The Daily Item from Lynn, Massachusetts • A6

A6 THE DAILY ITEM THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 Blame Trump? Jury hears that defense at Capitol riot trial Wind whips destructive wildfires in New Mexico and Colorado Emergency-Rental Assistance Program expires on Friday California plan aims to triple sale of electric cars by 2026 City of Peabody resumes the outdoor dining discussion Two Saugus hero third-graders save their choking classmate Brooklyn subway shooting resonates with MBTA chief By Michael Kunzelman ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Men- tions of Donald Trump have been rare at the first few trials for people charged with storming the U.S. Capitol, but that changed Tuesday: The lat- est Capitol riot defendant to go on trial is blaming his actions on the former president and his false claims about a stolen elec- tion. Dustin Byron Thomp- son, an Ohio man charged with stealing a coat rack from the Capitol, deny that he joined the mob on Jan. 6, 2021. But his lawyer vowed to show that Trump abused his power to the attack.

Describing Trump as a man without scruples or integrity, defense attorney Samuel Shamansky said the former president en- gaged in a plot to encourage Thompson and other supporters to his dirty Donald Trump himself spewing the lies and using his position to authorize this Shamansky told jurors Tuesday during the opening statements. Justice Department prosecutor Jennifer Roz- zoni said Thompson knew he was breaking the law that day. chose to be a part of the mayhem and she said. lawyer sought subpoenas to call Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as witnesses at his trial this week. A judge rejected that request but ruled that jurors can hear recordings of speeches that Trump and Giuliani delivered at a rally before the riot.

jury trial is the third among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecu- tions. The first two end- ed with jurors convicting both defendants on all counts with which they were charged. In a February court fil- ing, Shamansky said he wanted to argue at trial that Thompson was acting at the direction of Trump and various conspira- By Susan Montoya Bryan ASSOCIATED PRESS Firefighters scouted the drought-stricken moun- tainsides around a New Mexico village on Wednes- day as they looked for opportunities to slow a wind-driven wildfire that a day earlier had burned at least 150 homes and other structures while displacing thousands of residents and forcing the evacuation of two schools. Homes were among the structures that had burned, but officials did not have a count of how many were destroyed in the blaze that torched at least 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilome- ters) of forest, brush and grass on the east side of the community of Ruidoso, said Laura Rabon, spokesper- son for the Lincoln Nation- al Forest. Rabon announced emer- gency evacuations of a more densely populated area during a briefing Wednes- day afternoon as the fire jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line.

She told people to get in their cars and go. So far, no deaths or inju- ries were reported from the fire, which has been fanned by strong winds. While the cause of the blaze was under investiga- tion, fire officials and fore- casters warned Wednes- day that persistent dry and windy conditions had prompted red flag warn- ings for a wide swath that included almost all of New Mexico, half of Texas and parts of Colorado and the Midwest. Five new large fires were reported Tuesday, and nearly 1,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to large fires in the south- western, southern and Rocky Mountain areas, ac- cording to the National In- teragency Fire Center. Hotter and drier weath- er weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an in- crease in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say.

By Alena Kuzub ITEM STAFF LYNN Lynn United for Change is reminding all tenants who are strug- gling with overdue rent or utility bills to apply for assistance by Friday as the Emergency Rent- al Assistance Program (ERAP) is set to expire on April 15. As of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Massachusetts residents will no longer be able to apply for the federally-funded ERAP program. This will dras- tically cut financial assis- tance from the state to the residents who struggle to pay rent or utility bills, according to Lynn United for Change, a community group that fights for so- cial and economic justice and the human right to housing and is a part of Homes for All Massachu- setts. Tenants still have time to apply by Friday by fill- ing out an online appli- cation even if they have to provide some of the re- quired documents at a lat- er date.

A social-security number is not required to apply, tenants can qualify regardless of immigration status, and an eviction no- tice is not needed. Lynn residents may contact Lynn United for Change for assistance with the application at 781-346-9199 or visit www.LynnUnited.org. Homeowners who are behind on mortgage pay- ments may apply to the Massachusetts Home- owner Assistance Fund at www.massmortgagehelp. org, which does not have a deadline. Alena Kuzub can be reached at live.com.

By Kathleen Ronayne ITEM STAFF SACRAMENTO, Calif. California wants elec- tric vehicle sales to triple in the next four years to 35 percent of all new car purchases, an aggressive target set as part of the goal to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by the middle of next decade. The proposal released late Tuesday by the Cali- fornia Air Resources Board would slowly raise the sale of new cars that are elec- tric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids to 100 percent by 2035. About 11 percent of all new passen- ger car sales nationally happen in California, giv- ing the state significant in- fluence over the auto mar- ket. Californians would still be allowed to drive gas-powered cars and sell used ones, meaning plan- et-warming emissions will still spew from the roadways.

