Published March 15, 2011

Dangerous levels of radiation are leaking from a nuclear plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there is a high risk of more radioactivity leaking from overheating nuclear rods and ordered everyone within 12 miles of the plant to evacuate.

The Globe’s Big Picture blog has devastating pictures of the disaster.

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Mass. House Speaker Robert DeLeo proposed changes designed to reduce the influence lawmakers have over the Probation Department, which is under the cloud of a corruption investigation. WBUR’s Fred Thys is covering the speaker’s remarks scheduled to be delivered at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

When you hit all green lights on your drive to work, found a dollar bill in the back pocket of your jeans and managed to score a free lunch in the office kitchen, you thought you were lucky. That’s small potatoes compared to a list of “lucky” Massachusetts residents.

A state auditor’s report says that the Commonwealth is missing out on thousands of dollars in tax revenue thanks to ineffective policing of the Lottery. The report says an ongoing scam has lottery winners that owe back taxes giving their winning tickets to middlemen who then cash the winners in, for a fee. The report doesn’t label the middlemen, but some “lucky” residents have cashed in up to a thousand tickets. Luck of the Irish?

As the world watches the growing nuclear crisis in Japan, fears are spiking over local nuclear power plants. The Pilgrim Power Station in Plymouth provides electricity for about 600,000 homes. Operators assured state officials Monday that the facility is safe.

Steeped in complex medical jargon, a dizzying array of insurance paperwork and wonky economic principles, the rising tide of health care costs are often difficult to understand. WBUR’s Martha Bebinger reports on the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization’s efforts to catch consumers up.

Authorities yesterday struck a blow to fans of running naked through Medford when the president of Tufts University announced he was scrapping the school’s annual Naked Quad Run. Twelve students were hospitalized and one was arrested at the last Naked Quad Run in December. No word on the number of embarrassed college males.

What we’re following: We’ll, of course, continue to report on the nuclear crisis in Japan, the investigation of Sunday’s chemical plant explosion and the ruling that allows protests at military funerals.

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.

Published March 11, 2011

By now you’ve heard that an earthquake hit northern Japan Friday. Tsunami waves hit Hawaii in the early morning hours Friday and the U.S. West Coast is preparing for a tsunami triggered by the quake that’s traveling across the Pacific. WBUR and NPR will be following the story all day and you can get the latest news on Here & Now at noon.

As for Boston, the 2010 gubernatorial election is back in the news.

A former Goldman Sachs executive gave Independent candidate for governor — and former state Treasurer — Timothy Cahill strategic campaign advice, according to e-mails obtained by the Globe. Federal law restricts public-finance bankers from contributing to political candidates who issue public bonds, like a state Treasurer. The former banker, Neil Morrison, insists he did nothing wrong.

The mother of a Springfield sixth-grader who committed suicide after being bullied at school spoke with President Obama at the White House Thursday. Sirdeaner Walker is pushing for a national anti-bullying law.

In March, students and parents across Boston try their luck with charter schools. Often praised for high test scores and graduation rates for low-income students, charter schools are publicly funded but are independent from the school district. As WBUR’s Bianca Vasquez Toness reports, though, charter schools may not be doing enough to educate students who don’t speak English at home.

This weekend marks the annual PAX East video game convention at the BCEC. Thousands of gamers from all over the world will descend on Boston so, yes, that really is Pikachu you saw on the T. Radio Boston spoke with PAX East keynote speaker Jane McGonigal on Wednesday.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the quake and tsunami aftermath, the Cahill-Goldman Sachs connection and a surge in car thefts in Lawrence.

Aside from covering PAX East and the week in the news, Radio Boston will welcome legendary rocker Peter Wolf to today’s show.

Published March 10, 2011

Bruins bruiser and captain Zdeno Chara drove a Montreal Canadiens player head-first into the boards during their game Tuesday night, horrifying hockey fans.

The hit left Max Pacioretty with a broken vertebra and a severe concussion.

Though the NHL decided not to suspend or fine the Bruins defenseman, Montreal police have started a criminal investigation into the hit, the AP reports today. Investigators will collect evidence and then determine whether or not to bring charges in the case.

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Pacioretty, who is from Connecticut, was taken from the ice in the stretcher, but has full use of his extremities and has been speaking with reporters.

Many Montreal fans were understandably outraged by the hit and some even called 911 to “report” the violence, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Published March 10, 2011

With outrage still simmering over the pay for top executives of health insurance companies — all nonprofits — WBUR’s Martha Bebinger reports that many of them routinely receive major, major bonuses.

In other health insurance news, the second- and third-largest insurers in the state are re-thinking pay for their board members. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan said yesterday that their boards will meet to discuss whether they will continue to draw large salaries for occasional work overseeing the insurance companies.

The mother and sister of Sen. Scott Brown are defending the accuracy of the senator’s memoir. Brown’s family backed the story of a stepfather’s regular abuse, even as the man denies it.

Family members of a retired MBTA mechanic shot and killed by a Framingham police officer say they’re likely to sue after the Middlesex County District Attorney concluded yesterday that the shooting was accidental. Police say the man died when a SWAT team member accidentally discharged his gun after tripping during a drug raid.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to follow Gov. Deval Patrick’s trade mission to Israel and the UK, local reaction to the Wisconsin collective bargaining bill and the second trial in a gruesome New Hampshire home invasion case. Radio Boston will speak with Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont, who is working to create a single-payer health insurance system in his state.