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Tag: Institutions

  • Teachers, School Committee start contract talks

    Teachers, School Committee start contract talks

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    The Gloucester Teachers Association and the School Committee began negotiations Monday for a new contract, with School Committee having a goal of both sides reaching a deal by Sept. 1.

    “The intent is for us to have, you know, open negotiations. We want it to be a mutually beneficial discussion amongst both teams,” said William Melvin, vice chair of the School Committee and chair of the negotiating team at the start of Monday’s session.

    “We, too, are eager to collaborate in a professional and amicable manner to come to an agreement that provides the best possible learning environment for our students which would translate into the best possible working environment for our educators,” said GTA President Rachel Rex.

    The teachers’ contract runs through Aug. 31, and its terms continue if both sides have not reached agreement by then.

    Negotiations are taking place as the School Committee and Gloucester Association of Educational Paraprofessionals are in mediation over a new contract. The paraprofessionals have been pushing for a living wage while working under the terms of their old contract that expired June 30, 2023.

    Before discussion on ground rules, which included lengthening the negotiation sessions from two hours to two and a half hours, Melvin read a statement of the intentions of the School Committee:

    “The School Committee will approach negotiations with the mindset that, first and foremost, the primary purpose of our schools, all staff, and the School Committee is to work together in ways that result in more engaged student learning, higher academic achievement and deeper student belonging.”

    Melvin said the committee’s goals include both teams understanding the core concerns behind the proposals through listening, acknowledging proposals “are put forth in good faith with positive intentions” and typically need to be modified during negotiations. He said the intention is both teams work to separate people from the challenges and problems, meaning personal attacks are out of bounds.

    School Committee Secretary and Negotiating Team Vice Chair Laura Wiessen said the committee’s goal for the outcome is “an agreement that helps to strengthen student learning, meets the interests of both parties to the extent possible, and takes community interests into account.”

    Members of the GTA negotiating team read out the pillars of their platform.

    “Our first pillar is: ‘Focus on Gloucester students,’” said GTA Vice President Matthew Lewis. “The academic and emotional success of Gloucester students depends on an holistic student approach. Relationships are built over consistent time with staff. This emphasizes the need for educator flexibility in their schedules and staff-to-student ratios that promote meaningful opportunities for learning,” he said.

    “The Gloucester School Committee needs to recognize the competitive marketplace for educational professionals on the North Shore. The importance of work-life balance in the post pandemic era needs to be supported in benefits and compensation,” said East Veterans building representative Ruth Flaherty, speaking about the need for “competitive compensation policies to support 21st-century families.”

    The next negotiating session is scheduled for March 26 starting at 4:30 p.m.

    Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@gloucestertimes.com.

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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • Gloucester businessman appears headed to GOP state committee

    Gloucester businessman appears headed to GOP state committee

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    It appears the chair of the Cape Ann Political Action Committee has squeaked by in a three-way race to fill an open seat for Republican state committee man in the First Essex and Middlesex District, according to unofficial results of Tuesday’s Presidential Primary.

    Three Gloucester women vying to be the next GOP state committee woman in the district were bested by a candidate from Ipswich.

    Gloucester businessman Clayton Sova has a 71-vote lead over Michael Scarlata of North Reading in a sprawling district made up of 19 cities and towns that mirrors that of state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester.

    Jeffery Yull, chair of the North Reading Republican Town Committee, came in third.

    Sova had a large vote haul in the seaport with 1,657 votes and that may have helped put him over the top.

    In North Reading, Sova received 109 votes while his two opponents racked up 1,888 votes between them, with Yull taking 1,125 votes in his hometown.

    An unofficial tally of votes in the district communities by the Times had Sova with 6,112 votes, Scarlata with 6,041 votes, and Yull with 5,597 votes.

    Scarlata conceded in a message posted to his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon: “Our campaign did narrow the gap to a loss of 71 votes from 195 as a result of late arriving mail-in ballots. Once I receive the official vote total I will post them. I will also reach out to Clayton Sova and congratulate him on his tremendous victory.”

    Scarlata said online he was thankful to have won eight towns and happy for his vote total in his hometown.

    “We knew we would lose Gloucester because Clayton has deep roots in that city and owns a business and we were hoping Jeff Yull would take votes away from him since Jeff aligned himself to Ashley Sullivan who is also from Gloucester. But unfortunately that didn’t materialize. We lost Gloucester by roughly 1,300 votes.”

    “It was a hard-fought race,” Scarlata said in an interview.

    Sova’s vote total in Gloucester did him in along with totals in Rockport and Essex. He said it did not help his cause that radio personality and columnist Howie Carr endorsed Sova and Lisa-Marie Cashman to represent the district on the GOP State Committee.

    “Wow, that’s close,” Sova said when called by a Daily Times reporter about the narrow margin of victory. This was his first run for office and he would not declare a victory until the results were official.

    “It was good to be the local guy in this race,” he said.

    Yull kicked off his campaign for the GOP State Committee with Ashley Sullivan, chair of the Gloucester Republican City Committee at an event in Rowley in January, according to his campaign website. That event featured incumbent First Essex and Middlesex State Committee Man Rich Baker of West Newbury, who had announced in the spring he would not be seeking another term. In a letter to the editor, Baker had endorsed Yull for State GOP Committee.

    In the race to replace incumbent Amanda Orlando to represent the district, there was a four-way race featuring three women from Gloucester: Sullivan, who ran unsuccessfully for state representative on Cape Ann two years ago; Cynthia Bjorlie; Nicole Coles; and Cashman of Ipswich, who was the eventual winner, according to unofficial results.

    Overall, Cashman won with 8,520 votes, to Sullivan’s 5,193 votes, Bjorlie’s 2,549 votes, and Coles’ 1,289 votes, according to a tally of the unofficial results in each city and town.

    Cashman ran it up in small towns such as Boxford where she earned 575 votes to Sullivan’s 186, Bjorlie’s 66 and Coles’ 46 votes. In Gloucester, Cashman came in third with 336 votes, behind Sullivan the winner here with 944 votes and Bjorlie with 903 votes, and in front of Coles with 291 votes.

    Coles said she was excited by the results because they showed people want to be involved.

    “There is a lot of excitement right now,” she said.

    On the Democratic side, the race was uncontested in the district with Matthew C. Murray of Gloucester voted in as state committee man and Carla Carol Christensen winning re-election as state committee woman.

    Cities and towns have until Saturday to certify their results, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Election Division.

    Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@gloucestertimes.com.

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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • Healey’s pick for SJC confirmed by panel

    Healey’s pick for SJC confirmed by panel

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    BOSTON — The Governor’s Council has approved Gov. Maura Healey’s controversial pick of an ex-girlfriend to fill a vacancy on the state’s highest court.

    The council voted 6-1 to approve the confirmation of Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian to fill a seat on the Supreme Judicial Court left by Justice David Lowy, who retired Feb. 3 after seven years on the high court.

    Councilor Terry Kennedy, who voted in favor of her nomination, said he was bombarded with calls from lawyers, judges and others who lauded Wolohojian’s experience and temperament as a judge. He said the fact that she was previously in a relationship with the governor wasn’t a factor in his decision to support her confirmation.

    “There’s no question to me that this nominee is qualified for that job, period,” Kennedy said in remarks. “I have never asked a nominee about their personal life and I never will.”

    But Councilor Tara Jacobs cast the lone vote against Wolohojian, saying she couldn’t get over the “appearance of impropriety” about her nomination to the bench.

    “I don’t want to invalidate the enormous qualifications of this candidate. I think she has a fantastic resume and experience,” she said. “I’m really more coming from a place of concern about the process, the implications and the appearance that got us here today.”

    Healey’s nomination has faced scrutiny because she and Wolohojian were romantically involved and previously lived together in Charlestown when she was attorney general.

    Healey, the first woman and first lesbian to be elected governor of Massachusetts, now lives with her current partner, Joanna Lydgate, in Arlington.

    Councilor Paul DePalo, who voted to confirm Wolohojian, said he was dismayed how the public discourse over her nomination focused on her romantic relationship with Healey.