The hoped-for boost in electric vehicle sales will also require a major in- crease in charging sta- tions. California has set a goal of 250,000 charging stations by 2025, and right now there are fewer than 80,000 stations in public spaces or in parking lots at office buildings, apart- ment buildings and other shared spaces. The Cal- ifornia Energy Commis- sion last year approved spending $314 million over three years for pas- senger car charging sta- tions and Newsom added more in his proposed state budget. The release kicks off a months-long state review process and the plan re- quires approval from the U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency.

The state is unlikely to face resis- tance from a Democratic White House. The Biden administration recently restored pow- er to set its own vehicle emissions standards un- der the Clean Air Act and the president has commit- ted $5 billion to build more charging stations around the country. A group representing the auto industry said meeting the requirements will be chal- Emissions spewed from gas-powered passenger vehicles make up about a quarter of the total greenhouse gas emissions more than any other single source, according to the state air board. The program is just one part of efforts to drastically reduce carbon emissions. Between 2026 and 2040, state experts es- timate the program would lower emissions by nearly 384 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

a little less than all the emissions across econo- my in a single year. response to the pandem- ic and the fact that there was no indoor dining, or limited indoor said Ryder. The council extended outdoor dining in No- vember 2020 and in April 2021, according to Ryder. recently, the may- or submitted a proposal for the City Council to permanently extend out- door dining in Peabody to make it a permanent part of the said Ry- der, adding that the busi- nesses reported that they appreciated the flexibility the outdoor dining provid- ed them. According to Council- or-at-Large Anne Man- ning-Martin, easing the burden on restaurants by taking the out of the outdoor dining ap- plication process would go a long way.

realized at the outset of COVID that this was the chance to review, revise and revamp what is an extremely cumbersome she The council has been behind this for quite some time. been brought up at least three or four times at council meetings. a For now, there are 18 restaurants in Peabody that meet the guidelines in the proposal. In other words, many if not all restaurants were able to have outdoor din- ing in a manner that was deemed safe by public safety, police, and fire, and our community develop- ment and inspectional services departments, said Ryder. According to the pro- posal, the applications for outdoor dining should be submitted to the Com- munity Development De- partment, and they will forward the application to the Treasurer, Public Services, Health Hu- man Services, Building, Fire and Police depart- ments for review.

If the plan involves the use of public property, a copy of the application should also be provided to the appropriate ward councilor. After the application form is complete, it will be forwarded to the may- or for approval, according to the zoning ordinance amendment attached to the letter to the City Council. Due to the seasonal and temporary nature of an outdoor dining area, the plumbing code and re- quirements for parking will not be interpreted as an increase in the number of seats serving a restau- rant and will not be count- ed to any off-street park- ing requirement, says the same document. The amended ordinance also requires restaurants to submit a plan depict- ing the precise area of the proposed dining area, furniture arrangement, fencing, umbrellas, heaters, and any other equipment. Smoking is prohibited in all outdoor dining areas under the proposal.

Ryder said there were several restaurants in the city that have had patio or back dining in Peabody for many years, but they were individually permitted that way. Oksana Kotkina can be reached at live.com. when third-grader Yuzreef Yusuf, 9, recog- nized Vieira was choking. Knowing his friend has asthma, Yusuf thought Vieira might be having trouble breathing or play- ing a joke. got pretty scared and confused about what he was said Yusuf.

tears convinced him his classmate was choking. Yusuf remem- bered how his father taught him the way to help a choking victim. started hitting him on the said Yusuf. A carrot popped out of Viei- mouth. Yusuf said his father not only taught him how to help someone choking, he even made Yusuf practice on him to make sure he perfectly understood the life-saving technique.

The frantic moments left Vieira grateful for his quick-acting classmates. just thinking at the said Vieira. He said that all he knew as he struggled to breathe was that he needed help. One of his friends told him he tried to gesture to classmates that some- thing was wrong. The lunch-time scare showed him that kids can save life.

really said Vieira. It is the second time at Belmonte in the last sev- eral months that a stu- dent saved a choking peer. Jacob Puglisi, 8, leapt into action to help a fellow stu- dent choking on a nacho during lunch last fall. He performed the Heim- lich maneuver, remem- bering instructions his mother, Erica, taught him. His quick thinking earned Puglisi praise from the School Committee.

Killion said Vieira, Yu- suf, and Delima are good friends who play together at recess, and often work as partners in class. takes a lot to imme- diately know what to said Killion. were Oksana Kotkina can be reached at live.com. employ that will not be visible to the riding pub- Green said. safe- ty and security of our cus- tomers and employees is the top Green asks any riders using the who see any- thing out of the ordinary to contact Transit Police or MBTA personnel immedi- ately.

The Transit Police can be reached at 617-222-1000. Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at itemlive.com. OUTDOOR DINING From A1 HERO From A1 MBTA CHIEF From A1 ITEM PHOTO SPENSER HASAK Belmonte STEAM Academy third-graders Yuzreef Yusuf, left, and Heloy- sa Delima, right, jumped into action to save the life of classmate Sylaas Vieira when he was choking on a carrot. FILE PHOTO ASSOCIATED PRESS Violent insurrectionists loyal to former President Donald Trump storm the Capitol, in Washington..