Group Aims to Hold ‘Last Mile’ Run/Walk from Kenmore to Finish Line on Saturday
If you were one of the runners forced to end your Marathon early because of the bombings — or someone who just wants to show solidarity — a group is working to let you go “The Last Mile” on Saturday. Organizers are using Facebook to let people know of the effort. Here’s how they put it: So, as you have all heard by now, some coward likes to blow up trash cans. In doing so, this person or persons have hindered many from accomplishing something they have been training very hard to do over the past year. This is simple, we are going to Kenmore Square to finish the race for those who ran, and for those who can never run again. Share this with your friends, your families, your enemies, and anyone in between. Come join us and run, jog, walk, limp, wheel, or crawl that last mile. Organizers say they aren’t sure if they can get the proper permits in time. They also say that, clearly, if the stretch is still a crime scene they don’t want people jogging through and getting themselves arrested. Patch has reached out to organizers but hasn’t heard back from them yet. Some commenters on Facebook are saying it’s too soon for an event like this, with some pointing to the April 20 date (which is the anniversary of the Columbine Massacre) as a reason to choose a different day. Even if the last section of the Marathon is still cordoned off on Saturday, nearby Salem is hosting a “Last Mile” event of its own. Runners are gathering at the Salem Common at 6:45 p.m. Thursday. It’s part of a larger event including a candlelight vigil. Here is more information from the city of Salem. South End Patch
Scores Injured by Explosion at Boston Marathon Finish Line
Dozens of people were injured and two were reportedly killed by two explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line. There are multiple reports of victims with missing limbs, bloodied heads and other extremely serious injuries. WBZ-4 reported at least a dozen victims with “grave injuries.” “This is a horrific day in Boston,” Governor Deval Patrick said. “My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured. I have been in touch with the President, Mayor Menino and our public safety leaders. Our focus is on making sure that the area around Copley Square is safe and secured. I am asking everyone to stay away from Copley Square and let the first responders do their jobs.” Marathon Bombings: Important Phone Numbers, Websites Newtown Runners Reportedly ‘Safe’ Following Boston Tragedy Witness: ‘All of a Sudden Everyone Turned Around and Was Running in the Opposite Direction’ Foxborough Resident Maria Stephanos Describes Boston Marathon Explosion as ‘Very Chaotic’ Lexington Officials Respond to Boston Marathon Explosions Vineyard Runners Reported Safe after Marathon Explosions Cranston Councilman Works in Boston, Took Today Off Three EG Runners Confirmed OK after Bombs Explode at Boston Marathon Finish. Mansfield Resident at Marathon: All Hell Broke Lose Grafton Family Near Boston Marathon Finish Line When Bombs Explode Angie Miller Sends ‘My Heart to My Home’ Portsmouth Runner: Felt ‘Like a War Zone’ Medfield Marathoner Was Detoured Near Finish Line Running to Ministry: Church Reaches Out After Boston Marathon Explosions Tewksbury Nurse, ‘It Was Like A War Zone’ Tragedy Mars First Boston Marathon Veteran Milford Marathoner Describes a Chaotic Scene in Boston Exeter Marathon Runner ‘Grateful to be Alive’ Somerville Marathoner Guides Blind Runner Yards Away From Explosions “It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard it stopped us in our tracks,” said Marathon spectator Jennifer Curro. Updates below: The Park Plaza Castle will remain open as a resource center until 11 p.m. Monday and will reopen again at 9 .m. Tuesday. Residents can get several services there, including counseling services, sheltering services, find runner belongings and more. Displaces runners can stay at the Castle overnight. ***** 8:45 p.m. The FBI has taken over the investigation. Gov. Deval Patrick asked residents to have a “heightened vigilance” in the aftermath. Patrick said that the city of Boston will be open on Tuesday, but “not business as usual.” The “blast area” is considered a crime scene and the National Guard has secured it and is allowing limited access. The investigation will affect Copley Square in the next day or two as the investigation continues. “It will not […]
Police: South End Man Kicked 8-Year-Old Girl on Orange Line
A South End man is facing assault annd battery charges for allegedly kicking an 8-year-old girl in the leg on the Orange Line a few weeks ago, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. South End resident Antwan Crawford, 33, was arraigned on Thursday in Charlestown District Court on one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the incident aboard an Orange Line train near Community College station on Feb. 27. Witnesses told police that a man had been engaged in a verbal altercation with another passenger whom the man apparently believed had stepped on his sneakers. It was in the aftermath of that altercation that the child reported to her mother that the man had kicked her in the leg. Using her phone, the mother of the victim snapped the man’s picture. Using that phone photo, police at Bunker Hill Community College identified the man as Crawford based on a previous arrest for trespassing. As a result, MBTA Transit Police obtained a warrant for Crawford’s arrest and took him into custody on Wednesday. The district attorney’s office set his bail at $ 300, and he was also ordered to stay away from the victim and the Orange Line while the case is pending. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Boston Sexual Abuse Attorney: ‘The New Pope Will Just Toe the Company Line’
A Boston attorney who has helped hundreds of Catholic sexual abuse victims obtain settlements believes the new pope will continue to ignore sexual abuse issues. “Pope Benedict and the current pope will just toe the company line. And he’s going to continue to sweep sexual abuse issues under the rug and maintain the secrecy, which has allowed sexual predators to thrive,” said Mitchell Garabedian, who heads a Boston law firm specializing in helping victims of sexual abuse. “I think sources from outside will continue to force the church to reveal the ugliness of child abuse within the church.” Garabedian also offered his recommendations for the new pope – Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina. “For an institution such as the Catholic church to hold themselves as the most moral organization in the world – they have to act morally. The pope is the leader of that institution. He has to clear house. He has to get rid of bishops who have allowed children to be molested. He has to report them to the police and support victims who have been sexually molested. The pope has to institute a policy of transparency so that victims are allowed to heal, and other victims are empowered – and the world is made a safer place for children.” In 2002, Garabedian obtained a $ 10 million settlement for 86 victims or survivors of former priest John Geoghan. The following year Garabedian represented 120 victims and survivors of more than 40 different priests, along with lawyers representing other victims and survivors of abuse, an obtained an $ 85 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Boston. “The decades of sexual abuse by thousands of priests of thousands of children, and tens of thousands of priests and children has to stop. The pope has to set an example by instituting a moral policy, which will guide individuals within this group. Child abuse has to end period,” said Garabedian. “The Catholic church is an institution that for decades upon decades has been practicing and allowing priests to sexually molest children and to enable priests to molest children. It’s an institution that got caught and now is allowed to police themselves. I highly doubt the Catholic church will correct its way. It should have supervision from the ouside. Such as law enforcement authorities and legislation, which will enable victims to proceed with lawsuits.” Asked why he thinks the church continutes to allow sexual abuse to continue, Garabedian made the main reason clear: “They’re a trillion dollar business that is very powerful and in turn does not listen to forces from the outside and does what it wants to do.” SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch