Massachusetts State News

Mass General Brigham bringing back mask mandate, as Boston-area COVID wastewater surges and infections rise

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 07:37:09 +0000

Yet another health care giant will have a mask mandate as the local COVID wastewater continues to surge and infections rise across the region.

Mass General Brigham will be bringing back its staff mask mandate in the new year with local hospitals seeing higher respiratory infection levels amid the winter when cases typically go up.

When more than 2.85% of patients at emergency departments or outpatient clinics have respiratory illness symptoms, Mass General Brigham’s employee mask mandate is triggered.

“With the percentage of patients presenting at emergency rooms and outpatient facilities with respiratory illnesses exceeding 2.85 percent in the region, Mass General Brigham will begin requiring masking for healthcare staff interacting directly with patients on Jan. 2,” Mass General Brigham said in a statement.

“Patients and visitors will be strongly encouraged to wear a facility-issued mask,” Mass General Brigham added.

Health care personnel will need to use a facility-issued facemask in direct interactions with patients in clinical care locations — such as when entering a patient room or bay, or in other locations where care is delivered, such as examining a patient on a stretcher.

Patients and visitors will be strongly encouraged to wear a facility-issued facemask in those same situations when they are able to, Mass General Brigham said.

Last year, local hospitals experienced respiratory infection levels as high as 7.3% during what many health officials called the “tripledemic” of COVID, flu, and RSV — straining resources and adding to already historic capacity challenges in health care facilities across the country.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has also reinstituted a mask mandate for everyone at the cancer center, including staff and patients. Those with cancer have a higher risk of suffering from severe COVID.

Respiratory illness levels are climbing, as the Boston-area COVID wastewater data keeps spiking. The COVID wastewater data is the first sign of virus cases in the community.

The south-of-Boston virus wastewater weekly average was up to 1,611 copies per milliliter ahead of Christmas, which is nearly double from early December. The 1,600-plus average is the highest the COVID wastewater data has been since January.

The north-of-Boston average was up to 1,150 copies per milliliter ahead of Christmas — also about double from earlier this month. The 1,100-plus average in the north is also the highest since January.

Meanwhile, the total number of reported COVID cases have been jumping in Massachusetts during recent weeks, and a new variant called JN.1 is quickly spreading.

Ed Flynn reflects on leading Boston City Council during ‘challenging’ time

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 20:10:01 +0000

Outgoing Boston City Council President Ed Flynn said he was forced to make difficult decisions as part of his efforts to provide positive leadership during a tumultuous two-year period for a body tarred by its ethical and legal lapses.

As he prepares to hand over the gavel to the body’s undetermined new leader, Flynn points to his own leadership, which includes a strong focus on public safety and ensuring basic city services for residents, as how he’d like his two-year term as council president to be remembered.

While Flynn states that he “thoroughly enjoyed the job” as council president, describing it as a “tremendous honor and opportunity” he is quick to point out that it was not one that was without its challenges.

Libby O'Neill/Boston Herald

Boston City Council President Ed Flynn delivers an end-of-term address during a news conference held at Regan Communications Group in Boston on Saturday. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

“It was a difficult and challenging two-year period and several on the body faced ethical and legal challenges,” Flynn told the Herald. “During these difficult times, I still tried to provide the best positive leadership I could to the City Council body and to the residents of Boston.”

He added, “Residents of Boston deserve a city government that works for them and that’s what I tried to do, is ensure that city government and basic city services are still our top priority.”

Those ethical and legal lapses were committed by three council members, Ricardo Arroyo, Tania Fernandes Anderson and Kendra Lara. Arroyo and Lara both lost their seats in this past September’s preliminary election.

Flynn, who often tangled with Arroyo on the Council, said he did “not have the luxury of picking and choosing” which issues to work on amid that anarchy.

He pointed, for example, to his decision to strip Arroyo of his council vice presidency and two committee chair assignments, after decades-old sexual assault allegations were revealed last year, as a move that he felt hurt him politically.

The move inflamed tensions on the Council, with three Arroyo allies suggesting at the time that it was an example of councilors of color being treated differently than their white counterparts.

“I think it was the right thing to do,” Flynn said. “I stand by that decision.”

He added, “I do expect colleagues to be respectful of each other. I do expect colleagues to conduct themselves in a professional manner, and it’s been challenging over this period of two years when that didn’t take place and I had to work to address it.”

As the body’s president, Flynn said he had to work to bring the Council, and city, together, which was “challenging at times” due to those ethical and legal lapses. He points to an anti-bullying policy he sponsored for councilors and council staff, that was passed by the body in November, as part of his efforts to restore civility.

The body’s lapses have caused many residents to lose “faith” in city government, and confidence in the City Council, Flynn said, which all 13 councilors will have to work hard to restore in the new year.

“I think we as a body owe the residents of the city our best positive and ethical leadership, and we didn’t rise to that occasion,” he said, adding that he thinks the body will be able to “regain the trust and respect of residents.”

“It’s going to take a willingness for City Council colleagues to come into the building every day to work hard, to treat each other with respect, to focus on quality of life issues and neighborhood services, to refrain from personal attacks on each other, and to try to bring the body together and try to bring the city together,” Flynn said.

Not helping matters was the Council’s vote to cut millions from basic city services, along with the police, veterans and fire departments, as part of the city budget process this past June. The cuts, including nearly $31 million from Boston Police, were vetoed by Mayor Michelle Wu, and therefore, never occurred.

Flynn said he is more concerned about a vote taken earlier this month to block $13.3 million in federal counter-terrorism funding for the metro region. That vote shows the Council is “not serious about public safety,” he said, and made the city “less safe, in my opinion.”

He’s pushing for a quick vote in the new year, after the mayor refiles the grant when the council turns over with four new members.

While Flynn is optimistic that the incoming councilors will be more inclined to vote in favor of “public safety and security” issues, he does have concerns about the Council’s position on public safety issues moving forward.

That area is one he felt he was particularly strong on during his time as council president, pointing to his involvement, as part of his district’s representation of South Boston, in helping the Seaport get its first fire station. The station has been approved by a city board, and has the support of the Wu administration, he said.

Flynn said, however, that the city needs to put more of an emphasis on hiring police officers, which involves doing more to “treat officers with respect,” and would also like to see cops put back in public schools, to improve public safety.

While he was happy to take on the role of council president, Flynn, elected to his fourth term last month, insists that he has no intention of following in his father Ray Flynn’s footsteps and running for mayor one day.

Rather, Flynn, a U.S. Navy veteran and married father of two who proudly states that he hasn’t taken a vacation for the past six years, hopes to stay on the Council for the foreseeable future, and says he has a good relationship with the city’s current mayor, Michelle Wu.

“I’m happy with what I’m doing right now,” Flynn said. “I love the city and I’m just trying to provide the best leadership I can.”

City Council President Ed Flynn speaks about his presidency term coming to an end at City Hall in Boston on Thursday. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herlad) Dec. 28, 2023

Seekonk woman dies following crash that killed husband, grandson on Somerset bridge Christmas night

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 18:03:31 +0000

Days after an alleged drunk, wrong-way driver killed her husband and teenage grandson, a Seekonk woman has died from injuries she suffered in the car crash late Christmas night.

Donna Arruda, 68, died Friday at Rhode Island Hospital, where she had been in critical condition, following the crash late Monday night on the Somerset side of Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.

The suspect, Adam Gauthier, 41, of New York City, now faces three counts each of manslaughter while operating under the influence and motor vehicle homicide-OUI liquor. These are in addition to original charges of OUI-liquor with serious bodily injury, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and driving the wrong way on a state highway.

Gauthier, a former Somerset resident, is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail. A judge set the status Tuesday during an arraignment in which the suspect appeared from his hospital bed at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.

Arruda’s 15-year-old grandson Jacoby was pronounced dead at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River shortly after arriving late Monday night. Her 73-year-old husband Floriano Arruda died Tuesday morning at Rhode Island Hospital.

“This is a terrible tragedy, especially when it occurred on Christmas night,” Quinn said in a release Tuesday. “My heart grieves for the victims and their family for their terrible loss.”

Gauthier, who suffered injuries considered not life threatening, is being treated at St. Luke’s Hospital. He is set to next appear in Fall River District Court for an initial pretrial hearing on January 9. Authorities arrested Gauthier shortly after the crash.

Initial investigation findings indicated Gauthier was driving a 2023 Land Rover SUV easterly on the westbound side of Veterans Memorial Bridge in Somerset, part of Route 6, around 11:10 Monday night.

While crossing the bridge, Gauthier allegedly struck a 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV being driven by Arrudas head on, according to Quinn’s office. Floriano Arruda had been driving the car while Donna was in the front passenger seat and Jacoby in the rear passenger seat, the office said.

A third vehicle, a 2019 Honda Accord sustained front-end damage during the incident. The driver and passenger of the Accord, both young adult women from Taunton, suffered minor injuries, the office said.

The investigation of the facts and circumstances of the crash is being conducted by State Police-Dartmouth Barracks, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, State Police Crime Scene Services Section, and State Police Detective Unit for Bristol County.

SOMERSET, MA – Dec. 30-SATURDAY: The Route 6 bridge linking Somerset and Fall River where a wrong-way driver caused a fatal accident is seen from the Somerset side December 30, 2023, in Somerset, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

FALL RIVER, MA – Dec. 30-SATURDAY: The Route 6 bridge linking Somerset and Fall River where a wrong-way driver caused a fatal accident is seen from the Fall River side December 30, 2023, in Fall River, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

Melissa ‘Missy’ Tremblay’s family still confident justice will be served

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 16:55:55 +0000

The family of Melissa Ann Tremblay, an 11-year-old girl found stabbed to death at a Lawrence railyard in 1988, says they’re confident justice will finally be served even after an Essex County judge declared a mistrial against the alleged killer.

A deadlocked jury triggered the judge to order a retrial in the murder case against 76-year-old Alabama man Marvin C. “Skip” McClendon Jr., who has pleaded not guilty.

McClendon, a former Chelmsford resident, was arrested in Alabama last year, decades after Tremblay disappeared. McClendon was linked to the killing through DNA evidence, according to a prosecutor.

“While we would have preferred a guilty verdict we thank God that it wasn’t not guilty and that this isn’t the end,” the family of “Missy” Tremblay wrote in a statement released Friday, days after the judge ordered a retrial. “The last month has been a very long one and we would like to thank all those that have been there to support us. It truly has taken a village to get us through.”

McClendon’s lawyer Henry Fasoldt said his client appreciated the jury being “deliberate and thoughtful” and looks forward to trying the case again.

“Mr. McClendon maintains his innocence and I believe he’s innocent,” Fasoldt said.

A spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney’s office said they plan to retry McClendon.

No new trial date has been set.

Tremblay, of Salem, New Hampshire, was found in a Lawrence trainyard on Sept. 12, 1988, the day after she was reported missing. She had been stabbed and her body had been run over by a train, authorities said.

The victim had accompanied her mother and her mother’s boyfriend to a Lawrence social club not far from the railyard and went outside to play while the adults stayed inside, authorities said last year. She was reported missing later that night.

McClendon lived in Chelmsford and was doing carpentry work at the time of the killing, authorities said. He worked and attended church in Lawrence.

Tremblay’s family thanked the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, detectives assigned to the case over the years and everyone else who have provided support during the process.