    “In some corners, the public discourse jumped right over this nominee’s impeccable, unquestioned experience, qualifications, her pedigree, her temperament, her reputation over a decade on the appeals court writing hundreds of opinions,” he said in remarks. “The narrative jumped right to a salacious story line designed to raise alarms.”

    Last week, supporters of Wolohojian, who included lawyers, judges, court staff and former colleagues, packed into the Gardner Auditorium at the Statehouse and lauded her experience and temperament as an attorney and appellate judge.

    Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, who co-chaired Wednesday’s Governor’s Council meeting, praised Wolohojian as “one of our state’s most experienced appellate judges,” noting her 16-year tenure on the Appeals Court.

    Wolohojian was appointed to the Appeals Court in 2008 and has overseen 2,700 appeals and authored more than 900 decisions, she told the panel. She also serves as the chair of the SJC’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

    Previously, she served as a law clerk to Judge Rya Zobel of the U.S. District Court in Boston and later to Judge Bailey Aldrich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

    Wolohojian worked in private practice in the 1990s at the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr, which is now known as WilmerHale. She became a partner in the firm’s litigation department working on state and federal court cases, according to the Healey administration.

    Wolohojian is Healey’s second pick for the Supreme Judicial Court, with two retirements helping the first-term governor leave her mark on the court.

    She previously nominated former State Solicitor Elizabeth “Bessie” Dewar to the SJC, who was unanimously approved last month by the Governor’s Council.

    The state’s Republican party blasted what they called Wolohojian’s “rubber stamp” approval after vetting process by a judicial search committee that “consisted of a tight-knit inner circle” mostly Healey appointees.

    The party’s chairwoman also reiterated concerns about whether Wolohojian will recuse herself from any cases involving the executive branch.

    “The entire process appears to have been a rubber stamp rather than a serious examination of important ethical considerations,” MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale said in a statement. “Many legal scholars continue to believe that it is wholly inappropriate for a Governor to nominate a former romantic partner to a court that will rule on matters pertaining to their office.”

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • MassHealth rolls continue to drop, but decline slowing

    MassHealth rolls continue to drop, but decline slowing

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    BOSTON — Tens of thousands of Medicaid recipients lost their state-funded health care coverage last month amid an ongoing review of eligibility following the end of pandemic-related federal protections. Health officials, however, say the purge of insured is slowing.

    About 57,000 MassHealth members lost coverage in January as part of the so-called redetermination process, according to state data published Monday.

    That was offset by 21,000 new enrollees and 23,000 people who rejoined the taxpayer-funded health insurance program after previously losing coverage, according to the agency. That’s still a net decrease of 13,000 or more members.

    “After some very steep declines in November and December that were related to the open enrollment period, things have quieted down considerably,” Assistant Secretary for MassHealth Mike Levine told reporters during a livestreamed update. “So the caseload is relatively flat through the first month of the year.”

    In December, by comparison, at least 129,000 people were removed from MassHealth’s rolls, the data shows. Those losses were offset by 16,000 new enrollees and 12,000 people who rejoined the program after losing coverage, according to the agency. That’s a net loss of about 100,000 people for the month.

    “I do expect our caseload to continue declining,” he said. “There are still people whose eligibility we’ve been protecting and we need to renew, many of whom may lose coverage. But we expected a steadier decline through the remainder of the redetermination process.”

    As of January, nearly 600,000 people have left MassHealth’s rolls. The agency began reviewing eligibility in April. But the reductions were offset by new enrollees and those who rejoined the program after losing coverage for a net decline of 279,000 members.

    State health officials said data shows that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, MassHealth was averaging a loss of about 52,000 members each month.

    Under the COVID-19 public health emergency, the federal government required state Medicaid agencies to provide “continuous” health care coverage, even if an individual’s income eligibility changed.

    As a result, enrollment in MassHealth – the state’s Medicaid program – swelled by more than 31% since 2000, to an estimated 2.3 million recipients.

    But the federal emergency declaration expired last May and state health officials have been reviewing eligibility for enrollees to determine if they are still eligible for state-subsidized coverage.

    The review process could see up to 400,000 people dropped from the program, according to the state’s estimates.

    Gov. Maura Healey has acknowledged the challenge of reviewing millions of MassHealth recipients, and helping those who get dropped to find new coverage. State budget officials expect the shrinking MassHealth rolls will provide up to $1.9 billion this fiscal year that could be redirected for other purposes.

    Nationwide, roughly 15 million people could be dropped from Medicaid as the federal government’s continuous coverage requirement is phased out.

    MassHealth is funded by the state and federal governments and serves about 2.1 million low-income recipients. That’s roughly one in three people in the state.

    Health care coverage is one of the state’s biggest expenses. Medicaid costs have doubled in the past decade and now account for nearly 40% of spending.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • North Shore Community College faculty vote ‘no confidence’ in president

    North Shore Community College faculty vote ‘no confidence’ in president

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    DANVERS — The union representing faculty and staff at North Shore Community College has taken a vote of no confidence in the school’s president and provost.

    In a statement to the college community, the union said President William Heineman and Provost Jennifer Mezquita have created new “highly compensated” nonunion and executive roles in nonacademic areas while leaving academic areas “woefully understaffed” and “neglected.”

    The statement also accused college leaders of passing over qualified internal candidates for newly created roles and creating a “culture of favoritism and fear” in which workers not protected by a union or tenure “are afraid to speak up for fear they will be terminated.”

    “Faculty, staff, and union leadership have individually over the course of the last year, brought concerns to the president and provost only to have those concerns met with, at times, outright hostility or more often empty words of agreement and understanding only to be followed with inaction,” the statement said. “We now speak unified with one voice.”

    The vote by the union was 94-0, with three abstaining. The statement was signed by Torrey Dukes, the North Shore Community College chapter president of the Massachusetts Community College Council, the union that represents faculty and professional staff at the state’s 15 community colleges. Dukes is the coordinator of public services at the college’s Lynn campus library. She did return a message for this story.

    In a statement, J.D. LaRock, chair of the college’s board of trustees, said trustees “remain steadfast in our support of Dr. Heineman and Dr. Mezquita and look forward to continuing to work with the (union) and all members of our community to foster an environment that fully supports our faculty, staff and students.”

    North Shore Community College is a two-year school with campuses in Danvers and Lynn and about 10,000 students. The average age of a student is 26, and the majority of students are employed.

    Heineman has been president of North Shore Community College since July 2021. He was previously provost at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill and Lawrence. Heineman created the provost position at North Shore Community College, and Mezquita, a former vice president of student affairs at Northern Essex, was selected for the position in June 2022.

    The no-confidence vote follows a walkout by faculty and staff at North Shore Community in December over pay. In 2020, the union took a vote of no confidence in the college administration, which was then led by President Patricia Gentile.

    In its statement, the union cited the recent termination of the college’s assistant provost as a “catalyst” for the no-confidence vote. The union said the assistant provost’s departure left the college without an academic officer who has “the depth and breadth of knowledge needed” to help write the college’s five-year accreditation report.

    The union said it opposed the plan for Mezquita to assume the responsibilities of the assistant provost of academic affairs. On Monday, the college announced that Chris Bednar, the dean of liberal studies at the school, had assumed the role of interim assistant provost for academic affairs/chief academic officer.

    The union said changes made to the president’s cabinet, including the removal of representatives for the academic divisions, sent a “clear signal that the academic life of the institution was not a priority of the executive leadership” and “have isolated the president and have further marginalized faculty and staff.” The union called for a union faculty member and professional staff member to be appointed to the cabinet.

    The union also called for better communication and transparency in regard to decisions, “especially those made by the provost.”

    “We have lost all confidence in the provost, and see very few paths forward,” the statement said. “The concentration of power and complete lack of transparency has created an atmosphere of distrust and fear. We can not emphasize this point enough.”

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Russia divestment promises largely unfulfilled

    Russia divestment promises largely unfulfilled

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    BOSTON — Nearly two years after Massachusetts moved to strip the state’s retirement fund of Russian-tied stocks and other holdings in response to its war in Ukraine, that pledge remains largely unfulfilled.

    Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, state lawmakers approved a $1.6 billion bipartisan supplemental spending bill that called for divesting the state’s pension fund of an estimated $140 million in investments tied to the country. Then-Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill, as well as an executive order directing executive branch agencies to conduct a review of state contracts to determine if there are any ties to Russian businesses that could be severed.

    Baker’s directive also called on independent agencies, public colleges and universities, and other constitutional offices to adopt similar policies.

    At the time, state leaders touted the move to pull out those investments was a small, but meaningful, way of expressing outrage over the unprovoked war, and showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people’s fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    But nearly two years after the much publicized move, little has changed. The state’s pension fund still has an estimated $140 million in investments tied to Russia, according to Treasurer Deb Goldberg, whose office oversees the retirement system.

    In a recent report to House and Senate clerks, the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management said the pension fund still has millions of shares tied to Russian entities in its investment portfolio.

    “With markets at PRIM’s investment managers’ disposal being suspended from trading in the Russian securities and markets, our investment managers have been unable to liquidate out of the majority of positions,” PRIM’s executive director and chief investment officer Michael G. Trotsky wrote in the report. “They continue to monitor the situation.”

    The data shows retirement fund managers have been able to divest more than 1 million shares in Russian investments since July 2022, including shares in Sberbank PJSC, Russia’s largest bank, and retail giant Magnit.

    State pension officials said the remaining shares tied to restricted Russian assets are essentially worthless as of Dec. 31, with a market value of zero.

    The PRIM reports also said investment managers with indirect holdings of restricted securities “have not removed restricted companies from their funds nor have these managers created similar actively managed funds which exclude these restricted securities.”

    But Massachusetts isn’t alone. Other states that took steps in 2022 to have their public employee pension funds divest their holdings from Russian stocks or cease any new investments into those entities have also made little progress to fulfill those pledges, according to pension fund groups.

    Pension fund experts say the global reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago cut off much of its economy from the rest of the world.

    But that has made it nearly impossible to move ahead with pledges of divestment by state retirement systems, university endowments and other public-sector holdings — as well as private investments like those in 401(k) accounts.

    Alex Brown, research manager at the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, said while many pension funds want to get out of Russian investments, it’s just not realistic to sell in the current environment.

    “The point wasn’t to engage in a fire sale of these assets, but rather to systematically identify opportunities to sell their Russian holdings in the most prudent manner,” he said. “It has to be a practical time to sell, but you also want to do it prudently.”

    Brown noted that collectively Russian investments account for only a “tiny fraction” of the more than $5 trillion value of state and local retirement funds. Much of the money was invested in Russian government bonds, oil and coal companies as part of emerging-markets index funds, experts say.

    Political observers also note that many investments in Russia purchased before the war are now almost worthless or substantially depreciated in value. That’s raised questions about whether divesting those funds is even necessary.

    Meanwhile, the Kremlin has also rewritten rules governing foreign ownership of Russian company shares in response to U.S. sanctions, which analysts say has triggered confusion among investors and increased their risks of heavy losses from holdings now stranded in the country.

    The Biden administration imposed a fresh slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday — the largest to date — in response to the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and on the eve of Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine.

    The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on thousands of Russian targets in the past two years.

    “Two years ago, he tried to wipe Ukraine off the map,” Biden said in a statement. “If Putin does not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going.”

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • State Senate plans another sex education reform vote

    State Senate plans another sex education reform vote

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    BOSTON — Senators next week will vote again on a bill to update the state’s sex education guidelines, something the chamber has already approved four times without getting buy-in from the House.

    The Senate Committee on Ways and Means polled the so-called Healthy Youth Act (S 268) this past Thursday, getting it ready for action this Thursday in the Senate’s first formal session in four weeks.

    The bill would update Massachusetts’ sexual health laws and create guidelines for districts that opt into teaching sex education to go over human anatomy; how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, AIDS and unwanted pregnancy; effective use of contraceptives; how to safely discuss sexual activity in a relationship; skills to identify and prevent sexual violence and relationship violence; and age-appropriate and affirming education on gender identity and sexual orientation.

    “As I said on the floor the last four times, we know our students are talking about these issues in the classroom or not,” Sen. Sal DiDomenico, the lead sponsor of the Senate bill, said. “If they’re not learning medically-accurate information taught in our classrooms, they’re getting bad information that could have long-term consequences.”

    Though the Senate has voted to remodel the education frameworks four times in the last decade, House Democrats have never taken it up. On the House side, Rep. Jim O’Day has sponsored the bill for the last 10 years.

    “When I started on this bill, the last time a framework for healthy youth, for sexual education, was addressed was in 1999,” O’Day said last month as a guest on former Senate President Harriette Chandler’s local cable show. “So here we are now in 2024, where we at least now have a good, solid, well-rounded, medically-accurate, age-appropriate, evidence-based (bill) … and this is not a mandate for this bill.”

    “That’s a disgrace,” Chandler, a supporter of the bill, said when O’Day initially raised the subject.

    The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education updated its sexual health education standards on its own accord last year to mirror some of what the so-called Healthy Youth Act calls for, after Gov. Maura Healey threw her support behind the controversial measure.

    Under the board’s new physical and sex education guidelines, students will receive sex and health education that is intended to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community and teach about bodily autonomy, mental and emotional health, dating safety, nutrition, sexually transmitted infections and consent.

    Neither the guidelines nor DiDomenico and O’Day’s bill would change the Massachusetts law that allows districts to opt-in to teaching sex education. The bill before senators would also require that parents get a letter at the beginning of the school year with details about the sex ed curriculum and the opportunity to opt their child out.

    Asked by the News Service how the bill differs from the updated frameworks the board of education adopted, DiDomenico said passing the Healthy Youth Acts would codify the new guidelines.

    The bill would require data collection on what’s being taught in schools, reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education every two years. It would also require that the state revisit the framework every 10 years, as it took 24 years this time around to update the guidelines.

    “Lastly, the framework is more of a suggestion for schools. Healthy Youth is an actual curriculum. and so there’s a lot more flexibility with the framework. Theoretically ‘abstinence only’ can still be taught with the framework,” DiDomenico said. “Under this bill, sex ed would talk about consent, LGBTQ language and healthy relationships as well. It’s a lot more detailed, unlike a suggestion.”

    The senator added that 17 states require sex education to be medically accurate and 26 require it to be age appropriate. Massachusetts is not on either of those lists.

    “I think that’s a pretty compelling argument. Many states across the country have seen the value of this education,” DiDomeinco said. “This bill will give students information they need to protect their health, have respectful relationships, and have a better future for themselves. In my mind, it’s just as important as math and science and English.”

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    By Sam Drysdale | State House News Service

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  • Longtime Hampstead police chief retires

    Longtime Hampstead police chief retires

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    HAMPSTEAD — One Friday night card game led to 52 years of service and respect in town for retiring police Chief Joseph Beaudoin.

    On his last day as chief Feb. 12, Beaudoin, 76, sat in his office and reflected on his five decades with the Police Department, 24 years at its helm, and of course, that card game.

    Beaudoin’s department held a final, radio signal send-off outside his home that night as he was surrounded by family members, neighbors and Hampstead police. The send-off highlighted his police career and service with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam.

    He saw the department go from part time, where their personal homes served as the police station, to now a staff of 10 full-time officers and numerous part-timers in a building constructed for the department 10 years ago.

    Beaudoin has always involved himself in the community, with or without the badge.

    “Jo Jo,” a well-liked, personable Hampstead resident, was elected eight times by the town for the part-time chief position.

    But he said the job is now “a young man’s sport” and he’s ready to step down.

    “It’s time,” Beaudoin said. “It was hard to walk away. They take care of me here.”

    In 1972, his first year, Beaudoin lived on Main Street and played cards with other officers and state troopers. They would play until the early morning hours as officers filtered in and out of his house while responding to calls or just stopping by for coffee and dessert.

    The games were often held up to respond to car crashes on Beaudoin’s street. One night, Beaudoin was told he should become a patrol officer. Beaudoin put his hand up and was sworn in.

    As the story goes: “within four hours, I was given a uniform and gun,” Beaudoin said.

    The rest was history.

    Beaudoin saw Hampstead and the department grow ever since that night.

    When he started, police weren’t out during the day or night. The officers would be at their full-time jobs and on call.

