N.H. dog owner charged with animal cruelty

ANDOVER, N.H. (AP) – A man faces multiple charges of animal cruelty after police found three dogs shot to death outside a home and other dogs, including puppies, living in squalor inside.

Dog owner Lester Labraney, 69, faces 14 charges of animal cruelty and one charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police say they confiscated two rifles from the home.

The Concord-Merrimack County SPCA is taking care of the surviving dogs.

Relatives of Labraney said he had health problems that made it difficult for him to care for the animals. Rescuers said the dogs had been fed and watered but were living in a filthy rat-infested trailer and had very little contact with humans.

Officials said the trailer where the dogs lived will likely be condemned for health code violations.

City considers senior-citizen safety zones

QUINCY, Mass. (AP) – City officials want to establish safe zones near senior centers that will make the streets safer for elderly pedestrians.

Leaders are pushing for special lighting, street markings, lower speed limits and a better police presence, The Boston Sunday Globe reported.

The Quincy City Council has worked to protect elderly pedestrians since the late 1990s, when several senior citizens were injured or killed crossing busy intersections.

Quincy must receive the state legislature’s permission to establish the safety zones. The Senate recently approved the town’s petition for the zones. The House is now considering the request.

Quincy City Councilor Kevin Coughlin said it makes sense to establish safe zones near senior centers. Children are protected by lower speed limits and street markings near schools, he said.

The Highway Department and Quincy are working out which roads would be affected and who would set speed limits, Coughlin said.

Holyoke and Malden already have senior safety zones.

Clintons plan fund-raiser on Nantucket

BOSTON (AP) – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is heading for Nantucket with plans for an Aug. 12 fund-raiser.

Former President Bill Clinton and his wife will spend a week on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket vacationing and attending the fund-raiser. Proceeds will go to Hillary Clinton’s re-election campaign.

The fund-raiser will be held at the Nantucket home of Elizabeth Frawley Bagley and Smith W. Bagley. The Bagleys are Democratic activists who have previously hosted the Clintons.

Tickets to the event will cost $1,000, The Boston Sunday Globe reported.