"There’s no state budget in sight, and lawmakers just asked Baker for another extension" by Matt Stout Globe Staff, July 15, 2019
With no state budget in place weeks into the new fiscal year, a top state official called for Governor Charlie Baker on Monday to file another temporary spending bill to keep state government funded through August — a major indication negotiations are far from settled.
Massachusetts is one of just two states with a fiscal year starting July 1 where lawmakers have yet to pass an annual spending plan, despite a healthy flow of tax revenues and relatively few policy proposals to be settled between negotiators. The other state is Ohio.
A $5 billion placeholder is also keeping Massachusetts government afloat, albeit through July, but in an early evening statement, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said it would be “prudent” given the state of the negotiations that Baker file a placeholder bill for August “to ensure the Commonwealth’s fiscal obligations are met.”
So they can primarily pay off the debt holders.
The speaker’s comment came just hours after DeLeo first injected doubt into the talks’ progress, saying the delay is something to be “concerned about. He also floated that lawmakers may have to weigh “other options” if talks drag on, including separating the plan’s policy and spending differences.
It’s an idea he also floated a year ago when the Legislature was the last in the country to enact a budget. “It’s my hope that we don’t get to that point,” DeLeo said.
This all comes after they basically sat on their asses the six months.
A Baker spokeswoman did not commit to the governor filing another temporary spending bill, saying in a statement that he “looks forward to the Legislature reaching consensus soon.”
That the Legislature is so far behind isn’t unprecedented. In rapping Massachusetts and others with late budgets for “governance weakness” earlier this month, Moody’s Investor Services noted that tardy budget-making is common here. In fact, it’s now nine straight years that officials have used a temporary budget to keep government running.
There’s an array of potential hang-ups lurking in budget talks, from wrangling over specific issues to the bandwidth of staff and negotiators. The sides are led by Representative Aaron Michlewitz and Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, both of whom were named their chambers’ budget chairs this year.
Lawmakers, however, can’t blame the fiscal environment. The state is flush with cash, and an expected fiscal year-end surplus — potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars — still awaits policy-makers, eliminating any need for painful discussions over cuts.
It's almost a billion, and that must be why it is taking so long. They don't know where they are going to spend it.
The budget is also relatively thin, at least as far as a $43 billion proposal goes. The differences between the chambers “do involve some impactful programs — like education, like prescription drugs, like taxes — but it is a little bit surprising,” said Eileen McAnneny, the foundation’s president, of the delay. “This budget certainly wasn’t as challenging as the early years after the recession where there were deficits and a lot of demands for spending. This year poses fewer of those challenges, for sure.”
Why so late then?
Nevertheless, the delay in cementing an annual plan is trickling down, and without a finalized budget, that’s a still a major question left unanswered. “One drawback is agencies are uncertain what their spending levels are going to be for the year,” Brian Sigritz, director of state fiscal studies at the National Association of State Budget Officers, which tracks legislative spending nationwide, said of a tardy budget.
SO WHAT’S THE HOLD-UP?
Budget negotiators routinely do not discuss the substance of their closed-door talks, and the six members — four Democrats, two Republicans — have said little publicly since first meeting on June 5, but there were a number of stark differences facing them, most notably plans intended to curb drug prices paid by the state Medicaid program.
The Senate largely adopted Baker’s approach, [but] the House, after a lobbying push from the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, backed a softer version of the plan.
Both chambers also included what they described as down payments toward a larger (and still under discussion) overhaul of state education funding. The Senate proposal, however, tabs tens of millions of dollars more in local aid to school districts, while the House offered a plan to change the state’s charter school reimbursement formula, and there are tax differences, too.
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
When lawmakers ultimately do reach a deal, it will have to pass both chambers, which usually is a formality.
Baker will then have 10 days to review it, and he has the power to veto specific spending and policy sections. That could set off a new round of maneuvering in the form of budget overrides, but lawmakers need to agree on what the budget will look like first.
