Northeast
Pat Collins, mother of GOP Maine Sen. Susan, dead at 96
Patricia “Pat” Collins, a civic-minded matriarch who raised six children, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and led a life of public service, died Tuesday at age 96, the senator announced.
Pat Collins was raised in Port Jervis, New York, after coming to the United States as a girl from Colombia, and she put down roots in Maine after attending the University of Maine, marrying husband Donald in 1948, starting a family and becoming the first woman to be elected mayor in Caribou and a chair of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
SUSAN COLLINS, KEY SENATE GOP MODERATE, WON’T BACK TRUMP IN 2024
She also was an artist who painted watercolor portraits of her husband’s colleagues in the Maine Senate, earned an art degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and was “a fabulous cook who published two cookbooks,” the senator said.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) questions Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the investigation of Hunter Biden’s laptop during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing to discuss the fiscal year 2023 budget of the Department of Justice at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 26, 2022. (GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills called Pat Collins “a friend and trailblazer” who loved her state, “especially her cherished Aroostook County.”
“Pat will be remembered for her extraordinary character, marked by grace and integrity. She leaves behind a deep legacy of service,” Mills wrote in a statement.
Pat Collins found time for many other public service-minded posts while raising her family. She served on the advisory committee of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, as a court-appointed special advocate for children and chair of the Catholic Charities Maine Board of Directors and the Catholic Foundation of Maine Board of Trustees.
She was married for 70 years to her husband, who died in 2018. Surviving are five other children in addition to the senator, 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
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Boston, MA
Boston Weather: Mostly dry skies, late-week warm-up incoming
After a brief chance of early precipitation, Boston is likely in for a mostly dry week and warmer temperatures heading into next weekend, according to National Weather Service forecasts.
“In terms of rain and everything, that’ll be continuing to clear out (Sunday night), if it hasn’t already,” said NWS meteorologist Candice Hrencecin. “(Monday) should be pretty dry.”
Monday is set to kick off the week with some dry and breezy weather throughout the day, forecasts show. Winds are expected to reach gusts as high as 26 mph, and temperatures are likely to climb up in a high in the upper 40s, NWS states.
The only real chance for showers in the week should hit Monday night into Tuesday, Hrencecin said.
“(Monday) night, we could see some more showers come in once again,” said Hrencecin. “They might be mixed with some snow, but wouldn’t really accumulate or anything, and probably melt pretty quick, because we’d be going from like the mid-30s or so overnight (Monday), into the 40s during the day (Tuesday) pretty quickly. And that should switch over to rain.”
Rain is likely Tuesday, forecasts show, especially around the afternoon. The day is expected to be partly sunny, with a high in the upper 40s. The night is forecasted to get chilly, NWS states, with a low dipping down in the upper 20s.
“Then Wednesday, we kind of get back into the mid-40s during the day once again,” said Hrencecin. “And then overnight, a little bit better but still pretty cold for Wednesday night. Not as bad as Tuesday night, a few degrees improvement.”
Wednesday is expected to be sunny, with a high in the upper 40s and a nighttime low in the mid-30s, forecasts show.
Boston will kick off a warming trend more so towards the second half of the week, Hrencecin said.
“And then by Thursday into Friday, we’d see highs into the mid 50s, and then into the mid 60s heading into the weekend,” Hrencecin said.
Thursday is forecasted to be sunny again, with the high climbing up to the mid-50s and a low in the low 40s, NWS states.
Friday into the weekend are preliminarily expected to remain partly sunny, with highs reaching up into the 60s through Sunday, forecasts show.
Pittsburg, PA
My Biggest Concern With Pittsburgh’s New Special Teams Coordinator
Pittsburgh has a punting problem. For years, decades really, the unit hasn’t been sufficient. New Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman’s goal is to come in and fix that while improving or maintaining the other special teams units. History says he may fix other aspects, but not punting.
Below is a chart of the average gross punting yards (how far a punt travels before the return) and NFL rank during all four of Crossman’s stints in the head role: Carolina, Detroit, Buffalo, and Miami. Included in the chart is Pittsburgh’s ranking over the Mike Tomlin era, 2007-2025.
The numbers below with analysis to follow:
| Stint | Gross Punt Avg | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina (05-09) | 44.2 yards | 7th |
| Detroit (10-12) | 43.3 yards | 26th |
| Buffalo (13-18) | 43.7 yards | 29th |
| Miami (19-24) | 45.3 yards | 26th |
| Pittsburgh (07-25) | 43.6 yards | 32nd |
Crossman’s numbers in Carolina were good. The rest were not. He had bottom-tier finishes in Detroit, Buffalo, and Miami. Perhaps Buffalo can be excused, given its cold-weather climate, naturally unfriendly to punters. Still, Detroit plays indoors (even with road games in Green Bay and Chicago, that’s just a fraction of the season), and Miami is a warm-weather climate. No matter the venue over the past 15 years, the results haven’t been there.
Pittsburgh’s low finish isn’t shocking. Like Buffalo, punting at Acrisure (and Cleveland, Baltimore, and Cincinnati) makes life tough. The city will always have a disadvantage. Still, there’s no reason to accept finishing dead last in the league over nearly 20 years. Pittsburgh’s punting has always been subpar. It’s why the team’s record holder is from the 60s and not the modern day, like nearly every other NFL team. Washington is the only other team in this situation, thanks to Sammy Baugh’s league record that stood for generations.
How much can Crossman be blamed? He’s not the one on the field. But he evaluates and coaches the position. The results reflect him, especially over such a long span of time, and not a cherry-picked, single-season window. There is a consistently disappointing trend. And it’s gotten him fired in Buffalo and Miami.
Cameron Johnston is currently Pittsburgh’s only punter. Another will surely join the team. Whoever wins the job has their work cut out for them. Crossman must turn around his history – and Pittsburgh’s.
Connecticut
Colorblends’ stunning displays make their spring return
A local favorite is back.
Colorblends is known for its garden and gallery house.
In the next few weeks, visitors will see vibrant flower bulbs coming into bloom in the garden.
You can also see works of art displayed in the gallery, in partnership with Ursa Gallery.
“We’re a wholesale flower bulb supplier, so it’s basically a living catalogue of everything that we carry,” says Colorblends owner Tim Schipper. “We have a lot of regular visitors that know to come a couple times in the spring time to see what’s going on.”
The garden and house are open until mid-May.
An artist reception is set for April 18 from 3 to 6 p.m.
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