    “All of us worked in town as carpenters, plumbers or roofers,” Beaudoin said.

    At the time, part-time officers didn’t need to attended the Police Academy for training. In 1980, when Hampstead hired its first full-time officer, the state also updated the requirements to have part-time officers receive training.

    Beaudoin attended the state’s part-time academy, but learned largely while on the job. He started as a patrol officer, and learned from the department how to handle everything from murders to domestic violence.

    “I’ve always had good people helping me,” Beaudoin said.

    As a part-timer officer and eventual deputy, Beaudoin and Police Chief William Letoile answered calls from home. Their wives would even pick up the police line.

    Beaudoin said he would then hop into his wife’s car or his pickup truck, and head out to a call.

    “It was probably a Ford Fairlane at the time,” Beaudoin recalled. “We put a big bubble light on the top and we would use that as a police car.”

    Beaudoin had people “sleep it off” at his house to cool down, and made sure to tell his wife not to go upstairs. Or he would accompany the chief when the alarm sounded at Pillbox Pharmacy.

    “It was a different time, but it was nice,” Beaudoin said. “Everybody took care of each other in town. Hampstead had that Mayberry feel to it,” referring to the 1960s TV show “The Andy Griffith Show.”

    A man of the people, residents came to Beaudoin’s house and asked for advice.

    “Our houses were the police station,” he said.

    People came for gun permits or to talk about domestic disputes. He always had an open door for residents or a cup of coffee to discuss problems.

    “I can’t believe you’re giving people advice,” Beaudoin said his wife would tell him.

    If called to break up a party in the woods, he would usually know everyone there, which helped to calm things down. There was never a fear of getting shot or hurt on the job, Beaudoin said.

    Things have changed as the town grew, he explained, as Hampstead has had crime just like any another community.

    He remembered a murder on Route 111 when they found a woman’s body in the woods. They considered the case solved, but were never able to arrest the man responsible after he killed himself following a pursuit in Maine.

    Then, there was the excitement when President Gerald Ford and the Secret Service came to Hampstead in September 1975.

    “We guarded buildings and we wore a little badge because we were carrying guns,” he said. “A lot has happened over the years.”

    Through it all, he’s been an involved chief.

    In 52 years, he saw the department change, but emphasized that they knew their level of expertise and when they needed help.

    And the department made due wherever it was located. Beaudoin said they eventually moved out of their homes to a second-floor Town Hall room. The old fire station on Emerson Avenue housed the department until Hampstead approved construction of the new station on Veterans Way in 2013.

    Those same residents, who showed their support to build a new station, voted in Beaudoin as chief time after time.

    “They all knew I was a nice guy,” Beaudoin said with a laugh. “I wear my heart on my shoulder. The town’s problems are my problems.”

    Residents voted nearly a year ago to have the position appointed by the Board of Selectmen and become full time when Beaudoin decided to retire. He advocated for the change.

    Bob Kelley, Beaudoin’s deputy and now the interim chief, will officially assume the job next month.

    “I wanted to make sure the position stayed with someone in the department,” Beaudoin said.

    His goal has been to hire family-oriented officers to serve the community.

    The duties, technology and dynamics of the police force may have changed, but Beaudoin said the department’s character has never altered. Along with Letoile, he helped hire and train officers who would put Hampstead first. They created a family-like atmosphere where officers stay despite other opportunities.

    He even made sure his overnight crew went home to say goodnight to their families.

    While he has retired as chief, Beaudoin said he still owns his vinyl siding business and will continue to work it like he’s done all these years. and although he won’t put on a police uniform anymore, the fatherly love he has for his department will never diminish.

    “Just my clubhouse is gone now,” he said with a laugh. “This department, they’re all my kids. I surrendered my key, but I’m still going to come here because I love them all.”

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    By Angelina Berube | aberube@eagletribune.com

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  • AG’s office investigating private all-girls high school

    AG’s office investigating private all-girls high school

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    WENHAM — The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating complaints against the Academy at Penguin Hall, a private all-girls high school in Wenham.

    Assistant Attorney General Hanne Rush on Friday confirmed the existence of an investigation in response to a public records request by The Salem News for any complaints that have been filed against the school.

    In a letter, Rush said the AG’s office is withholding records because they “constitute investigatory materials related to an open investigation that reveal confidential sources,” and that disclosing the information would “cause a chilling effect on individuals to speak freely with law enforcement.”

    Molly Martins, the founder and president of the Academy at Penguin Hall, confirmed that the Attorney General’s office contacted the school and requested records.

    “We have provided the information that they requested and cooperated with their inquiry,” Martins said in an email. She declined to comment further.

    George Balich, the chair of Penguin Hall’s board of trustees, said he was unaware of any complaints against the school. He said officials from the Attorney General’s nonprofit organizations/public charities division visited the school in December after the school was delinquent in filing its annual financial audit.

    Penguin Hall provided the records and the AG’s office renewed the school’s certificate of solicitation, which charitable organizations need in order to solicit contributions, Balich said.

    “I don’t want to guess what’s going on,” he said, “but if someone there (in the Attorney General’s office) thought there was a problem we probably would not have gotten that certificate.”

    The Salem News reported last week the Academy at Penguin Hall, the only all-girls high school on the North Shore, is facing financial problems. The school has run up a deficit of millions of dollars since opening in 2016 and has struggled to pay its bills in recent months.

    In October, the town of Wenham threatened to shut off the school’s water due to unpaid water bills, and the IRS placed a lien on school property over unpaid payroll taxes.

    The Academy at Penguin Hall is an independent all-girls private school with about 120 students in grades 9-12. It operates as a 501©(3) nonprofit corporation and is required to file financial reports with the Attorney General’s nonprofit organizations/public charities division.

    The division “ensures appropriate application of charitable assets, investigates allegations and initiates enforcement actions in cases of breach of fiduciary duty,” according to the AG’s website.

    Penguin Hall had a negative fund balance of $6.5 million, according to the latest publicly available filing. The school has relied on millions of dollars in loans to stay afloat, including more than $2 million from Martins’ husband, Albert Martins, and his company, Martins Construction.

    Penguin Hall paid Martins Construction $960,000 in fiscal 2022. Molly Martins has said the payments were for renovations and other work at the school. Al Martins is also a member of the school’s board of trustees.

    Molly Martins is a former chairwoman of the Wenham Select Board.

    Penguin Hall recently announced a 40% increase in tuition, to $42,800, an attempt to resolve its financial problems, and has reached out to parents for donations.

    School officials have been meeting in small groups with parents about the school’s financial situation and are being “as transparent as possible,” Balich said.

    “Nobody’s hiding anything,” he said. “I’m being as blunt as I can and saying, ‘We need your help.’”

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Plan to expand child care subsidies advances

    Plan to expand child care subsidies advances

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    BOSTON — State lawmakers are making another push to approve a plan expanding access to child care options for parents while attracting and retaining new workers to ease chronic staffing shortages in the industry.

    The proposal, approved by the Legislature’s Education Committee last week, would expand financial assistance for families seeking child care, establish new funding for child care providers, and boost pay and benefits for early educators.

    Senate President Karen Spilka, who has made early education and care a top priority for her two-year term as the chamber’s leader, said passage of the bill would expand access to affordable child care for parents across the state “by supporting families, providers and educators.”

    “Our state’s families face child care bills that are higher than the cost of in-state college tuition, and that are often so high that they force one parent to drop out of the workforce,” the Ashland Democrat said in a statement. “If we are serious about solving our labor shortage, supporting families, and getting new parents back into the workforce, we must act to lower the cost of child care.”

    A key plank of the proposal calls for expanding eligibility for subsidized child care by raising the income level to qualify for state-backed programs.

    The current threshold is 50% of state median income for a family of four – which is about $55,000 annually for a family of four. The plan calls for “gradually” increasing that level to 85% of state median income, or $93,662 for a four-member family.

    The Common Start coalition, which includes labor unions, business and advocacy groups, praised the bill’s progress and said its final passage would make the state “significantly more affordable, greatly improve our economic competitiveness, and dramatically increase racial and gender equity.”