“We need to do our job and get the budget done as soon as we can,” Senate President Karen E. Spilka said Monday. “I think all focus and all energies should be on getting the budget done so we can move forward on so many other important issues before us.”
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Like this one first and foremost:
"In first year of medical parole, just four inmates granted reprieve" by Gal Tziperman Lotan Globe Staff, July 15, 2019
When Massachusetts lawmakers approved a program to release prisoners who are incapacitated or terminally ill, proponents hailed it as a compassionate, practical measure that could save taxpayers millions in health care costs, but only four inmates have received medical parole since it was enacted in April 2018 and advocates say prison officials are undercutting the law by preventing inmates from even applying, placing one administrative barrier after another in their path, and they fear proposed regulations will make the problem worse.
“They’re doing more than thumbing their nose” at the new law, said Ruth Greenberg, a lawyer who represents Joseph Buckman, a 73-year-old who is seeking medical parole. “They’re repealing the statute and they’re spitting on the Legislature and spitting on the governor, who signed the statute.”
The state doesn't have to obey the law. That's one of the beauties of Ma$$achu$etts.
Buckman is one of two inmates, both serving life sentences for murder, who have sued the state Department of Correction over its medical parole regulations, saying the process is too cumbersome.
Under state law, prison officials must provide inmates a medical parole plan and a diagnosis from a physician, according to the lawsuit, but prison officials have shifted those responsibilities to inmates, the lawsuit alleges. Once an application is filed, prison officials can return it for minor administrative reasons, such as lacking a notarized signature from a doctor, Greenberg said.
“The burden is wrongly placed on the sick or dying inmate,” the lawsuit states.
Good thing we are a deep-blue state.
Department of Correction spokeswoman Cara Savelli said she could not comment on the allegations in the lawsuit, which is now before the Supreme Judicial Court.
The four people who have received medical parole, also known as compassionate release, were released from medium-security facilities.
“I certainly am hopeful that many more people will be released under this program than have been released so far,” said state Senator Will Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat and one of the authors of last year’s criminal justice bill, which permitted medical parole. “We shouldn’t be warehousing people who are no longer physically capable of posing a threat to society, and instead should be getting them out to a nursing home or hospice where they can get better care at lower cost to the state.”
The only problem is the nursing homes in this state are deplorable.
Prison officials are now proposing new guidelines for medical parole petitions, prompting some legislators to express concern that the process will become more difficult.
State Senator Patricia D. Jehlen, a Somerville Democrat who helped write the medical parole statute, said the revised rules would require prisoners to have a “debilitating condition” to apply — a stricter standard than the one in place now. In the same vein, prison officials would assess whether an inmate is physically able to commit a crime, rather than whether an inmate is likely to break the law, she said.
“It would mean that no one who was conscious could be qualified,” Jehlen said.
In a recent letter to Thomas Turco, the state’s public safety secretary, a group of state senators wrote that the proposed regulations “will negatively impact the application and availability of this important program.”
Mary Price, the general counsel for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a national advocacy group, praised the state’s medical parole law as “one of the most forward-looking of the recent reforms,” but said the prison system should identify prisoners who may be eligible for medical parole.
“Instead of placing a barrier to release, the Department of Correction can lend a hand,” she wrote July 8 in testimony on the proposed regulations.
A Department of Correction spokesman said the proposed regulations seek to “ensure the consistent administration of the medical parole statute through the application of uniform terms and processes.”
The regulations are scheduled to take effect July 26 if certified by the secretary of state’s office, said Felix Browne, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
The Legislature for years spurned calls for medical parole, wary that released inmates would commit crimes, but the case of Sal DiMasi, the former House speaker who battled cancer while serving a federal prison sentence for political corruption, galvanized support.....
