Manhattan’s first whiskey distillery in over 100 years open for business
(Reuters) – Curls of smoke blanket a glass filled with bourbon whiskey and ice inside a 28,000-square-foot whiskey distillery in the trendy NoHo neighborhood in lower Manhattan. Great Jones Distilling Co. is the New York City borough’s first and only whiskey distillery since Prohibition, which ended a little over 100 years ago. The four-story distillery, which opened last month, was six years in the making and faced many obstacles getting off the ground. “In order to understand what distilling is in New York City, you have to understand the zoning that it takes to be a distillery,” said Great Jones Distilling Co.’s project manager Andrew Merinoff, 31. “This is a labor of love.”Great Jones Distilling Co. is the brainchild of Juan Domingo Beckmann, chief executive of Jose Cuervo.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 22:18 UTC
Green Dot Stables purchases land at center of parking lot dispute with Moroun, resolving legal battle
click to enlarge Jerilyn JordanThe Detroit International Bridge Co. temporarily erected a metal fence through Green Dot Stables’ parking lot after it discovered it owned part of the property. Last month, a property dispute between Green Dot Stables and billionaire Matthew Moroun came to a head when Moroun's Detroit International Bridge Co. took the extraordinary step of erecting a metal fence through the popular Detroit burger restaurant's parking lot, after it realized it owned part of the land. Driscoll, who also owns the restuarants Johnny Noodle King and Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts, has owned Green Dot Stables since 2011. Apparently, Moroun squeezed another $10,000 out of him.How much money is it worth to never have to speak to a billionaire's annoying lawyers ever again? (According to, both parties agreed to a non-disparagement clause, so we can only imagine.)
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 20:37 UTC
Hudson most recent addition to growing list of municipal mask mandates
HUDSON — With COVID-19 cases again on the rise, town officials announced that masks will be required in municipal buildings starting Monday, even for fully vaccinated individuals. As of this past Monday, there are 31 Hudson residents in isolation, with 35 additional cases reported since Sept. 7. NatickNatick instituted a mask mandate effective Aug. 16 for municipal buildings. WellesleyWellesley announced an emergency indoor mask order for all municipal buildings and offices on Aug. 27. AshlandEffective Aug. 6, the town of Ashland has asked all visitors to municipal buildings wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 20:37 UTC
Milford Library News: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month through books and movies
Museum passesThe Milford Town Library now provides passes to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Massachusetts Dept. Please think about sharing your collection with the Milford Town Library. Food pantry donationsThe Milford Town Library accepts donations to the Daily Bread Food Pantry every day. Library Hours and mask policyThe Milford Town Library is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Hot spots must be picked up and dropped off at the Milford Library onlyFor more information about the Milford Town LIbrary, visit www.milfordtownlibrary.org.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 20:26 UTC
Singapore primary schools to shift online as COVID-19 cases rise
(Reuters) -Singapore’s primary schools will shift to home-based learning for 10 days ahead of a key national examination, the education ministry said on Saturday, as the country reported 935 new COVID-19 cases the previous day, the highest since April last year. Primary 1 to 5 students will move to home-based learning from Sept. 27 to Oct. 6. Primary 6 students will go on a study break for a few days from Sept. 25 before sitting for the national examination to minimise risk of school-based transmissions and reduce the number of students placed in quarantine. A recent rise in cases after the relaxation of some COVID-19 measures has prompted Singapore to pause on further reopening. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Richard Pullin)
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 19:36 UTC
National Guard will drive vans to support Framingham schools amid bus driver shortage
FRAMINGHAM — Framingham Public Schools has been approved to receive support from the National Guard to help alleviate the impact of a nationwide bus driver shortage. Notably, the drivers offered by the National Guard can only drive small vans, and not yellow school buses, as they are not licensed as commercial drivers. He was a liaison to the National Guard in his former job with former Gov. As of Tuesday, 90 National Guard members were preparing for service in Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell and Lynn, according to the governor's office. Unless families are contacted by Framingham Public Schools, bus routes will continue as previously scheduled, according to a press release.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 19:18 UTC