    “This comprehensive early education and child care legislation would provide the specific structure that is needed to deliver affordable care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; a permanent, stable source of funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our economy,” the group said in a statement.

    Many child care centers are financially strained and advocates say low compensation and the rising costs of caring for children are putting some providers out of business.

    Meanwhile, care providers are struggling to retain workers in an industry where the pay is traditionally low and the risk of becoming sick is now elevated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates say.

    The lack of child care options in Massachusetts is costing families, some of whom are spending 20% to 40% of their annual income on programs.

    The average cost of child care is more than $20,000 a year in Massachusetts, the most expensive state in the nation, only behind Washington, D.C., and well above the national average of $15,888, according to a recent report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

    Working families are losing an estimated $1.7 million a year in lost wages from not being able to show up for work because they cannot find or afford child care services, the report noted.

    Meanwhile, employers are losing an estimated $812 million a year in productivity and worker turnover because of the shortage of child care options, according to the report, while the state government is missing out on $188 million a year in tax revenue.

    Compounding the lack of options are changes in the workforce and other factors that have seen fewer people looking to work in the child care industry.

    Gov. Maura Healey has made expanding child care options for parents a key plank of her agenda in her first term, tying the issue to a broader effort to make the state more affordable.

    Healey’s preliminary budget for the next fiscal year calls for $93 million in new child care spending, as well as an additional $475 million in state grants to continue supporting early education providers

    The state Board of Early Education and Care recently approved a plan to tap into $65 million from this year’s budget to reimburse child care providers that serve families receiving financial assistance, including a 5.5% cost-of-living adjustment for providers to help offset increased operating costs.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Special Town Meeting to cost taxpayers $50K

    Special Town Meeting to cost taxpayers $50K

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    ANDOVER — Taxpayers will be footing an estimated $50,000 bill so that a Special Town Meeting can be held on March 11, just seven weeks before the town holds its annual Town Meeting April 29.

    At a Wednesday night meeting, town officials asked the petitioners of the meeting why they had elected to call a Special Town Meeting instead of working with officials to position the articles for a vote during the annual Town Meeting.

    The Special Town Meeting was called to make changes to zoning and bylaw that would block the creation of a paved path at Haggetts Pond. However town officials have criticized the articles included in the warrant for having widespread unintended consequences.

    Petitioner Don Schroeder said they had been worried the project would go ahead if they had not made the call.

    “At the end of April we don’t know if the project is going to be completed,” said Schroeder. “Or it’s to the point where it can’t be reversed.”

    Select Board chair Melissa Danisch said that a few hours before the petition was filed, officials had offered to “freeze” the project until after Town Meeting.

    Schroeder said paving opponents determined that it was important to go ahead with the Special Town Meeting anyway. He said there had been a potential that the town would go forward at “their own pace.”

    “It wasn’t taken lightly,” said Schroeder. “I agree 100% about the time and effort but it was a serious concern of myself and others.”

    Meeting costs include paying town workers and printing, and then mailing the Finance Committee’s report, said Phil Geoffroy, the head of communications for the town. The town also has to rent out the machines used for electronic per event, he added.

    Special Town Meetings can be called with a petition bearing 200 signatures or signatures equivalent to 20% of the population, whichever is less, according to a memo sent by Town Counsel Doug Heim prior to the meeting.

    “Accordingly, our Select Board has no discretion to refuse, cancel or delay a Special Town Meeting called by resident petition,” he wrote.

    Due to state law, the town must hold the meeting within 45 days of it being called by a petitioner.

    At a Select Board meeting earlier in the week, resident Bob Pokress took aim at Andover’s current form of local government, which allows for Special Town meetings to be called so often.

    Pokress said that a town legal counsel had affirmed that — if he gathered enough signatures — he could hold a Special Town Meeting to declare an official town sandwich.

    “Reflects the insanity of the process,” said Pokress.

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    By Teddy Tauscher | ttauscher@eagletribune.com

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  • Lawmakers seek to lift fishing gear removal ban

    Lawmakers seek to lift fishing gear removal ban

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    BOSTON — A new bipartisan proposal calls for lifting a statewide ban on removing abandoned fishing lines to help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

    The legislation, filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, would authorize the state Division of Marine Fisheries – with the approval of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission and the Department of Fish and Game – to set regulations allowing for the removal of fishing gear from state waters.

    Under current law, commercial fishing gear is considered private property and cannot be removed when it becomes dislodged and sinks to the ocean floor or washes up on shore. Backers of the plan say abandoned fishing gear poses a threat to the marine environment and ecosystems.

    “It ‘ghost fishes,’ increasing mortality without any harvest benefit, it presents a major risk for entanglement for right whales and other species, it clutters and pollutes the ocean floor, and it presents ongoing problems for coastal communities that have to deal with this form of pollution when it washes ashore and must be collected and disposed of before it does further damage,” Tarr said in a statement.

    The rare bipartisan measure is co-sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers spanning the North Shore, South Shore, Cape Cod and the islands, including state Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, and House Minority Leader Brad Jones, R-North Reading.

    It’s also backed by the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, which lauded the fact that the bill would allow abandoned gear to be collected during community beach cleanups.

    “The commercial lobster industry also helps with many of these cleanup efforts to maintain clean beaches for everyone to enjoy,” said Beth Casoni, the association’s executive director. “We look forward to seeing this bill through to the end.”

    The bill also includes protections for fishermen, including a provision that clarifies it is unlawful to “take, use, destroy, injure or molest” traps, lines and other gear “without the consent of the owner.”

    Lawmakers say the proposal seeks to strike a balance between the protection of right whales while recognizing the impact of government-ordered fishing ground closures and other restrictions on the state’s commercial lobster fishery.

    Driven to the brink of extinction in the 20th century by whalers, North Atlantic right whales are more recently at risk from ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

    Scientists say the population of North Atlantic right whales has dwindled to about 360. The species has also been hindered by poor reproduction and several years of high mortality, research has shown.

    Environmental activists want to ban commercial fishing nets and gear in state waters to prevent entanglements of whales and turtles. They’ve also called for federal regulators to expand no-fishing zones and mandate the use of so-called “ropeless” fishing gear to reduce the risk of entanglements.

    Federal regulators are considering new regulations requiring modifications in fishing gear to help reduce whale fatalities, but those rules have been put on hold for two years following recent court challenges.

    Massachusetts lobstermen argue that they’re doing more than enough to protect the whales by following conservation measures, including a months-long fishing closure during the winter and early spring and the use of new technology.

    They also argue that line entanglements are rare and say additional regulations would mean more financial pressures for an industry that is already struggling amid stringent regulations and closures of fishing areas.

    Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the death of a right whale off Martha’s Vineyard from a fishing line entanglement.

    The federal agency said the fishing gear, which had become deeply embedded in the whale’s tail, was traced back to Maine’s commercial lobster industry.

    Meanwhile, authorities discovered another dead right whale carcass floating off the coast of Georgia this week.

    The deaths have rekindled demands from environmental groups to impose new restrictions on fishing gear and commercial vessels to protect the critically endangered species.

    “The death of two juvenile North Atlantic whales within three weeks of each other is heartbreaking and preventable,” Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a statement Thursday. “The right whale graveyard off our eastern seaboard continues to grow and inaction from the administration is digging the graves.”

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • State to determine if Diaper Spa operated unlawfully

    State to determine if Diaper Spa operated unlawfully

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    ATKINSON — The state is taking action against Diaper Spa owner Colleen Ann Murphy over the possible unlawful and unlicensed medical practice of her business.

    Murphy will face three public disciplinary hearings to determine if she illegally operated Diaper Spa without medical certification in psychology, general medicine and mental health practices.

    The New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, Division of Enforcement issued the hearing notices after holding an emergency meeting on the issue, according to documents obtained.

    Two hearings are scheduled for March 1, before the Board of Psychologists and the Board of Mental Health Practice, and will take place at the Licensure Office, 7 Eagle Square, Concord. She will go before the Board of Medicine on March 6, the Licensure Office announced on Friday. 

    The boards will decide if she engaged in the unlawful and unlicensed practices of psychology and mental health, in addition to the unlawful practice of medicine.

    The Board of Medicine hearing was previously scheduled for an earlier date. 

