Massachusetts
SD PUC fines Massachusetts-based company $15,000
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A Massachusetts-based company that specializes in buying a specific type of oil seed from farmers now faces a $15,000 civil penalty in South Dakota.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission imposed the punishment against Yield10 Bioscience Inc. of Woburn, MA, after an evidentiary hearing on Friday. Yield10 was notified of the complaint and the proceeding but wasn’t represented.
The commission found that Yield10 had failed to provide notification that the company was no longer in compliance with financial conditions required for South Dakota-licensed grain buyers and didn’t provide information within five days that was requested by the commission’s staff.
Each set of violations carried a maximum civil penalty of $20,000, for a possible total amount of $40,000. Commission chair Kristie Fiegen proposed $15,000.
“Our goal at the PUC is to make sure our producers are protected, and we want answers right away,” Fiegen said. “Producers were not impacted, but they could have been.”
Commissioner Chris Nelson asked why she chose $15,000. “I don’t think we should do the maximum, because no one was hurt,” Fiegen explained.
Nelson said he could have gone higher. Fiegen encouraged him to suggest more.
The third commissioner, Gary Hanson, however said he would have suggested $5,000 on each violation for a total of $10,000.
“So it sounds like a sweet spot,” Hanson said about the $15,000.
The commission voted 3-0 for that amount.
Fiegen and Nelson recognized the staff for its work.
“These are not easy,” Nelson said. “You shouldn’t had to have to go through all the work on this.”
During the hearing, grain-warehouse division manager Cody Chambliss presented information about the staff’s interactions with Yield10, including their exchanges of emails and correspondence.
Chambliss said the company buys camelina, an oil seed that is rarely grown in South Dakota. He said the company claimed it never purchased camelina from South Dakota producers.
A news release issued by Yield10 on Wednesday night said the company’s assets were being purchased by the seed technologies platform of Nufarm Limited, an Australia-based company.
Nelson said the commission asked the Legislature for the two statutes in 2013 after “the Anderson Seed fiasco” in 2012 that saw a sunflower buyer go bankrupt.
Chambliss said the statutes had been used to levy a civil penalty once since then. That matter involved H&I Grain in 2017. When asked for his recommendation, Chambliss said a minimum of $5,000 for each of the two violations and upward to $10,000 for each.
“We’re fortunate here there weren’t any producer losses,” Chambliss said. He said it’s “very rare” that a company can suffer a financial loss and not have losses incurred by producers.
Massachusetts
‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran
Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.
The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.
Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.
“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”
The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.
“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”
Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.
At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.
“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.
Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.
“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.
The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.
“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.
Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.
“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”
With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.
Massachusetts
Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.
The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.
The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.
For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.
The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.
The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.
Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.
That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!
Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
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