Published March 14, 2011

The ongoing crisis in Japan has put nuclear safety back in the public eye. The crisis comes after the Obama administration suggested nuclear power as an alternative energy source to pursue.

But Sen. John Kerry today urged caution on the administration’s call. He says the public, seeing the threat of a nuclear meltdown grip Japan, will want guarantees that nuclear plants are safe, even under worse-case scenarios.

“We clearly need to have a new generation of safer, more fail-safe plants if any are going to be built,” the senior senator said while visiting a South End school. “Obviously this is going to go through a much greater scrutiny. It ought to. There’ll be a much tougher standard. There ought to be. Whether there’s any at all.”

Kerry criticized Japan’s decision to allow nuclear plants so close to the ocean in an earthquake-prone area. He said it’s fortunate for residents around the Plymouth Pilgrim Nuclear Station that the region has no history of earthquakes or tsunamis.

Meanwhile, Rep. Ed Markey is calling for potassium iodide pills to be distributed to anyone living within 20 miles of a nuclear plant. The pills are meant to be taken during a nuclear emergency to protect the body from radiation.

Markey authored a law requiring the pills nine years ago, but in a letter today, the congressman complained that the law was never implemented.

Markey has also called for inspections to nuclear plants that are similar in design to those damaged in Japan.

Published March 14, 2011

Japan continues to recover from the devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami that rocked the country on Friday. Officials are battling to control a damaged nuclear power facility and minimize its radiation’s impact.

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The race to join Boston’s city council comes to a head Tuesday, when voters choose a replacement to fill disgraced former City Councilor Chuck Turner’s seat.

Voters in Roxbury, parts of Dorchester and the South End will choose between Tito Jackson, who is endorsed by the city’s daily newspapers and many unions, and Cornell Mills, who only won nine percent of the primary vote to Jackson’s 67.

A chemical plant in Middleton exploded last night, shaking homes in the area and causing a four-alarm fire. Four workers were injured, but their injuries aren’t considered life-threatening. According to the AP:

The explosion damaged two buildings in the complex and could be heard and felt miles away, State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said.

The Herald reports that the number of break-ins in Boston grew by 24 percent last year, causing many residents to fear for their safety. The number of burglaries was up in all but three of the city’s 12 police districts, according to the newspaper.

Boston may have found a novel solution to the budget deficits crippling cities and towns around the country — assuming control of expensive Italian estates.

OK, so it won’t impact the city’s finances in the struggling economy, but the Globe relates a wacky story in which an Italian man willed the city a mansion reportedly worth $700,000. The catch — there’s always a catch — the will stipulates the city is responsible for the care and feeding of the ex-owner’s pets.

Got a death wish? Boston does, and now it will be featured on TV.

According to UniversalHub, local moving company Deathwish Movers gets the reality show treatment in a series premiering Wednesday on the Travel Channel. The show is called, surprise, “Deathwish Movers”, and will screen at 10 p.m.