    The Diaper Spa, at 23 Pope Road, caters to adults aged 21 and older, serving “all diaper-wearing individuals who seek acceptance, respite, and care” in a nursery-like atmosphere.

    Public concern over the nature of the business arose on Jan. 24 as the business, which operated out of Murphy’s home, advertised services and public activities which raised eyebrows — like play dates at the local park and the “Little Friends Play Date” service.

    Both of those have since been removed from Diaper Spa’s website, along with most of the site’s first iteration.

    Murphy was denied a special exemption permit to operate a home business from Atkinson’s Zoning Board of Adjustment on Wednesday night as her business application failed to meet certain zoning requirements.

    During the public hearing, Murphy told the board that the Diaper Spa was a nonmedical practice where she does not prescribe medication or make any medical diagnoses.

    She labeled her business as a “safe place” and “nonjudgmental environment” for adult regression. Murphy said it was also a place for decompression and relaxation for those who suffered past trauma.

    The board asked her if she was a mental health counselor.

    “Counselor is not a protected term in New Hampshire or the United States,” Murphy said.

    However, she stated she performs mental health coaching through telehealth and not in-person.

    Her submitted application requested an appeal of the zoning board for a home-occupation permit for “mental health counseling.”

    Murphy told the board she is not a licensed professional counselor, but added she is an ordained minister who can perform counseling under those services.

    She said she has worked in the medical community for more than 20 years and in nursing homes and hospitals. Murphy said she has helped nurses as a nurse’s aide and the diaper changing at the Diaper Spa mimics a hospital manner.

    “It’s done in a clinical manner just as it would be done in a nursing home,” Murphy said.

    She said there would be no genital contact with adults receiving her service. ZBA Vice Chair Bob Connors told Murphy that she stated to the board she would be changing the adult diapers and there would be no sexual contact.

    “Changing an adult’s diaper and coming in contact with adults in New Hampshire law for a fee, that’s illegal,” Connors said.

    It is unclear if Murphy has or had a registered medical license in New Hampshire.

    According to the New Hampshire Online Licensing website, there is no listing for a medical license for the name Colleen Ann Murphy.

    Murphy has a medical license through the state of New York which is valid through October 2025.

    In Maine, she was licensed as a medical doctor from February 2016 to Nov. 30, 2023.

    A business application with New Hampshire was rejected in December 2023 for the Diaper Spa.

    According to her statements to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Murphy operated the Diaper Spa for four to six weeks before the building inspector visited her home and she stopped her services.

    Murphy’s Maine medical license lapsed from December 2023 to this past Jan. 27. On Jan. 28, a new medical license was issued and lists Atkinson as her residence.

    According to her Maine license, she does not have certification in internal medicine or psychiatry.

    Editor’s note: This story was updated on Friday to reflect changes to the dates of public disciplinary hearings with the state. 

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    By Angelina Berube | aberube@eagletribune.com

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  • Auditor DiZoglio, Merrimack Valley mayors highlight MeVa services

    Auditor DiZoglio, Merrimack Valley mayors highlight MeVa services

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    HAVERHILL — Audits are typically a painful inconvenience to those being audited. Recently, however, several Merrimack Valley mayors joined with State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen, to highlight the positives that went along with a routine audit of Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA).

    DiZoglio’s office audits state-funded entities and county offices. It does not audit non-profits and other private entities.

    “While audits can be daunting, DiZoglio and her office understood from the start how important Regional Transit Authorities – RTAs – are to the communities we serve,” said Noah Berger, administrator and CEO of MeVa.

    “They worked with us as a partner with the goal of serving our passengers. We are thankful to the Auditor’s team for their review of our operations and are pleased to report that we have implemented all of their recommendations, which has made our service even better.”

    MeVa, also recognized as MVRTA, is the public transit serving 16 Merrimack Valley communities.

    To bring attention to the partnership, the mayors of Amesbury, Haverhill, Lawrence, and Newburyport – four of the 16 communities served by MeVa – hopped on a bus along with DiZoglio and recorded a social media video that brings attention to the successful audit and accessibility of services provided by MeVa.

    Methuen Mayor Neil Perry recorded his video at a different time and it was merged into the video of DiZoglio and the four other mayors.

    “Organizations like MeVa are a great example of how community partners can implement recommendations from our audit findings to increase access and opportunity for all across the region,” DiZoglio said.

    “They demonstrate that, by working together, we can accomplish more to improve the way state systems and resources perform and hold organizations accountable across state government in order to make government work better for everyone.”

    “Many people rely on MeVa for personal and professional travel,” said Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, who also serves as chair of the MeVa Advisory Board. “I’m more than happy to have a little fun on social media, especially if it helps us spread the word about this amazing resource.”

    The 16 communities served by MeVa include Amesbury, Andover, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, North Reading, Rowley, Salisbury, and West Newbury.

    “People are always surprised when I say I use MeVa to travel to my weekly dialysis appointments,” said Methuen Mayor Neil Perry. “I think those same people are just as surprised to learn that the Merrimack Valley has the gold standard of public transportation services. I hope this video helps raise awareness of the services available, and the ease of accessing them.”

    “Very happy and satisfied to have been invited to this project which brings us first-class information to our community,” said Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña. “I must say that I had a lot of fun. Let’s keep up the good work!”

    “Over the last couple of years, MeVa has implemented changes to improve services, making it free and more accessible,” Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett said.

    “Haverhill is proud to host MeVa’s administrative offices, but even more so to have them as a strong partner to the city in getting residents and our workforce where they need to go across the Merrimack Valley.”

    “MeVa has been a tremendous partner to Newburyport and I look forward to continuing to find creative ways to engage our residents with all that MeVa offers,” Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon said.

    To see the video, visit the Office of State Auditor’s pages on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X (formerly Twitter), or on YouTube by searching for “Auditor Diana DiZoglio and Mayors go for a ride on MeVa Transit!”

    For more information on the audit of MeVa, as well as other state entities, visit mass.gov/lists/all-audit-reports.

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    By Mike LaBella | mlabella@eagletribune.com

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  • Lawrence General Hospital doctor worries about Holy Family closures

    Lawrence General Hospital doctor worries about Holy Family closures

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    BOSTON — Lawrence General Hospital doctors say they are worried about what will happen to patients if Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen or Haverhill close, but vowed to help as much as possible if needed.

    Lawrence General’s Dr. Eduardo Haddad shared staff concerns with Gov. Maura Healey and the Public Health Council on Wednesday about the news surrounding Steward Health Care System’s Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill, while stressing his hospital’s commitment to support patients in need.

    “We are indeed very worried about it,” said Haddad, who practices at Riverside Nephrology. “We at Lawrence General Hospital feel the pain of the community.”

    Haddad said Lawrence General Hospital will do its best to support additional patients and increase its staff serving the Methuen and Haverhill Holy Family Hospitals patients.

    “These folks would be left without a place to go if they were to close,” Haddad said. “There’s no lack of will on our part to take care of these patients.”

    Healey and the Public Health Council addressed the Steward crisis Wednesday morning as part of the council’s regular monthly meeting.

    “I know this is a situation of deep concern for all of us,” Healey said. “It is an urgent priority for me.”

    Steward Health Care System owns nine facilities in the state, including the Holy Family Hospitals in the Merrimack Valley. Local, state and federal officials have raised concerns around possible closures, violations of Medicare rules and financial distress.

    The for-profit hospital network announced on Feb. 2 it has no plans to close any of its Massachusetts hospitals.

    Healey said she and her administration are focused on the health and safety of patients, job retention for nurses and staff as well as the “safety net” the hospitals create for the local communities.

    “Many of these patients are among the most vulnerable in our state,” Healey said. “We are actively monitoring the quality of the care.”

    The state has placed “monitors” at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Brighton, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and both of the Holy Family Hospital campuses, according to Robert Goldstein, the Massachusetts public health commissioner.

    They are monitoring staffing, services, supplies and equipment to ensure communities are properly served, Goldstein said. This week, inspectors have been added to Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Morton Hospital in Taunton.

    Goldstein said inspectors will be at all Steward Health Care System hospitals by next week.

