Movie Stars Meet the Heroes of the Boston Marathon Bombings
By: Charlie Breitrose First responders from Boston got a brush with fame on Sunday when they got to meet Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, the stars of the new movie R.I.P.D., a film about deceased police ("Rest In Peace Department) that South End Patch News
Taxes Due Today for Those Affected by Marathon Bombings
By: David Ertischek Due to the Boston Marathon bombings, the Internal Revenue Service extended the individual income tax return deadline to July 1 South End Patch News
Boston Pride Parade To Take on New Meaning in Wake of Bombings
Although Boston’s annual Pride Parade is intended to celebrate the city’s LGBT community, this year, in the wake of the marathon bombings, Boston Pride has taken on a whole new meaning. Boston Pride organizers said that even a few days after the events at the marathon they knew this year’s event would be different. “We felt that even our name was going beyond what it was understood to mean,” said Sylvain Bruni, a member of the Boston Pride Board of Directors. “We are an organization designed to promote awareness and inclusivity of the LGBT community, but Boston Pride is also about being proud of Boston and celebrating all of our diverse communities here.” This year’s Boston Pride Parade, the culminating event of Boston’s Pride Week, will be bigger and better than ever, Bruni said. The parade, which takes place on Saturday at noon, will feature 247 organizations, up from 170 last year. As many as 35,000 people are expected to participate or watch the parade. But along with the large crowds come security concerns, especially in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon in April. Boston Police officials said the department has already patrolled a number of significant events in the city since the marathon, including the Walk for Hunger, and will be doing what they can to make sure the parade route is safe. “We will have bomb sniffing dogs and technicians on the parade route,” said Cheryl Fiandaca, spokesperson for the Boston Police. “The BPD evaluates all public events—and will have an appropriate number of officers deployed for the parade.” Bruni said that Boston Pride has also taken steps to make the parade more secure, including hiring more volunteers than ever, having parade participants take special safety training and improving communication with the police. “This year, there will be more eyes on the ground observing wht’s going on in the parade,” Bruni said. “Obviously we thought it was very important for us to take those proactive measures.” The post-parade Pride Festival will be held at City Hall Plaza, rain or shine, from 12-6 p.m. You can see the full parade route and street closings here. “This year is going to be the biggest and best year,” Bruni said. “People will have a great time in a totally safe, secure, and welcoming environment.” SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Boston Fire Chief Resigns Amid Bombings Controversy
After two years on the job, Boston’s top fire official has resigned in the wake of his supposed controversial handling of response to the Boston Marathon Bombings. The Boston Globe reports Steve E. Abraira, chief of the Boston Fire Department, has resigned following complaints from 13 deputy chiefs who have accused him of failing to take control of the scene of the bombings April 15. In an April letter to Mayor Thomas Menino, the deputy chiefs claim Abraira left the scene in the “hand of law enforcement,” according to the story. Abraira has argued that the scene appeared under control when he arrived. Abraira was the first Boston Fire chief in history hired from outside its union, the Globe reports. South End Patch
FBI: Man Killed in Florida in Connection with Marathon Bombings
One man is dead and an agent is injured after a confrontation between the FBI and Mass. State Police in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing in the Orlando area on Wednesday morning. The FBI on Wednesday morning said an agent, two Massachusetts State Police troopers and other law enforcement personnel were interviewing an individual in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing when he attacked the agent. The FBI identified the person shot and killed as Ibragim Todashev, 27. During the confrontation, Todaschev was shot and killed and the agent sustained non-life threatening injuries. “As this incident is under review, we have no further details at this time,” the FBI said. South End Patch
British Prime Minister Visits Marathon Bombings Memorial