“Someone asked why retrial is so important and honestly it is because justice needs to be served! He has had 35 years that he has gone unpunished, walking free for 33 of those years,” part of the statement reads. “We might have got a mistrial but in our hearts we know the right man was on trial and we look forward to seeing him finally punished.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool

Marvin C. McClendon Jr., appears in Essex Superior Court last year in Salem, to be arraigned on a charge of the murder of 11-year-old Melissa Tremblay. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)

Ed Flynn defends his dad in wake of ‘Chuck’ Stuart HBO series

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 19:39:21 +0000

Outgoing Boston City Council President Ed Flynn defended his father’s “record on race relations” in the wake of criticism that’s been leveled at former Mayor Ray Flynn as part of a new documentary recounting the 1989 Stuart murder.

Flynn said that while he hasn’t seen the documentary, a collaboration between HBO and the Boston Globe released earlier this month, he is aware of what he described as his father’s past positive leadership on racial justice issues.

“He tried to bring the city together, especially during difficult and challenging times in Boston,” Flynn told the Herald, of his 84-year-old father. “I’m proud of his record on race relations.”

Ray Flynn, who was mayor from 1984-93, is praised early on in the three-part series for helping to heal a city mired in what his former chief mayoral advisor Neil Sullivan describes on camera as the “persistent racial violence” that continued years after Boston’s “desegregation controversy.”

Sullivan points to an instance where the former mayor Flynn, then a state representative, “came flying down the stairs and physically broke up” an altercation on the State House steps, where a Black man was attacked.

Ray Flynn is also said to have benefited from his past experience playing basketball, which one commentator Ron Hill said helped the former mayor connect with the boys at a gym he ran at the time in Mission Hill, one of Boston’s traditional majority-Black neighborhoods where the Stuart murder took place.

“I had a good working relationship with Ray Flynn until the Stuart case happened,” Hill said in the documentary.

The early praise heaped on former Mayor Flynn turns into persistent criticism for the remainder of the series, for his and the police department’s “unquestioning” acceptance of a story given by Charles “Chuck” Stuart, who orchestrated the killing of his pregnant wife, Carol, but blamed it on a random black man.

Chuck Stuart told police a roughly 6-foot tall black man got in the car and told him to drive into the Mission Hill “projects” as part of an attempted robbery, before shooting his wife in the head, and him in the side.

The accusation set off an intense manhunt, inflaming the city’s racial tensions, as described in the documentary, which later shows that police batted away an early tip that Stuart asked a longtime friend to help plan his wife’s murder, and failed to question family members who suspected or were aware of his involvement.

Leadership at City Hall, including Flynn, the District Attorney’s office and the police department were confined by their mindset as “white, Irish Catholic” men, opines former Herald reporter Michelle Caruso, which made it difficult for them to believe it “could be anything other than what Chuck said.”

Rather, two black men, Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett, were wrongfully accused of the crime at different points of the investigation. Both were arrested for unrelated crimes, but were reported at the time as being prime suspects in the murder, although neither was ever charged in the Stuart case.

Chuck Stuart, after being implicated by one of his brothers for the murder, committed suicide by jumping off the Tobin Bridge. Police officials and then-Mayor Flynn held a press conference that morning, naming Stuart as the perpetrator and stating that the story he gave police was false.

The accusation prompted a “racial over-reaction,” writer Howard Bryant states in the documentary, saying that the prime suspect in these cases is usually the partner.

Two days after the series concluded with a message stating that the city and police department had never offered the Bennett family a formal apology, Mayor Michelle Wu and Police Commissioner Michael Cox held a press conference to issue a public apology to both Swanson and Bennett.

Swanson was at last week’s event, but Bennett, who served 12 years in prison for an armed robbery that occurred at a Brookline video store a week before the Stuart murder, did not appear. His family members accepted the apology on his behalf.

While former Mayor Flynn did not apologize publicly on behalf of the city, it was reported by various outlets, including the Herald, at the time that he had offered a private apology to the Bennett family.

“I do know my father’s commitment and leadership on racial justice issues, not just as mayor, but throughout his life as a sports coach as well has been very positive,” his son Councilor Ed Flynn said.

While he’s proud of his father’s record on race relations, Flynn said, “I also know that it takes everybody working together, respecting each other, and there’s a lot more work we have to do in the city.”

Flynn, whose 2-year term as Council president ends this month, said for his part, he’s worked hard to bring diversity into not just his staff, but has challenged the city and administration to “be as inclusive as we possibly can.”

“Race relations are something that’s never solved, but it’s something that you have to continue to work on, and you can do that from listening to people, talking to people and from your personal example as well,” Flynn said.

Tomorrow, Part II of Ed Flynn’s look-back at his tenure as council president. He will address the media Saturday at 3 p.m. 106 Union Wharf.

‘Devastating’ discovery in Dover: 3 dead inside $6.8M mansion

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 19:24:27 +0000

Authorities investigating the deaths of a husband and wife and their teenage daughter at a Dover home found a firearm close to the husband’s body in what the Norfolk District Attorney says appears to be a “deadly incident of domestic violence.”

Teena Kamal, 54 (EduNova Inc.)

DA Michael Morrissey has identified the deceased as Rakesh Kamal, 57, Teena Kamal, 54, and Arianna Kamal, 18, a student at Middlebury College in Vermont.

A family member who stopped by the home at 8 Wilson’s Way to check on the family found one of the victims and called Dover Police to request a response to the home at around 7:24 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

The relative hadn’t heard from the family in a “day or two,” Morrissey told reporters during a press conference late Friday morning.

After arriving at the residence, police discovered all three Kamals dead. Officers secured the scene, and the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Norfolk DA’s Office joined the investigation.

During a search of the home, Massachusetts State Police officers found a firearm near the husband, Morrissey said. The Medical Examiner’s Office is working to determine the manner of the death, with an autopsy occurring Friday, he added.

Morrissey declined to comment on whether this was a murder-suicide and where the bodies were found in the home.

“It is clear that this is a confined situation to this individual dwelling,” Morrissey said, “and there’s no threat to the residents of the town.”

The home is a 19,355-square-foot mansion with 11 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms and was last assessed at a value of nearly $6.8 million for both property and land, according to state records.

Rakesh Kamal, 57 (EduNova website)

Rakesh and Teena Kamal purchased the home in February of 2019, according to a loan document filed with the state.

By last December, the Kamals were underwater. The lender foreclosed on the mortgage, which had been last modified in February of 2021. In September of 2022, Teena Kamala filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in federal court, records show. The bankruptcy case was dismissed two months later due to incomplete documentation and a lack of response from Teena Kamala to an order, records show.

The couple’s previous address was 22 Roberts Road in Marlboro, where they lived when they founded their company EduNova Inc.

According to state corporation records, the Kamals filed articles of organization for EduNova Inc. on Aug. 3, 2016, with their Marlboro home as the place of business. Rakesh and Teena Kamal were listed as every officer of the organization. Rakesh Kamal was president, while Teena Kamal was CEO.

The Kamals dissolved the business on the last day of 2021. The business’ website now exists solely in the form of its raw server directory, with each folder last modified over the few days leading up to the official end.

A review of cached versions of the website states that EduNova’s mission was “Dedicated to helping students learn how to study, get better grades and achieve their potential, EduNova has one mission: to help students do their best.”

The chief product was the MCS3 package, an acronym for “The Most Complete Student Success System,” priced at $129.97. The package included books with “570 proven learning techniques,” a workbook, “Mind Map” posters, a CD with exercises and additional CDs with digitized versions of the rest of the resources.

The pair was an accomplished one. While both of their LinkedIn profiles had been deleted prior to their deaths, the EduNova website listed impressive accomplishments.

Rakesh Kamal’s bio stated he was an alumnus of Boston University, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and Stanford University. Before EduNova, he purportedly “held many executive positions in the education-consulting field” and held 3 U.S. patents, with five more pending at this writing.

Teena Kamal was no less industrious. She wrote that she graduated magna cum laude from Delhi University in India and also graduated from Harvard. She also served on the Red Cross of Massachusetts’ board of directors and was the vice chair of the current year’s iteration of the organization’s Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders.

“The American Red Cross is deeply saddened by the tragedy in Dover,” the organization wrote in a statement sent to the Herald. “Our hearts go out to their loved ones during this devastating time.”

Their daughter Arianna had just graduated from Milton Academy in the spring and was in her freshman year at Middlebury College, where she was majoring in neuroscience, according to her LinkedIn profile, which shows a picture of her playing the guitar.

While at Milton Academy, Arianna served as a writing tutor, blood drive coordinator, and a mentor for classmates of color, her profile shows. She also tutored elementary-age students at Immigrant Family Services Institute in Mattapan and interned at Mass General Brigham.

Milton Academy, in a statement, said it’s “heartbroken to learn of the death of Arianna.” Counseling and grief support are being made available to students, parents and faculty who are in need, the school added.

“Aria was a sweet, smart, kind young woman who was just beginning to realize her full potential,” the school wrote.

Dover and Massachusetts State Police officers, along with other specialized units, processed the crime scene throughout much of the night, according to the DA.

Morrissey is urging those who feel “unsafe” in their relationships to call Massachusetts SafeLink, a statewide 24/7 toll-free domestic violence hotline and resource for anyone affected by domestic or dating violence.

The number is 877-785-2020.

“I hate to see it at any time. I think some of the tensions that people feel in relationships often come out around the holidays which is why we try to get the message out … but we see it at all times of the year. It’s unfortunate.”

The last homicide in Dover happened in 2020, Morrissey said. In that incident, Ingolf Tuerk, 58, who had previously practiced urology at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton, was charged with murdering his 45-year-old wife Kathleen McLean.

“It’s very rare to have this kind of violence or situation in almost any community of Norfolk County but particularly in Dover,” Morrissey said. “It’s a small, well-run, well-policed community, but like everybody else, there are problems out there that can affect no matter where you live.

“A lot of the time, the violence that we see in Norfolk County are people related to each other, unfortunately,” he added.

Dover Police blocked off access to Wilson’s Way, close to Dedham Country Club, to the media in the afternoon, with an officer saying the road is a private way.

Earlier, neighborhood resident Sadie Hyde talked to reporters about the tragedy.

“It wasn’t expected, it’s a quiet neighborhood,” she said. “I just feel bad for the family … especially around the holidays.”

Matt Stone/Boston Herald

Norfolk DA Michael Morrissey updates the media during an investigation into three members of the Kamals family that were found dead in their home on Wilson’s Way Thursday evening. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Matt Stone/Boston Herald

Norfolk DA. Michael Morrissey updated the media Friday morning on an investigation into three members of the Kamals family that were found dead in their home on Wilson Way Thursday evening. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Matt Stone/Boston Herald

Sadie Hyde, speaks to the media about her neighbors, an adult male a female and a teenage girl that were found dead inside the home on Wilson’s Way Thursday evening. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Massachusetts SafeLink a resource for domestic violence victims and survivors

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 18:50:24 +0000

Coverage of tragic domestic violence incidents in communities in and around Boston can be “very triggering” for those struggling with their own relationships.

That’s why advocates are urging people in need to reach out for assistance for themselves or others as they process the deaths of a husband, wife and teenage daughter in Dover.

Authorities found the married couple and daughter at their home Thursday night in what Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said appears to be a “deadly incident of domestic violence.”

Morrissey urged those who feel “unsafe” in their relationships to call Massachusetts SafeLink, a statewide 24/7 toll-free domestic violence hotline and resource for anyone affected by domestic or dating violence, at 877-785-2020.

SafeLink is a “connector for survivors or anybody who’s worried about somebody to local domestic violence resources,” said Stephanie Brown, CEO of Casa Myrna, the organization that runs the hotline.

Brown said she usually sees a “slight uptick” in calls following incidents, such as the one in Dover, that receive significant media coverage.