    “This is a situation that is enormously challenging and unsustainable,” Goldstein said.

    Even still, Goldstein said the state has no interest in bailing out the private, for-profit group.

    “Steward itself must address its significant financial challenges,” Goldstein said. “Right now we don’t know what Steward will do.”

    Goldstein said the Department of Public Health is prepared for “many scenarios.” He noted Steward is “likely” to need to restructure or close some of its hospitals.

    “The bottom line is at this time, we don’t know the future of Steward Health Care,” Goldstein said.

    The state is in communication with the health care group as well as federal and local administrations. Goldstein said the main goals now are to protect patients and preserve the jobs of the “heroes” in the hospitals’ communities.

    “This work is hard, but it is important,” Goldstein said. “We must do it right, and we must do it well.”

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

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    By Monica Sager | msager@eagletribune.com

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  • Special Town Meeting set for March 11; public meeting Feb. 14

    Special Town Meeting set for March 11; public meeting Feb. 14

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    ANDOVER — The Select Board has set March 11 for a resident petitioned Special Town Meeting.

    The meeting was called after a group of residents filed a petition in an effort to stop the paving of a rail trail next to Haggetts Pond.

    Town officials say the goal of the paving project is to create an accessible trail, but opposition has grown from many in the community, including abutters, who worry about the project’s impact on the environment.

    A joint meeting of municipal boards and committees including the Select Board, Finance Committee, School Committee, Conservation Commission, Commission on Disability, Planning Board and Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has will be held Wednesday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m., at Wood Hill Middle School Auditorium, 11 Cross St., to discuss three articles included in the warrant set for the March 11 Special Town Meeting.

    During a Select Board meeting Feb. 12, one resident criticized officials for setting the meeting on Valentines Day; voicing his disapproval in a poem.

    According to the Feb. 14 meeting’s agenda, all seven groups will consider taking a position on the articles.

    The petitioners and other opponents of the project worry about potential impacts of the trail including on the town’s water supply, trees and the natural beauty of the location. Haggetts Pond also serves as the town’s water supply.

    Town officials, including the Director of Conservation Bob Douglas, have said paving the path will not harm the town’s water supply.

    The three articles seek to block the project through changes to Andover’s bylaw. Andover’s legal counsel Doug Heim said he will release a memo on the legality of the articles later this week.

    The town is planning on paving a roughly 1.6 mile stretch of trail, which lies adjacent to Haggetts Pond. The project would be funded by a state grant and American Rescue Plan funds.

    The project has most recently been under the scrutiny of the Conservation Commission which enforces laws related to the wetlands.

    This will be the second Special Town Meeting in the last six months. The most recent Special Town Meeting was a mix of resident- and town-petitioned articles and chiefly dealt with proposed new high school project.

    In order to follow state law, the Select Board must hold Special Town Meetings within 45 days after petitions have been submitted, said Select Board chair Melissa Danisch.

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    By Teddy Tauscher | ttauscher@eagletribune.com

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  • Federal funds earmarked for cybersecurity

    Federal funds earmarked for cybersecurity

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    BOSTON — The Healey administration is making millions of dollars in federal funding available to cities and towns to harden their computer systems against hacks and attacks by cyber criminals.

    The Municipal Local Cybersecurity Grant Program has $7.2 million available cities and towns, regional school districts and other local governments. Applicants can request up to $100,000 in funding, while multiple municipalities may jointly apply for up to $300,000, officials said.

    Another $1.8 million is available through the State Share Cybersecurity Grant Program with local governments able to request up to $100,000 in federal funding.

    Overall, $9.1 million is available for the competitive grants, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 8, the agency said.

    Gov. Maura Healey said the federal funding will provide state and local agencies “with resources to effectively respond to and recover from a cyber-incident.”

    “Cybersecurity threats continue to increase in sophistication and frequency. In this ever-changing digital world, we must implement smart cybersecurity strategies and adapt our systems to meet the moment,” she said in a statement.

    The federal dollars will be provided through the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant program, which is overseen by the federal Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    Terrence Reidy, secretary of the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said the state’s embrace of advanced technology “has vastly improved the government’s ability to deliver more effective and efficient services” but has also “exposed our operational systems and sensitive data to significant risk.”

    “I encourage eligible entities to pursue this funding opportunity and strengthen our collective defense against evolving digital threats,” he said in a statement.

    Massachusetts cities and towns are under constant threat from hackers probing for weaknesses in computer systems, intent on stealing money and personal information, and cybersecurity experts say the attacks are getting worse.

    Attacks range from malware, ransomware and email phishing scams, to old-fashioned cons using the internet to trick people.

    Many perpetrators operate from overseas, with ties to rogue nations and criminal gangs, making it hard to catch them.

    The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 800,944 suspected internet crimes last year. Reported losses exceeded $10.2 billion.

    Topping the list of crimes were “phishing” scams, nonpayment/non-delivery scams and internet-based extortion, the agency said.

    There were 7,805 victims of cybercrimes in Massachusetts last year, with losses topping $226 million. Many of those victims were elderly, the FBI said.

    Cities and towns have been facing an uptick in ransomware, which involves hackers encrypting a local government or school’s networks until a ransom is paid.

    A 2023 report by the firm Sophos found that nearly seven in 10 IT leaders at local and state governments said they have faced ransomware attacks in the last year. Most of those attacks started either through unpatched systems or stolen passwords, the report’s authors noted.

    “In every conversation I have with a municipal leader, cybersecurity is a top concern, but they either do not have the dedicated personnel or funding to implement the most impactful best practices,” Jason Snyder, secretary of the Office of Technology Services and Security, said in a statement.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Divided panel calls for shift away from natural gas

    Divided panel calls for shift away from natural gas

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    BOSTON — A divided state commission is calling for more aggressive steps to shift Massachusetts away from its reliance on natural gas for energy, but it’s not clear if state lawmakers will take up any of the proposed changes.

    In a report to the state Legislature, the Gas System Enhancement Working Group takes more steps to shift the state’s utilities away from installing gas infrastructure in the state. In some cases, the changes include only edits of one or two words in the state laws on fixing gas leaks.

    But the panel, which included state regulators, environmental groups, labor leaders and representatives of utility companies, was unable to reach consensus on many of the proposed regulatory changes.

    One proposal called for a shift from “replacement” to “repair” of leak-prone natural gas lines, which proponents argued would save ratepayers money and accelerate the state’s transition from fossil fuels to wind, solar and other renewable energy. But the utility panelists voted against it, arguing that it would compromise safety and exceed the working group’s mandate.

    “A shift in policy that prioritizes repair over replacement does not reduce the risk that leak-prone pipes pose to people, property, and the environment,” they wrote in a summary of the report. “Both cast iron and cathodically unprotected steel will continue to pose concerns as they age.”

    The panel was created under a 2014 state law that requires utilities to track and grade all gas leaks on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 being most serious, and immediately repair the most hazardous.

    The panel’s report noted that Massachusetts gas companies are spending more than $800 million a year installing new gas mains to replace aging leak-prone pipes. The new pipes have a lifespan of 50 years, and will be paid for by energy consumers in the form of higher rates, they noted.

    But the report’s authors said estimates suggest utilities will spend $34 billion on new gas infrastructure, which won’t be fully paid for until 2097. They noted that as more properties are retrofitted with heat pumps to replace gas, fewer and fewer customers will be on the gas distribution system.

    “However, that gas system will still have the same number of miles of pipe, with the same fixed maintenance costs,” Audrey Schulman, a panelist and director of the Home Energy Efficiency Team, a Cambridge nonprofit, wrote in a summary of the report. “These maintenance costs will be shouldered by fewer and fewer gas customers, making the customers’ overall gas bills increase.”

    Schulman said the state is “wasting money and time now by installing long-lived combustion infrastructure, while knowing that combustion is going away.”

    “Instead we are investing significantly and actively in the gas and electric system at the same time, without thinking through how to synergize the work to reduce the cost and increase the speed,” she wrote.

    “It is as though we are taking out a mortgage to replace the foundation on our horse’s stable, even after we’ve ordered an electric car,” Schulman added.