OMG, even this bill was a self-serving piece of s**t because any one of them could find themselves in the same spot -- and now Sal, for whom I once had sympathy, is back on Beacon Hill schmoozing around for a lobbying job. I feel like I had my emotions manipulated and was taken advantage of now.
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Can you keep a pet there?
Related:
Fired Environmental Police colonel sues agency
Baker passed the buck to you.
Bryon Hefner could now go to trial twice after prosecutors agree to split case
On eve of trial, lawyers for City Hall aides try one last time for dismissal
They could find themselves cellmates with these guys:
"8-year-old daughter of accused shooter was one of the victims of July Fourth attack, DA says" by Gal Tziperman Lotan Globe Staff, July 15, 2019
The father and uncle of an 8-year-old girl were arraigned Monday on charges of inadvertently shooting her in a Dorchester park on July 4 during a targeted attack against a 35-year-old man.
Nathas Jacquecine, 31, of Boston, and his brother, Ian King, 28, of Dorchester, were arrested Friday and charged with armed assault with intent to murder, police said. Both pleaded not guilty in Roxbury Municipal Court, hiding behind a gray door so those seated in the courtroom, including their family members, could not see them.
“Accountability includes shooting into our community, whether it is your intent to injure people or not,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said after the arraignment. “And we are going to be vigilant and we are going to be firm with respect to charging people with serious crimes, irrespective of what their intentions may have been.”
Sure has some sizzle to her, huh?
Rollins said she visited the girl, along with Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross. While her injured foot will heal, the emotional scars from the shooting will linger, Rollins said.
“The resiliency of this little person is extraordinary,” Rollins said. “We are very, very hopeful that she is going to make a speedy physical recovery, but the trauma of being an 8-year-old that was shot on July 4, that’s going to be there for a while.”
At least someone is advocating for her.
There were about 50 people watching fireworks at Mary Hannon Park when King and Jacquecine got out of a Jeep Liberty just before 11 p.m., said Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Amy Martin. They walked up to the 35-year-old man, and King raised a gun and fired at him, Martin said.
The man, who police did not identify, fell to the ground. Jacquecine circled him and fired at him again, Martin said.
Prosecutors did not provide a motive for the shooting or specify how the girl was injured. They identified King and Jacquecine through security footage from that night, Martin said.
At the sound of gunshots, people fled in panic, witnesses said.....
--more--"
Related:
"A man who was shot Sunday night in the Uphams Corner section of Dorchester has died, police confirmed Monday. In a statement, Boston police identified the victim as an adult male but didn’t provide his name or age. No arrests have been made....."
Also see:
Seven Mass. residents injured in Maine highway crashes
They are checking the drivers licenses now, and the windows were covered on some of the cars.
I suppose life is a gamble:
"Encore Boston Harbor took in $16.9 million in gaming revenue during opening week" by Jon Chesto Globe Staff, July 15, 2019
Call it the Tale of Two Cities. Or maybe the Tale of Two Casinos.
The Encore Boston Harbor complex in Everett raked in $16.8 million in gambling revenue during its first week in business last month, according to figures released Monday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
That means the $2.6 billion gambling palace that Wynn Resorts built on Boston’s doorstep generated almost as much revenue in one week as MGM Springfield, the state’s other full-service casino, collected in an entire month. The smaller MGM casino had nearly $20 million in gambling revenue in June, its second-slowest month since opening last August.
State government has a big stake in how this market shakes out.
It was $16 million in tax loot in June alone.
Industry experts say it’s hard to draw much of a conclusion from one week, or one month, of numbers. They also say that it’s not entirely fair to compare the two casinos, given the significant differences in wealth and population size between Boston’s metro area and Springfield’s, but the analysts agree on two important points: This was a strong start for Wynn and another worrying month for MGM.
Well, it's a Wynner take all business and they were all in.
In particular, experts pointed to the surprisingly high percentage of casino revenue coming from table games versus slot machines at Encore in that first week. Nearly $7.7 million, or more than 45 percent of total gambling revenue, came from table games such as blackjack and roulette.
