Lightning strikes kill man, injure 2 others

Lightning struck three people, killing one of them, when powerful thunderstorms moved through Eastern Massachusetts yesterday. A Methuen couple in their mid-40s were struck by lightning while they were on a walk through Winnekenni Park in Haverhill at about 2:30 p.m., said Haverhill police Sergeant Robert Pistone. The unidentified man and woman were rushed to Merrimack Valley Hospital. The man was declared dead at the hospital, but his wife is in stable condition, Pistone said. Later, a 49-year-old unidentified Cohasset man was taken to South Shore Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being struck by lightning in Scituate last night. The man was in a beach area, at the mouth of North River, with his wife and two other men when he was struck at about 8:15 p.m., said Scituate Fire Captain William Sestito.

Cape Wind Associates won another round in court this week when Superior Court Justice Robert J. Kane ruled the state's environmental review of the proposed wind farm was legally correct. Barnstable, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and a group of residents had challenged the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act certificate allowing the developer to seek permits to build a wind farm in federal waters off Cape Cod. The group argued unsuccessfully that the state should have reviewed the entirety of the project - not just the cable that will run through state waters and deliver wind turbine power to the grid.

Twelve cases of salmonella in Massachusetts, two of which required hospitalization, have been linked to the national outbreak associated with raw tomatoes, a statement by the Department of Public Health said. More than 500 cases of Salmonella Saintpaul have been reported nationwide. Between May 30 and June 8, seven women and five men in Suffolk, Norfolk, Middlesex, Worcester, and Plymouth counties were affected by the strain of salmonella linked to the outbreak. Tomatoes grown in Massachusetts are considered safe, but the Food and Drug Administration advises against eating raw red tomatoes from other states.

The red tide warning issued for mussels in the Pleasant Bay area earlier this week escalated yesterday to a warning for all shellfish, said Michael Hickey, chief biologist from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fishery. Pleasant Bay - bordered by Chatham, Hardwick, and Orleans - was closed Wednesday only for blue mussel, but the algae levels rose to a point that caused concerned for all shellfish species, Hickey said.

Governor Deval Patrick has reached a deal with the Bush administration to give Massachusetts a two- to four-week extension of a critical Medicaid waiver. An official familiar with a meeting between Patrick and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said they reached an agreement yesterday. The extra time will let the parties negotiate a further extension to a $400 million Medicaid waiver that has powered the state's universal healthcare program. Senator Edward M. Kennedy called Leavitt on Thursday to push for the extension. (AP)

Five construction workers were injured yesterday when an elevated piece of concrete fell, striking two men on a scissor lift and three on the ground, said Lieutenant James Sorenson of the Burlington Fire Department. The five workers were transported to Lahey Clinic in Burlington with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Everett police are looking for two men who hit a Peabody man yesterday morning with the car they stole from him, police said. Lieutenant Paul Landry said the men stole the 1985 Buick from Walter Thompson, 41, of Peabody and then hit Thompson on Third Street when he tried to stop them. Landry is in stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital.