Editor’s note:The share of the U.S. population older than 65 keeps rising – and will for decades to come. Since nearly half of Americans over 65 will pay for some version of long-term health care, CNHI News and The Associated Press examined the state of long-term care in the series High Cost of Long-Term Care, which began Friday and continues this week.
While many Americans will need long-term care as they get older, few are prepared to pay for it.
Medicare, which provides Americans over the age 65 with health insurance, doesn’t cover most long-term care services. And Medicaid — the primary safety net for long-term care coverage — only covers those who are indigent.
Federal estimates suggest 70% of people ages 65 and older will need long-term care before they die, but only 3% to 4% of Americans age 50 and older are paying for long-term care policies, according to insurance industry figures.
The high cost of premiums for those private long-term care policies puts it out of reach for most people.
Even some who have this kind of insurance find it doesn’t provide enough to cover the costs of home health aides, assisted-living facilities or nursing homes.
“People think that long-term care insurance is for everyone — but it is not,” said Jessie Slone, executive director of the American Association for Long-term Care Insurance, an advocacy group. “It’s for a very small subset of individuals who plan, and have some retirement assets and income they can use to pay for it.”
To qualify, applicants need to pass a health review. Slone said insurance companies have underwriting policies with “page after page” of conditions that will disqualify people from getting that coverage.”If you live a long life, the chances of you needing care are significant. So then the issue becomes who’s going to provide for that care, and who’s going to pay for it. For some, long-term care insurance is an option.”
Prices vary, based on the age when people apply, how good their health is at the time, and how much coverage they want. “You have to start looking at this generally in your 50s or 60s,” Slone said. “Because, as you get older, you’re going to have conditions which insurers are going to look at, determine that you’re very likely to need long-term care and not give you a policy.”
That coverage, if you can get it, doesn’t come cheap: In 2023, the annual average cost for a policy for a couple both age 55, taking out a $165,000 initial pool growing at 3% compounded annually — ranged from a low of $5,018 to $14,695 a year, according to the association.
But, compared to auto insurance — which most people may never use — long-term care insurance is a good investment for those who can afford it, Slone said. “Car insurance is the most expensive insurance you ever pay because the chances of you getting into a car accident are somewhat remote. But the chances of someone needing long-term care if they make it to 90 are pretty significant.”
Lori Smetanka, executive director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, a national nonprofit advocacy group, views it differently. She said the private long-term care insurance system has become a “bust” amid rising premiums and difficulties accessing benefits.
Consider the fact that the number of companies offering long-term care insurance is declining, while payouts are steadily increasing as the baby boomer generation ages.”Most people have found it very expensive,” Smetanka said. “But, at the same time, people are finding that it wasn’t covering what they needed.”
Last year, insurers paid a record of more than $14 billion to cover an estimated 353,000 long-term care claims, according to industry figures. That’s compared to about $11.6 billion just three years ago.
Currently, there are about 7.5 million people in the U.S. age 65 and older with private long-term care insurance, according to industry data.
With that incentive, some states, including Washington and California, are looking at creating long-term care social insurance pools funded by payroll taxes and other sources of funding. The effort also is being spurred, in part, by the rising costs borne by states for Medicaid long-term care coverage, which they share with the federal government.
“More and more states are coming to the conclusion that this is an under-funded system,” said Marc Cohen, a researcher and co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. “There are simply not enough dollars going into the system – given the needs and the demands of the growing elderly population.”
So far, Washington is the only state to try to address the issue. A law approved by the state Legislature in 2019 created a long-term care benefit program, which provides residents with up to $36,500 to pay for costs such as caregiving, wheelchair ramps, meal deliveries and nursing home fees.
The Cares Funds is covered by a payroll tax that deducts 0.58% out of paychecks but guarantees a $36,500 lifetime benefit for those who have paid into the fund for 10 years.
Several other states are studying the issue. In California, a task force is looking at how to design a long-term care program, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan also are weighing the costs versus benefits of creating a state long-term care benefits program.
But the issue of imposing new taxes to pay for long-term care insurance is controversial — and politically unpopular — on both a state and federal level.
Washington’s long-term care insurance law is facing a repeal effort from a group backed by hedge fund executive Brian Heywood that argues the system should be voluntary. Voters in November will decide whether to allow people to opt out, which supporters say would essentially gut the program.
“There are a lot of states that are looking to see what happens in Washington,” Cohen said. “If this billionaire who is funding this repeal effort wins, it will be a real blow.”
Cohen said efforts on a federal level to create a publicly funded insurance pool haven’t gained much traction. A long-term care program created by Congress through the CLASS Plan, which was tied to the Affordable Care Act, was voluntary. That law was repealed in early 2013.
“It never got off the ground before it was repealed,” he said. “With the dysfunction in Congress, we’re likely to see more action on a state level than the federal.”
Recent polls suggest there may be some public support for the move. A survey by the National Council on Aging found more than 90% of the 1,000 female respondents across party lines support the idea of creating a government program to pay for the cost of long-term care.
“The level of support was significant, and very bipartisan,” said Howard Bedlin, a long-term care expert with the council. “People keep talking about how Congress can’t find bipartisan support. Well, the voters clearly support it.
“The politicians just aren’t giving these issues the attention they deserve.”
Christian M. Wade is a reporter for North of Boston Media Group.
BOSTON — Lawmakers are seeking more support for the state’s safety net hospitals amid rising concerns about the fiscal health of a fund that helps cover medical costs for large numbers of uninsured and low-income patients.
Hospitals and health insurers pay into the so-called safety net fund – a pool of money that helps fund care for hundreds of thousands of low-income residents who are uninsured or underinsured – with the state chipping in additional funding. But if the fund runs low, hospitals are on the hook for the shortfall.
The fund is projected to have a shortfall of more than $220 million in the upcoming fiscal year, hospitals say, rising to the highest level in nearly two decades.
Without additional funding, financially challenged hospitals will be forced to cover the deficit, leaving less money to provide medical care for low-income and uninsured patients, they say.
An amendment to the Senate’s version of the $57.9 billion state budget filed by Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, would require commercial health insurance companies to cover 50% of any revenue shortfalls in the safety net fund.
“We need to do something to help our local hospitals,” Finegold said. “This is part of a long-term problem with funding for hospitals that serve the state’s most vulnerable residents. We need to fix it.”
Many earmarks
Finegold’s proposal is one of more than 1,000 amendments to the Senate’s budget, many of them local earmarks seeking to divert more state money to local governments, schools, cash-strapped community groups and nonprofits. Only a handful will likely make it into the Senate’s final spending package.
The plan faces pushback from the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, which represents commercial insurers who would be impacted by the proposed changes to the hospital safety net program.
Lora Pellegrini, the group’s president and CEO, said requiring insurers to cover the fund’s shortfalls would jeopardize negotiations between the state Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that seek to reduce assessments paid by medical insurance carriers.
“This really came out of nowhere, and would be counterproductive to those efforts,” she said. “We have a committee process for a reason and that’s where these kinds of special interest issues should be vetted, not in the budget.”
But the move is backed by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, which says requiring insurers to cover the shortfall would help alleviate an “unmanageable financial burden” on the health care system “by broadening funding support for the program.”
“The Health Safety Net is a vital component of Massachusetts’ healthcare infrastructure and its ability to cover the costs of care for low-income and uninsured patients,” Daniel McHale, MHP’s vice president for Healthcare Finance & Policy, said in a statement.
“At this increasingly fragile time for the entire health care system, it is imperative that we take the steps needed to stabilize the safety net for the people and providers who rely on it each day.”
Local hospitals affected
The state’s safety net hospitals and community health centers – which include Lawrence Hospital, Salem Hospital, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport – serve a disproportionate percentage of low-income patients.
Many are heavily dependent on Medicaid reimbursements, which are typically less than commercial insurance payouts.