“For somebody who is a survivor, what they’re reading about could be very triggering so they might want to call just to get some support around ‘How do I sleep tonight? How do I get this out of my head?” Brown told the Herald.

“We also do see a slight uptick in calls of people who do not identify as a victim but may have questions about it or wonder ‘Maybe my relationship isn’t that healthy,’” she added.

People who call SafeLink can receive support from advocates, resources, connections to organizations in their local area. The hotline is available at all times of the day in any language through a line that provides interpretation.

About 90% of the calls to the hotline are from victims or survivors, Brown said, with family or friends, social workers, law enforcement or co-workers, making up the remaining 10%.

SafeLink receives about 30,000 calls a year.

“If they wake up in the middle of the night and have a question, or are calling from work,” Brown said, “they can access an advocate who can help them. If they’re thinking about leaving, they can think about what those next steps may be or how to do that safely.”

Oftentimes, Brown said, victims don’t know whether a person they love has the potential to be lethal.

“Domestic violence really thrives in silence,” she said. “Oftentimes, survivors think it’s their fault, they drove this person to be abusive, it’s something wrong with them.”

Brown encourages people who may be experiencing domestic abuse to talk to other family members, someone in the faith community or a domestic violence organization.

“Part of what happens with domestic violence is the abuser first starts that emotional and psychological manipulation and control before it ever gets physical. … Survivors really need somebody else to say ‘You know what? That’s not healthy.’”

Maura Healey says Massachusetts has complied with overflow site requirement

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 17:03:12 +0000

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration said Friday it believed it had fulfilled a requirement to set up an overflow site for families with children and pregnant people waiting for placement in Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system.

Clearing the overflow site hurdle would allow the administration to access millions more in already allocated state funds to respond to the “ongoing humanitarian crisis and influx of families seeking shelter,” according to state law.

A Healey spokesperson confirmed the administration felt it had complied with the statutory requirement to set up one or multiple locations as the waitlist for shelter hit 400 families as of Friday.

“Our administration has set up safety net sites for families who need a place to stay, and we will continue to work closely with our local, state and federal partners to support the needs of families in Massachusetts,” Healey spokeswoman Karissa Hand said in a statement.

Satisfying a component of a bill the Legislature passed earlier this year and Healey signed into law this month comes as more than 40 families received services Thursday night at an overnight shelter in Cambridge.

The site, set up last week inside a former courthouse that also houses the Middlesex Registry of Deeds, features the basics like cots for guests to sleep on, the Healey administration said earlier this month when it announced the location on Cambridge Street would serve as a shelter.

Healey faced a Dec. 31 deadline to create one or multiple overflow sites for families waiting for placement in Massachusetts’ larger emergency shelter system, which is partly propped up by a network of hotels and motels.

The Legislature handed the administration $50 million for an overflow site and required officials to set one up before hundreds of millions more in state dollars could be accessed. The shelter dollars proved to be a flashpoint between Democrats and Republicans this fall.

House Speaker Ron Mariano said he is “hopeful” that families on the state-run waitlist are being provided with a safe place to sleep as required by legislation Healey signed into law at the start of December.

“We will continue to monitor the steps taken to address the shelter crisis, including the required reports, to help ensure that there are operational overflow sites through the end of the fiscal year,” Mariano said in a statement.

The emergency shelter system was serving 7,505 families as of Thursday, according to state data, just over the 7,500 family limit Healey imposed earlier this year.

State officials contracted AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, an Australian-based company, to provide services at the Cambridge shelter. The company has also provided services at a shelter site in Quincy.

Rep. Mike Connolly, a Cambridge Democrat whose district covers the shelter, said earlier this week on his blog that a Christmas tree had been set up inside the building, children received gifts over the holiday, and a Haitian pastor held a service for families.

“Showers have been set up at MIT and transportation was smooth on Sunday and again this morning,” Connolly wrote.

Gov. Maura Healey. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Massachusetts gets more than $4 million for new lobster fishing gear to protect right whales, other measures

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 16:49:29 +0000

The feds are shellin’ out millions of dollars to the Bay State for new lobster fishing gear in the hopes of protecting North Atlantic right whales.

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries on Friday announced that it will receive more than $4.6 million from a congressional appropriation to boost DMF’s conservation program for the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

DMF will use part of this funding from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to provide new lobster fishing gear that’s designed to protect right whales.

Massachusetts near-shore waters host up to 80% of the total population of North Atlantic right whales in late winter and early spring — as the whales migrate north and feed in the nutrient-rich waters of Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay. The two greatest threats for the endangered species are entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes, according to advocates.

“We have a special responsibility to help these endangered animals, and to promote innovative measures to support whale recovery and Massachusetts’ important lobster industry,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper.

“These funds are particularly beneficial to the small boat fishers who contribute so much to our economy, food security, and heritage of Massachusetts coastal communities,” Tepper added.

The millions of dollars will help with developing innovative fishing gear technologies, and increasing ongoing research and monitoring. As part of a five-year program, DMF anticipates receiving more than $23 million from NOAA Fisheries, subject to annual congressional appropriations.

DMF has put together a spending plan for 2024, allocating $2.8 million for right whale research and monitoring; $1.1 million for on-demand gear research; and $472,000 for lobster gear to be used by lobster fishers to reduce entanglement risks.

“This funding will provide critical assistance to the Commonwealth’s dual efforts to both protect the North Atlantic right whale and help innovate our fishing industry to develop safer fishing methods,” said Duxbury Rep. Josh Cutler.

The funding will support Massachusetts’ lobster industry and other trap fisheries as they adapt to existing and new regulations that will be developed by NOAA Fisheries and DMF by December 2028, to protect right whales, and comply with the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea said, “We are very grateful to Massachusetts lobster fishers who have sacrificed and worked with us in implementing a closed season, the use of modified rope, and other important measures to protect right whales.”

Gallery: Celtics almost lose to the worst team in the NBA

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:52:49 +0000

Celtics beat Pistons 128-122 in overtime

Boston City Council ‘not serious about public safety’: outgoing president Flynn says

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 20:56:21 +0000

Outgoing City Council President Ed Flynn said the vote to block $13.3 million in federal counter-terrorism funding for the metro region showed the council was “not serious about public safety,” an attitude he hopes will shift with four new members.

Flynn, who had been pushing last week for an emergency meeting to reconsider the funding should the mayor fail to refile the federal grant by the end of the year, has since backed off of that last-ditch effort in 2023.

“I wasn’t able to mobilize my colleagues together to assemble for a meeting,” Flynn told the Herald. “There wasn’t any support for it. So, I’m committed to working with the mayor in January to get this passed.”

Flynn, whose two-year term as the body’s president ends this month, is now seeking a new vote on the matter by the end of January, after four new councilors are sworn into office. Mayor Michelle Wu, through a spokesperson, has already stated her intention to refile the grant in the new year, after the council turns over.

Three of the incoming councilors, Enrique Pepén, Henry Santana and Benjamin Weber, are progressives who were endorsed by the mayor for the fall election. The fourth new councilor, John FitzGerald, is seen as more of a conservative Democrat.

Another Wu-backed progressive candidate, Sharon Durkan, who first won her seat in a July special election, was among the six councilors who voted in favor of the $13.3 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant earlier this month.

“I’m confident, although not positive, I’m confident we’re able to pass it sometime in January,” Flynn said. “I think the new councilors coming in understand the importance of public safety and security, and how important this grant is to Boston and the surrounding cities and towns.”

The Council’s 6-6 vote to block the federal funding set off a firestorm this month, criticism that led state Sen. Nick Collins to file a bill that would strip the body of its authority to approve future public safety grants.

The grant was earmarked for the mayor’s Office of Emergency Management, but would have been distributed to the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, which includes Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville and Winthrop.

Seven votes are needed to release the funds, for training and operational needs to “help prevent, respond to and recover from acts of terrorism, including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive incidents,” according to a communication from the mayor, who put the grant forward for Council approval.

Flynn, who favors the Collins bill, said his colleagues “failed” its fiduciary responsibility, in terms of accepting the grant funds on behalf of the eight other cities in the metro Boston region. “Half of that money,” he said, would have gone toward supporting counter-terrorism efforts in those neighboring communities.

“When we vote against a grant that came from a Democratic president to a Democratic governor to the city of Boston to deal with biological-, chemical- and nuclear-related issues — when we voted against that, that showed to me that we are not serious about public safety in Boston and across Greater Boston as well,” Flynn said.

“And that hurt the city and made us less safe, in my opinion,” he added.

The Council’s vote to reject the funding was not only slammed by Flynn and outgoing Councilor Michael Flaherty, but drew criticism from the head of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Boston and statewide firefighters unions, along with other groups.

Two councilors who voted against the grant, Ruthzee Louijeune, who is predicted to become the next council president, and Liz Breadon, both cited a desire for further community conversations and public information.

Breadon previously told the Herald that she wanted more clarity on how the grant would be used to respond to natural disasters, but generally supports the counter-terrorism piece, having voted for the funding in prior years.

The grant was discussed at a lengthy committee hearing two days before the Dec. 13 vote, and when asked, Flynn said he does not think another committee hearing is needed.

“However, if it’s necessary for my colleagues to have a hearing, I support that,” Flynn said. “But I want to see an immediate vote on it. And I’d like to see this vote take place sometime before the end of January.”

Eversource employee recognized for preventing a tragedy after Massachusetts storm

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:41:50 +0000

An Eversource employee is being called a hero for preventing a carbon monoxide incident from turning much worse at a Marion home following last week’s wicked wind and rain storm.

Assessing damage after the storm which caused widespread outages, Eversource employee Ed Gonet noticed a generator running at a home that had power on Front Street in Marion.

“There were really bad fumes and I saw a cord going into the house,” Gonet said, per a post on Eversource’s LinkedIn. “The door was ajar and no one responded. … (I) just couldn’t leave without knowing if there was someone in there after smelling the fumes running into the home.”.

Gonet called 911, and Marion firefighters responded to the home around 9:20 p.m. last Tuesday, a day after roughly 300,000 Massachusetts households had lost power. By that evening, about 60,000 customers had remained in the dark.

Firefighters found a resident sleeping upstairs as they measured low levels of carbon monoxide inside the home but determined there was a potential for levels to rise during the night, according to authorities.

Responders shut down the generator, opening windows and doors to ventilate the home, while the resident was evaluated at the scene and declined to be taken to an area hospital.

“We are thankful that Mr. Gonet was in the right place at the right time this week and reacted quickly when he felt something wasn’t right,” Marion Fire Chief Brian Jackvony said in a release Thursday. “His actions ensured we could respond to and resolve a carbon monoxide incident before it became a tragedy.”

Officials say the incident provides a reminder that generators “should always be placed outdoors facing away from doors, windows and vents. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and learn how to use a generator safely before an outage.”

“We are grateful for our partnership with Eversource Energy,” Marion Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman said in a statement, “and thank all of their team members, including Mr. Gonet, who work diligently during weather events to evaluate outages and ensure power is restored for our residents quickly and safely.”

Gonet hopes that sharing his story will lead to awareness around the “importance of using generators safely,” Eversource said in its LinkedIn post last week.

Colleagues and acquaintances commented on the post, complementing Gorman for his notable deed.

“Safety 1st! Hero! A perfect example of doing the right thing, even when no one is looking!,’ one comment states.

Massachusetts faced wildfire smoke, tornadoes, relentless rain, flooding, and more in ‘very active’ year

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:37:29 +0000

One of the grossest weather years in recent history is finally in the rearview.

Some of the most memorable weather events that impacted the Bay State in 2023 included nasty wildfire smoke, several tornadoes, and relentless rain throughout the summer that sparked major flooding.

