PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A California company has removed its electric scooters from three New England cities after officials asked the firm to get permission first.
Los Angeles-based Bird Rides Inc. has stopped renting out its stand-up scooters in Providence, Rhode Island, and in Cambridge and Somerville, Mass.
The two neighboring Massachusetts cities had sent cease-and-desist letters to Bird after its scooters appeared on sidewalks last month with no warning.
Rhode Island’s capital city took a more welcoming approach but sought to regulate the business. Providence officials said they would allow the scooters on a trial basis if the company applied for a pilot program. As of Thursday the company hadn’t applied.
Bird said in a statement Thursday that it’s voluntarily leaving the three cities for now but may seek to return.
SALEM — A former dishwasher at a restaurant has been sentenced to up to nine years in prison for stabbing his boss last fall.
The Salem News reports that 19-year-old Rogerio Thomaz Dos Reis Silva was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges including attempted murder in the Nov. 19 attack on 52-year-old head chef Paul Marques at the Century House restaurant in Peabody.
Two other employees heard the commotion in the kitchen and intervened.
Prosecutors say Marques suffered severe abdominal injuries including punctures to his liver. He has undergone three operations and continues to undergo additional medical procedures.
Silva, a native of Brazil, also faces deportation after his sentence.
His lawyer said he accepted responsibility for his actions.
SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield man convicted in the brutal beating of his ex-girlfriend is heading to prison.
Jose Alvelo, 37, was sentenced Wednesday to a maximum of nine years in state prison in connection with the February 2017 assault that left the victim with broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Prosecutors say the Springfield man punched the woman several times, kicked her and pointed a knife at her.
He was found guilty of multiple charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. He was acquitted of several charges.
Alvelo called the woman a derogatory name in Spanish after his sentencing hearing, leading prosecutors to request the comment be put on the record.
PEABODY — Three members of the family that owned a restaurant convicted in a $3 million tax evasion scheme have avoided prison.
A federal judge Wednesday ordered Wednesday that William and Theodora Panousos, and their son, and Konstantinos Panousos, not to leave the city of Peabody for 18 months. They were also ordered to make full restitution for unpaid taxes, and pay a $150,000 fine.
They all pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy and aiding in the filing of false tax returns. Prosecutors say the family engaged in a scheme to skim off revenue from Giovanni’s Roast Beef and Pizza, thus avoiding taxes.
Some of the money was kept by the family, while other unreported income was used to pay cash to suppliers.
BOSTON — A member of the violent MS-13 gang from New York has been convicted of shooting a rival as well as an innocent bystander at a Boston subway station in 2016.
Prosecutors say 23-year-old Rogelio Alvarado was found guilty by a jury Wednesday of several charges including two counts of assault and battery by discharging a firearm.
Authorities say the Huntington, N.Y., man was on a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train on the afternoon of Jan. 19, 2016 when he had a gang-related conflict with another passenger.
The two got off at Maverick station in East Boston, where Alvarado opened fire, hitting the rival twice in the back and grazing another passenger in the head. Both victims survived.
Alvarado was arrested in New York in July 2017. Sentencing is Monday.
BOSTON — Federal regulators are shutting down the fishery for a popular food fish in Massachusetts because of concerns about exceeding quota.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says vessels are prohibited from bringing summer flounder to the docks in Massachusetts for the remainder of the fishing year. The closure went into effect on Tuesday.
The NOAA says the closure is needed because Massachusetts fishermen had caught 85 percent of their quota by Aug. 4 and were projected to reach their limit by Tuesday.
Summer flounder is a major fishery on the East Coast. Fishermen bring them to land from Massachusetts to South Carolina. They typically harvest between 7 million and 15 million pounds of the flatfish every year. The fishery’s often worth more than $30 million.
From Associated Press