Richard McGowan, a gambling expert who teaches at Boston College, said it’s common at the Connecticut and New Jersey casinos to see 80 percent of the gambling revenue come from slot machines, and 20 percent from table games. The nearly 50-50 split at Encore Boston Harbor is highly unusual.
“They really are getting the high rollers,” McGowan said. “It shows you what a different type of customer they’re getting, compared to MGM.”
MGM’s $950 million casino in Springfield also started out strong, though. The company reported $9.5 million in gaming revenue for its first week, in August, mostly from slots.
Penn National opened Plainridge four years ago, but that casino features slot machines and not table games and lacks many of the amenities offered by full-scale resort casinos such as MGM and Encore. (Still, Plainridge pulled in $13.5 million in gambling revenue last month, all from slots.)
That's when I had to fold.
--more--"
I don't know what was his low hole card, but was concerned about it enough to bypass the bet.
N.Y. latest state to allow sports bets
They say New York sports fans may now bet for the Yankees or the Mets — or against them!
What I need is a $afe bet:
"Ransomware attacks: Not if, but when, agencies say" by Hiawatha Bray Globe Staff, July 15, 2019
When he learned about a ransomware attack in March, Daniel Saroff didn’t sweat it. The chief information officer of Massachusetts’ public defender office had easily fought off a similar attack against some desktop computers more than four years earlier, but the new attack on the Committee for Public Counsel Services was far worse, scrambling vital data on the servers and fatally compromising the agency’s entire network. “Once we realized it was smarter than the old one, that was when fear and dread set in,” Saroff said.
There’s a lot of that going around at government offices throughout the United States. City and state agencies are being hammered by ransomware attacks that have crippled public services and cost taxpayers millions.
That's the excuse for the lousy services in the wake of feather-nesting neglect and corruption, okay.
So far, Massachusetts has been spared the devastation caused by ransomware assaults in cities like Atlanta and Baltimore, and state and local officials are scrambling to make sure their systems are secure.
“Part of the strategy is to assume you’re going to get hit,” said Michael Brown, a retired Navy rear admiral who chairs the state’s Cybersecurity Strategy Council. With aggressive criminal gangs constantly probing for security flaws, that’s a pretty safe bet.
Ransomware has been around for decades, but attacks against individuals and businesses have soared in recent years. According to the research firm Cybersecurity Ventures, they cost the global economy $8 billion last year. Lately, online criminals have been going after governments in a big way.
Once the software firms realized how much money they were mi$$ing, they started the fal$e flags.
Apart from Baltimore, Greenville, N.C.; Imperial County, Calif.; Cleveland; Riviera Beach and Lake City in Florida; Augusta, Maine; and Cartersville, Ga., have been hit in recent months. In May, the City of Lynn could not collect parking fines online because Penforms USA Inc., the Utah company that manages its parking services, had been victimized by ransomware.
“It’s happened to every single part and level of government,” said Bob Rudis, chief data scientist at Rapid7, a Boston network security company.
You better check on the baby, and fast!
Government agencies are soft targets, Rudis said. They can rarely afford the newest computers and software — or the best cybersecurity experts, who can earn more by working in the private sector.
And who will then have to be contracted in to come help $olve the problem.
Besides, Rudis added, “Governments kind of have to run.”
Do they?
For instance, police services are vital to public safety.....
That's when the note fizzled out.
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The problem is, going back to paper leaves us with the DCF and RMV.
"Scientists close in on blood test for Alzheimer’s" by Marilynn Marchione Associated Press, July 15, 2019
LOS ANGELES — Scientists are closing in on a long-sought goal — a blood test to screen people for possible signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Another Theranos?
About 50 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common form. There is no cure; current medicines just temporarily ease symptoms. Dozens of hoped-for treatments have failed. One of the experimental blood tests measures abnormal versions of the protein that forms the plaques in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
Some claim the condition is brought about by the chemicals and poisons in processed food.