Parts of Massachusetts even had to shovel out from more than 3 feet of snow after a whopper of a mid-March nor’easter.

The most unusual weather of the year was the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, which caused the air quality to plummet across the region. The hazardous haze and smoke impacted the area at times for many weeks because the remote wildfires were out of control.

“During the summer, we got caught in a persistent pattern where we had winds coming out of Canada, bringing that smoke into the area,” Bill Leatham, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald this week.

While the wildfire smoke was a major story of the summer, so was the rain that never seemed to go away.

It was the second wettest summer in Boston recorded history, with 20.33 inches of rain. A normal summer in the city is 10.39 inches of rain.

In Worcester, it was the fifth wettest year in the city’s history. Worcester recorded 63.1 inches of rain for the year, which was 15 inches more than normal.

July was extremely wet, with several flash flood and severe weather events. On July 16, for instance, thunderstorms produced flash flooding across much of southern New England and a few instances of wind damage, including a tornado in North Brookfield.

In eastern Massachusetts, rainfall totals of 2 to 3 inches fell within an hour. Videos went viral of rain flowing down the steps in Fenway Park.

The active pattern continued later in the month with a round of severe thunderstorms on July 27. Some of the strongest wind gusts reported were 66 mph in Westfield and 61 mph at Blue Hills in Milton.

The final July storm event occurred just two days later and featured wind damage and a tornado in Foxboro. Also, this line of storms sparked microbursts in Easton and Brockton.

Then in early August, a round of thunderstorms brought flash flooding to metro Boston and two tornados to the state. The first tornado touched down in Mattapoisett, and the second tornado touched down in Barnstable.

On Aug. 18, there were tornadoes in North Attleboro, Stoughton and Weymouth.

“It was very active with a number of tornadoes across the region,” Leatham said, noting that there were eight recorded tornadoes in Massachusetts, well above the typical number of two tornadoes a year.

On Sept. 11, a storm system brought scattered thunderstorms and widespread flash flooding to the region, especially in Leominster. Up to 9 inches of rain fell in a short time. There were many streets closed, cars stranded in flood waters, and several houses with flooded basements or first floors.

Hurricane Lee then passed offshore on Sept. 15 and 16, with its winds causing tree damage. There was also minor coastal flooding and erosion.

The final big storm of the year was a week before Christmas, as strong winds knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of Bay State households. Blue Hill Observatory in Milton had the highest recorded wind gust of 90 mph. More than 4 inches of rain fell in spots.

Overall, it was a pretty warm year. Boston’s average temp was 54 degrees, making it the third warmest year on record for the city. Worcester was in line for its warmest year on record, with an average of 51.6 degrees as of Dec. 27.

Because it was so warm, snow was down for the Boston-area. Only 11.6 inches of snow fell in Boston, which was the fourth least snowy year in recorded history.

There was one extremely cold stretch, however. An arctic blast in early February brought record cold to the region. Many locations plunged into the negative teens. It was the first time Boston had reached -10 since January of 1957.

Hazy smoke from the Canadian wildfires smothered Boston at times over the summer. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Lawrence nightclub Energy Lounge ordered closed after fatal Christmas Eve shooting

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 17:57:15 +0000

The Lawrence Police Department has suspended a city nightclub’s license to operate days after a deadly shooting early Christmas Eve morning.

Acting Chief William Castro on Wednesday suspended Energy Lounge’s license as the shooting that killed 29-year-old Edward Javier-Perez remains under investigation, with the suspects still at large.

“The Acting Chief has determined that in the interest of public safety, the City must close the establishment and suspend the establishment’s license to operate until such time that the investigation is complete,” Det. Thomas M. Cuddy stated in a release Thursday.

“This immediate action is being taken on an expedited basis due to the overriding public safety concern,” Cuddy added.

Authorities on Tuesday identified Javier-Perez as the victim shot and killed at Energy Lounge early Sunday morning.

Police responded to the nightclub at 459 Broadway around 12:20 a.m., finding Javier-Perez suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office.

Medical personnel pronounced Javier-Perez dead after he was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital.

“Energy Lounge deeply regrets the human loss and we send our most sincere condolences and prayers to the victim’s relatives,” the business said in an Instagram post the day of the shooting. “We accompany them in their pain.”

The establishment will remain closed until further notice, and once authorities complete the investigation, the Lawrence Licensing Board will be fed the information and determine whether to hold a hearing regarding the shooting.

In its Instagram post, Energy Lounge said it was “actively cooperating with the authorities.”

“We infinitely appreciate the interest of all people, assiduous visitors to our restaurant and friends to come closer and offer us their support and trust in such a difficult time,” the post read. We reiterate the commitment and responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy environment in our establishment.”

Lynn shooting Wednesday leaves 19-year-old, 16-year-old dead

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 17:44:07 +0000

A 16-year-old and 19-year-old were killed Wednesday night in Lynn in the city’s second shooting in as many days, authorities said in a Thursday morning statement.

Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker and Lynn Police Chief Christopher Reddy said police responded to reports of shots fired near 10 Camden Street in Lynn just before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Police found two males with gunshot wounds who were transported to North Shore Medical Center. The 16-year-old was pronounced dead in the emergency room and the 19-year-old “succumbed to his injuries at the hospital,” authorities said.

“Effects of gun violence are devastating especially when young people are involved and losing their lives. Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to my office, the Lynn Police, and Lynn officials are committed to exhausting every possible resource in an effort to interrupt this pattern of senseless violence,” Tucker said in a statement.

Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said the city offered its condolences to the families of the two victims in the Wednesday night shooting and planned to offer support to the school communities grieving the losses.

“We appreciate our law enforcement team for all their intensive efforts over the last two days,” Nicholson said in a statement. “This violence is devastating, infuriating, and utterly unacceptable. We will respond with increased police presence as needed and renewed urgency and clarity in our efforts for peace, justice, and a safer community.”

Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect nor announced any arrests.

Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Evonne Alvarez said the community had experienced a “tragic loss” and supportive services would be available to staff and students throughout the week of Jan. 2, 2024.

“Our deepest condolences and sympathies go out to the families, friends, staff, and everyone affected by the devastating loss of student life. This heartbreaking event has deeply impacted us all. During this difficult time, it is important for us to come together as a community to offer support and strength to one another,” Alvarez said in a message shared on social media.

The shooting followed a Tuesday evening shooting at a Pizza Hut at 39 State Street that left three unidentified individuals with gunshot wounds, police said. The victims were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and “at this time appear to be in stable condition,” authorities said.

Reddy said the attacks appeared “targeted” and asked those with information to call investigators at (781) 477-3190

“The Lynn Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police have committed significant resources to these investigations and will continue to do so until the offenders are held accountable,” Reddy said in a statement.

Israeli strikes across Gaza kill dozens of Palestinians, even in largely emptied north

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 15:26:37 +0000

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and JACK JEFFERY (Associated Press)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza on Thursday, killing dozens of people in a widening air and ground offensive against Hamas that has forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters in recent days.

The war has already killed over 20,000 Palestinians and driven around 85% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Much of northern Gaza has been leveled, and it has been largely depopulated and isolated from the rest of the territory for weeks. Many fear a similar fate awaits the south as Israel expands its offensive to most of the tiny enclave.

Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas — which is still putting up stiff resistance, even in the north — and bring back more than 100 hostages still held by the militants after their Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

Israeli officials have brushed off international calls for a cease-fire, saying it would amount to a victory for Hamas.

The United States — while providing crucial support for the offensive — has urged Israel to take greater measures to spare civilians and allow in more aid. But humanitarian workers say the amount of food, fuel and medical supplies entering is still far below what is needed, and 1 in 4 Palestinians in Gaza is starving, according to U.N. officials.

An Israeli airstrike on a home in the northern town of Beit Lahiyeh — one of the first targets of the ground invasion that began in October — buried at least 21 people, including women and children, according to a family member.

Bassel Kheir al-Din, a journalist with a local TV station, said the strike flattened his family house and severely damaged three neighboring homes. He said 12 members of his family — including three children ages 2, 7 and 8 — were buried and presumed dead, and that nine neighbors were missing.

In central Gaza, Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the built-up Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, leveling buildings, residents said. Israel said this week it would expand its ground offensive into central Gaza. The Israeli military typically launches waves of airstrikes and shelling before troops and tanks move in.

A hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah received the bodies of 25 people killed overnight, including five children and seven women, hospital records showed Thursday. Nonstop explosions could be heard throughout the night in the town where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter, with many spending cold nights sleeping on sidewalks.

“It was another night of killing and massacres,” said Saeed Moustafa, a resident of the Nuseirat camp. He said people were still crying out from the rubble of a house hit Wednesday by an airstrike.

“We are unable to get them out. We hear their screams, but we don’t have equipment,” he said.

Farther south, in Khan Younis, the Palestinian Red Crescent said a strike near its Al-Amal Hospital killed at least 10 people and wounded another 12. Much of the city’s population has left, but many are sheltering near Al-Amal and another hospital, hoping they will be spared from the bombardment.

A strike Thursday evening destroyed a residential building in the town of Rafah, at the southernmost end of Gaza, killing at least 23 people, according to the media office of the nearby Al-Kuwaiti Hospital said.

Rami Abu Mosab, who lives in the Bureij refugee camp, said thousands of people have fled their homes in recent days because of the intense bombardment. He plans to remain there because nowhere in Gaza is safe.

“Here is death and there is death,” he said, “To die in your home is better.”

Bureij and Nuseirat are among several camps across the region that were built to house hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. They have since grown into crowded residential neighborhoods.

Some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during that conflict, an exodus the Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. Some 1.9 million have been displaced within Gaza since Oct. 7.

As Israel has broadened its offensive, fleeing Palestinians have packed into areas along the Egyptian border and the southern Mediterranean coastline, where shelters and tent camps are overflowing. Even in those areas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets.

The U.N. humanitarian office said the scale and intensity of the fighting impedes its aid deliveries. The office, known as OCHA, cited blocked roads, a scarcity of fuel and telecommunications blackouts as some of the obstacles hampering the humanitarian response.

Still, it said the U.N. World Food Program provided food parcels to about a half-million people in U.N. shelters in southern and central Gaza since Saturday.

The Israeli military blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas, which positions fighters, tunnels and rocket launchers in dense residential areas. But the military rarely comments on individual strikes.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has already been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than 21,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Another 55,600 have been wounded, it says. Those counts do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The military says it has killed thousands of militants, without presenting evidence, and that 167 of its soldiers have been killed and hundreds wounded in the ground offensive.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo, Jeffery from London. Associated Press reporters Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Najib Jobain in Rafah, Gaza Strip, contributed.

___

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Texas has arrested thousands on trespassing charges at the border. Illegal crossings are still high

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 09:22:28 +0000

By ACACIA CORONADO (Associated Press)

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — Before settling in New York City like thousands of other migrants this year, Abdoul, a 32-year-old from West Africa, took an unexpected detour: Weeks in a remote Texas jail on local trespassing charges after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I spent a lot of hours without sleeping, sitting on the floor,” said Abdoul, a political activist who fled Mauritania, fearing persecution. He spoke on the condition that his last name not be published for fear of jeopardizing his request for asylum.

Starting in March, Texas will allow police to arrest migrants who enter the state illegally and give local judges the authority to order them out of the country. The new law comes two years after Texas launched a smaller-scale operation to arrest migrants for trespassing. But although that operation was also intended to stem illegal crossings, there is little indication that it has done so.

The results raise questions about the impact arrests have on deterring immigration as Texas readies to give police even broader powers to apprehend migrants on charges of illegal entry. Civil rights organizations have already sued to stop the new law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, calling it an unconstitutional overreach that encroaches on the U.S. government’s immigration authority.

