Public hearings begin for electricity rates

A commuter rail train struck and killed a female pedestrian yesterday about a quarter mile from Hersey Station. The woman was trespassing near the Glendale Avenue bridge when she was hit about 12:30 p.m., MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said. A bus transported the 35 passengers to the final three stations, and four buses were used between the Forest Hills and Needham Heights stations until regular service could resume. MBTA police are investigating the accident.

A Cape Cod teenager has been charged with punching a police horse during Independence Day festivities in Provincetown. Police told the Cape Cod Times that Christopher McEnaney, 18, of Orleans was arrested Saturday night and charged with assault on a police horse and resisting arrest after he punched the horse from the Plymouth County sheriff’s office. The animal was not hurt. Police arrested 14 people during the celebrations, mostly for disorderly conduct. (AP)

Norton police arrested a local man last night after they found homemade explosives in the trunk of his car, officials said. Jason Driscoll, 37, was stopped on South Worcester Street near his home by police who suspected he had explosives in his car, according to a Norton police statement. Police said that area of town had several incidents of mailboxes being blown up, and they also received other reports of explosions nearby. Police declined to describe what the material was but said a State Police bomb squad detonated the explosives on the scene. A hazardous materials team searched Driscoll’s home and found chemicals and bomb-making materials, police said. Driscoll will be arraigned in Taunton District Court this morning.

A 16-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old neighbor was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl in separate incidents. The teenager, who is being detained at the Youth Detention Services Unit in Manchester, N.H., was charged as a juvenile with four counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, one count of felonious sexual assault, and one count of sexual assault. He was accused of assaulting the 6- and 15-year-old children at a motel. In May, he was accused of two felony counts of sexual assault involving a 4-year-old boy at the same motel. (AP)

Connecticut’s Supreme Court has decided 4-1 not to reconsider a ruling that would make public thousands of pages of documents detailing alleged sexual abuse by priests. The court rejected yesterday a request by the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport that the court reconsider its May ruling. (AP)

About 150 Northeast Kingdom residents are showing their support for a Lyndon hunter charged with killing his son on the first day of the spring turkey season. Kevin Kadamus, 45, pleaded not guilty yesterday to manslaughter in the May 1 shooting death of his son, Jacob, 17. (AP)