    Massachusetts utilities are under increasing pressure to employ alternatives to natural gas to comply with requirements of a climate change bill approved last year, which requires the state to reduce its emissions to “net-zero” of 1990 levels by 2050.

    Meanwhile, environmental groups have been prodding the state to force utilities to move away from new natural gas infrastructure as the state seeks to diversify its energy portfolio to include solar, wind and other renewable sources of power.

    But industry officials argue the state will continue to need natural gas for a large portion of its energy, even as it turns to more renewable sources.

    Roughly half of New England’s energy comes from natural gas, according to ISO New England, which oversees the regional power grid.

    Critics have also noted the pocketbook costs to consumers from replacing natural gas infrastructure in homes and businesses.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com



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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Divided panel calls for shift away from natural gas

    Divided panel calls for shift away from natural gas

    [ad_1]

    BOSTON — A divided state commission is calling for more aggressive steps to shift Massachusetts away from its reliance on natural gas for energy, but it’s not clear if state lawmakers will take up any of the proposed changes.

    In a report to the state Legislature, the Gas System Enhancement Working Group takes more steps to shift the state’s utilities away from installing gas infrastructure in the state. In some cases, the changes include only those to one or two words in the state laws on fixing gas leaks.

    But the panel, which included state regulators, environmental groups, labor leaders and representatives of utility companies, was unable to reach a consensus on many of the proposed regulatory changes.

    One proposal called for a shift from “replacement” to “repair” of leak-prone natural gas lines, which proponents argued would save ratepayers money and accelerate the state’s transition from fossil fuels to wind, solar and other renewable energy. But the utility panelists voted against in opposition, arguing that it would compromise safety and exceed the working group’s mandate.

    “A shift in policy that prioritizes repair over replacement does not reduce the risk that leak-prone pipes pose to people, property, and the environment,” they wrote in a summary of the report. “Both cast iron and cathodically unprotected steel will continue to pose concerns as they age.”

    The panel was created under a 2014 state law that requires utilities to track and grade all gas leaks on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 being most serious, and immediately repair the most hazardous.

    The panel’s report noted that Massachusetts gas companies are spending more than $800 million a year installing new gas mains to replace aging leak-prone pipes. The new pipes have a lifespan of 50 years and will be paid for by energy consumers in the form of higher rates, they noted.

    But the report’s authors said estimates suggest utilities will spend $34 billion on new gas infrastructure, which would not be fully paid for until 2097. They noted that as more properties are retrofitted with heat pumps to replace gas, fewer customers will be on the gas distribution system.

    “However, that gas system will still have the same number of miles of pipe, with the same fixed maintenance costs,” Audrey Schulman, a panelist and director of the Home Energy Efficiency Team, a Cambridge nonprofit, wrote in a summary of the report. “These maintenance costs will be shouldered by fewer and fewer gas customers, making the customers overall gas bills increase.”

    Schulman said the state is “wasting money and time now by installing long-lived combustion infrastructure, while knowing that combustion is going away.”

    “Instead we are investing significantly and actively in the gas and electric system at the same time, without thinking through how to synergize the work to reduce the cost and increase the speed,” she wrote.

    “It is as though we are taking out a mortgage to replace the foundation on our horse’s stable, even after we’ve ordered an electric car,” Schulman added.

    Massachusetts utilities are under increasing pressure to employ alternatives to natural gas to comply with requirements of a climate change bill approved last year that requires the state to reduce its emissions to “net-zero” of 1990 levels by 2050.

    Meanwhile, environmental groups have been prodding the state to force utilities to move away from new natural gas infrastructure as the state seeks to diversify its energy portfolio to include solar, wind and other renewable sources of power.

    But industry officials argue the state will continue to need natural gas for a large portion of its energy, even as it turns to more renewable sources.

    Roughly half of New England’s energy comes from natural gas, according to ISO New England, which oversees the regional power grid.

    Critics have also noted the pocketbook costs to consumers from replacing natural gas infrastructure in homes and businesses.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Council mulls senior, veteran tax work-off programs

    Council mulls senior, veteran tax work-off programs

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    To help homeowners age 60 and up and veterans of all ages lower their property tax bills, the City Council is considering an ordinance to create senior and veteran property tax work-off programs.

    If the City Council adopts state legislation, the administration could then establish programs to allow seniors and veterans to volunteer their services to the city in exchange for lower property taxes.

    To do this, the City Council must first accept two provisions of state law. The council is scheduled to take this up at its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

    Communities in the region that already offer senior tax work-off programs include, but are not limited to, Salem, Beverly, Danvers, Boxford, Ipswich, Hamilton, Wenham, Marblehead and Middleton, according to various municipal websites. Some towns such as Middleton and Swampscott offer both senior and veteran tax work-off programs.

    On Cape Ann, Rockport and Manchester-by-the-Sea offer the ability of seniors to volunteer to be able to reduce their taxes, while Essex and Gloucester do not.

    Councilor at-Large Jason Grow, Councilor at-Large Val Gilman and Ward 2 Councilor Dylan Benson co-sponsored the order to enable the creation of the senior and veterans tax work-off programs before the council’s three-member Ordinances and Administration Standing Committee on Monday, Feb. 5. The committee unanimously recommended the move.

    Grow told the subcommittee senior homeowners could volunteer in exchange for an abatement at a rate of 125 hours or $2,000.

    “It’s basically minimum wage up to $2,000,” he said.

    The senior tax work-off program would be for those 60 and up. There was a recent change in the legislation to allow for “the proxy possibility” for seniors who are infirm or unable to do the volunteer work to appoint someone to do it for them in exchange for the tax abatement, Grow said.

    The enabling statute for the veteran tax work-off program makes it eligible for any veteran with no age restriction. This would allow for the establishment of a program for veterans that offers up to a $1,500 tax reduction in exchange for volunteer hours.

    The council’s responsibility would be to accept the state legislation and it would be up to the administration to establish the parameters of the program, such as how much its funded, how many volunteers would be recommended, and what the maximum abatement might be, Grow said.

    The reason to bring this forward was because property taxes continue to be a burden, especially on seniors.

    “We have a program of abatement in the assessors’ office currently that seniors can take advantage of,” he said. “This is just one more opportunity for seniors and veterans to take advantage of volunteering in the community for whatever roles the administration determines is acceptable for this, and take that money off of their taxes and help with the annual expenses of living in Gloucester.”

    Gilman, who serves as an ex-officio member of the Council on Aging, said they have been talking about doing a better job about communicating to Gloucester residents about the repertoire of benefits and cost savings available to them.

    “Because the cost of aging in place has become more demanding and it’s a big concern for seniors,” she said.

    Gilman said she looked online to see what other communities were doing to help seniors save, and one of them was the tax work-off program. Nearly 100 municipalities in Massachusetts doing this. She shared the idea with the Council on Aging “and the response was very positive.”

    Benson said he has seen the positive impact of the senior tax work-off programs in other communities.

    Lynn, Salem, Amesbury, Beverly, Newburyport and a number of area towns already have senior work-off programs, and Newburyport and Amesbury offer both veteran and senior tax work-off programs.

    The reason he thinks this will help senior is because “it’s not forcing anyone to do anything, it’s an incentive and it’s an ability for seniors and veterans to have another way to reduce their property taxes,” Benson said.

    Ward 4 Councilor Frank Margiotta, a member of Ordinances and Administration, gave the proposal “kudos.” Ward 3 Councilor and subcommittee member Marjorie Grace asked Benson what types of work seniors were doing.

    Benson reiterated the council was only adopting state legislation and it would be up to the administration to enact the program.

    However, in other communities, Benson said the work involves clerical volunteer hours to do things like scanning documents, greeting people in City Hall, beach cleanups or helping out at a senior and veterans centers.

    Ward 5 Councilor Sean Nolan, the council vice president and chair of the subcommittee, noted that in Rockport, people would adopt fire hydrants to maintain or shovel out.

    “There is a lot places for people to give their expertise,” Nolan said.

    Grow added state legislation states such programs should not take away jobs or staffing.

    With the three-member committee recommending the order’s adoption, the City Council is scheduled to take up the matter under committee reports at its meeting on Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., in the Kyrouz Auditorium in City Hall.

    Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@gloucestertimes.com.



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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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