Nearly 30% of Lawrence General’s gross revenue is for care provided to Medicaid, or MassHealth, patients. The state average is 18%.
Many community hospitals are collecting from low-paying government insurance programs, and getting below-average reimbursements from commercial insurers, advocates say.
Lawmakers also swept money from the hospital safety net fund to help cover the costs of new Medicare savings programs that pay some or all of eligible senior citizen’s premiums and other health care costs, including prescriptions.
Hospitals are also seeing increased demand from uninsured patients as hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients see their state-sponsored health care coverage dropped following the end of federal pandemic-related programs, which is driving up costs. Claims processing problems are another factor adding to hospital costs, they say.
Those and other factors have widened the fund’s shortfall from $68 million in fiscal 2022 to more than $210 million in the previous fiscal year, according to the hospital association. Combined, the shortfall could reach $600 million for the three fiscal years, the association said.
Biggest expense
The House, which approved its $58.2 billion version of the state budget two weeks ago, proposed $17.3 million in state funding for the hospital safety net fund. The Senate, which begins debate on its version of the budget next week, has proposed a similar amount.
In the current budget, the state allocated $91.4 million for the safety net fund.
But the House budget didn’t include an amendment requiring insurers to help hospitals pay the shortfall. That means even if the Senate approves Finegold’s amendment, it would still need to be negotiated as part of the final budget before landing on Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for consideration.
Health care coverage, in the meantime, is one of the state’s biggest expenses. Medicaid costs have doubled in the past decade and now account for nearly 40% of state spending.
MassHealth serves more than 2 million people – roughly one-third of the state’s population – despite federal Medicaid redeterminations that have reduced its rolls over the past year.
(Editor’s note: Executive sports editor Bill Burt wrote this piece about a Lawrence legend back in 2010. One of the greatest athletes ever produced by the famed city, ended up going to Phillips Andover, Yale University before being signed by the N.Y. Yankees. While he had success with the champs, he had other issues off the field that he never was able to overcome. He died 39 years ago on May 16 as a recluse. Check out the story, a sad one, here.)
Johnny Broaca was the American Dream. Better yet, he was Lawrence’s American Dream.
The son of Lithuanian immigrants, Broaca grew up in a tenement apartment and went on to become one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Lawrence High.
From there, it was two years at Phillips Andover, and then on to Yale University. He aced his studies at two of the nation’s premiere educational institutions, but it was baseball that put him on the national map.
The New York Yankees signed Broaca, a star pitcher, in 1933, before he had even graduated from Yale. The same Yankees that boasted future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey and Tommy Henrich.
Broaca’s second major league start was a complete game three-hitter. His third start was a complete game one-hitter.
A month into his major league career, he was 4-1 for the World Series favorites.
Soon, he would have a beautiful wife, and then a son.
Lawrence couldn’t have been prouder of one of its own.
It seemed Broaca had it all.
Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, usually careful when it came to praising young players, told baseball writers that Broaca was “a promising youngster whom nothing can stop.”
But stop he did.
Within three years, Broaca mysteriously walked out on the Yankees and eventually lost everything, including his contract, his wife, his son, and his passion for life.
“My dad said he just gave up,” said Madeline Varitimos of Methuen, Broaca’s niece, her eyes watering a bit. “My father spoke very little about Johnny. It’s sad. Still, all these years later, it’s very sad.”
Broaca attempted a comeback with the Cleveland Indians 18 months after going AWOL on the Yankees in 1937, but it was derailed by arm troubles.
He eventually moved back to Lawrence, and for the next 45 or so years lived alone in an apartment on Garden Street, working mostly as a union laborer.
Twenty-five years ago today, Broaca was found dead of a heart attack on the floor of his apartment. He was 75 years old.
He was alone.
So what happened to this living legend?
Did he have a breakdown? Was it a sore arm that sent him over the top? Or was it his marital problems?
Why didn’t Broaca pursue his second dream of becoming a teacher and coach? And why didn’t he ever try to contact his only son, who grew up 25 miles away?
Nobody knows, because Broaca took his reasons to his grave at Immaculate Conception cemetery in Methuen.
“When my father and I went to his apartment after he died, he had only two small pictures near his bed,” the 73-year-old Varitimos said. “One was Walter Winchell. The other was Howard Hughes. Both of them were recluses … It was a little strange.”
Neil A. Hawley Staff Photographer
A baseball prodigy
When Broaca was a boy, his family lived in an eight-family tenement in the Italian section of Lawrence on Middle Street.
Johnny was the second of three children. He had an older sister, Constance, and a younger brother, Victor — Varitimos’ father.
His father, John J. Broaca, worked in the paper mills in Lawrence, while his mother, Anna, tended to the family.
As Broaca told Boys’ Life magazine in a lengthy 1935 interview, baseball was a focal point of his life in Lawrence.
“I played (baseball) all of the time in my leisure and a lot at times when I should have been doing something else,” he said.
Broaca said in 1921, he saw an article in Boys’ Life magazine about the mechanics of pitching.
“I think it must have been about February or March, when we were all thinking about baseball but couldn’t play,” recalled Broaca. “I went to the reading room of the YMCA and picked up a pretty well-thumbed copy of Boys’ Life. One of the first things I turned to was an article about how to pitch … What interested me most were the diagrams.
“I studied that article harder than I studied any school lessons and practiced the grips on the baseball, along with the proper stance and form in front of the mirror.
“As soon as the snow got off the ground, I found a boy with a catcher’s mitt. And I began to practice in earnest.”
When Broaca got to Lawrence High, baseball was only part of his impressive resume. He not only was a straight-A student, he starred in four sports at the varsity level — football, basketball, baseball and track.
He was only the second athlete in school history to letter in four sports en route to winning the Cregg Medal as the school’s outstanding student-athlete in 1928.
“He could have been a great football player or a great basketball player, if that’s what he focused on,” said 87-year-old Sam Musumeci of Methuen, who grew up idolizing Broaca. “But baseball was his life.”
After Lawrence High, Broaca spent two prep years at Phillips Andover.
He ended his career there on a high of highs, beating rival Phillips Exeter in the final game of the year behind a brilliant 12-strikeout performance.
Neil A. Hawley Staff Photographer
First signs of trouble
Broaca chose to attend Yale University on a partial scholarship in the fall of 1930. Part of that was due to the fact that he would be playing for ex-Red Sox pitcher Smokey Joe Woods.
It appeared to be a dream come true, but Broaca struggled for the first time in his young life. And it had little or nothing to do with baseball.
His family was poor compared to those of his classmates, which meant he had to work a regular job as a waiter at a Yale fraternity to help pay for school. That alienated him from many of his teammates and classmates.
Broaca’s father would send money when he could, which wasn’t often. His mother would go down to the train station in Lawrence and send a care package that included homemade rye bread and $2.
Baseball at Yale wasn’t a problem. He was the ace of the staff each of the three years he pitched there. In 1932, he struck out a then-school record 13 batters in a win over rival Columbia.
But he also started having arm problems, which didn’t put him in good stead with his famous coach.
In early April 1933, Broaca’s junior season, he was suspended by Wood because he didn’t show up for practice for a week. Later in the month, he complained about pain in his back and arm. Wood still wanted him to pitch.
So Broaca quit the baseball team at Yale and called famed Yankees scout Paul Kritchell, who signed Broaca to a contract a few days later.
Broaca was immediately farmed out to their top minor league affiliate in the International League, the Newark Bears, where he was allowed to rest his arm for a few weeks. He eventually pitched and finished with a 7-2 record.
He returned to Yale in the fall of 1933, after the baseball season, to finish his coursework. He graduated on time in 1934 and said leaving Yale early was a blessing in disguise.
Broaca joined the big club, the Yankees, after he was done at Yale in May.
His dream of pitching in the big leagues was about to come true.
