SJC Rules 'Viva La Stool!' | Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, June 14. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Property records show the Dedham house where a teenager drowned earlier this month belongs to retired Massachusetts State Police Officer James Coughlin.
• The Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Barstool Sports and former WEEI host Kirk Minihane by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone.
• A soldier from Plymouth was one of two paratroopers found dead in his barracks at Fort Bragg.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

The Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Barstool Sports and former WEEI host Kirk Minihane by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

Curtatone filed the suit in Middlesex Superior Court in June 2019 after Minihane conducted a phone interview with the mayor pretending to be The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen. Barstool Sports later posted the interview on its website.

Curtatone claimed the interview was a "clear violation of Massachusetts General Law, which forbids audio recording a person without his/her consent, and you can't obtain that consent through fraudulent means."

Read more here.

Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekday. It's free!

Monday's Other Top Stories

Retired state trooper owned Dedham home where teen drowned: Family, friends and strangers gathered to show their support for Alonzo Polk and demand answers in his death during a vigil Sunday night. Police say the 17-year-old was found unresponsive in a pool during a graduation party on Netta road last weekend and died in a Boston hospital a few days later. Property records show the house belongs to retired Massachusetts State Police Officer James Coughlin.

SJC: Viva la Stool! The Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Barstool Sports and former WEEI host Kirk Minihane by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone. Curtatone filed the suit in Middlesex Superior Court in June 2019 after Minihane conducted a phone interview with the mayor pretending to be The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen. Barstool Sports later posted the interview on its website.

Noisy 'quiet zone' debate in Waltham: A group of residents, upset that Waltham has lost its designation as a "Quiet Zone," planned to protest near one of the railroad crossings Monday, as city officials scramble to reinstate the designation. During a nationwide review in April, the Federal Railway Administration determined that city at-grade train crossings lacked required "supplemental safety measures" that the city was asked to have going back to 2008, and thus no longer qualified as a quiet zone, according to the agency.

16-year-old escapes kidnapping attempt: Around 10:30 p.m. Friday, the victim was walking home from her job in downtown Falmouth when a black SUV began to follow her on Shore Street, the police said. The driver pulled up and asked if she wanted a ride home. The girl declined and walked away. "As she was walking along Clinton Avenue she then heard a car door close, she turned around and the operator of the SUV attempted to pull her towards his SUV," the police said. "The female was able to break free and ran home."

MA men plead guilty in Japan: Two Americans charged with helping former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while he was facing accusations of financial misconduct agreed Monday that they took part in a scheme for him to escape the country. Statements by Michael Taylor and his son, Peter, on the opening day of their trial in Tokyo suggest the pair don't plan to fight charges of assisting a criminal. That carries a possible penalty of up to three years in prison.

Harvard case heading to high court? Supreme Court Justices could say as soon as Monday whether they will hear an appeal claiming that Harvard discriminates against Asian American applicants, in a case that could have nationwide repercussions. The case would not be argued until the fall or winter. "It would be a big deal because of the nature of college admissions across the country and because of the stakes of having this issue before the Supreme Court," said Gregory Garre, who twice defended the University of Texas' admissions program before the justices.

Also today: A 25-year-old Melrose woman died after a snorkeling incident in the Florida Keys...Residents are wondering just what caused a loud boom heard in Stoneham late Sunday night...Antisemitic graffiti was found along North Andover's Mills to Hills trail...A soldier from Plymouth was one of two paratroopers found dead in his barracks at Fort Bragg.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

They Said It

"The use of the terms 'rabbi' and 'dreidel' was initiated several years ago by Jewish members of the football program as a nickname for the play call 'Rabbit.' They claimed, tongue in cheek, that Jewish culture was 'underrepresented' in the football program."

• Fired Duxbury football coach Dave Maimaron in a statement sent to the Boston Herald. Maimaron, who was fired after players used "Auschwitz," "rabbi" and "dreidel" as a play calls in a game earlier this year, said he should have not allowed his team to use those terms.

In Case You Missed It

'Vax Express:' Coronavirus vaccinations will soon be available on rails in Massachusetts, with the inaugural run Wednesday of the "Vax Express." The MBTA isturning over a commuter rail train to CIC Health, a partner in the state's vaccination program, to bring the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to five communities with low vaccination rates. While Massachusetts has over two-thirds of the population at least partially vaccinated, trailing only Vermont among U.S. states, not all its 351 cities and towns are doing as well.