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Cash, know-how and public support: The recipe for hitting Europe’s green building targets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

This article is the product of a POLITICO Working Group, presented by Holcim.If the EU wants to meet its 2050 net-zero target, it needs to rethink the way it builds its cities.The bloc’s building stock is currently responsible for 40 percent of total energy consumption and 36 percent of the bloc’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions — that means slashing those emissions will be key to hitting overall climate goals.The EU has set a target of reducing buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by the end of the decade and ensuring buildings are fully decarbonized by 2050. To get there, Brussels is requiring the bloc to slash energy consumption by 11.7 percent by 2030, with part of that cut achieved with the mandatory renovation of public buildings. It is also revising rules on energy performance for buildings — now being negotiated by the Parliament and EU capitals — to compel countries to ensure their worst-performing buildings reach higher energy-efficien...

Editorial: Latest school shooting shows need for strong Red Flag laws

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

The debate over gun control rages again after yet another school shooting, this time at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville.The suspect in Monday’s killing spree, 28-year-old Aubrey Hale, shot her way into the school and gunned down six people, including three 9-year-old children, according to police. Pols and pundits have reignited the national argument on gun control vs. Second Amendment rights, with the usual fiery rhetoric.The debate won’t end this week, nor this month, nor anytime in the foreseeable future. More people intent on evildoing will take firearms they acquired through illegal or legal means, and take out their twisted agenda on innocents.The problem is more complex than a laser focus on gun ownership would indicate.One factor that can and should be addressed immediately is the emotional makeup of the shooters themselves. Stable, well-adjusted members of the community don’t walk into schools with assault weapons. It’s only after ...

For a great kid-friendly day trip, head to New Bedford

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

My two granddaughters love what we call “Rara Days;”  when I take them to do all kind of fun things until  they’re so tired they crash off to sleep that night.They can be demanding though.“We want to go to a zoo! And some museums! And can we take a beach walk? And Rara – we need a really great playground!”I have a secret weapon that allows me to say “Absolutely!” to all of it.New Bedford (https://destinationnewbedford.org) has long been known for whaling and its rich history, but it’s also quietly built itself  to be one of the best family destinations around.We like to start our day at Noah’s Playground, an incredible ADA accessible playground located at lovely Pope’s Island. Noah’s was built in 2017 with funds raised by the family of Noah Fernandes, a boy who lost his life at 14 after battling a disease that left him in a wheelchair.Besides being accessible to all, Noah’s setting is pretty with great water views. There are clean public rest rooms and comfortable benches for parent...

Herald hires Mac Cerullo as new Red Sox reporter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

It all started with a tacky Nickelodeon alarm clock.Think of the most over-the-top relic of the 1990s imaginable, a purple and neon-green monstrosity that blared an unholy mashup of spaceship noises, trumpets and marching band cacophony if you dared set it to go off in the morning.I couldn’t tell you when or how I got it. By this point I’d long outgrown it. But in the fall of 2003 that bizarre childhood holdover became arguably my most important possession.Why? Because it had a radio, and on school nights after my parents banished me to my room for the evening that tacky clock was my only conduit to that October’s epic Red Sox playoff run.I remember spending hours in the dark listening to Joe Castiglione call the action, visualizing the scene unfolding miles away Fenway Park or beyond. Like everyone else in the region I was completely transfixed, and those indelible weeks sparked an enduring passion.Even back then I knew somehow, someway, sports would always be a part of my life.If ...

Davies: Pols’ oil biz blame game ignores how markets work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

When gas prices rose 150% from June 2020 to June 2023, politicians didn’t hesitate to blame corporate greed. Yet over the last six months, gas prices have fallen 33%. Are politicians congratulating oil companies for displaying altruism? No. Market skeptics only see prices through the eyes of greed. Prices fall because of “market forces” but rise because of “greed.”Consider ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company. From 2010 through 2014, Exxon’s after-tax profit averaged $9.1 billion per quarter. Starting in 2015, its profits fell more than 50%, to an average of $3.9 billion per quarter, yet no politician thanked Exxon for its generosity.Then came COVID. In 2020, the company lost an average of $5.6 billion per quarter, yet no politician applauded Exxon’s selfless magnanimity.And politicians were right not to do so.Exxon was neither generous in the late 2010s nor magnanimous in 2020. Exxon responded to market forces: paying the prices that markets dictated and selling at prices that ...

