Cyclist Dies in Morning Crash with Tractor Trailer

Cyclist Dies in Morning Crash with Tractor Trailer. The crash happened at the 900 block of Commonwealth Avenue near Boston University, the same day as a City Council public hearing “to explore improvements to cycling infrastructure to make Boston a more livable City.” Unfortunately, this morning’s death is the latest in a series of biking deaths in Boston in recent months.  [Universal Hub]

White House Outlines Impact in Massachusetts of Doing Nothing About the Fiscal Cliff. According to an analysis by President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, 562,000 families in Massachusetts could lose access to the child tax credit, 217,000 families wouldn’t get federal assistance for college, and small business would only be able to deduct $25,000 in new investments.  [Boston.com]

Police on the Lookout for Naked Jogger. Springfield police received numerous calls about a jogger running in the wild west around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The suspect/jogger is described as a white male in his 30’s, according to police reports. Which is hilarious for two reasons: 1. Who runs naked? 2. It was freeeeezing this morning.  [WBZ]

How and Why Question 2 Failed in Massachusetts. Opposition against the ‘Death with Dignity’ ballot measure didn’t focus on morality or ethics for their counterattack—instead, they focused on semantics: “… the proposed law … required a physician to ‘recommend’ that a terminally ill patient notify his next of kin of his intent. But it didn’t ‘require’ family notification. ‘How would you feel if you came home and your mother had decided to take her life?’ said Joe Baerlein [of the PR and lobbying firm Rasky Baerlein]. ‘Voters couldn’t get their arms around that.'”  [NYT]

More Thieves Caught Stealing Christmas Gifts from Other People. This time, it’s women in Stoneham following delivery trucks and stealing packages from doorsteps.  [WBZ]