"Man shot, killed in Springfield near I-91 ramp" by Kiera Blessing | Globe Correspondent August 08, 2014
State Police are investigating a fatal shooting and possible carjacking near Interstate 91 in Springfield early Friday, authorities said.
At 3:01 a.m., a ShotSpotter device near a Main Street McDonald’s restaurant notified Springfield police of gunfire in the area, State Police said in a statement. A short time later, Springfield police found Jose M. Gonzalez, 44, of Chicopee, on the Exit 9 onramp of I-91, with gunshot wounds. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, State Police said.
Related: The Iron Pipeline Between Massachusetts and Vermont
Now it is Heim, huh?
Also see: 2 accused of having heroin in car with child
Because Gonzalez was found on an interstate, Springfield police called in State Police to assist in the investigation. A short time later, West Springfield police found a car that had crashed into a traffic island and been abandoned on Beauview Terrace in that city. The car belonged to the victim, police said.
A man was arrested nearby on outstanding warrants, but contrary to initial reports he appeared to have had no connection with the shooting or possible carjacking, State Police said. No arrests have been made in the carjacking case.
The onramp in Springfield was reopened by 6:17 a.m.
The shooting is under investigation by the office of interim Hampden District Attorney James C. Orenstein.
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At least they are not Worcester:
"Worcester officials issue advisory after drug deaths" by Zachary T. Sampson | Globe Correspondent August 06, 2014
WORCESTER — At least nine people have died here from suspected drug overdoses during the past six days, prompting authorities Wednesday to issue urgent health warnings as the state’s second-largest city became the latest front in the battle against heroin.
“There’s something going on with the heroin,” Police Chief Gary Gemme said. “It’s either mixed with something that’s very bad, very deadly, or the purity is so high that it’s causing these deaths.”
Yeah, they already know what it is being spiked with.
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Heroin has extended its reach into communities across Massachusetts in the past year, killing hundreds of people from the South Coast to the Vermont border. Illustrating the vagaries of narcotics and addiction, Taunton, which had reported a rash of drug-related deaths earlier this year, has experienced a sharp drop in overdoses in recent weeks.
See: Overdose cases drop sharply in Taunton
The whole problem is vague, as government doesn't know where it is coming from, doesn't know who is transporting it, and doesn't know where the proceeds are being laundered despite all the surveillance.
But in Worcester, a city of 182,000, heroin is proving as deadly as ever.
“We’re in the midst of a public health emergency,” said Derek Brindisi, Worcester’s public health director.
Even as authorities await tests confirming heroin as the culprit in the latest deaths, the police and health departments are distributing fliers to community health and addiction service centers warning that “preliminary testing indicates that contaminated heroin may be available on the streets.” The fliers also list resources for patients and families struggling with addiction.
Deputy Police Chief Steven M. Sargent said officers are warning people that heroin might be lethally spiked or extremely pure.
“We’re just letting them know that there’s something going on out there,” he said.
Gemme, the chief, said heroin is often cut with the potent painkiller fentanyl, or even rat poison and horse tranquilizers. In Worcester, he said, heroin averages about $8 a bag, and police have seen batches of varying purity, from 17 to 67 percent.
Reports of overdoses have become almost routine.
Why kill your customers? Something el$e is at work here.
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On Beacon Hill on Wednesday, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a measure requiring insurers to cover inpatient addiction treatment, making it easier for patients to get detoxification services.
At the signing ceremony, the governor, who earlier this year created a $20 million plan for expanded insurance and treatment opportunities, said a cooperative approach is necessary to combat the “extraordinary scourge” of opioids in the Commonwealth.
“Families can’t do it on their own,” Patrick said.
“Clinics and hospitals can’t do it on their own. Government can’t do it on its own. But all of us, working together, can.”
Bye.
The governor’s aspirations for collaboration were shared at a summit convened by Senator Edward J. Markey on Wednesday to discuss the problem of heroin in Massachusetts and across the country.
Federal, state, and local leaders met at Boston Medical Center in search of a multifaceted approach to addiction, which they said was both a health and law-enforcement issue....
But when it comes to medical marijuana....
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