Courtesy photo. Johnny Broaca Courtesy photo. Johnny Broaca
Staff Photographer
Disappearing act
Broaca’s first career start, on June 2, 1934, was one of his worst. He allowed five runs and five hits, unable to get the Philadelphia Athletics out in the second inning before being yanked.
In his second start a week later, he allowed just three hits in a 4-2 complete game loss. In his third start, he made national headlines, striking out 10 St. Louis Browns and allowing only one hit over nine innings.
“It was one of the proudest days of my life,” recalled Musumeci of Broaca’s big day. “I was 11 years old. He made all of us proud to be from Lawrence.”
Broaca earned a regular spot in the famed Yankees rotation, which included future Hall of Famers Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing. He finished his rookie season at 12-9.
In 1935, the Yankees were favorites to win the World Series, but finished second to the Detroit Tigers in the American League. Broaca, though, did his part, finishing at 15-7.
It was much the same in 1936, when he finished 12-7 and was among the top 10 in the majors in won-lost percentage (.632), earned run average (4.24) and fewest walks per nine innings (1.2).
This time, the Yankees won the World Series, beating the New York Giants in six games. Broaca was available in relief, but never saw any action in the fall classic.
But that was OK, because a few weeks after the season ended, Broaca married Cordelia Ireland, 22, of Orleans, Mass. The two had met during the summers when Broaca was at Yale and pitched in the famed Cape Cod League.
Armed with a World Series ring and a new wife, with their first child on the way, Broaca was supposed to be entering a new era of his life.
But 1937 proved to be his undoing. He got into arguments with McCarthy over his workout regimen, and his arm was in constant pain.
After a great first start in which he allowed six hits and one unearned run against the Athletics in late April, he didn’t win another game. Again, arm pain kept him off the mound — he was 1-4, pitching only 44 innings.
His Yankees career came to a head on July 16 in Detroit. McCarthy brought a disgruntled Broaca in to pitch in the eighth inning with the Yankees trailing 9-5.
Broaca finished the game, but not before allowing two homers, a triple, two doubles and a single, leading to five more Tigers runs.
He joined the team on the trip to Cleveland after the game. But he never showed up at the park the next day.
Broaca made history, becoming the first Yankee to “jump the club” in Jacob Ruppert’s tenure as the team owner (he bought the team in 1914).
McCarthy didn’t hide his anger from the press corps.
“This might cost him a share of his World Series cut?” a reporter asked McCarthy.
“Might?” said McCarthy. “He’s lost that already.”
Neil A. Hawley Staff Photographer
A public spectacle
In news stories about Broaca’s disappearance, reporters weren’t afraid to throw some subjective color into their copy, calling Broaca “moody and aloof” and saying, “He has few friends.”
Days went by, and the Yankees had no answers as to Broaca’s whereabouts.
Worse, his wife of less than a year, who was eight months pregnant when he left the Yankees, claimed she hadn’t heard from him either.
Two months later, a newspaper account said Cordelia Broaca had filed for divorce, citing cruel and unusual punishment. Their son, John Jr., was just 5 weeks old at the time.
Out of money, she had to leave their home, and she and her son moved in with her mother.
The Yankees, who won the World Series again in 1937, showed their agitation with Broaca by voting a $1,000 World Series share to his wife.
“It was the right thing to do,” McCarthy said. “That’s no way to treat your wife.”
Broaca eventually resurfaced, but things only got worse from there.
The divorce proceeding became a public spectacle on Cape Cod. According to the New York Mirror, Cordelia Broaca claimed her husband began “beating” her a month into their marriage. She said her husband was “cheap” and would have fits of rage, many times over her spending.
She said one evening her husband chased her out of the house to a potato field in her underwear, where neighbors heard her screaming before finding her shivering.
Perhaps the most telling comment attributed to Broaca came during the deposition, before the divorce trial.
Cordelia Broaca said her husband told her, “(I’d) rather cut my throat or put a bullet in my head” before giving his ex-wife a penny.
A career cut short
A former heavyweight champ at Yale, Broaca tried professional boxing when he was out of baseball in 1938. But his boxing career never really got off the ground.
That was also the year that Broaca lost his father, whom he had hoped to repay for all of his help getting him through college.
Later in 1938, the Yankees made overtures about bringing Broaca back. But he wanted the Yankees to reimburse him for medical expenses and questioned their treatment of his arm.
When he was reinstated by the commissioner after the 1938 season, it was clear his next baseball home would be elsewhere. He hoped the Yankees would deal him to the Red Sox. Instead, they sold him to the Indians.
Other than the fact that Broaca got to play with a baseball legend, 20-year-old pitcher Bob Feller, the 1939 season didn’t live up to its billing. Broaca was primarily a reliever, pitching only 46 innings over 22 outings. The Indians finished 87-67, 24 games behind the Yankees.
“I remember Johnny had those heavy lenses on his glasses,” Feller recently recalled of Broaca. “We had a few laughs together. He was a little bit strange, a little weird at times, hard to figure. He sort of kept to himself.”
Broaca was sold to the New York Giants at the beginning of the 1940 season, but never pitched in a game for them and was released two months later.
His baseball career over, he moved back to his native Lawrence, and all of the controversy stopped.
Upon his return, he is believed to have worked at Tyer Rubber in Andover as warehouse worker.
Then in January 1943, he was drafted by the U.S. Army during World War II and sent to Fort Devens and later Camp Beale in Sacramento, Calif. He never served overseas, probably because of his age (33) and his poor eyesight. He was honorably discharged on Sept. 24, 1945.
He again returned to Lawrence, where for the next 40 years he basically lived the life of a recluse.
Always alone
Tony Fusco said it happened two or three times a day on this particular job site.
Broaca, then about 50 years old, would stop digging a trench. He’d stand up straight, adjust his glasses, and lean on the top of his shovel with one arm. And then he’d just stare off into the sky.
“It would always last about 45 seconds to a minute. Then he would just go back to work,” recalled Fusco, then a teenager working summers for the Laborers Union Local 175. “I always wondered what he was daydreaming about. I wondered if he was thinking back about a baseball game.”
Broaca joined Local 175 in 1949, and was a member until his death in 1985. His job was helping with the grunt work on job sites — moving or setting bricks for the bricklayers, mixing mortar, cleaning up work areas, landscaping or digging trenches.
There was an unwritten rule among the union guys of Local 175. Don’t ask Broaca about baseball.
“You just didn’t ask,” Fusco said. “It would never come up. I can’t explain it. But everyone respected Johnny enough to leave him alone.”
One thing Broaca was famous for over the last four decades of his life was walking.
While he owned a Hudson to get him around to jobs that were more than a few miles away, he would walk everywhere in the city. Almost everybody who lived near downtown Lawrence had a story about seeing him out for a stroll. And he was always alone.
“I can’t tell you how many times I saw Johnny carrying groceries on Essex Street or walking down Union Street,” Musumeci said.
Broaca also made it a point to watch youth baseball and adult softball games in the city, particularly at Hayden-Schofield on Lawrence Street.
“He would always stand in the same spot,” said Varitimos, his niece. “It was over the third base side of the stands. He would just sit there quietly and watch. He would always be alone.”
When Broaca died, it was Varitimos and her father who went to clean out his apartment.
“We were hoping he had lots of baseball memorabilia, things he might have saved from his baseball career,” Varitimos said. “But there was nothing. The walls were empty. He didn’t save anything.”
Varitimos said they did find a neatly stacked pile of cashed checks to Broaca’s former wife. He saved all of the support payments he made.
They also found a pile of opened envelopes.
“He had a lot of letters from fans who sent him baseball cards to sign,” Varitimos said. “Unfortunately, he left them in a big pile and probably didn’t send any back, which is too bad, considering most of them were probably from kids.”
Neil A. Hawley Staff Photographer
‘He quit on life’
It was a phone call Varitimos dreaded, but knew she had to make.
It was a few days after Broaca’s funeral. She called Broaca’s son, Peter, in Western Massachusetts to inform him of his father’s death.
