45] A Quincy man has been sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and raping a woman from the Wollaston MBTA station in 2022.
[00:01:57] Now 30 year old Christian lynch pleaded guilty in Norfolk Superior Court on Friday. Lynch kidnapped a 64 year old Asian woman at the T station in November of 2022. Prosecutors say lynch repeatedly raped the woman at another location, then drove her to the Westgate Mall in Brockton where passersby spotted her and called for help. The victim was treated at the Good Samaritan Medical Center. Lynch initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but changed his plea on Friday. He reportedly tried but failed to kidnap another woman at the T station before grabbing the victim. He will serve five years supervised release following his prison sentence.
[00:02:40] Delays were reported on the Red Line between North Quincy and Braintree yesterday morning due to what the T described as fire. Fire Department activity at Quincy Center. Video sent in by a commuter showed a fire burning on the tracks, the T said at about 8:45 yesterday morning. Delays of about 20 minutes were being reported said riders could use the commuter rail between Braintree and South Station as an alternative. Shuttle buses also temporarily replaced service between North Quincy and Braintree due to the fire.
[00:03:13] The regular service on the Red Line resumed shortly before 10 o' clock yesterday morning.
[00:03:18] Similar fire was reported on the Quincy Center T station tracks on Friday night.
[00:03:25] Oil and gas prices rising due to the conflict with Iran after months of state efforts to address energy affordability, the Healy administration is announcing plans to bring more energy into Massachusetts and control costs. Governor Healy, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper and other members of the administration gathered yesterday at a school in Winthrop to announce an all of the above approach to acquiring and generating energy for the Bay State. According to the governor, who's running for re election on a platform based on affordability, her new executive order directs state agencies to work towards securing 10 new gigawatts of energy and 5 gigawatts of new energy storage by 2035.
[00:04:12] The election is less than eight months away and energy costs are clear, clearly becoming a key issue. Brian Short Sleeve, a Republican candidate for governor, argued yesterday that Healy created the very energy affordability problem that she now aims to address. The governor's Office said her 10 gigawatt goal is enough to power roughly 2 million households and includes 4 gigawatts of solar power and aims to achieve 3.5 gigawatts through load management strategies such as energy efficiency, virtual power plants and electric vehicle charging management.
[00:04:48] Electricity consumption is projected to rise by nearly 15% through 2035 and 50% by 2045, according to ISO. New England gas prices in Massachusetts have surged 24 cents since last week, according to AAA. The war with Iran hindered the shipment of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz and resulting in the United States easing sanctions on 20 million barrels of Russian oil. As of yesterday, the average price of Brent crude oil was $103. The West Texas crude price was 98. AAA said. It's the highest for both since July of 2022.
[00:05:30] AAA said it is seeing the highest demand for gasoline since mid June.
[00:05:35] Gas prices in Massachusetts were about $3.31 a gallon last week, up 40 cents from a month ago and the average price was $2.90. A year ago, the price sat at about $2.96 a gallon. Massachusetts remains about 16 cents below the national average this week. Massachusetts has the 24th highest price in the nation. The national average is $3.71 a gallon. California has the highest price in the country with an average of $5.52. Kansas holds the lowest at $314.
[00:06:08] The highest weekly average in Massachusetts recorded history is 505 a gallon in June of 2022, according to AAA.
[00:06:18] Jack of Business stocks are higher. Dow is up 387. Nasdaq rose 268 and the S&P added 67. Stocks were mixed. In Asia, the dollar rose. The euro was down. Oil now at $104 a barrel.
[00:06:34] Sports Celtics beat the Suns 120 to 112. They'll be hosting Golden State tomorrow night at 7:00'. Clock. The Bruins lost in New Jersey 4 to 3 in overtime. They're in Montreal tonight at 7.
[00:06:48] Forecast from the National Weather Service today turning partly cloudy and breezy with temperatures falling to the mid-40s. For tonight, clear chilly low of 22. Sunshine tomorrow high 37. Thursday, partly sunny 45 and Friday, partly sunny, high of 53 for the boater. Waves 2 to 3ft. West winds 20 to 25 will be decreasing throughout the day. High tide 10:58am Sunrise and sunset, 6:52.
[00:07:19] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Tuesday, March 17th.