As California fire nears, crews protect world’s largest tree in special wrap
THREE RIVERS, Calif. (Reuters) -Fire crews in California have resorted to wrapping the bases of some giant sequoias in fire-resistant coverings in a desperate effort to save the towering specimens, including the General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, the National Park Service said on Friday. It was burning about a mile (1.6 km) from Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest, home to the General Sherman, the largest tree on Earth by volume, park service spokesman Mark Garrett said. Still, Garrett said, the park service was taking no chances with the General Sherman and a few of the other big trees. Other steps the park service said it has taken to protect the sequoias are prescribed burns, which would reduce the amount of available fuel in case KNP complex reaches them. (Writing and addtional reporting by Peter Szekely in New YorkEditing by Aurora Ellis and Matthew Lewis)
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 18:40 UTC
Pele in ‘stable’ condition after respiratory problems, hospital says
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil soccer legend Pele, 80, is in a “stable” condition after “respiratory instability” early on Friday led to him being admitted to an intensive care unit, Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital said in a statement. Concerns grew about Pele’s health on Friday after local media reported that he had returned to an ICU that he had only just left earlier this week as he recovers from a colon tumor removal. Pele has suffered from hip problems for years and cannot walk unaided. His public appearances were already being cut before the COVID-19 pandemic and since then he has made few unnecessary forays outside his house near Santos. (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Gabriel Stargardter; Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Brad Haynes, Daniel Wallis and Grant McCool)
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 18:33 UTC
Mass. school districts report 1,230 student cases of COVID-19 for first week
Katie LannanState House News ServiceBOSTON — School districts reported more than 1,200 student cases of COVID-19 and 190 cases among staff members this week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said in its first case report of the new school year. The department said the 1,230 student cases represent 0.13% of the estimated 920,000 students enrolled in K-12 schools. Springfield reported the most student cases, with 70, followed by Wachusett Regional School District with 40. This week's total of 1,420 school cases represent cases reported to DESE from Monday through Wednesday. In its final report from last school year, the department tallied 53 student cases and five staff cases the week of June 10 through June 16.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 16:41 UTC
California lawmakers pass bill to decriminalize loitering and bar police from using it as evidence of sex work
Gavin Newsom (D), prevent police from attempting to use loitering as evidence of a person’s intent to engage in sex work. But proponents of the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Equality California, and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking say that the bill does not decriminalize soliciting or engaging in sex work. “Arresting people because they ‘look like’ sex workers is discriminatory and wrong, and it endangers sex workers and trans people of color,” he said in a statement. But supporters argue that criminal penalties for sex work — including loitering laws — only serve to intimidate victims from coming forward, lest they be arrested or thrown in prison. “Arresting sex workers doesn’t make them safer, doesn’t make our communities safer, and doesn’t prevent sex work.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 16:30 UTC
Wayne County prosecutor slaps Roseville woman with hate crime following ‘racist rant’ on airplane
click to enlarge The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic RelationsA Spirit Airlines passenger is accused of assaulting a Muslim woman on a flight to Detroit. A Roseville woman accused of assaulting a Black Muslim passenger aboard a Spirit Airlines flight to Detroit over the weekend was charged with a hate crime Friday.Alexandra Lynn Farr, 39, was charged with ethnic intimidation and assault after prosecutors say she shouted racial slurs at a 29-year-old passenger on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The incident occurred after the victim Aicha Toure, who was wearing an Islamic head scarf, asked Farr to stop harassing and intimidating an older woman who appeared to be of South Asian descent. Farr responded by hurling anti-Islamic slurs at Toure and striking her hand and phone as Toure tried to capture the interaction on video, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.