“He was sort of like, ‘What do you want from me?,’” recalled Varitimos. “I told him that we thought he’d want to know and that there were some things that he might want to have, like the (1936) World Series ring. He also had some money in the bank and some stocks.”
Peter came to Methuen, had dinner with the family, and tried to soak it all in. He took the World Series ring, which usually remains in a safe deposit box.
“It was a little strange,” Peter Broaca said. “The fact is, he never tried to get a hold of me. I only lived in Boston, the South End. Maybe at some point I could have reached out to him. It just never happened.”
Peter, now 72, said there were times when he was growing up that he would ask his mother about his once-famous father.
“To be honest, it wasn’t discussed too much,” he said.
John J Broaca
Staff Photographer
Peter said his mom remarried when he was in the third grade. The family eventually moved to Boston so his stepfather could find work.
Even though he never knew his father, in some ways, Peter was a chip off the old block.
He is almost the same exact size his dad was — 5 feet 11 inches tall and 180 pounds. He also played baseball and was a practice player for the basketball team at Boston University.
One of Peter’s first jobs was as the associate head coach/freshman coach at the University of Massachusetts, where he coached Julius Erving, Rick Pitino and Al Skinner.
He went on to become a successful Division 3 men’s basketball head coach, putting in 24 years between Coast Guard Academy and Western New England College. For the last 12 years, he’s been an assistant at Springfield College, also teaching physical education at an alternative middle school in Holyoke. In 2009, he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
Peter is divorced and the father of two daughters. They never met their grandfather.
“It’s sad. I don’t know what to say other than that,” Peter said.
That sentiment is echoed by others who knew Johnny Broaca.
“He could have done some great things with his life, but he chose not to,” his niece, Varitimos, said. “I can’t really understand that.”
Neither can the 87-year-old Musumeci, who tears up when he talks about his former idol.
“Johnny was the best teacher of baseball that I ever had,” he said. “He taught me how to pitch. I remember clearly he told me to never quit. When things are tough, you have to hang in there.
“Why am I upset? Because Johnny Broaca quit on life. And that makes me very mad.”
Angie Beaulieu/Staff photo. Gravestone of John P. and Anna C. Broaca, parents of John J. Broaca. 05/12/10 Angie Beaulieu/Staff photo. Gravestone of John P. and Anna C. Broaca, parents of John J. Broaca. 05/12/10
HAVERHILL — Public officials are attaching major goals to a plan to redevelop about 16 acres at Northern Essex Community College.
The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and the college on Monday released a request for proposals for a long-term ground lease and redevelopment of campus health and wellness facilities.
Officials want plans “that will address deferred maintenance, contribute to campus decarbonization, foster neighborhood relationships, and boost recruitment and retention by enabling vibrant athletic programming,” according to DCAMM.
The RFP invites proposals encompassing a 45,000-square-foot sports and fitness center, as well as a parking area, baseball field, softball field and asphalt track.
DCAMM said the RFP was informed by extensive planning and a public hearing in 2023, and “while complementary and mutually reflective of NECC’s creativity and collaborative approach, this project is not directly related to the recently announced potential partnership between Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and NECC.”
A site tour is planned for June 26, with a bidders conference on July 10 and proposals due by Aug. 30.
PEABODY — Sgt. Walter Dombrowski was on patrol over the Pacific Ocean during World War II when his B-17 ran out of fuel. While most on board would survive the plane crashing into the sea, Dombroski, a 28-year-old Peabody native, would never be seen again.
On Saturday, his family and local veterans dedicated a permanent marker of his service and sacrifice in front of his childhood home at 111 Central St. — 81 years after his final flight, and on the 40th anniversary of the Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 63 named in his honor.
“This street is home to some of our most vulnerable residents in the city: our seniors,” Peabody Veterans Agent Steve Patten said at the corner of Wilson Terrace and Central Street, now named in Dombrowski’s honor.
“He went down while on patrol. He’s still on patrol, he’s still watching over,” Patten said, pointing to the new black and bronze sign bearing Dombrowski’s name. “And he’s doing it right where his family lived. God bless, buddy.”
Dombrowski was one of the thousands of servicemembers to be declared missing in action during World War II.
He was born in Peabody in 1913 to Joseph and Anna (Sobocinski) Dobrowski and enlisted in the U.S. Air Corps in 1940. After serving stateside, he was transferred to the 360th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Heavy Bomber Group at Hickam Field, Hawaii, in 1942.
On June 15, 1942, Dombrowski and eight other crewmen boarded a B-17 at Hickam Field to patrol the Pacific, just days after the Battle of Midway and seven months after their plane and its pilot survived the Dec. 7, 1941, attacks on Pearl Harbor.
The crew eventually lost track of their position and, low on fuel, ditched the plane around 9 p.m. about 130 miles from their base.
Seven of the crewmembers were able to escape the plane as it went down and successfully deployed a life raft. But the top hatch failed to open for Dombrowski, serving as the plane’s radioman, and gunner Pvt. Walter Dutkiewicz of New Jersey.
The seven crew members would be found by the Navy and Army Air Force during a rescue mission and survive, but not Dutkiewicz and Dombrowski. They were declared dead that day and remain missing in action.
Their names are memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu.
“Not only did Sgt. Dombrowski give up his life, but he gave up his future and everything that would have come from that,” Patten said. “His children, their children. Little League games, spending time with family and friends and loved ones at the holidays: he gave up everything.”
Dombrowksi’s nephew, Walter Doblecki, was born in September 1942 and named in his honor. Despite never knowing his uncle, Doblecki has always felt a strong tie to him, he said at Post 63’s 40th anniversary luncheon ceremony at the Portuguese American War Vets post on Tremont Street ahead of Saturday’s dedication.
“Growing up, my Aunt Teresa always seemed to be exceptionally warm and friendly toward me,” Doblecki said. “Looking back, I think I reminded her of her brother Walter, and the joyful youth that she shared with Walter and my mother Wanda.”
Doblecki was joined by other nieces and nephews of Dombrowski Saturday, including Peabody Ward 4 City Councilor Julie Daigle, Dombrowski’s great-niece.
“Walter Dombrowski was the brother of my grandmother Teresa Rydzewski, so this is extra special, but either way I appreciate Walter (Blazewicz Jr.) recognizing our veterans and the people that have served in our community, in our culture,” Daigle said. “Thank you for continuing to keep that alive.”
Blazewicz started Post 63 in 1984 and is the current commander. Rydzewski was the first president of the post’s Ladies Auxiliary Chapter and a member until her death in 2012.
Blazewicz and his wife, Ann, were the main organizers behind Saturday’s events. They were joined by fellow members, other area veterans organizations and State Sen. Joan Lovely, State. Rep. Tom Walsh and Peabody City Council President Stephanie Peach.
It was a “great feeling” seeing a hall filled with veterans celebrating his post, Blazewicz said.
“I am proud of this post’s record of service to our community and nation, but the success of this post is not due to my organizational skills,” he said. “A successful post needs consistent hard work and diligent efforts by dedicated members to enable it to achieve success.”
That’s been the case for Post 63. Even so, its membership, and the number of veterans posts around the North Shore, is dwindling alongside the number of WWII, Korea and Vietnam vets still alive.
Robert Dunne, commander of the Peabody Veterans’ Council and senior vice commander of Post 63, said Saturday he hopes younger veterans of all types of service will step in to keep these groups afloat.
“These organizations are our advocates. They’re the ones who go to legislators and say, ‘Hey, we need more medical services, we need to have PTSD coverage,” he said.
“They’re more than just organizations people go to hangout and discuss what they did when they were in service.”
BOSTON — Money for free community college, regional transportation and increased spending on housing and child care are among the highlights of the Senate’s version of next year’s budget, which was rolled out Tuesday.
The $59.7 billion Senate budget is slightly more than a spending plan approved by the House of Representatives about two weeks ago, and boosts local aid to communities in the next fiscal year by $38.1 million to nearly $1.3 billion.