British Prime Minister David Cameron is spending time this week in Boston to offer his condolences to Gov. Deval Patrick on the Boston Marathon bombings and also discuss the lessons learned from the tragedy, according to WCVB.com. The news station reported Cameron arrived in Boston Monday and went into a private meeting with Patrick. While Cameron didn’t address the meeting with reporters after the meeting, WCVB reported Patrick said the meeting “was great.” Early Tuesday morning, Cameron and Patrick visited the makeshift Boston Marathon bombings memorial in Copley Square, according to an Associated Press report on WBUR.com. Cameron met with President Barack Obama at the White House Monday before coming to Boston, according to WBUR. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Boston Marathon Bombings: One Month Later
It’s been exactly one month since two bombs exploded on Boylston Street as runners crossed the Boston Marathon finish line and bystanders ran for their lives. People were frantic when the blasts went off seconds apart. Business was shutdown as FBI cordoned off the typically bustling Boylston Street area for 10 days. The heart of Boston became a blood spattered crime scene, and the nation focused its attention on the site of what the UK Mirror called the second worst act of terror on U.S. soil since 9/11. Much information on the suspects – two ethnic Chechen brothers living in Cambridge who were radicalized to become demonstratively anti-Western culture – has come out in the past 30 days as the victims convalesced and the deceased were mourned. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, the elder of the brothers and the alleged mastermind of the bombings, was killed in an unprecedented gunfight in Watertown during the early-morning hours April 19. The town and much of the region was on state mandated lockdown until late that evening. A Watertown police officer gave a detailed account of the peaceful Armenian-populated suburb-turned-warzone on WBUR.com today. Now, in death, Tamerlan Tsarnaev has become connected to a mysterious Waltham triple murder from 2011. Authorities and Tsarnaev’s family struggled to find a place to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev in early May. His body was eventually buried in a Virginia cemetery May 9, according to CBS and other media outlets. About 15 hours after Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed, younger brother Dzhokhar, 19, was found in a Watertown resident’s boat parked in a backyard. He was badly injured and immediately brought into police custody. He was initially unable to speak due to his injuries. Dzhokhar faces the death penalty. He has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property. He’s being held at Fort Devens, a federal medical center in Ayer, Mass., in a small cell with a steel door, according to the Huffington Post. The Marathon Monday bombs killed three people and injured 260 others. MIT Police Officer Sean Collier was ambushed and allegedly killed by the brothers April 18, the night they sought to flee the area to New York, where authorities believed another attack was planned. While the details were grisly on one side of this historic story, on the other, there were tales of triumph. Carlos Arredondo, a native of the parkway neighborhoods of Boston, was at the scene of the bombs helping people to safety. He’s been hailed a hero nationally ever since. Jeff Bauman lost both legs in the blasts, but he’s served as a point of pride for […]
After Marathon Bombings, Walk for Hunger Fundraising, Registrations Slow
For Project Bread Executive Director Ellen Parker, April 15 to 19 was the week almost everything stopped. In Boston, and in places around the country and world, life as usual stopped as the Boston Marathon bombings unfolded April 15, then came to a dramatic conclusion on April 19 with the death of one bombing suspect and the capture in Watertown of another. What also stopped that week? The steady flow of registrations and fundraising for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger, scheduled for Sunday, May 5. The walk is the oldest continuously operating pledge walk in the country, raising money for anti-hunger programs in Massachusetts. “We’re trying hard to regain some lost ground,” Parker said. Online fundraising for the walk is down 6 percent this year, said Parker, who noted fundraising efforts by walkers typically speed up starting in mid-April, and continue through the walk the first weekend in May. This year, the Marathon bombings meant people’s attention turned elsewhere during the usual ramp-up to the walk, she said. “It’s almost the nature of the world, that people would be focused on something that was almost unimaginable in the past,” Parker said. “We lost some momentum. We’re pressing really hard to make up for that.” Along with fundraising, walker registration has also been slower since the Boston Marathon. One school group called Parker shortly after the Marathon, saying they’d be happy to fundraise, but they didn’t feel comfortable walking this year, she said. After all, Sunday’s Walk for Hunger, and its 20-mile loop through