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Keller @ Large: Top Local Turkeys Of 2015

BOSTON (CBS) - What defines a turkey?

Not the bird, the cultural phenomenon. According to dictionary.com, it's "a person or thing of little appeal; dud; loser; a naive, stupid, or inept person; a poor and unsuccessful theatrical production; a flop."

Related: Keller's National Turkeys Of The Year

That leaves plenty of room for us to roundup the biggest local turkeys who made news during 2015.

Here are just a few to get you working on your own list:

BOSTON 2024

Boston 2024 was a group of well-meaning Bostonians with a dream of bringing the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to our city. But their vision turned out to be a turkey, a hugely-expensive, socially-disruptive scheme that came apart under public scrutiny.

Boston 2024 Olympics
(WBZ-TV)

By the time the U.S. Olympic Committee finally withdrew its designation of Boston as the U.S. bid city, this turkey had already been cooked.

STATE HOUSE TIME CAPSULE

The discovery of a 225-year-old time capsule buried at the State House in late 2014 was a mildly interesting historical curiosity.

Time Capsule
The time capsule in the cornerstone. (WBZ-TV)

But when the state last June dropped close to $50,000 on an overly-elaborate ceremony to re-bury the old coins, newspaper clippings and other ephemera they had dug up, the capsule morphed into a costly turkey.

PROTESTS ON I-93

Public protests over police brutality involving people of color were a major story last year, and as 2015 began it appeared reform legislation dealing with some of the issues raised had some momentum behind it on Beacon Hill. But then a few dozen locals decided it was a good idea to bring traffic on I-93 to a standstill, trapping thousands of motorists and endangering innocent lives.

I-93 Protests
Protesters attached to a barrel on I-93, Jan. 15, 2015. (Photo credit Mass. State Police)

The public backlash that ensued helped stall political reform and damaged the movement it was supposedly supporting. Gobble, gobble.

MBTA'S WINTER FROM HELL

And what else is there to say about the MBTA's winter from hell?

MBTA Snow
Workers tried to de-ice a stuck train in North Beverly, February 13, 2015. (Photo credit: cdelisi)

Has this turkey of a transit system cleaned up its act?

We're about to find out.

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