Meanwhile, it increases Chapter 70 funding for schools by $316 million to more than $6.9 billion. That would fully fund the third year of the Student Opportunity Act, which was approved by the Legislature in 2019. The law calls for diverting $1.5 billion to schools over seven years.
The plan also proposes spending $1.3 billion in proceeds from the newly enacted “millionaires tax” by divvying up the money for a range of education and transportation programs and new initiatives.
The voter-approved law, which went into effect last year, set a 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said the plan makes targeted investments in higher education, transportation, and reflects the upper chamber’s efforts to make the state “more affordable, equitable and competitive.”
“It maximizes and continues to build on the progress we’ve made in key sectors of the state economy,” the Westport Democrat told reporters at a briefing Tuesday.
The Senate’s budget doesn’t call for raising taxes or new fees, and pumps more money into the state’s reserves or rainy day fund, which would bring the total to more than $9 billion by the end of the fiscal year.
A key provision of the Senate budget calls for spending $117.5 million to offer free community college for all Massachusetts residents, and another $28 million for stipends for low-income community college students to cover the cost of books, transportation and child care, among other expenses.
The plan would earmark $214 million for the state’s 15 regional transit authorities – including $40 million to provide bus service free of charge to passengers. Several RTAs, including the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority, have been offering free and discounted bus service under pilot programs.
Increased funding for expanding child care, health care, housing and mental health services also are part of the Senate’s proposal.
The House approved a nearly $58 billion budget that includes new spending on public transportation, public safety, environmental protection, health care and housing. Healey unveiled a $56.1 billion budget in January that calls for capping spending increases at 2.9% across the board, citing the state’s declining revenue collections.
Lawmakers are debating the spending plan amid concerns about the state’s finances, with taxes and other revenue coming in below benchmarks in recent months, and with federal pandemic aid drying up.
Healey wielded her executive powers in February to slash $375 million from the current fiscal year budget to close a gap between spending and revenue.
Senate President Karen Spilka said the spending plan calls for making “key investments,” but shows fiscal restraint as “prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
“Revenues rise and fall, but this is not the time to take our foot off the pedal when it comes to making investments in our residents that will improve quality of life, build a world-class workforce and keep people in Massachusetts so they can live, work and raise a family,” the Ashland Democrat told reporters on Tuesday.
Senators are expected to file hundreds of proposed amendments to the budget ahead of debate on the spending bill next week, which could drive up the bill’s final price tag. The fiscal year begins July 1.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
BOSTON — Nursing homes would be required to meet stringent staffing requirements under new Biden administration rules that the long-term care industry says are “unattainable” and could force some facilities to close their doors.
The new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rules, which were finalized last month, will require nursing facilities that receive federal funding through the programs to employ enough staff to provide at least 3.48 hours of daily care for each resident.
That includes 2.45 hours of nurse aide time and 0.55 hours of registered nurse assistance. Facilities also must have a registered nurse on site 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week.
The White House says the new rule will require nursing facilities with 100 residents to have at least two registered nurses and at least 10 nurse aides as well as additional care staff per shift. Facilities caring for residents with higher needs will be required to increase staffing above the minimum levels, according to the new rules.
Additionally, the Biden administration is requiring home care agencies allocate at least 80% of their Medicaid payments to staff compensation. States would have flexibility to adjust the rules for small and rural home care providers, according to the directive.
Nursing home operators that fail to meet the new federal standards could lose Medicare and Medicaid funding, effectively putting them out of business.
“Medicare and Medicaid pay billions of dollars per year to ensure that 1.2 million Americans that receive care in nursing homes are cared for, yet too many nursing homes chronically understaff their facilities, leading to substandard or unsafe care,” the White House said in a statement.
“When facilities are understaffed, residents may go without basic necessities like baths, trips to the bathroom, and meals – and it is less safe when residents have a medical emergency,” the statement said.
But the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, which represents nursing homes, said the new rules are “simply unattainable” for nearly every facility and, if implemented, “would lead to widespread disruption in accessing skilled nursing facility care.
The association said the workforce crisis — with more than 7,000 vacant positions in nursing facilities — is “directly contributing to the current instability throughout the Massachusetts health care system.”
“CMS’ failure to provide funding to hire, train and upskill the thousands of individuals necessary to meet the requirements of the final rule is projected to cost over $175 million annually in the commonwealth alone,” Tara Gregorio, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Gregorio said the association is “fully committed to working with our government partners to secure the funding necessary to hire additional direct care workers, increase wages for our deserving staff, and to promote career pathways.”
A MassHealth spokesperson said the agency, which oversees nursing homes, is “deeply committed to ensuring that members receiving services at nursing facilities across the state are getting excellent care.
“We are currently reviewing the rule and its impact and look forward to working with our federal, state, and local partners,” the statement said.
The state Department of Health’s long-term care facility regulations require a minimum of 3.580 hours of care per resident a day, 0.508 hours of which must be by a registered nurse. That’s higher than the standard for the new CMS regulation.
DPH regulations also require 24 hour nursing service with an adequate number of trained nursing personnel on duty around the clock, according to the state agency.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that roughly one-quarter of facilities would meet the minimum nursing requirement, including the onsite 24/7 rule.
But the American Health Care Association, a trade group representing for-profit nursing homes, says about nine in 10 facilities would fail to meet at least one of the new staffing requirements. One-third of facilities would fail to meet all three standards, the group said.
“While it may be well intentioned, the federal staffing mandate is an unreasonable standard that only threatens to shut down more nursing homes, displace hundreds of thousands of residents, and restrict seniors’ access to care,” AHCA President and CEO Mark Parkinson said in a statement. “It is unconscionable that the Administration is finalizing this rule given our nation’s changing demographics and growing caregiver shortage.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com
In 1974, World War II veteran and Gloucester House owner Michael Linquata offered the Gloucester House Restaurant to SeniorCare to use for a fundraiser benefitting the Meals on Wheels home-delivered meals program. After Mike’s retirement from the restaurant, Lennie and Dotty Linquata carried on this tradition, helping SeniorCare raise tens of thousands of dollars to ensure older people who have difficulty preparing their own food, or are unable to get out, receive a nutritious meal at their home Monday through Friday throughout the year.
For five decades, the Gloucester House in downtown Gloucester has welcomed diners for a special Breakfast Buffet in the name of Meals on Wheels. This breakfast is a community tradition, supported by dozens of sponsor organizations, students from the Gloucester High School JROTC program, and individual community members. This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the breakfast, the need to raise money for this important program is more urgent than ever before.
SeniorCare delivers Meals on Wheels to more than 600 older adults each day. In 2025, SeniorCare expects to provide 200,000 meals in the homes of and at dining sites for older residents in Gloucester, Beverly, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, Hamilton, Ipswich, Topsfield, and Wenham. The anticipated expense to provide these meals is $2 million. Funding for the program is projected to fall short by $140,000. Grant writing and fundraising events such as the breakfast will be needed to successfully deliver these meals.
According to the Greater Boston Food Bank, 1 in 3 Massachusetts adults face food insecurity and the number of people accessing its partner food pantry network doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2022 report “The State of Senior Hunger in 2020,” published by Feeding America, Massachusetts reports that 5.3% of seniors in the state were experiencing food insecurity.
Researchers who study senior hunger say the causes are complex and compounded. Many older residents no longer drive due to safety concerns or they can no longer afford the expense of owning a vehicle. Rides on public transportation may be difficult due to illness, disability, and dementia. These illnesses alone can deprive a person of the ability to feed themselves. Food insecurity can then cause worsening of health conditions — it’s a vicious circle. The bottom line is that adequate nutrition is a critical aspect of healthy aging.
Meals on Wheels is not just a nutrition program. In addition to lunch, the Meals on Wheels driver brings companionship and a watchful eye on the health and safety of our seniors. Some lunch recipients tell us that their driver is the only person they see on most days.