At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, Dr. Randall Bateman of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will give new results on a blood test he helped develop that the university has patented and licensed to C2N Diagnostics, a company he cofounded. It measures the abnormal Alzheimer protein, and the new results will show how well the test reflects what brain scans show on nearly 500 people.
‘‘Everyone’s finding the same thing . . . the results are remarkably similar across countries, across techniques,’’ said Bateman, whose work is supported by the US government and the Alzheimer’s Association. He estimates a screening test could be as close as three years away.....
--more--"
It's no silver bullet at $70m a pop.
Related:
"Women who work for a salary between early adulthood and middle age experience slower memory decline, meaning they probably are at lower risk of dementia, a new study presented Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles suggests. Women who engaged in paid employment between ages 16 and 50, whether mothers or nonmothers, had better memories in late life than women who did not work, the study found. The rate of memory deterioration was fastest among women who never earned a wage. Memory loss is one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease......"
I forgot to read the rest.
Also see:
Going Quiet: Rhode Island among the states hiding 911 recordings
The article was produced in partnership with The Public’s Radio, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. It was copublished with The Boston Globe in what we call advocacy journali$m.
How Pittsfield’s Waconah Park has endured
Farragher went back into his scrapbook to talk to Michael Lieberman, the 48-year-old general manager of the first-place Pittsfield Suns, as part of his morning duties.
Care New England withdraws from merger talks with Lifespan, Brown
Developer, biotech investment firm plan eight-story South Boston lab
Major Mass. hospitals pledge to train doctors in addiction care
"An East Boston apartment was deemed a public health hazard after trash, human and animal waste, and extreme clutter were found there Tuesday, authorities said. Officials from the Boston Public Health Commission, as well as Boston police, fire, EMS, and inspectional services, visited the home after receiving reports of “extreme unsanitary conditions at 141 Chelsea St.” about 7:30 a.m., according to the commission. According to a Public Health Commission violation notice, inspectors found “buckets filled with feces/urine” and detected “an “obnoxious sickening feces odor” both in the basement and first floor of the building. A commission spokeswoman said the apartment building was evacuated while authorities were inside the unit. One person was taken to a local hospital, but the nature of the person’s injuries was unclear Tuesday afternoon. The commission found that the basement and first floor of the building “were not suitable for habitation until they were cleaned and the health hazard abated.” It was unclear how many people were living on the first floor. A clean-up company was called to the building. Officials determined that no immediate health hazard existed for residents of the second and third floor units in the building and the residents were not required to relocate."
What's that smell coming from downstairs?
"The body of a woman was found in a heavily wooded area in the Western Massachusetts town of Peru Tuesday morning, Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington said in a statement. Workers who were logging in the area found the remains 1 mile east of Curtin Road. The identity of the woman has not yet been determined, but State Police detectives and Hinsdale and Peru police are investigating whether she is a woman who was reported missing in May, officials said. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Police are investigating the circumstances of the woman’s death, officials said."
I wonder how long the autopsy will take.
They called out the first responders but they got stuck under a bridge:
"It was too big, it didn’t fit, it was fire-engine red. Many an item has been returned after those complaints, but in Andover, the item was much bigger. In fact, it was a fire engine. Town officials say they returned a new ladder truck to the manufacturer after finding it was too tall to fit under a bridge in the town. The clearance under Horn Bridge is 11 feet 6 inches. The truck was 11 feet 11 inches when it was delivered, Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said. The truck was delivered July 2 from Pierce Manufacturing and underwent an inspection that same day. “Following that inspection, the town issued a letter of non-conformance to the truck’s manufacturer, Pierce Manufacturing, after it determined that the truck was not built to Andover Fire Rescue’s exact specifications,” Flanagan and Fire Chief Michael Mansfield said in a statement Monday. Pierce is currently making modifications to the vehicle at no further cost to the town. The truck was never put into use, and Andover Fire Rescue will continue to use its current ladder truck with no interruption in service until the new truck is returned and ready for use in early September, officials said."