“The alleged activity of this defendant was completely inappropriate and quickly elevated to criminal activity,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. “Racist rants have become far more common lately and we will not hesitate to take action when we can do so legally.”The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which called on prosecutors to file hate-crime charges, applauded Worthy’s decision.“CAIR-MI is pleased that the prosecutor’s office has taken the alleged targeting of Muslims in Detroit for violent Islamophobic attacks seriously,” Amy V. Doukoure, CAIR-MI staff attorney, said in a statement. “Charging Ms. Farr under Michigan’s Ethnic Intimidation Statute sends a strong signal to Michigan’s Muslim community that hatred and intolerance against them is unacceptable and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 16:24 UTC
Satirical ad tears into GM for resuming donations to Republicans who tried to overturn election
click to enlarge Steve NeavlingGeneral Motors' Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. Political action group MoveOn slammed General Motors in a new digital ad for donating to the campaigns of lawmakers who spread falsehoods about the presidential election.The satirical ad mocks GM for resuming its political action committee donations after pledging to temporarily halt campaign contributions after the Jan. 6 insurrection. At the time, GM said it would “evaluate” its PAC contributions “to ensure candidates align with our core values.”“Now we’re back to writing big checks to the people who objected to the election,” the ad says. “Together we’re undermining the very foundation of American democracy, but we're making a bet that you don't know or don't care. “If GM wants to preserve its legacy as leaders in the industry, then they need to honor their commitment to our democracy and refuse to fund those who played a role in trying to overthrow our government.”couldn't reach GM for comment.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 15:30 UTC
Sotheby’s to auction rare first printing of U.S. Constitution
(Reuters) – An extremely rare official first-edition printed copy of the U.S. Constitution, as adopted by America’s founding fathers at a convention in Philadelphia in 1787, will be put up for bid by Sotheby’s in mid-November, the auction house announced on Friday. Sotheby’s, announcing the upcoming sale of the document on the 234th anniversary of its signing by delegates to the Constitutional Convention, estimated its value at $15 million to $20 million. Copies from that first printing, bearing no signatures and believed to have originally numbered about 500, were also furnished to delegates of the Constitutional Convention itself. The Constitution’s first printing is considerably rarer than even the first edition of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, Sotheby’s said. “The Goldman Constitution ranks as one of the most rare and coveted historical documents that has ever come to auction,” Selby Kiffer, senior specialist in Sotheby’s books & manuscripts department, said in a statement.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 12:56 UTC
Pastor and right-wing radio host who mocked dead AIDS victims dies of COVID-19
Two recently married women were found shot to death in Utah, just days after they complained about a "creepy guy" near their campsite. The bodies of Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were discovered on Aug. 18 near their campsite in the La Sal Mountains by a friend who went searching for them after they failed to return home from their trip. A four-day search had been underway to track down the couple, who lived in Moab and had been married for just four months, after they went missing on Aug. 14. Bridget Calvert, Schulte's aunt, told FOX 13 Utah that the friend, Cindy Sue Hunter, "was on the phone with my brother when she pulled up to the car."
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 11:37 UTC
Sullivan's Travels -- In Natick, a day to remember and celebrate
Want to check out Walnut Hill School (Sept. 22), the Natick Community Organic Farm (Oct. 27) and the Natick Service Council (Nov. 7)? For updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/NatickSonsandDaughtersofItaly… Natick Council on Aging and Natick Human Services are partnering with the Department of Public Works to hold the sixth annual Bulky Waste Collection Day on Oct. 23. … The Natick Service Council, it will conduct a “Fall for Natick” virtual race from Sept. 18-26. Porchfest will take place in the following neighborhoods:Area 1 – Washington Street, Walnut Street, Harvard Street, Franklin Street, Florence Street, David DriveArea 2 – Grant Street, Wilson Street, Sheridan Street, Sherman Street, Avon Street, Garfield Street, Chester Street, Morse Street. Area 3 – Pond Street, Maple Street, Plain Street, Park Street, Western Avenue, Floral Avenue, Waban Street.
Source:MetroXpress
September 17, 2021 11:02 UTC