BROCKTON

Officials investigating manhole explosions

Several manhole explosions in Brockton’s business district shortly after midnight on Monday led to road closures and brought emergency crews to the same area where 15 to 20 underground explosions occurred in July. The first reports of smoke early Monday came from behind a building on Main Street. Fire was discovered in six manholes, according to Brockton Deputy Fire Chief Brian Nardelli, including some on Maple Avenue.No businesses or residences lost power, according to Nardelli, and no injuries were reported. Joe Angelo’s Cafe on Crescent Avenue and Tamboo Bistro, a nightclub on Main Street, were both evacuated as a precaution, Nardelli said. A spokeswoman for National Grid said the cause of the explosions is being investigated.

PORTLAND, MAINE

Plan would give vote to noncitizen immigrants

The mayor of Maine’s largest city wants to allow legal noncitizen immigrants to vote in municipal elections. The Portland Press Herald reported that Mayor Ethan Strimling is proposing the change as part of a series of policy initiatives. The City Council meets Jan. 23 and will need to give the green light. It may also need legislative approval. Immigration advocates are backing the change. Sue Roche of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy­ Project says it can take years for legal immigrants to receive citizenship but that people with legal status deserve a say in their local elections. (AP)

Gloucester

Warning issued after coyote kills poodle

Officials are warning residents to watch their pets and take safety precautions after a family’s miniature poodle named Skippy was killed by a coyote Sunday. The 10-month-old dog had been leashed in the front yard of a Sumac Lane home around 9:30 p.m. when the attack happened. Gloucester Animal Control officers searched the area when they arrived, but could not find the coyote, police said in a release. The dog’s owners said the coyote returned several times Monday, but authorities have not been able to catch it. Environmental police say residents should secure their garbage bags in “tough plastic containers with tight-fitting lids’’ to keep animals out and clean bird feeders to avoid attracting animals.

PROVIDENCE

Governor proposes minimum wage hike

Governor Gina Raimondo is proposing a 90-cent hike in the state’s minimum wage. Raimondo announced the proposal to raise the wage from $9.60 to $10.50 an hour during a breakfast Monday to honor civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. Raimondo’s minimum wage increase would take effect on Oct. 1 of this year if she can persuade state lawmakers to go along with the plan. (AP)

Warren, VT.

Mass. resident dies in skiing accident

A Massachusetts man died Monday after an accident at a Vermont ski resort, according to police there. Jeffrey O’Connor, 39, of Hampden, was skiing at the SugarBush Resort on Mt. Ellen with his wife and three children when he veered off the groomed path and struck a tree headfirst without a helmet, according to a press release from Vermont State Police Detective Trooper Richard Stepier. Vermont State Police said that O’Connor’s death appears to be accidental.

MONTPELIER, V.T.