It's getting a face lift that will be announced on the radio:
Gerry Callahan’s ouster finally gives WEEI a face lift
No reason to turn on the radio on the morning trip to get a Globe then, but at least that's open more shark out of the water because his "empathy for anyone with a different life experience than his was fleeting, the world view he shared on the radio made Archie Bunker look like Meathead, and perhaps Danielle Murr, Hill’s co-host, will bring a fresh perspective as a welcome and overdue female voice in drive time."
Group wants to end protections for seals to deal with sharks
Good thing there were none around when the Titanic sank by moonlight.
Maine Forest Service releasing wasps to kill invasive forest beetles
After boring into the Chinese assassin, I found some shade and am no longer bugged as it keeps getting hotter.
"Artist pulls out of Faneuil Hall slave memorial project after NAACP announces opposition" by Kellen Browning Globe Correspondent, July 17, 2019
Local artist Steve Locke announced Tuesday that he’s canceling a planned memorial to the slave auctions that took place outside Boston’s Faneuil Hall in the face of opposition from the city’s chapter of the NAACP.
The proposed memorial has also been criticized by those who would prefer that the name of Faneuil Hall, whose namesake Peter Faneuil was a slave trader, be changed.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh has opposed the name change but publicly expressed support for Locke’s memorial. The city also dedicated $150,000 from its arts fund to the piece outside Faneuil Hall; however, on Tuesday, Locke wrote on a fund-raising page that the project would not be going forward.
“This stance by the Boston Branch of the NAACP puts [Walsh] in an untenable position as he cannot discount their opposition,” Locke wrote on his Kickstarter page, which had already raised more than $45,000 for the memorial. “Placing his support in jeopardy destabilizes the entire project, and without the support of the mayor’s office, the project will not have access to the site in front of Faneuil Hall.”
Locke said he did not hear from the mayor directly, but he’d heard from two city officials who wanted to “try to get me to try to work to keep the project alive.” The two officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.....
--more--"
He needs to move the subject to another issue:
"Walsh steps up criticism of MBTA after latest breakdown" by Danny McDonald and Travis Andersen Globe Staff, July 17
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh stepped up his criticism of the MBTA Wednesday, calling on the agency to boost service on the same day the frailties of the system were again vividly exposed with a breakdown on the Blue Line that disrupted the morning commutes of hundreds of riders.
In a letter to state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Walsh said “the MBTA is not currently a functional service for many of the residents of Boston,” and demanded that the agency immediately boost service on the Red Line and nearby commuter lines to compensate for the delays due to the June derailment on that subway line.
“Red Line riders need better solutions today,” Walsh told Pollack.....
I'm sure she can weather the fallout.
--more--"
More fallout to be weathered:
"Prosecutors drop assault case against actor Kevin Spacey" by Matt Rocheleau Globe Staff, July 17, 2019
Prosecutors dropped the sexual assault case against actor Kevin Spacey Wednesday, closing a high-profile criminal case that collapsed when the accuser refused to testify about deleted cellphone messages sent from a Nantucket bar on the night of the encounter.
In a statement, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe’s office said officials had met Sunday with the accuser, an 18-year-old busboy at the Club Car bar, the son of former WCVB-TV news anchor Heather Unruh, and his lawyer.
“The complaining witness was informed that if he chose to continue to invoke his Fifth Amendment right, the case would not be able to go forward,” prosecutors said. “After a further period of reflection privately with his lawyer, the complaining witness elected not to waive his right under the Fifth Amendment.”
Prosecutors said they could have given the accuser immunity and forced him to testify, but decided against it. They noted that they could not win a conviction “on the uncorroborated testimony of an immunized witness.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer representing the accuser, said in a statement that “my client and his family have shown an enormous amount of courage under difficult circumstances.”
