A Stop Sign Twitch Star Is Born In Salem: Patch PM

SALEM, MA — It's Thursday, March 25. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A widely ignored stop sign in a Salem neighborhood is drawing a wild following on Twitch where nearly 150,000 people have subscribed to watch cars roll right past it.
• A case on the Supreme Court agenda could alter gun laws in Massachusetts.
• Emails released to Patch after a public records request show Framingham officials tried to cover up its health director's resignation by saying he was taking a medical leave.
• Newton residents have donated more than $35,000 to help a high school Spanish teacher whose home was damaged in a fire last month.
• State crews and firefighters in Auburn responded to a large ink spill Thursday morning.

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

Today's Top North Shore Story

Salem's newest famous resident is a stop sign that doesn't get much respect.

The stop sign has its own Twitch channel, a dedicated camera and nearly 150,000 fans — only it's most famous for how hardly any drivers ever actually come to a complete stop in its presence.

Viewers marvel at how drivers zoom through, roll past, tap the breaks in front of oncoming traffic, and mostly do everything but come to a sustained halt at the sign.

Read the full story here.

Today's Top State Story

A possible expansion of gun rights is on the Supreme Court's agenda, days after mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia.

The justices are meeting in private Friday to discuss adding new cases to their docket for the fall. Among the prospects is an appeal from gun rights advocates that asks the court to declare a constitutional right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-protection.

The appeal comes from New York, which gun rights groups say is among eight states that make it difficult if not virtually impossible for people to get permits to carry guns in public. The other states are California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

In the rest of the country, gun owners have little trouble legally carrying their weapons when they go out.

Read the full story.

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Thursday's Other Top Stories

Newton tiene corazón: Newton residents have donated more than $35,000 to help a high school Spanish teacher whose home was damaged in a fire last month. Dan Fabrizio, who works at Newton North High School, had bought the condo less than two years ago. No one was injured in the fire, but all the residents were displaced.

Too bad it wasn't disappearing ink: State crews and firefighters in Auburn responded to a large ink spill along Southbridge Street Thursday morning. The spill of blue ink stretched more than a quarter of a mile from the scene, according to the department. Images shared by the fire department showed large puddles of the ink in a parking lot, and a nearby stream full of the blue stuff.

More refunds for BSC members: Bankrupt Boston Sports Club agreed to refund $126,858 to 588 members, and the company was ordered to not pursue collections against members who disputed the charges with their credit card companies. BSC's parent company closed all of its Massachusetts locations at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but members continued to be billed. Attorney General Maura Healey said her office received more than 2,000 consumer complaints from BSC members.

Delays in Orange Line work: Shuttle buses will continue to replace a large section of the Orange Line through April 11, a one-week extension to allow for a track replacement at the site of a train derailment at Wellington Station.

For information on getting a coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts, visit Patch's information hub.

They Said It

"Sam, we need to issue a communication about your departure. Otherwise, the media will make up whatever they want unless the city tells the story."

• Framingham spokeswoman Kelly McFalls in an email to former health director Sam Wong. Emails released to Patch after a public records request show the city tried to cover up Wong's resignation by saying he was taking a medical leave.