Since 2021, Texas authorities have arrested nearly 10,000 migrants on misdemeanor trespassing charges under what Abbott has called a “arrest and jail” operation: Border landowners enter agreements with the state authorizing trespassing arrests, clearing the way for law enforcement to apprehend migrants who enter the U.S. through those properties.

The arrests have drawn constitutional challenges in courts, including claims of due process violations. More recently, one landowner asked officials to stop the trespassing arrests on their property, claiming authorities never had permission in the first place.

Abbott had predicted the trespassing arrests would produce swift results. “When people start learning about this, they’re going to stop coming across the Texas border,” he told Fox News in July 2021, when Texas-Mexico border crossings reached 1.2 million that fiscal year.

That number has ticked up even higher over the past fiscal year, topping 1.5 million.

“They’re still coming through here,” said Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County, where Abdoul crossed the border and was quickly arrested in July.

Abbott suggested this month Texas may soon phase out the trespassing arrests as it moves forward with illegal entry charges that can be enforced most anywhere in the state, including hundreds of miles from the border.

The trespassing arrests have been a cornerstone of Abbott’s nearly $10 billion border mission known as Operation Lone Star that has tested the federal government’s authority over immigration. Abbott has also sent an estimated 80,000 migrants on buses to Democratic-led cities, strung up razor wire on the border and installed buoy barriers on the Rio Grande. Last week, Abbott sent a flight of 120 migrants to Chicago in an escalation of his busing operation.

The mission is visible in Maverick County, where many of the arrests have taken place. Patrol cars are parked every few miles along the two-lane roads leading to the border city of Eagle Pass. Along the Rio Grande, state troopers from Florida, one of several GOP-led states that have sent National Guard members and law enforcement to the border, work in tandem with Texas officials.

Abdoul was arrested in the city’s Shelby Park, a small piece of greenery touching the river with a ramp for boaters. It was the Fourth of July when Abdoul set foot on American soil for the first time. Officers standing nearby asked him a few questions and quickly took him into custody.

He said that he was given small food portions in jail and was so miserable he would say anything to get out. He pleaded guilty to trespassing, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

It’s unknown how many of those arrested on the border for trespassing remain in the U.S., were deported, were allowed to stay to seek asylum, or had their cases dismissed. But Kristen Etter, an attorney who said her legal organization has represented more than 3,000 migrants on the trespassing charges, said the majority of their clients were allowed to stay and seek asylum.

She said many migrants seek out law enforcement at the border because they want to surrender.

“If anything, rather than being a deterrent, it is attracting more people,” she said.

The trespassing arrests are spearheaded by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which said the state’s border operation has resulted in more than 37,000 total criminal arrests. Spokesperson Ericka Miller said officers have stopped gang members, human traffickers, sex offenders and others from entering the country.

“Had we not been there, all of it likely would have crossed into the country unimpeded,” Miller said in an email. “The state of Texas is working to send a message to those considering crossing into the country illegally to think again.”

Rolando Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, signed a blanket trespassing charge affidavit to allow arrests like Abdoul’s on park grounds during a spike in migrant crossings in July. Following local backlash, he rescinded the affidavit before signing it again weeks later. Ultimately, Salinas said, he supports the operation because it has brought needed law enforcement personnel to the city.

“Our force is not big enough to maintain the peace of Eagle Pass if we have 10-15,000 people coming through,” Salinas said.

State Rep. David Spiller, who authored the new arrest law Abbott signed this month, said he believes border crossings would be much higher without the trespassing prosecutions. But he said those cases add to prosecutors’ workloads, depend on cooperation from landowners, and, even if defendants are convicted, the offense is not deportable under federal law.

Those charged, Spiller said, are presumably assimilating into the U.S. population.

“We’re doing what we can, but we’re only slowing down that process,” Spiller said. ”We haven’t stopped anybody.”

Abdoul went to New York City after his release, where he said he was allowed to stay at a shelter for a month. He now rents a room with a cousin and is awaiting a work permit. Then, he said, he will get a job and try to go to school until an immigration judge decides his future next spring.

“When everything is finished and my case is guaranteed, I want to go to school because I started school and my dream is to be well educated,” Abdoul said.

___ Associated Press video journalist Ted Shaffrey reported from New York.

‘Not acceptable’: MBTA police dispatch contract slammed by state watchdog

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:28:06 +0000

The state’s top watchdog has concluded that the MBTA showed apparent bias and favoritism when selecting a police dispatch vendor five years ago, saying in a newly released report that two other interested companies were unfairly iced out.

FULL TEXT: IG Report on MBTA

In a Wednesday report, Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro outlines a number of concerns with the T’s procurement process, pointing to steps that were taken to deter competition from the authority’s favored dispatch vendor, including “problematic” communications between that vendor and a Transit Police committee member tasked with evaluating the validity of all responsive bids.

The report states that the MBTA and Transit Police favored the selected company, IXP Corporation, over two other companies that responded to a 2016 request for proposals. When this bid process did not result in a contract, the MBTA contacted only IXP, and not the two other interested parties, when seeking respondents for a final 2017 procurement.

“Based upon our investigation, significant concerns were raised regarding whether or not the selection process was fair,” Shapiro said in a statement. “Furthering that concern, the MBTA’s poor recordkeeping and records retention practices meant that the authority could not conclusively demonstrate that its selection of IXP was free from favoritism.”

“That is not acceptable,” he said, later adding, “It is essential that the public have confidence in government when it conducts public procurements and expends the public’s money.”

The IGO Internal Special Audit Unit’s investigation found most of the fault lies with the more exclusive final procurement process, but does show apparent unfairness in how one of the companies was informed of its rejection in the first round.

In 2016, the MBTA put out a bid request for police dispatch services on its own business center website, where all companies interested in doing business with the T are notified of new opportunities.

This particular advertisement notified more than 1,000 companies, but few provided police dispatch services. Ultimately, three vendors, IXP, G45 Secure Solutions and the Essex County Regional Emergency Communications Center, responded, the report states.

The MBTA then formed a committee, consisting of one employee from the Transit Police and two employees from the T’s procurement department, to evaluate the three proposals.

While G45’s proposed cost of roughly $1.12 million was lower than IXP’s initial proposed cost of roughly $2.49 million, MBTA employees opted only to meet with IXP representatives to request a “best and final offer.”

This final offer, $2.02 million, while still higher than what had been proposed by G45, was deemed by the 2016 committee to be the “most advantageous to the MBTA, with price and other factors considered.”

The MBTA sent letters to both rejected companies, G45 and ECRECC, advising them that the T had found their proposals “to be non-responsible and non-responsive, which was accurate regarding ECRECC’s proposal, but inaccurate as to G45’s proposal,” the report states.

The T’s then-Fiscal and Management Control Board opted not to vote on a three-year contract for IXP in 2016, citing the financial concerns it might present for the MBTA, the report states.

Rather than try for a second vote, the T opted to close the 2016 RFP and issue a new one. This time, however, the request was posted on the COMMBUYS website, where companies interested in doing business with the commonwealth are notified of opportunities.

In this instance, 33 companies interested in police services, including IXP, were sent email notifications, but G45 and ECRECC were not.

In addition, the IGO’s audit unit could not determine how many, if any, of those 33 companies, besides IXP — the only vendor to submit a proposal — were “qualified to deliver police dispatch services.”

The report also notes that interested companies were given less time, 22 days vs. 58 days in the initial round, to respond, and that the 2017 RFP pared down the requested dispatch services, resulting in reduced staffing requirements.

Further, the report points to “problematic” communications between IXP and a Transit Police committee member, that “reflect the Transit Police’s desire to hire IXP specifically and raise significant questions regarding the objectivity of the 2017 evaluation process.”

One such email sent by an IXP employee was deemed to be “impermissible communication,” and could have disqualified the company’s proposal from consideration, the report states.

The report also raises concerns with the lack of transparency around the contract ultimately approved by the Fiscal and Management Control board. Members approved a five-year fixed contract of roughly $4.82 million, but were not informed that a higher rate could be approved for the two “potential option years.”

The final contract cost was roughly $5.51 million, or 14.27 percent more than expected at the time of its execution, the report states.

In a statement, an MBTA spokesperson said the T was appreciative of the inspector general’s report and thankful for his office’s oversight on the matter.

“As we work to restore public confidence under new leadership, we are fully committed to transparency and accountability,” T spokesperson Gabrielle Mondestin said, adding that while the authority has not taken a deep dive into the report, it understands that the document has “identified potential areas for improving record-keeping and procurement processes moving forward.”

“As we continue working to strengthen MBTA operations overall, we remain committed to making appropriate changes that bolster accountability, integrity, and responsible stewardship of funding, including continued improvements in record-keeping protocols and expanded staff training around procurement best practices,” Mondestin added.

Further, she said, “The public deserves assurance that every MBTA project and expenditure is fully compliant and in the public’s interest.”

Boston to have ‘strong’ police presence at New Year’s Eve First Night celebration

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 18:38:07 +0000

There will be a “strong” police presence at this weekend’s annual First Night festivities, which will be held at Boston City Hall Plaza for the first time.

A large number of officers from the Boston and MBTA police departments will be on hand to ensure residents and visitors ringing in the new year at the 49th annual event respect the family-oriented atmosphere organizers are striving for.

“This is a family-friendly event,” Police Commissioner Michael Cox said, “And we want to keep it that way. We ask you not to consume alcohol nor marijuana in public.”

An “abundance” of police officers will be stationed “in and around” the First Night activities, and there will be a “strong presence” throughout all city neighborhoods for the entirety of Sunday’s 13-hour New Year’s Eve festivities, Cox said.

Both Cox and MBTA Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green said, however, that there have been “no credible threats” received in relation to the event. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning earlier this month about “lone actor” threats around the holidays, due to the Israel-Hamas war.

“As always, if you see something, please say something,” Cox said at a Wednesday City Hall press conference.

First Night, Boston’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration, will be held at the newly-renovated City Hall Plaza for the first time, with free activities from noon to midnight, due to construction activity at Copley Square.

There will be programming inside City Hall, comedy at the Improv/Asylum, and six hours of free carousel rides on the Greenway. The event will also feature face painting, music and magic, First Night organizer Dusty Rhodes said, and sculptures that will be set up throughout Boston Harbor and City Hall Plaza.

A parade from City Hall Plaza to the Boston Common at 6 p.m. will lead up to “Family Fireworks over the Common” starting at 7 p.m. Midnight fireworks over Boston Harbor presented by Meet Boston will cap the night, the mayor’s office said.

“Please let the professionals do the fireworks shows,” said Patrick Ellis, fire marshal for the city of Boston, noting that a child who picked up an unexploded firework on Independence Day experienced a “life-altering consequence.”

Mayor Michelle Wu used her part of her time at the podium to “remind everyone that using, selling, and having fireworks is not only illegal, but dangerous, and not to consume alcohol or other substances in public spaces or prohibited private spaces.”

Rather, Ellis said, “Enjoy the night, enjoy the show.”

He added that the fire department will also be inspecting all bars, nightclubs and other places that host New Year’s Eve parties to ensure that overcrowding is not an issue, and that exits are not blocked at those venues.

Boston EMS will be deploying additional personnel at dispatch operations and in ambulances across the city to support emergency medical needs, Wu’s office said.

The mayor encouraged those taking part in First Night activities to take public transit, as traffic and parking will be impacted in the downtown area. All modes of MBTA transportation, including the subway and commuter rail, will be free after 8 p.m. on Sunday, Transit Police Chief Green added.

