All posts tagged: Prominent

Prominent Boston Collector Dies in Hit and Run

Prominent Boston Collector Dies in Hit and Run

Published by Jenni Sidey

John P. Axelrod, a prominent collector and retired lawyer, died on Saturday, January 3. He was killed in a hit-and-run incident in the Boston neighborhood of Back Bay, where he had a townhouse. He was 79. According to a report by Boston.com, prosecutors allege that the suspect “intentionally” hit Axelrod, who was walking his dog on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Around 8am on Saturday, the suspect, later identified as William Haney, 42, drove onto the pedestrian mall and struck Axelrod before fleeing the scene, according to police. Axelrod was taken to a hospital where he later died. His dog, Tale, was killed in the crash. Related Articles Haney has been charged with one count of murder and one count of animal cruelty. He turned himself into police after charges against him were announced on Sunday after police located his vehicle in the Boston-area town of Brookline, according to the Boston Globe. Axelrod, who collected American painting, African American and Latin American art, and the decorative arts, was listed on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list …

Uganda Detains Prominent Rights Campaigner and Government Critic Ahead of Polls

Uganda Detains Prominent Rights Campaigner and Government Critic Ahead of Polls

Published by Sam Flores

KAMPALA, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Police in Uganda said ‌they ​have detained a prominent ‌human rights activist as long-serving President Yoweri Museveni’s government ​widens its crackdown on dissent and political opposition ahead of the January ‍15 general election. The detention of ​Sarah Bireete, head of a rights organisation and a frequent anti-government ​commentator ⁠on local TV and radio, was confirmed by police in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday.  “She is in police custody. She will be arraigned before court in due course,” the post said, without ‌specifying when she would appear in court or what charges she faces. Bireete, ​a ‌lawyer and executive director ‍of ⁠the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), has been critical of a range of government actions including what the opposition says are illegal detentions and torture of its supporters. The CCG could not be immediately reached for comment.  The January election pits incumbent Museveni, 81, who has been in power since 1986, against pop-star-turned-politician Bobi ​Wine.  Wine, 43, and his National Unity Platform party say hundreds of …

No Motive Revealed in Killing of Prominent California Farmer’s Estranged Wife in Arizona

No Motive Revealed in Killing of Prominent California Farmer’s Estranged Wife in Arizona

Published by Sam Flores

HOLBROOK, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators declined to reveal the suspected motive in the shooting death of a prominent California farmer’s estranged wife in eastern Arizona, but they said the couple’s prolonged divorce case arose in nearly all interviews with family and friends. Michael Abatti, 63, was arrested last week in El Centro, California, in the shooting death of Kerri Ann Abatti, 59, at her family’s vacation home in Pinetop, Arizona, where she moved after splitting with her husband. Investigators, who discussed the case at a news conference Monday, say Michael Abatti traveled from El Centro to Pinetop on Nov. 20, carried out the killing and returned to California early the next morning. They declined to say what occurred at the Pinetop house in the last days of Kerri Abatti’s life. “Different theories will come up,” Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse said of the motive. “The only thing that’s glaring that I think everybody already knows is there’s a divorce in place and they weren’t able to come to a resolution. But I can’t speak exactly …