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Matt McDonald, a Boston-area native, has decades of experience as a reporter, editor, and copy editor. His work has appeared in The Mashpee Messenger, Cape Cod News, and The Norfolk Boomerang.
Around New England
A 25-year-old woman who police say became unhinged at the sight of a Trump bumper sticker in Hyannis has pleaded not guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon. The victim, a man, told Barnstable police on June 30 that he was driving when a gray Honda Civic began following him
Around New England
Ethan Sonneborn, 14, is appearing on the Democratic primary ballot later this month and now that school is out he is campaigning just about every day — driven by his parents. Bernie Sanders, Howard Dean, and Barack Obama are his political heroes.
Around New England
New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald has released a list of 171 current and former police officers whose crimes, false statements, excessive force, or sexual harassment damage their credibility. State law requires the attorney general to maintain the list. Local police chiefs decide which officers go on it.
News
A bill that would have prohibited therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a minor has failed in the Massachusetts Legislature, even though both the House and Senate expressed support for it. An amendment added to the bill in the state House of Representatives five
Around New England
A subcommittee of the Lowell City Council has been told to study banning plastic straws in the city. The city council voted 7-2 to ask the council's Environment and Flood Issues Subcommittee to consider whether it's feasible for the city to prohibit the use and sale
Around New England
A street sign for Lois Lane in Worcester is missing and presumed stolen after it was taken down during sidewalk construction. The sign, which has marked the short private street next to a business called That's Entertainment for the past five years, has often been photographed by people
Commentary
New York Magazine published Monday a long article about U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Cambridge) by Rebecca Traister. If you like edgy-sounding vulgarities and ponderous run-on sentences, dive right in. If not, here's a pithier summary, in four acts.
Around New England
One clue that the reporter didn't grow up around here is the suggestion that a high school boy throwing a snowball on a sidewalk by Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington sometime in the 1970s is throwing it at a person. "What we don't know is who