Lucas: DiZoglio still wins even if she loses Beacon Hill audit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

Fiery State Auditor Diana DiZoglio may lose a skirmish in her battle to audit the Massachusetts Legislature, but she will still win.At least in the court of public opinion.If, over the strenuous objections of the leaders of the Legislature and the Constitution she gets to audit the House and the Senate, she wins.If she is prohibited by law or by the courts from doing so, she also wins.That is because the Massachusetts Legislature is held in such low esteem by the public — fairly or not —that any attack on it and its workings looks like good government even if the attacks are political.This is especially true in DiZoglio’s case. She was practically an outcast in both the House and the Senate during her 10-year tenure in the Legislature after repeatedly challenging the leadership in both branches before being elected auditor in the last election.So, she presumably knows what she is looking for and that is to make herself look good at the expense of House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate...

With 6 games left, where do the Chicago Bulls stand in the NBA play-in tournament?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

The Chicago Bulls are fighting for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament, a battle for the last two playoff seeds in each conference. Here’s an explainer about the history of the event and how it works — and where the Bulls stand.When did the play-in begin?The NBA introduced the idea after the restart of the pandemic-delayed 2019-20 season, with a team needing to be within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in for the last playoff spot in the conference.The Memphis Grizzlies finished a half-game behind the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, and the Blazers won the first game of a play-in, thus earning the final playoff spot. In the East, the ninth-place Washington Wizards finished 7½ games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning a play-in was unnecessary.How has the tournament evolved?The next year, the NBA expanded its play-in rules, with only the top-six seeds in each conference guaranteed of a playoff spot and the Nos. 7-...

Recapping the Chicago Bulls: Slow start — and Anthony Davis’ big night — leads to a 121-110 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

For the first eight minutes of Wednesday’s 121-110 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, it seemed as if Nikola Vučević was the only player in a Chicago Bulls jersey who could land a shot at the United Center.Vučević found nearly every shot in his bag, dancing through post-ups and sinking a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. But the rest of the team couldn’t find a single shot that would fall — not a floater, not a free throw, not a 3-pointer. Vučević went 6-for-9 in the quarter. His teammates combined to go 2-for-15. And the tone for the game was set — or rather, wasn’t established at all — by the end of the opening frame.Coby White finally snapped the streak, landing a layup with 3:12 left in the first. Derrick Jones Jr. was the only other Bulls player to score in the quarter, splashing a 3-pointer in the final minutes as the Bulls were outscored 31-20.And although they would erase that deficit in the second quarter, the ...

‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ rolls the high score

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”Rated PG-13. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters.Grade: B+If you took heaping handfuls of “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Game of Thrones” and shook them up, you might come up with the frothy and entertaining “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” the first in what is surely going to be a series of films based on the beloved table-top role-playing game that emerged in the 1970s. An orc, wizard, zombie, Druid and dragon-laden affair co-directed and co-written (along with Michael Gilio) by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (both screenwriters of “Spider-Man: Homecoming”), the film is steeped in the sounds and sights of the fantasy/sword and sorcery genres.We begin in a frozen world, where our soon-to-be friends Edgin (a charming Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez, showing us she is so much more than “Fast & Furious”) escape from a pr...

The prettiest looks for your Easter parade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:52 GMT

For those of us who adore spring and all of its bright, lighthearted fashion, Easter is one of the best excuses we have to pull out the stops and don the prettiest dresses and accessories.What’s more, this season’s crop of dresses is vast and lovely. And the accessories out there are equally irresistible. After all, at Easter, hats are as much of a tradition as marshmallow birds. Here are three of my favorite looks right now.Florals are the obvious go-to, and Tuckernuck’s Hydrangea Blooms Faven Dress ($298 on tnuck.com) is a glorious and glam choice. Overlaid onto a subtle leopard print, the watercolor-inspired green blooms are contrasted with a dark green trim on the hem and sleeves, and details like puffy sleeves, a removable waist sash, and back slit. I also love the ruched mock neckline, which adds even more drama.And you’ll need some snazzy green shoes to accompany that. I’m loving Grace’s Perfect Mary Jane Pump 70 ($695 on sarahflint.com) by Sarah Flint. They’re fl...