Massachusetts
More than 700K mail-in ballots requested in Mass. ahead of presidential primaries
More than 700,000 voters in Massachusetts requested mail-in ballots ahead of the March 5 presidential primaries and almost 250,000 have been returned, numbers the state’s top election official said were “encouraging” as the contest shapes up to be a repeat of four years ago.
A trickle of residents were already casting their ballots at the BCYF Roche Community Center in West Roxbury Saturday. Secretary of State William Galvin said early voting in Massachusetts is off to a “slow start” but the primaries in South Carolina could encourage people here to head to the polls.
“Needless to say, since on both parties, the races seem decided at this moment, it’s not as much of an incentive for people to come out. But the intensity of interest in the presidency and the importance of this election, I think, is superseding. So I do think there will be a fair degree of turnout,” he said.
Early voting in Massachusetts runs through March 1 and registered voters can still request to vote by mail through Feb. 27, Galvin said.
Independents can choose to pull a Democratic or Republican ticket without becoming a member of that party. Galvin said Massachusetts has seen an uptick in independents requesting Republican ballots, “which, given the size of the Republican party in our state, is significant.”
“I think that clearly was a pitch that Gov. (Nikki) Haley has been making in her effort to contest Donald Trump,” Galvin said.
There are approximately 3.7 million active registered voters in Massachusetts, Galvin said. Less than 30% are registered as Democrats and around 10% are registered Republicans, he said.
Galvin said he believes young people “don’t want party affiliation.”
“They want to be able to pick and choose amongst the parties and you can see the parties themselves aren’t that exciting to people to be a participant in. I’ve been a lifelong Democrat but I don’t mean that has to be for everybody else,” he said.
The Massachusetts Republican Party is “very much in change,” Galvin said.
“The general point is most people are not connected with either party or or any party,” he said. “It’s not about the parties, it’s about the voters, and it’s about the choices and it’s about the citizenship and the importance of making these decisions.”
A body part was found in a pond in Shirley, Massachusetts and investigators said foul play is suspected.
It was discovered around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday as a group of people were walking along Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.
Police said the group noticed something suspicious in the water of Phoenix Pond. The Middlesex District Attorney confirmed that the item was a body part, but would not elaborate.
Police shut down the road and divers could be seen exploring the pond late Wednesday. Authorities were back at the scene Thursday morning.
No other information is available at this point in the investigation.
Phoenix Pond connects to the Catacoonamug Brook, which flows into the Nashua River. It’s also connected to Lake Shirley.
Shirley, Massachusetts is about 44 miles northwest of Boston and around 13 miles from the New Hampshire border.
Human remains were discovered Wednesday in the water in Shirley, Massachusetts, and authorities suspect foul play.
Police in Shirley said in a social media post at 7:15 p.m. that they responded to “a suspicious object in the water near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.” Massachusetts State Police later said the object was believed to be human remains.
The bridge crosses Catacoonamug Brook near Phoenix Pond.
The office of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said a group of young people was walking in the area around 5:30 p.m. and “reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water.”
Foul play is suspected, Ryan’s office said.
Authorities will continue investigating overnight into Thursday, and an increased police presence is expected in the area.
No further information was immediately available.
Massachusetts
Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”
It was a treacherous commute for drivers across Massachusetts Wednesday morning. Ice on roads and highways caused several crashes during rush hour.
In Danvers, 22 miles north of Boston, the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars. Three people were taken to local hospitals.
In Revere, just seven miles north of the city, two tractor-trailers collided on North Shore Road. Police said it will be shut down for most of the day. It’s unclear if this crash was caused by icy conditions.
Forty-four miles west of Boston, a tractor-trailer ran off the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westboro. One person was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with what were described by the fire department as “non-life threatening injuries.”
The ice wasn’t just a problem for drivers. People walking around Boston were also slipping and sliding Wednesday morning.
“I almost fell at least five times but I didn’t. I don’t know how. I screamed and caught edges,” Swapna Vantzelfde told CBS News Boston about her walk to work in the South End. It took longer than usual.
“The internal streets they just don’t get plowed, the little ones that people live on and then these arteries, the big streets, they’re cleaned a lot better,” she said.
Those on two legs and four were all stepping gingerly across slick spots.
“A little treacherous. Very slick and icy out here,” said a father pushing a stroller. “Sometimes you have something to hold on to, which helps.”
With plenty of snow piled along sidewalks and between parking spots, most people are done with winter.
“I’m over it. I’m ready for the thaw,” said one man.
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