The case against Spacey began to unravel last month, when his legal team, led by former Los Angeles prosecutor Alan Jackson, revealed that Unruh had previously told police she had deleted information from her son’s phone before providing it to them as evidence.
It was a key piece of evidence: The accuser had used the phone to text his then-girlfriend during his encounter with Spacey and record footage of their interactions via Snapchat.
Court filings showed the man’s texts from that night included messages saying that Spacey “grabbed my [expletive] like 8 times.” and repeatedly texting “Help.”
He also wrote at one point, “I got the autographs and a hell of a . . . story.”
Spacey’s lawyers demanded access to the phone, saying they believed it contained additional information that would help Spacey’s defense, but the phone was nowhere to be found, which prompted the judge to raise the idea that prosecutors could face sanctions.
Spacey’s career collapsed in 2017 following a number of allegations of sexual assault and harassment. Earlier this month, Variety, the entertainment news outlet, reported that British police detectives traveled to the United States in May to interview Spacey about six sexual assault allegations against the actor, who led London’s Old Vic Theatre between 2004 and 2015.....
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Thus ends one of the rare criminal prosecution to emerge from the wave of sexual assault allegations in the #MeToo movement.
Also see:
Xaverian Brothers’ disclosure on past sexual abuse falls short
They didn't do their duty.
Massachusetts medical board approves rules on simultaneous surgeries
Somerville Hospital to shutter emergency department
They are opening an urgent-care center.
Foundation Medicine will move its headquarters to the Seaport
Man fatally shot in Roslindale, police say
Boston man pulled from water at Revere Beach on Tuesday has died
Hampshire College names new president
He answered the call.
Boston’s first recreational marijuana store receives preliminary license
They could open within months.
Adam Sandler returns to the North Shore to film ‘Hubie Halloween’
I wonder how much tax loot he's getting, and did you see who he met up in Boston this weekend at the House of Blues?
Finally, can you guess which show did a Boston movies category last night?
(Answer: What is ‘Jeopardy!’)
Gerry Callahan’s ouster finally gives WEEI a face lift
No reason to turn on the radio on the morning trip to get a Globe then, but at least that's open more shark out of the water because his "empathy for anyone with a different life experience than his was fleeting, the world view he shared on the radio made Archie Bunker look like Meathead, and perhaps Danielle Murr, Hill’s co-host, will bring a fresh perspective as a welcome and overdue female voice in drive time."
NEXT DAY UPDATES
Group wants to end protections for seals to deal with sharks
Good thing there were none around when the Titanic sank by moonlight.
Maine Forest Service releasing wasps to kill invasive forest beetles
After boring into the Chinese assassin, I found some shade and am no longer bugged as it keeps getting hotter.
"Artist pulls out of Faneuil Hall slave memorial project after NAACP announces opposition" by Kellen Browning Globe Correspondent, July 17, 2019
Local artist Steve Locke announced Tuesday that he’s canceling a planned memorial to the slave auctions that took place outside Boston’s Faneuil Hall in the face of opposition from the city’s chapter of the NAACP.
The proposed memorial has also been criticized by those who would prefer that the name of Faneuil Hall, whose namesake Peter Faneuil was a slave trader, be changed.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh has opposed the name change but publicly expressed support for Locke’s memorial. The city also dedicated $150,000 from its arts fund to the piece outside Faneuil Hall; however, on Tuesday, Locke wrote on a fund-raising page that the project would not be going forward.
“This stance by the Boston Branch of the NAACP puts [Walsh] in an untenable position as he cannot discount their opposition,” Locke wrote on his Kickstarter page, which had already raised more than $45,000 for the memorial. “Placing his support in jeopardy destabilizes the entire project, and without the support of the mayor’s office, the project will not have access to the site in front of Faneuil Hall.”