Boston, Brookline, Newton, Watertown and Cambridge, will be the first major sporting event to be held in the city since the Marathon bombings. About 40,000 walkers and 2,000 volunteers are expected to take part. While crisis and safety plans are nothing new to Project Bread’s staffers, they’ve taken on new significance this year. More than 100 police in five municipalities are involved, according to Project Bread’s website, plus extra state police and park rangers. “There will be a bit more visibility of police along the walk,” Parker said. Also this year, walkers and volunteers are asked not to bring backpacks to the event. Instead, they are asked to use small day bags, if anything. Walkers are also asked on the website to be sure to keep their belongings with them at all times. With just three days until the walk, Parker said “things have slowly started to pick up again,” as the event nears. She’s hopeful the walk will be a bright spot amid what has been a trying time for the area. “We’re hoping we’re going to bring some light to what was a tough […]
Categories: Arrests Tags: After, Bombings, Fundraising, Hunger, Marathon, Registrations, Slow, Walk
Friends Raising $750,000 for North End Woman Injured in Boston Marathon Bombings
Friends of a North End woman severely injured in the Boston Marathon bombings last week are hoping to raise $ 750,000 to help her with hospital costs and other needs during her recovery. According to a post on GoFundMe.com, North End resident Roseann Sdoia had attended the Red Sox game at Fenway Park on Monday, April 15 and had walked over to the finish line at Copley Square to watch the rest of the marathon when she was injured by the explosions. “Roseann suffered serious injuries as a result of the explosions and has lost a leg above the knee,” wrote Christine Rousseau Hart, who attended high school and college with Sdoia. Hart posted a photo on the GoFundMe.com site that shows Sdoia watching the race in front of the restaurant Forum, standing three people away from eight-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester, who was one of three people killed in the bombings. Sdoia reportedly has undergone several surgeries for her injuries. “It will be a long journey of recovery, both physically and emotionally, but Roseann is a fighter. She has an infectious personality and loves Boston with all her heart. She is a true Bostonian, living in the city and being one of the most loyal sports fans I know,” Hart wrote on GoFundMe.com. Hart has set a fundraising goal of $ 750,000 and as of Monday at 11:30 a.m. had raised $ 208,676. She encouraged people to donate in memory of a loved one “whose name will help inspire Roseann through her treatment and recovery.” All gifts donated through the GoFundMe.com site will be transferred to Enterprise Bank for Sdoia to use for any expenses incurred because of the bombings. Donations can also be sent, with checks made payable to the “Roseann Sdoia Recovery Fund,” to Enterprise Bank, 1168 Lakeview Ave., Dracut, MA 01826. South End Patch
Rebel Group Denies Involvement in Marathon Bombings
The lone rebel group in the North Caucasus denied they had anything to do with Monday’s attack on the Boston Marathon. Kavkazcenter.com, the website outlet of the Mujahideen rebel group of the Caucasus Emirate Province of Dagestan, reported Sunday: “The Command of the Province of Dagestan indicates in this regard that the Caucasian Mujahideen are not fighting against the United States of America. We are at war with Russia, which is not only responsible for the occupation of the Caucasus, but also for heinous crimes against Muslims.” The site added: “Also, remember that even in respect to the enemy state of Russia, which is fighting the Caucasus Emirate, there is an order by the Emir Dokku Umarov, which prohibits strikes on civilian targets.” Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, known as the suspect wearing the black hat in the Boston Marathon bombings April 15, was killed when he was run over by his brother, suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a lengthy battle with law enforcement early Friday morning. The FBI was warned about Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011, according to a statement. He traveled between Boston and Russia several times in 2011 and 2012. The Tsarnaev brothers are ethnic Chechens. The FBI acknowledged Tamerlan Tsarnaev changed dramatically after 2010 and began to follow “radical Islam,” according to the statement. “The FBI also interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev and family members,” the statement continues. “The FBI did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign, and those results were provided to the foreign government in the summer of 2011. The FBI requested but did not receive more specific or additional information from the foreign government.” South End Patch