Subway service will be operating on a Sunday schedule, but service will be increased after 3 p.m. to “accommodate the expected large volume of ridership,” Green said.

“First Night is a beloved tradition in Boston and beyond, having created delightful experiences for neighborhood residents and visitors from around the world,” Wu said in a later statement. “Our newly-renovated City Hall Plaza is the perfect venue to welcome families from all over to ring in the new year.”

Free family skate day at North Adams Ice Rink

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 14:39:24 +0000

NORTH ADAMS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Get all the holiday festivities in while you can! From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a free family ice skating day will be held at the North Adams Ice Rink, located at 1267 South Church Street.

There will be free rentals, light snacks, and hot chocolate offered. No registration is required.

Alleged drunk, wrong-way driver from New York City kills grandfather, grandson in crash on Somerset bridge

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 20:15:09 +0000

A New York City man accused of killing a Seekonk grandfather and grandson when he drove the wrong way on a Somerset bridge allegedly drunk late Christmas night, is being held on $100,000 cash bail.

Adam Gauthier, 41, of New York City, appeared for arraignment Tuesday afternoon from his hospital bed at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, less than 24 hours after he allegedly killed Floriano Arruda, 73, of Seekonk and his 15-year-old grandson Jacoby Arruda, also of Seekonk.

Floriano’s wife and Jacoby’s grandmother, Donna Arruda, 68, remains in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

“This is a terrible tragedy, especially when it occurred on Christmas night,” District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said in a release. “My heart grieves for the victims and their family for their terrible loss.”

Authorities arrested Gauthier, whom they say is a former Somerset resident, shortly after the 11 p.m. crash.

Gauthier is being charged with two counts of manslaughter while operating under the influence, two counts of motor vehicle homicide-OUI Liquor, and one count each of OUI-Liquor with Serious Bodily Injury, Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Driving the Wrong Way on a State Highway.

Initial investigation findings indicate Gauthier was driving a 2023 Land Rover SUV easterly on the westbound side of Veterans Memorial Bridge in Somerset, part of Route 6, around 11:10 p.m.

While crossing the bridge, Gauthier struck a 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV being driven by Arrudas head on, according to Quinn’s office.

Emergency responders rushed all three of the Arrudas to area hospitals.

Jacoby was pronounced dead at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River shortly after arriving late Monday night. Floriano was pronounced dead Tuesday morning at Rhode Island Hospital where his wife Donna is listed in critical condition with serious injuries.

Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Catherine Sauter is prosecuting the case.

Robert Kraft disheartened over rising antisemitism, calls out Hamas supporters: ‘These are terrorists’

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 20:08:06 +0000

Robert Kraft says the rising number of antisemitic incidents across the country is “disheartening,” and it’s renewing his belief that education is the most important tool in getting people to stand up to hate.

“If we don’t do a good job controlling it, I think hate leads to violence,” Kraft said in an interview with CNN on Christmas. “And what we’re seeing going on in this country now is really scary to me. And it’s something we want to work very hard to try to prevent.”

Preventing antisemitism is the purpose behind Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, which the Patriots owner launched in 2019 to carry out efforts to stomp down on Jewish hate and other forms of hatred in the U.S.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel in early October, the number of antisemitic incidents in the country has skyrocketed to a record high, according to a report the Anti-Defamation League released earlier this month.

The ADL found that reported incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism had increased by a staggering 337% between the Oct. 7 attack and Dec. 7 compared to the same period last year.

Kraft earlier this month matched a $100 million commitment to his foundation from the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation.

The $200 million funding total will increase the foundation’s reach to “younger and older audiences across America with a larger digital and social reach, new campaigns across television and multimedia, increased data and research abilities, targeted partnerships and meaningful convenings,” according to a release.

Kraft, during his interview with CNN, said he believes “there’s a lot of misinformation that young people are taking in” from social media bots that’s leading to support of Hamas. His foundation is looking to “push against that,” he said.

“These are terrorists,” Kraft said of Hamas. “These are people who cut off babies’ heads in front of mothers and do things — just think about if Mexico came here and went to one of our music festivals and killed people and raped women and paraded them on the street, beheaded the little babies, how would we accept that? And these people are out on the streets marching in support of that?”

In March, Kraft launched a $25 million national campaign to fight anti-Semitism called StandUpToJewishHate, using the blue square emoji on social media as a unifying symbol of support.

The effort reached 120 million people with nearly 6 billion impressions, leading to a 104% increase in people strongly agreeing Jewish hate is a pressing issue and a 91% increase in people who are likely to stand up on behalf of someone experiencing Jewish hate, according to officials.

Kraft highlighted how in the last five months, more than 11,000 people donated gifts of $10, $50 and $100 to the foundation.

“Just small people,” Kraft said of the donors. “We don’t solicit. And most of them are not Jewish. We can tell by the names. And it really made me feel good and just motivates us more because it shows Americans just instinctively want to do the right thing.”

“And we have to continue to support them,” he continued. “I don’t think most people in this country understand the way this hate has grown. And we will continue to educate and try to get people to build bridges.”

Massachusetts gas prices keep dropping, national average rises for first time in months

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 20:02:01 +0000

Another week, another drop.

Bay State gas prices continue to fall with the average gallon price down 3 cents from last week, as drivers pump their tanks for the busy holiday travel week. Meanwhile, the national average rose for the first time since September.

The average gas price in Massachusetts is now $3.23 a gallon, a drop from the average of $3.26 last week, according to AAA Northeast.

The $3.23 average is 17 cents lower than a month ago ($3.40), and 14 cents lower than last Dec. 26 ($3.37).

“Last week, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline increased for the first time since September — an indication prices are starting to bump against seasonal lows,” said Mark Schieldrop, of AAA Northeast.

“Daily gas prices — both locally and nationwide — could move back and forth for the next month or so,” he added. “Looking back at pre-pandemic 2019, the national average did not make a firm turn to moving higher daily until Valentine’s Day, February 14.”

While the state’s average is down to $3.23 a gallon, Suffolk County’s average is higher as usual at $3.47 a gallon. That compares to $3.04 per gallon in Hampden County and $3.07 per gallon in Franklin County.

The lowest county gas averages in eastern Massachusetts are $3.08 a gallon in Bristol County and $3.14 a gallon in Plymouth County.

Massachusetts’ average price remains 11 cents higher than the national average of $3.12 per gallon.

While the national average recently went up by 4 cents, there’s still hope that the average could fall below $3 a gallon in the weeks to come.

“After 13 straight weeks of decline, average gasoline prices have edged higher due to optimistic comments from the Fed on cutting interest rates in 2024, coupled with Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, boosting concerns of a disruption to global shipping, including oil shipments,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“For now, the price of gasoline has already jumped but could ease slightly this week ahead of the New Year,” he added. “For now, I’m optimistic that we may still have a chance of seeing the first $2.99 national average since 2021 sometime before spring arrives.”

Oil prices have been holding relatively steady in the mid-$70 a barrel range on mixed news. Ongoing tensions in the vital Red Sea shipping corridor caused by militants attacking cargo ships has created upward pressure on oil prices.

Meanwhile, Angola announced it would be leaving OPEC — a sign of the Saudi-led cartel’s waning influence on global oil markets.

According to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 150,000 gas stations across the country, the states with the lowest average prices are: Oklahoma ($2.60), Mississippi ($2.64), and Texas ($2.65).

The states with the highest average prices are: Hawaii ($4.61), California ($4.54), and Washington ($4.07).

Despite the national gas price average rising by four cents last week, Massachusetts’ average continued to fall. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Wednesday’s $685 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 19:57:38 +0000

Looking to end the year with a bang by winning big?

Wednesday’s $685 million Powerball drawing could be your way to paradise, but be cautious: no one has won a jackpot since mid October when a winner in California took in a much larger $1.765 billion prize.

The chances of winning the full pot of money is a slim one in 292 million.

Despite a smaller prize, someone had a merry Christmas in Revere on Monday. They won $50,000 on a ticket sold at Joe’s Market, matching four of the five numbers drawn and the Powerball number.

To win the full estimated amount, all five white numbers must match plus the Powerball.

Wednesday’s drawing will be the 33rd since the jackpot was last hit on Oct. 11. The $1.765 prize was the second highest ever, trailing the record $2.04B Powerball prize won in November 2022.

The cash option on Wednesday’s prize is an estimated $344.7 million.

Powerball tickets are $2 each and can be played in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets can be purchased until 9:50 p.m. Wednesday at Mass Lottery retailers across the state.

Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.

Stoughton man arrested for daytime shooting that left Rhode Islander injured

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 11:00:14 +0000

Stoughton police arrested an 18-year-old man over the weekend for allegedly shooting a Rhode Island man he had arranged to meet.

Marc Francois of Stoughton is facing a litany of charges after a daytime shooting on Saturday, including assault and battery with a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, armed robbery, and possession of a large capacity feeding device, according to law enforcement.

Police received a call for shots fired on Central Street and Greenwood Avenue and started to search for a suspect. Francois was located near a condominium complex and a firearm was recovered, police said.

After calling area hospitals, police said they learned a man had self-admitted to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro with a gunshot wound.

“It was determined that this individual was shot in Stoughton,” police said. “The investigation remains active and ongoing, however information obtained during the investigation suggests that this was not a random act of violence and that there is no greater threat of danger to the community.”

Francois was ordered held on a $500,000 cash bail, and police said he was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at Stoughton District Court. A Tuesday calendar for the court did not list Francois’ name.

‘Good prevails over evil’ at South Boston shop Love Child after robbery before Christmas

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 18:06:28 +0000

The holiday was like a “Hallmark Christmas movie” for one Southie retail shop after a reported robbery and a chance encounter between the store’s owners and a neighbor led to a record sales day for the small business.

The “roller coaster” began Friday evening when a teenage girl wearing a blue surgical mask ran into Love Child — a home decor and liquor store on West Broadway — and allegedly stole three bottles of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, a Boston Police spokesperson told the Herald on Monday.

The girl ran out the door and took off with a man, whom authorities said was at least 18 years old, on a moped toward the Broadway T stop.

Boston Police responded to a report of the larceny at around 7:45 p.m.

As the dramatic scene unfolded, employees — organizing baskets in the store at the time — called co-founder Colleen Dunleavy who was about to dine at Capo Restaurant, a block away, and informed her of the incident.

By serendipity, it turns out Dunleavy received the call in the right place at the right time.

Southie resident Mark Rooney, who had just met Dunleavy and her spouse, overheard the call and saw them rush out of the restaurant. Then he took to Facebook later Friday night, capturing the interaction and incident.

“Like you reading this, I felt (and) feel so bad,” Rooney wrote. “A young couple, taking a chance, opening and trying to make a small business work. For those of us who grew up here, if a neighbor was in need, we all responded.”

Rooney mentioned he’d be stopping by the shop on Saturday “to make a purchase” and challenged neighbors to follow suit.

“Whether it’s tomorrow, or sometime in the near future, I ask that you do the same,” Rooney wrote. “Let our new friends know that Good prevails over Evil, every time!”

“They have no idea that I’ve posted this,” he added, “perhaps the uptick in business over the next days and weeks, will uplift their spirits, and produce more, regular customers. … Not looking for Likes or Comments…just a visit and small purchase at Love Child.”

Love Child made an Instagram post Sunday evening highlighting all that the store had been through.

“Ohhh where do we even begin? The past few days have been an absolute roller coaster of emotions and it has ended in the best possible way,” the post reads. “Honestly like a Hallmark Christmas movie.”

The “best possible way,” as in, a record-breaking sales day Saturday, the post stated.