Locke said he did not hear from the mayor directly, but he’d heard from two city officials who wanted to “try to get me to try to work to keep the project alive.” The two officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.....
--more--"
He needs to move the subject to another issue:
"Walsh steps up criticism of MBTA after latest breakdown" by Danny McDonald and Travis Andersen Globe Staff, July 17
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh stepped up his criticism of the MBTA Wednesday, calling on the agency to boost service on the same day the frailties of the system were again vividly exposed with a breakdown on the Blue Line that disrupted the morning commutes of hundreds of riders.
In a letter to state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Walsh said “the MBTA is not currently a functional service for many of the residents of Boston,” and demanded that the agency immediately boost service on the Red Line and nearby commuter lines to compensate for the delays due to the June derailment on that subway line.
“Red Line riders need better solutions today,” Walsh told Pollack.....
I'm sure she can weather the fallout.
--more--"
More fallout to be weathered:
"Prosecutors drop assault case against actor Kevin Spacey" by Matt Rocheleau Globe Staff, July 17, 2019
Prosecutors dropped the sexual assault case against actor Kevin Spacey Wednesday, closing a high-profile criminal case that collapsed when the accuser refused to testify about deleted cellphone messages sent from a Nantucket bar on the night of the encounter.
In a statement, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe’s office said officials had met Sunday with the accuser, an 18-year-old busboy at the Club Car bar, the son of former WCVB-TV news anchor Heather Unruh, and his lawyer.
“The complaining witness was informed that if he chose to continue to invoke his Fifth Amendment right, the case would not be able to go forward,” prosecutors said. “After a further period of reflection privately with his lawyer, the complaining witness elected not to waive his right under the Fifth Amendment.”
Prosecutors said they could have given the accuser immunity and forced him to testify, but decided against it. They noted that they could not win a conviction “on the uncorroborated testimony of an immunized witness.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer representing the accuser, said in a statement that “my client and his family have shown an enormous amount of courage under difficult circumstances.”
The case against Spacey began to unravel last month, when his legal team, led by former Los Angeles prosecutor Alan Jackson, revealed that Unruh had previously told police she had deleted information from her son’s phone before providing it to them as evidence.
It was a key piece of evidence: The accuser had used the phone to text his then-girlfriend during his encounter with Spacey and record footage of their interactions via Snapchat.
Court filings showed the man’s texts from that night included messages saying that Spacey “grabbed my [expletive] like 8 times.” and repeatedly texting “Help.”
He also wrote at one point, “I got the autographs and a hell of a . . . story.”
Spacey’s lawyers demanded access to the phone, saying they believed it contained additional information that would help Spacey’s defense, but the phone was nowhere to be found, which prompted the judge to raise the idea that prosecutors could face sanctions.
Spacey’s career collapsed in 2017 following a number of allegations of sexual assault and harassment. Earlier this month, Variety, the entertainment news outlet, reported that British police detectives traveled to the United States in May to interview Spacey about six sexual assault allegations against the actor, who led London’s Old Vic Theatre between 2004 and 2015.....
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Thus ends one of the rare criminal prosecution to emerge from the wave of sexual assault allegations in the #MeToo movement.
Also see:
Xaverian Brothers’ disclosure on past sexual abuse falls short
They didn't do their duty.
Massachusetts medical board approves rules on simultaneous surgeries
Somerville Hospital to shutter emergency department
They are opening an urgent-care center.
Foundation Medicine will move its headquarters to the Seaport
Man fatally shot in Roslindale, police say
Boston man pulled from water at Revere Beach on Tuesday has died
Hampshire College names new president
He answered the call.
Boston’s first recreational marijuana store receives preliminary license
They could open within months.
Adam Sandler returns to the North Shore to film ‘Hubie Halloween’
I wonder how much tax loot he's getting, and did you see who he met up in Boston this weekend at the House of Blues?
Finally, can you guess which show did a Boston movies category last night?
(Answer: What is ‘Jeopardy!’)