The 2024 Meals on Wheels Fundraiser Breakfast will be held next Friday, May 17, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the Gloucester House, 63 Rogers St in Gloucester. Tickets are $20 per person and may be purchased online at www.seniorcareinc.org or will be available for purchase at the door.
As mentioned earlier, the Gloucester House Restaurant has hosted this fundraiser breakfast buffet to benefit Meals on Wheels since 1974. One hundred percent of the proceeds from these amazing community breakfasts has been used to support Meals on Wheels. The Linquata family’s generosity and kindness are not lost on us. We are grateful for this long-standing tradition and we give much thanks to the Linquata family and the Gloucester House team.
For more information on SeniorCare’s nutrition programs — including how to volunteer to help or how to get assistance for an older friend in your life —contact SeniorCare at 978-281-1750 or visit our website at www.seniorcareinc.org.
Tracy Arabian is the communications officer at SeniorCare Inc., a local agency on aging that serves Gloucester, Beverly, Essex, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Rockport, Topsfield and Wenham.
Tracy Arabian is the communications officer at SeniorCare Inc., a local agency on aging that serves Gloucester, Beverly, Essex, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Rockport, Topsfield and Wenham.
BOSTON — Bankrupt Steward Health Care System said it plans to sell all its hospitals — including eight in Massachusetts — to help pay off $9 billion in outstanding liabilities.
The privately owned health care group is preparing to put its 31 U.S. hospitals up for sale as early as next month and hopes to finalize transactions by the end of the summer, the company’s attorneys said at a Tuesday hearing in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas.
Steward, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, plans to keep all of its hospitals open over the long term, attorney Ray Schrock told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Chris Lopez, who is overseeing the company’s Chapter 11 proceedings.
“Our goal remains that there are zero hospitals closed on our watch,” Schrock said. “There’s going to be a change in ownership in many hospitals, we recognize that. But we don’t want to see any of these communities fail to be served.”
In court filings, Steward disclosed that it has $9 billion in liabilities, including $1.2 billion in loans, $6.6 billion in rent obligations, $1 billion owed to medical vendors and suppliers, and $290 million in unpaid employee wages and benefits.
The company plans to hold auctions on June 28 for its hospitals outside of Florida, according to court filings. The deadline was negotiated as part of a $75 million bankruptcy loan, but Schrock said Steward may seek more time to sell its hospitals if necessary.
“What we don’t want to do is have a fire sale of the assets,” Schrock told the judge, according to published reports. “There is a lot of value here.”
Steward, the largest private for-profit hospital chain in the country, operates 31 hospitals across eight states — including Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Haverhill — and employs more than 30,000 people, according to its website.
The company also operated New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton, which closed in April, leaving behind millions of dollars in unpaid rent and fees.
Steward’s management has cited an increase in operating costs and insufficient federal government-program reimbursement among the factors leading to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Gov. Maura Healey has blamed “greed and mismanagement by Steward’s management, and says the bankruptcy process will increase transparency in the company’s hospital system.
Healey has stressed that medical care will continue at the Steward hospitals throughout the bankruptcy proceedings and that patients won’t go without medical care.
“Ultimately, this is a step toward our goal to getting Steward out of Massachusetts, and it allows us to do that to protect access to care, preserve jobs, and stabilize our health care system,” she told reporters at a Tuesday briefing on the company’s bankruptcy filing.
The Healey administration has activated an “emergency operations plan” in response to Steward’s financial woes, including a command center to monitor the company’s hospitals in the state and manage the fallout of a bankruptcy filing.
In a court fling ahead of Tuesday’s bankruptcy hearing in Texas, Attorney General Andrea Campbell argued that Steward “extracted value” from its Massachusetts hospitals to “pay substantial dividends to investors and expand their network in other states.”
“These diversions have threatened to impact the debtors’ hospitals’ ability to provide health care within the commonwealth,” she wrote. “The debtors’ hospitals have been left without adequate resources to timely acquire and maintain needed equipment and infrastructure or even ensure an uninterrupted supply of emergency room drugs. Many are in disrepair.”
Healey and members of the state’s congressional delegation, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have criticized the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management’s role in Steward’s finances. Cerberus created Steward after buying St. Elizabeth’s and five other Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts in 2010, according to the company’s website.
In a statement, the company’s CEO, Ralph de la Torre, said the bankruptcy proceeding will ensure that the company is “better positioned to responsibly transition ownership of its Massachusetts-based hospitals, keep all of its hospitals open to treat patients, and ensure the continued care and service of our patients and our communities.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
BEVERLY — Mayor Mike Cahill used his annual State of the City address this week to highlight accomplishments and to reiterate that the city is in a strong financial position.
Mike Cahill
Courtesy photo
In a 30-minute speech at City Hall, Cahill said the city has built up reserves of over $30 million over the last decade — money that can be used to keep the city running smoothly in the event of an economic downturn.
“Our reserves are meant to get us through a recession when revenues fall precipitously and to do so without wholesale layoffs and drastic deep cuts to critical services,” Cahill said.
“These reserves are not meant to be used to outspend still strong and growing revenues during good economic times,” he added. “They are meant to help us keep delivering the services people need and rely on right through the worst economic times and through economic recovery from those bad times.”
In his speech in front of the City Council on Monday night, Cahill ran down the accomplishments of each city department, calling it “a great year in Beverly.”
Highlights mentioned by Cahill included:
– The hiring of the first woman as city engineer, Lisa Chandler
– The city’s senior tax workoff program has grown from 50 to over 90 seniors
– The city will launch its first Beverly Youth Council for young people to learn more about local government and advocate for youth issues
– The Fire Department has ordered a new pumper truck, which will replace Engine 1 in Central Fire Station when it arrives
– Five new civilian dispatchers have been hired for the combined civilian, emergency medical services, police and fire dispatch system, with the goal to be “fully civilian” by fall, freeing up uniformed police officers to serve out in the community
– The city’s veterans department prevented the eviction of three veterans from their houses
– The city received 73 of the 80 grants it applied for over the last fiscal year, bringing in over $5 million in revenue
– The mayor’s office launched an iPad translation program for visitors to City Hall whose primary language is not English
– The city’s electricity aggregation program started on May 1, providing residents and businesses with lower electricity costs while increasing the amount of clean renewable energy
– Coastal resiliency projects at Lynch Park and Obear Park are in the design and permitting phase
– Beverly Airport had its most flights since 2003 and is planning to rebuild its main runway
Cahill closed by thanking the city’s department heads and staff for their work.
“Thanks in significant part to their contributions, the state of our city remains strong,” he said to the City Council. “With their partnership and with yours, I know the state of our city will improve and become ever stronger well into the future.”
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
MARBLEHEAD — Town Meeting approved local meals and rooms taxes in its opening night, but technological hiccups ultimately forced the meeting to pause after Article 26, leaving the back-half of the warrant for night two on Tuesday.
A smattering of technical issues plagued the opening of Town Meeting, causing it to take more than an hour to move through procedural articles. Issues ranged from audio cutting out in the overflow chamber outside of the middle school’s auditorium and video projector issues that prevented the timely display of the articles being voted on. The issues were finally ironed out by about 8:40 p.m., nearly two hours in.
The meeting also saw the successful launch and use of an electronic clicker system for vote tracking, which showed that Town Meeting opened with more than 800 people when a vote of 704 to 97 was tallied to close out Article 6. More than an hour later, a narrow, three-vote margin was tabulated in 20 seconds with no need for further verification or manual tallying.
Dozens of Marblehead union employees lined the entrance to the auditorium at Veterans Middle School prior to the start of the meeting, calling for a restoration of prior cuts that took place to balance prior budgets.
“There’s no more room to cut that budget,” said Jonathan Heller, co-chairperson of the Marblehead Education Association. “They’ve been able to bridge between a reduced budget and level-service budget. That’s what we’re hoping this town will approve tonight, to get us back to level budget at first.”