“And when we tell you Southie showed up for us, they SHOWED UP,” the post read. “We are overwhelmed with gratitude for this support. It is the best demonstration of community that we have ever experienced.”

The post concluded with, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. We are honored to be a part of this community. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and as Mark reminded us, ‘good prevails over evil.’ ”

Boston Police had made no arrests in the incident as of Monday afternoon.

Housing crisis leads to unprecedented number of people seeking help from Boston’s St. Francis House

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 17:43:59 +0000

Nearly 600 people experiencing homelessness are turning out to St. Francis House every day seeking food, clothes, a place to shower, assistance in finding permanent housing and other resources.

The daily attendance count at Boston’s largest day homeless shelter is the largest it’s ever been as the cost of living and rent escalate while production of affordable housing lags behind, said Karen LaFrazia, St. Francis House’s president and CEO.

“Hundreds of people are flocking to St. Francis House because one: we are kind and welcoming, and we don’t turn anyone away. But beyond the food, beyond the clothes, people can really find a pathway out,” she told the Herald, as she found downtime during a festive annual Christmas lunch on Monday.

St. Francis House, in the heart of downtown Boston, saw an astounding 50% increase in newcomers in the first quarter of this fiscal year compared to the same period last year, LaFrazia said. For the past five months, through November, the daily average went up by 23%, she added.

“It is so crowded inside this building,” LaFrazia said. “In this back room, literally you have to step over people. In the upstairs room, there are no chairs. … In the morning, we open at 6:30, there’s already a line of people waiting to come in.”

Daily challenges at the shelter have coincided with a 17.2% increase in the number of homeless people in the city, from 4,439 people in 2022 to 5,202 people in 2023, according to Boston’s 43rd annual unsheltered homeless street count.

“However, when comparing the years 2015 and 2023, overall homelessness in Boston has actually decreased by 32 percent,” the count found during a one-night effort last January.

Officials found a “massive influx of migrant families entering Massachusetts and seeking shelter at hospitals and other emergency access points” had led to a 17.5% increase in the number of persons in homeless families, from from 2,894 in 2023 to 3,399 in 2023.

“If people had their own apartments,” LaFrazia said, “they could cook for themselves, they could do their own laundry. … The most important intervention to help somebody move beyond homelessness is to give them an affordable place to live.”

St. Francis House has completed financing and selected a contractor for a 19-story, 126-unit affordable housing building on Lagrange Street, at the crossroads of Chinatown and Downtown Crossing, by late spring. LaFrazia said she expects the project to break ground by late spring.

LaFrazia credited Gov. Maura Healey and the state Legislature for doing an “amazing job” trying to create financial resources to support affordable housing production.

The Healey administration in October released a $4 billion bond bill aimed at spurring housing production and boosting affordable home ownership in a state starved for inexpensive options.

Healey proposed a real estate transaction fee of 0.5% to 2% on the portion of a property sale over $1 million, or the county median home sale price, with the revenue generated from the fee directed to affordable housing development. The bill also includes $425 million directed to a housing stabilization and investment fund.

“More needs to be done,” LaFrazia said, “but the ability to create affordable housing is a complex process so political leadership to create more expediency in that process (is essential).”

Boston’s St. Francis House celebrates Christmas, serves hundreds of festive feasts

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 17:30:17 +0000

In the back corner of a decorated dining room at St. Francis House, Jerrod Masucci sat down at a table with a plate full of food alongside his girlfriend and several other friends.

As Christmas songs played, with roughly 30 volunteers serving plates of stuffed chicken breast, butternut squash, mashed potatoes and string beans, Masucci said he felt like he was celebrating the holiday at home with a bunch of friends he views as family.

But at the same time, life has had its ups and downs for the 35-year-old homeless man who is seeking permanent housing.

Monday marked Masucci’s first Christmas spent at Boston’s largest day shelter in the past three years. Around 350 men and women experiencing hardship and homelessness joined him for the festive feast.

“When I came back here, it was like my family just grew,” Masucci told the Herald. “I feel at home, but I feel in a place where I need to gain (a) home. You know how they say ‘Home is where the heart is.’ It is but at the same time, physically having a home is a great thing. It’s a blessing from God.”

Masucci’s girlfriend, Kelly Devino, 47, has been coming to St. Francis House every day since September. Here, she receives food, clothes, a place to shower and assistance in finding permanent housing, among other services.

This Christmas, Devino didn’t have the opportunity to spend the holiday with friends and family, but she said she still found a sense of joy.

“Being here for Christmas is just a blessing,” she said, smiling.

Those who are more fortunate take pride in spending the holiday giving back to the community by volunteering. So is the case for Greg Gailius, a Southie native who graduated from Boston College and worked nearly 40 years in the city’s business community before retiring.

Gailius came out to St. Francis House with his wife and daughter, a tradition they’ve shared together for years.

“I have been fortunate in life,” he said. “It just feels good to give back because Christmas is about giving. I am much better at giving than receiving.”

Karen LaFrazia, the shelter’s president and CEO, said she wouldn’t want to spend the holiday anywhere else. She bounced back and forth between the kitchen and dining room, seeing people she’s seen year after year while building connections with those she’s never met before.

It has been a challenging year at St. Francis House, LaFrazia said, as the shelter is serving the largest number of people per day than ever before, around 600 individuals. But like Masucci, she said she looks at each and every person needing assistance as family.

“It is our love for the guests,” LaFrazia said. “This is a lonely time of the year for many people. For us to be able to make the day special for somebody, and to just be in fellowship with them in a moment when they are at their lowest point, it is a blessing.”

Despite the tight housing market, Masucci said he’s entering the new year hopeful that he will secure a permanent living space at some point in 2024.

“Sometimes it takes patience,” he said, “and it takes a while, but that patience will help you endure that long time of waiting. I never have a doubting bone in my body. I have always kept it positive. I never think negatively because once you think negatively you could destroy all plans that are ahead of you.”

Karen LaFrazia, CEO of St. Francis House, at the Christmas feast on Monday. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

Cardinal O’Malley joins Pine Street Inn residents for Christmas Eve: ‘We never turn anyone away’

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 15:03:54 +0000

While millions of Americans travel to gather with family and friends or wait for relatives to arrive in order to ring in the Christmas holiday, there are thousands of Bostonians who spent Christmas Eve away from loved ones and in a homeless shelter.

It’s the exact same position into which Jesus Christ was born, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley said Sunday before he went into the Pine Street Inn‘s Harrison Avenue location to feed the hundreds of men and women without anywhere else to go on Christmas.

“Christmas time, of course, is a very symbolic time. Our savior was born in homelessness: there was no room at the inn in Bethlehem. Thank god, there is always room at the Pine Street Inn,” O’Malley said.

According to volunteers at the Inn, they will provide over 1,000 meals to their various properties this holiday season. For many, this year’s dinner of lasagna al forno, Caesar salad, fresh baked garlic bread, and assorted pies, may be the only meal they will get to enjoy in a warm place this Christmas.

Those arriving at the Inn shortly after 11 a.m. on Christmas Eve were greeted with songs performed by caroling group Ripples of Hope. O’Malley, clad in the brown robes of his Franciscan order, joined the group almost immediately after he arrived, singing and clapping along as Pine Street residents filed through the building’s security systems.

The shelter system is not just full, Pine Street VP of Communications Barbara Trevisan told the Herald — it’s downright overfilled. The staff at the Inn’s properties are putting cots in the hallways, she said, and some people are forced to sleep in chairs.

“We are seeing that there is a great need this year,” she said. “It’s a combination of things.”

Part of the problem is the cost and limited supply of housing in the state, Trevisan said. Many of the shelter’s residents are working, sometimes with more than one job, but still not making enough to afford even modest living conditions in Boston.

“They have jobs!” she declared. “It’s just a perfect storm. We always see an increase in need with the coming of the cold weather.”

Another part of the problem, she said, is the influx of migrants into the state. Many of them want to work, she said, but are prevented by law from doing so legally.

All of them need a place to sleep as winter arrives, Trevisan said.

“We never turn anyone away,” she said.

The goal of the Pine Street Inn, shelter Director Josh O’Brien said, is to have all of the 1,000 people who showed up for Christmas Eve dinner in permanent housing by this time next year.

“We know that housing is the solution to homelessness,” he said. “We know we can’t stop, we have to keep going.”

According to O’Malley, it’s not a problem we can afford to lose sight of.

“Homelessness is one of the greatest scourges of our society and I know that Christmas is a time when people pay attention to it, but homelessness is not just on Dec. 25th, it’s everyday of the year, and during the winters it can be very, very brutal,” O’Malley said.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley laughs on Christmas Eve at the Pine Street Inn. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Massachusetts attorney general rejects complaints over Boston mayor’s ‘electeds of color’ party

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 14:00:23 +0000

The AG’s office has fielded four complaints about Mayor Michelle Wu’s highly criticized “electeds of color” holiday party — a bash that included an email uninviting white city councilors.

The Dec. 13 party, however, did not appear to violate the public accommodation law “since it was not open to the public,” state Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office told the Herald in an email.

Three of the complaints were from out of state and the other did not contain an address, the AG’s office added. A spokesperson would not confirm or deny if any investigation was launched as a result of the complaints.

Under Massachusetts law, the AG enforces the public accommodation law, which “prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation” based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, deafness, blindness, or any physical or mental disability, or ancestry.

Campbell is a former city councilor. Her office did not elaborate on why Wu’s party was not in violation. The Parkman House is listed as the mayor’s official reception hall.

The Rev. Eugene Rivers III, a Dorchester pastor and leading Black voice in the city, disagrees — adding the party was “clumsy politics, generational politics,” that does little to heal any lingering racial tensions.

“Number one. Had any white politicians said they were having some St. Patty’s Day event and it was only for the Irish, that would have been called racist by every politician of color in the city council and possibly in the state,” Rivers said.

“You can’t have two sets of moral political books,” he added. “It’s simply hypocritical. And there’s just no reason for that.”

Rivers said if Wu was attempting to build her “street cred,” it should have not come at the “expense of white people.”

The Parkman party, first reported by the Herald, caught international attention after a Wu administration official, on behalf of the mayor, mistakenly sent all Boston city councilors an email inviting them to a holiday party that was meant exclusively for “electeds of color,” prompting an apology and mixed reactions.

Fifteen minutes after the mayor’s director of City Council relations sent out the email, inviting each councilor and a guest, the employee sent a follow-up email to councilors, apologizing for the prior email, which was apparently only meant for those who were invited.

The party was quickly criticized by some for being “divisive,” while others, including the mayor, defended the event for creating space for specific groups in city government.

Wu, who went ahead with the “electeds of color” party, did hold another one a few days later for everyone where the attendance has come under question.

City Councilor Erin Murphy, who is white and was not invited to the first party, took issue with the mayor’s version of events.

“I don’t care who leaked the email invite,” Murphy told the Herald last week. “It was sent to over 40 people so it could have been anyone. In a world that seems increasingly intolerable and unaccepting, I pray daily that we find a common ground, a path to togetherness. I hope that those of us in power find ways to bring people closer, not further apart.”

Wu’s party also hit as a cultural war seethes across the river at Harvard University where the college is under federal investigation for antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel.

Mayor Michelle Wu speaks with the media at the door to the Parkman House on Beacon Street as state Rep. Russell Holmes looks on just before the Dec. 13 party for “electeds of color.” (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

Willie Bennett’s family accepts Michelle Wu’s apology, but says more is needed after wrongful arrest in Stuart murder

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 11:31:51 +0000

Willie Bennett’s family sat together on stage at Roxbury Community College dressed in Adidas tracksuits a day after it received an apology 34 years in the making.

