Cross Country
"You can't replace a life," says Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly. But you can certainly make companies pay dearly for it. That seemed to be the plan last week, as Reilly filed a lawsuit against 15 firms involved in the design, construction, and oversight of a Boston highway tunnel that partially collapsed in July, killing a woman. The tunnel was part of the $14.6 billion Big Dig highway project, which was plagued by a litany of problems even before four 3-ton ceiling panels fell on a car, killing Milena Del Valle, 39.
Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the lead contractor on the project, is the only company facing the most serious charge of gross negligence. "We will stand behind our work," said Bechtel spokesman Andy Paven.
Rockies Wreath War
After three weeks of tumult in Pagosa Springs, Colo., a Christmas wreath shaped like a peace sign finally achieved a sort of political amnesty last week when members of a homeowners association dropped their threat to fine the offending household.
Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco unwittingly fired the opening salvo by hanging the peace wreath on their home weeks ago. It was, Trimarco said, a holiday expression of the Christian call for peace on Earth. But some neighbors viewed it as a statement against the Iraq war. And the situation grew worse when Bob Kearns, president of the homeowners association, described the symbol as "an anti-Christ sign"-a reference to some people's belief that the peace symbol is a broken cross. As word spread, so did local protests. Supporters of Jensen and Trimarco covered Pagosa Springs, a town of 1,700, in peace symbols. In the end, peace prevailed. The homeowners association dropped threats of a $25-per-day fine for the wreath, and then board members of the group resigned last week.
With Chitra Ragavan, Kit R. Roane, Will Sullivan, Angie C. Marek, Bret Schulte and Associated Press
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