The unions were quiet during the meeting, however, with a brief comment from Terri Tauro, president of the Marblehead Municipal Employees Union, on an indefinitely postponed article on the police contract.
“I’d like to start with a shout-out to our town employees,” Tauro said. “Marblehead’s town employees educate your children and keep them safe. We keep your power on, plow the snow, and care for your aging parents.
“For many of us, the wages we make working for the town are far less than what it would take to live in the town,” Tauro said. “It may soon be that our wages won’t cover living in this state. Massachusetts is, after all, the fourth most expensive state in this country to live.”
The first articles to receive substantial debate were 24 and 25, two measures to add meals and lodging taxes, with each factoring in generating about $200,000 in revenue for the budget passed in Article 26.
Debate also focused on the reported 261 short-term rental units that exist and are presently untaxed in Marblehead, a group of property owners that one resident Monday night suggested would put the town’s only two hotels at a competitive disadvantage.
Carolyn Pyburn, of Gilbert Heights Road, sought instead to lower the 6% proposed for the rooms tax down to 4%. That vote failed by a razor-thin margin of 391 to 394 — a result that arrived within 20 seconds with the new voting method.
“This is another no-brainer,” said Albert Jordan, a Roosevelt Avenue resident, of the rooms tax. “There’s 351 communities in Massachusetts, and most of them are doing this.”
Peter Conway, an Orchard Street resident, raised another issue with the tax: That many rooms are paid for in advance.
“You can’t go back to the guests who’ve made a contract with you,” Conway said of hotels. “To be fair, that would have to be put off until at least the fall to give the businesses the chance to reach out to people.”
Article 24, the meals tax, passed 515 to 294. The main vote for the rooms tax, after the failed amendment, was 469 to 345. The budget then passed 611 to 63 after a series of votes on individual departments and appropriations that reflected similar approval margins.
The meeting was adjourned following the budget, leaving articles 27 through 53 for night two, Tuesday, beginning at 7 p.m.
BEVERLY — When the Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company ended its historic run at The Cabot theater in 2012, one might say that David Bull disappeared.
Bull, who played the show’s headlining magician for more than 35 years, moved to western Massachusetts, got married, and has not performed a magic trick in public since.
“I don’t miss performing the show we did,” he said. “We did over 2,600 performances in Beverly. But I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to get on stage again and get in front of an audience?’”
Bull will do just that on Sunday, May 26, when he hosts what he is calling ”Le Grand David’s 70th Birthday Bash.” The show will include comedian Paul D’Angelo, Amy G., Kenny Raskin, the Jethro Tull tribute band Minstrels in the Gallery, and others.
Bull will mostly play master of ceremonies and tell stories about the history of the magic show, but said he will also perform “three or four” magic tricks, including one called the Upside Down Production Box.
“I’ve been practicing,” he said. “This is not push-button magic.”
Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company ran from 1977 to 2012 in Beverly, making it the longest-running stage magic show in the world, according to Guinness World Records. The troupe that performed the shows also owned both The Cabot and Larcom, two vaudeville era theaters down the street from each other in downtown Beverly.
The company was led by Cesareo Pelaez, a charismatic Cuban who created the show and played Marco the Magi. The show ended shortly after Pelaez died in 2012. The company eventually sold both theaters and auctioned many of its props, costumes and other artifacts.
Bull – who won the Illusionist of the Year award from the Milbourne Christopher Foundation and was given honorary lifetime membership in both The Magic Castle in Hollywood and The Magic Circle in London – said he loved performing as Le Grand David, calling it a “wonderful adventure.”
But he also said he and the rest of the troupe were ready to give it up by the end.
“The shows were so physically grueling,” he said. “It was go-go-go for 2½ hours. I did it from ages 22 to 58 and it became physically difficult at the end. We were the owner-operator, so we popped the popcorn and went in and swept it up in the morning.”
“We said, ‘We’ve done it for 35 years. We’re in the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s time to do something else.’”
The only performing Bull does these days is when he and his wife sing in a choral group in nursing homes and hospices. He survived a heart attack and is now a stepgrandfather, which he called “an unexpected blessing in my life.”
Bull admits he’s nervous about performing at The Cabot again. But at the same time, he takes comfort in knowing he is returning to a very familiar place.
“I swing between utter panic and thinking, ‘I’m in my living room. I was on this stage for 35 years.’”
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
Local commercial fishermen making a living in one of the deadliest occupations in the nation learned or honed fundamental safety skills Thursday at U.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester, 17 Harbor Loop.
The all-day session was the first of a free, two-day safety training offered by the Gloucester office of Fishing Partnership Support Services, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health, safety and economic security of fishermen.
On Thursday, fishermen and others who work on the water learned or honed fundamental skills through hands-on training on EPIRBs, signal flares, mayday calls, man overboard recovery, firefighting, flooding and damage control, dewatering pumps, immersion suits, personal floatation devices and life rafts.
Among those taking part were members of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Beverly Harbormaster’s Office.
The training included the organization’s innovative First Responder at Sea Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution program for the fishing industry. This training, designed to position fishermen as first responders at sea, was recently recognized by the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose.
Friday’s session involves drill conductor certification, with fishers digging deeper into what they learned Thursday. This involves new information in cold-water survival, helicopter rescues, vessel stability, liability, and emergency procedures.
Those who complete the two days of training are Alaska Marine Safety Education Association certified drill conductors, which meets Coast Guard requirements under 46 CFR 28.270.
Requesting opioid education and naloxone distribution training for fishermen may be done by visiting www.fishingpartnership.org.
ANDOVER — After a turbulent first day of Town Meeting, a noticeably more subdued crowd approved millions of dollars in capital improvements while voting down ballot questions Tuesday night.
Voters struck down two articles that sought to add similar nonbinding ballot questions for the next local election.
The questions would have asked residents their opinion on the town meeting form of government.
Members of a committee that recently studied whether the town should continue with Town Meeting spoke against the articles, saying a ballot vote could undermine the group’s work.
“Town Meeting is where knowledge and perspectives are exchanged,” said Jon Stumpf, chair of the town governance study committee.
Others residents were worried about what the town should do with the results of a survey.
“It robs all of us of the benefits of deliberation and debate,” said committee Vice Chair Dara Obbard. “It could lead to something we won’t have a say in.”
The articles were defeated 266-190 and 268-161.
“Of the people, by the people, for the people,” said Keith Saxon, who advocated for studying if the town should continue to hold Town Meeting.
“We have 26,000 registered voters in Andover,” Saxon said, pointing to the meeting’s low attendance.
The proposal may have elicited a feeling of deja vu for some voters.
At a Special Town Meeting in November, voters approved an article similar to what was rejected at this meeting.
Due to a minor procedural rule, the article was not technically legal, according to town legal counsel Doug Heim, who said ballot questions need to be voted on at a regular Town Meeting, not a Special Town Meeting.
That vote also saw a lot more participation. It was approved 1,181 to 692.
Rather than use their authority to add the question for the election in March, the Select Board decided to throw the article back to voters at this Town Meeting.
The petitioner for the original article proposed the similar article.
This resulted in two articles that sought to achieve a similar aim to the one adopted in November but later found to be invalid.
Some in town think that Andover has outgrown Town Meeting, a form of government where residents come together once or more in a year to vote on legislation, rules and appropriations.
Many have argued the low attendance is evidence of this. Those in favor have said Town Meeting is unique in its ability to give every resident who wants it a direct voice in local government.
Voters approved Article 23, which limits the town staff positions that the Select Board must approve. Before the change, the board had to approve every position, including part-time positions such as lifeguard.
Voters also approved millions of dollars for capital projects, including sidewalk repairs and tree removal.
Residents voted to spend more than $4 million from the town’s general fund for projects related to IT infrastructure and minor storm drainage improvements.