A description of a 5-foot-10 Black man wearing a black tracksuit with white or red stripes who spoke with a gravelly voice ultimately led to their brother, father and uncle’s wrongful arrest in the Oct. 23, 1989 shooting murder of a pregnant Carol Stuart.

The description provided to authorities that October night came from Stuart’s husband, Charles “Chuck” Stuart, who, in fact, orchestrated the murder but blamed it on a random Black man, an accusation inflaming the city’s racial tensions.

Mayor Michelle Wu last week formally apologized on behalf of the city to Bennett and Alan Swanson, the two Black men wrongfully arrested and accused in the case.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, who said that he “was born and raised here so I certainly understand the history involved,” also apologized on behalf of the Police Department for the “hurt and pain and suffering” caused by the department’s handling of this case.

Willie Bennett did not attend the event his family hosted Thursday in Roxbury because “he don’t want to be here. He don’t want to talk to anybody because all he is going to get is an apology,” said his niece Star Bennett.

After years of suffering from the wrongful arrest and accusation, relatives say they are looking to get the truth out there about the case and the impact it has had on their family. It’s their way of “changing the narrative,” said Willie’s nephew, Joey Bennett.

“We’ve never had this conversation as a family,” he said. “This is the first time we have talked about it as a family. This is not something that we prepared for or anything.”

“Thirty-four years of pain, like put that into numbers, you can’t put that into numbers,” Joey added.

During her apology Wednesday, Wu said “a false, racist claim accusing a Black man” for Carol Stuart’s death “unleashed” terror on the Mission Hill community.

Mission Hill, one of Boston’s traditionally majority-Black neighborhoods, was swarmed with Boston Police following the killing. A participant in the HBO documentary on the case, “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning,” described it as “open season” on the city’s Black population.

The first wrongfully arrested member of the community was Alan Swanson, who had a black tracksuit soaking in the sink, which the police took as evidence. While he was actually only accused of an unrelated unarmed robbery, police leaked to the media that they considered him their guy in the Stuart murder.

A group of teenagers later established the rumor that Willie Bennett, another member of the Mission Hill community, had done the shooting.

Star Bennett said she remembers the night her uncle was arrested, when she was just 6 years old at the time, “like it was yesterday.” She had been home with her sister and mother when police raided their home. At the same time, police also raided the three other homes that family members had been living in, Joey Bennett said.

“Even people in Boston who had the last name Bennett Nelson, they went into their homes, as well,” Star Bennett recounted. “To say we are angry, we are bitter, we are upset, an apology 34 years later, we will accept it … but it doesn’t fix anything.”

Chris Nelson was 15 when his father Willie was arrested. He said his father raised him the best he could but that his father missed out on “many, many things.”

“There’s no amount of money y’all can pay or anyone can give us to give back the lessons and the time that we didn’t get whether it be fishing, walks in the park or him teaching my little sisters how to ride a bike,” Nelson said.

“But I am glad that he finally got some kind of recognition,” he added of his father.

It has been reported in various outlets, including by the Herald, that the mayor at the time of the incident, Ray Flynn, had offered a private apology to the Bennett family.

But this is the first such public apology offered by the city.

Joey Bennett said it may only be a matter of time until he and his family receive another apology.

He was charged, convicted and incarcerated for 22 years after being accused of a second-degree murder at a city nightclub in 1997. He got out in 2019 on bail and is fighting the case with the hopes of being exonerated.

Joey Bennett said, “They’re going to have to apologize again when they say ‘We’re dismissing this case against you right now’ that I’m walking around on bail for. I’m going to get another apology, y’all, and then cut the check.”

Sean Ellis and Joseph Bennett during a forum at Roxbury Community College. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Hawk rescued by father and son off-duty cops

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:40:56 +0000

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (NEWS10) -- Two off-duty law enforcement officers with the Massachusetts State Police, who happen to be father and son, helped save an ailing hawk they came across in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday, December 14. Father Gary Ruef and son Ryan Ruef came across the red-tailed hawk while driving west on Route 102.

According to Massachusetts State Police, the duo suspected the hawk had flown into a car a short time before. The hawk struggled to maintain balance and was rolling around in the travel lane at the time.

Both blocked the lane and approached the bird. The bird quickly flew into the woods and crashed into several trees. Ryan Ruef followed the hawk, removed his jacket, and carefully threw it over the bird like a net.

Images via Massachusetts State Police

The hawk was taken carefully to the State Police-Westfield Barracks and was transferred to a rehabilitator. The hawk is expected to make a full recovery and will be released in the spring of 2024.

Massachusetts lays SSgt Galliher to rest

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 04:53:41 +0000

PITTSFIELD, M.A. (NEWS10) -Staff Sergeant Jacob Galliher was remembered with a procession around his home state of Massachusetts. The memorial welcomed hundreds of community members to look back on his life before he was laid to rest.

The remains of Galliher were flown into Westover Air Reserve Base Friday afternoon. He is one of eight service members killed in a training accident off the coast of Japan in November.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey was among the many who gathered before the somber procession. "We as Americans need to make sure that every single day of the year we are looking to take care of our military families and all of those who have taken care of us."

The hearse traveled through the towns of Lee and Lenox before it arrived at Taconic High School, where Galliher had graduated in 2017.

"To lose somebody under these tragic circumstances... You know, he’s only been out of high school for a few years," said Chairman of the Taconic High School Committee, Bill Cameron.

Hundreds of Galliher’s classmates welcomed him back to the campus one last time. The principal handed out flags, and many people holding them had tears in their eyes.

"One thing this family talked about, and his friends talked about, was just what a positive, upbeat attitude Jake had. It was really something to hear people talk about his constant smile, his calming presence, his upbeat attitude. He was a person who was there for everybody," described Governor Healey.

The Galliher family then ended the night at Dery Funeral Home in private. "It is with deep sadness that we welcome Jake Galliher home today to Massachusetts. We in Massachusetts will work very hard to honor his spirit, to honor his memory, by making sure that we do everything to take care of military families and those who served," said Healey.

There will be a wake in Dalton on Tuesday, December 19, followed by a funeral on Wednesday, December 20, at St. Agnes Church.

Pittsfield to honor SSGT. Jacob Galliher

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:59:34 +0000

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The City of Pittsfield will honor SSGT. Jacob "Jake" Galliher on Friday at approximately 3:15 p.m. SSGT. Galliher was involved in the tragic crash of an Osprey while serving in the United States Air Force-Japan.

SSGT. Galliher was a graduate of Taconic High School in 2017. According to the City, SSGT. Galliher's procession will begin at Westover Air Force Base, then travel on the Massachusetts Turnpike to downtown Lee, then through downtown Lenox, via Walker Street. The route will continue to Pittsfield via Route 7 (South Street) to Park Square where they will turn left onto West Street to Taconic High School. After Taconic, the procession will return to North Street, turn left down North Street, and end at Dery Funeral Home on Bradford Street.

Flags are available to the public and can be picked up, after noon today, at the following locations:

City Hall, 70 Allen Street

Department of Veteran’s Services, at the Senior Center, 330 North Street
Pittsfield Fire Department Headquarters, 74 Columbus Avenue
Colonial Theatre, 111 South Street

President Gay to stay at Harvard, despite calls for resignation

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 23:58:09 +0000

BOSTON -- Harvard President Claudine Gay will stay in her position, despite Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) demanding her resignation.

"This is a moral failure of Harvard's leadership," Stefanik said.

Last week, Gay, the president of MIT, and the former president of the University of Pennsylvania deflected questions from Stefanik about whether calling for the genocide of Jews breaks their colleges' codes of conduct.

"Those university presidents made history by putting the most morally bankrupt testimony into the Congressional record and the world saw it," Stefanik said.

On Tuesday, Harvard's board released a statement saying Gay is "the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing."

"Have failed to stand up for Jewish students on campus. It is unacceptable and it's untenable," Stefanik said.

House Republican Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) says his party is leading the fight against antisemitism.

"We've exposed antisemitism, called it out for what it is and we will continue to do that as well," Scalise said.

However, Democrats say some Republicans are exploiting antisemitism for political gain.

"We need to keep the politics out of this," Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said.

Aguilar says fighting antisemitism should unite both parties.

"The distraction around questions and college presidents - that's just Republicans trying to further divide us," Aguilar said.

Aguilar says Congress should work to help Israel defeat Hamas and bring aid to the Palestinian people.

Pittsfield cancels snow emergency

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:08:57 +0000

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The City of Pittsfield has canceled the snow emergency that was effective as of 7 a.m. on Monday. The snow emergency was originally supposed to last until Wednesday but has ended as of noon.

Regular signs and parking regulations will be in effect.

Snow emergency declared in Pittsfield

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:55:22 +0000

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- A snow emergency has been declared in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, effective 7 a.m. on Monday. The snow emergency will last through 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

Throughout the snow emergency, residents are asked to use off-street parking. If off-street parking is unavailable, residents are asked to observe the following alternate-side parking rules:

From 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, parking will be on the odd side of the street.
From 7 a.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday, parking will be on the even side of the street
Residents can use the McKay Street parking garage for overnight parking. It will be open to the public throughout the snow emergency.

All other signed parking regulations are active. Non-permitted cars are prohibited from parking or standing in any open municipal parking lots between midnight and 7 a.m. Cars violating these parking regulations may be towed at the owner's expense.

Residents are asked to clear snow from around fire hydrants near their properties. Residents are also advised that sidewalks and ramps abutting their property must be cleared of snow within 24 hours of a snowstorm.

Leonard Bernstein's daughter to speak at Capital Region 'Maestro' screenings

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 20:02:08 +0000

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (NEWS10) -- "Maestro," a film by Bradley Cooper, focuses on composer Leonard Bernstein and his lifelong relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. Partially filmed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, the movie had a limited theatrical release on November 22.

The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington and the Crandell Theatre in Chatham are both hosting screenings of "Maestro." Nina Bernstein Simmons, Leonard Bernstein's youngest daughter, will be speaking at the events.

The Crandell Theatre will screen "Maestro" on December 16 at 7 p.m. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Nina Bernstein Simmons about her father's legacy and the family's involvement with the movie. It'll be a conversation with Christopher Rothko, classical music critic and son of abstract painter Mark Rothko.

The Triplex will be hosting the "Bernstein on Film" series starting on December 17 with a screening of "Maestro" at 1 p.m., followed by a conversation between Nina Bernstein Simmons and Stephen Wadsworth, who collaborated with Leonard Bernstein.

Deborah Reinisch, a professor of film directing, production, and film history, will speak about Bernstein’s movie scores on December 20 at the 2 p.m. showing of “West Side Story,” and the 7 p.m. showing of “On the Waterfront.” On December 21, Julianne Boyd, founder and former Artistic Director of the Barrington Stage Company, will speak about "On the Town" after the 2 p.m. showing.

"Maestro" was filmed at Tanglewood from May 21 to May 26, 2022. The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, and Sarah Silverman.

You can buy tickets for the screenings on the Triplex website or the Crandell Theatre website. "Maestro" is set to hit Netflix on December 20.

Pittsfield offers homebound vaccination appointments

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 19:56:19 +0000

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The City of Pittsfield is offering vaccination appointments to homebound residents due to a disability or age. Vaccinations for the flu and COVID-19 are available.

Appointments can be made by calling the City of Pittsfield Department of Health at (413) 499-9411 ext. 0. The Health Department will schedule a home visit from a public health nurse. Pittsfield residents are reminded that free COVID-19 tests are available at the Health Department at 100 North Street on the mezzanine level.

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