More than $7 million for water and sewer expenses was appropriated with the majority, $6 million, destined for water main replacement and distribution improvement projects.
The number of voters participating in the later votes that night were fewer than during the previous day or even earlier that night when MBTA zoning was debated.
SALISBURY — Standing before a smattering of local officials at Blue Ocean Music Hall, state Sen. Bruce Tarr detailed what he called a “new threat” to Salisbury Beach.
Joined by town environmental consultant Tom Hughes and Town Manager Neil Harrington on Monday, the Gloucester Republican said the northern part of the beach is in serious danger of massive overwash.
Overwash is the flow of water and sediment over a coastal dune or beach crest during storms.
“The damage will be exponentially worse than what we’ve seen so far. And importantly, it will make the cost of remediation substantially higher, if it’s even within reach. This area of the beach is extremely vulnerable and it compels our action,” Tarr said.
The Senate minority leader’s speech was billed as the latest attempt to stave off severe, ongoing erosion at Salisbury Beach.
After a few minutes, Hughes took the microphone and elaborated on the latest threat.
“That overwash elevation is a little bit above 15 feet above sea level,” Hughes said.
Until last fall, according to Hughes, all of the dunes exceeded that elevation. But now there is a 1,200-foot stretch of the northern beach that is in the 13- to 14-foot range.
“This is what would happen if nothing is done is we would get a significant overwatch event, a sustained storm that essentially just flattens the barrier and exposes 1A and all of the homes behind it to risk,” Hughes said, referring to Route 1A (North End Boulevard).
The fix Hughes has been working on with Tarr would come in two phases. Phase one would look to restore the dunes to an elevation of 17 feet above sea level. The estimated cost would be $1.75 million.
“It’s a very small project. It would need to be maintained until we can do a phase two,” Hughes said.
The phase two project would bring the elevation up to 19 feet and extend the volume out further towards the water.
“That requires more significant permitting,” Hughes said.
The total cost for both phases would be approximately $6 million.
“For us to be able to act, we have to be concerned about the shorebirds that will soon be on the beach, or at least there’s the potential for them to be on the beach, which presents a significant constraint in our ability to do work,” Tarr said.
Tarr said to secure Salsibury Beach it will take the cooperation of various parties, including the Merrimack River Beach Alliance, Department of Conservation and Recreation, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, state legislators, town officials, federal legislators, local stakeholders, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation and other state regulatory agencies.
“We cannot address this situation properly without everyone being at the table, and we think that we have set the stage with all the work that’s been done and all that you’ve heard today for us to have a productive path and one that will avoid significant damage,” Tarr said.
Asked where the funding would come from, he said it would come from a number of sources, including the Salisbury Beach Preservation Trust Fund.
The Salisbury Beach Preservation Trust Fund was the idea in 2008 of former state Sen. Steven Baddour, who worked with then-state Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, to make it a law. Baddour and Costello undertook that task after devastating storms ravaged Salisbury Beach three years in a row, including the Patriots Day storm of 2008, which scoured sand from the beach that is owned and maintained by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
“That’s in the near term, and in the long term we hope to cobble together the resources to have a sustainable beach. And again, our federal partners have identified some very promising sources,” Tarr said.
Tarr emphasized that one of the big reasons the beach is such an urgent issue is that it protects Route 1A.
“One-A is the subject of a planned project for reconstruction that literally is going to cost millions of dollars, so there’s a transportation component here, and we’re exploring the synergy potentially between investment in the road and investment in the beach that protects it,” Tarr said.
Route 1A is also an emergency route for the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station.
Regarding a timeline for securing funding, Tarr did not provide specifics but stated that for this initial short-term solution they would need to have it done by mid-June.
“That means getting dollars fast, that means executing emergency contracts, that means mobilizing equipment,” Tarr said.
He said he has continued to have in-depth conversations with Gov. Maura Healey.
“She has walked this beach. She was instrumental in getting three access points restored after they were damaged by a storm not all that long ago. She knows what we face, and we’re all trying to work together to find a path forward,” Tarr said.
Harrington shared that he hoped Healey is paying attention.
“We are here to plead with the governor to listen to the citizens of Salisbury, to follow the science about what’s going on here at the beach, and to work with our legislative delegation to get this critical, immediate funding for the beach,” Harrington said.
Erosion at Salisbury Beach has been going on for some time, dating back to December 2022 when the initial damage from nor’easter Elliott occurred.
Local leaders first learned during a Salisbury Beach Resiliency Subcommittee meeting May 4 that the Department of Conservation and Recreation had shut down Points 8, 9 and 10 for a year due to beach erosion caused by the nor’easter. Points 9 and 10 were reopened the Friday before Memorial Day, with point 8 restored just before the Fourth of July.
BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has approved a plan to pump hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding into the state’s beleaguered emergency shelter system, which has been overwhelmed by a historic surge of asylum seekers.
Healey signed a supplemental budget late Tuesday that will divert $251 million into the shelter system and to cover housing, food and other migrant costs. The plan would also authorize a transfer another $175 million from an escrow account set up to cover emergency housing costs, if needed.
The spending bill also reforms the state’s emergency shelter system, limiting migrants to nine months beginning on June 1, with up to two, 90-day extensions for those who are employed or participating in a work-training program or are a veteran or pregnant woman, among other situations.
Healey said the spending plan “dedicates resources to balance the budget and maintain critical services and programs” and sets limits on stays in shelters, “which is a responsible step to address our capacity and fiscal constraints as Congress has continued to fail to act on immigration reform.”
“We will be finalizing details of this policy in the coming weeks and ensuring that families and providers are informed of the requirements and the services that we have available to help them secure work and stable housing,” the Democrat said in a statement.
The spending bill was approved by the House and Senate in a largely party line vote, with Republicans opposed to the changes. It comes only months after Healey signed another bill that included $250 million for migrant costs. To date, the state has spent an estimated $700 million on migrant costs.
Democrats who pushed the spending bills through both chambers on largely partisan votes argue that the additional funding and reforms are aimed at preventing a collapse of the state’s beleaguered shelter system.
Republicans have argued that record spending on emergency shelter will crowd out education spending and other priorities in the upcoming budget, with the state’s revenue benchmarks coming in below projections for several months.
Massachusetts is wrestling with a record influx of thousands of migrants over the past year amid a historic surge of immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Healey declared a state of emergency in August and deployed the National Guard to help deal with the influx. Her administration also set a 7,500-family cap on the number of people eligible for emergency housing last October. Hundreds of families are currently on a waiting list for housing.
The governor has set new restrictions on migrants and other homeless families who are being housed at large-scale “overflow” sites that were set up in response to the shortage of beds in state-run shelters.
Under the new rules, which went into effect on Wednesday, migrant families staying in those sites will be required to document every month that they are searching for work and permanent housing or risk being denied shelter.
Healey has estimated the state will spend nearly $1 billion to support emergency shelter for homeless families and migrants over the next year.
Despite requests from Healey and members of the state’s congressional delegation for federal funding, the Biden administration has only provided about $2 million to the state for emergency shelter and other migrant needs.
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, asked the federal agency to grant a waiver to the state for expedited work authorization for migrants “in the absence of significant financial or structural assistance” from Congress or the White House.
Healey said the state has been able to secure work authorization for nearly 3,600 migrants to date but continues to see an “unabating influx” of new arrivals.
“We need more federal assistance to support these families and connect them with job opportunities,” she wrote. “These immigrants are ready to joint the workforce and we need to support them in the process.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
ANDOVER — Voters approved a zoning district on Tuesday that allows for the potential construction of up to 2,121 multifamily housing units.
Only a day after more than 900 voters turned out Monday for the first day of Town Meeting, the state-mandated district was approved 434-196.
To combat the housing crisis, the state passed a law in 2021 mandating that communities with MBTA transit stations or station located nearby create a zoning district that promotes the construction of multifamily housing, with the added requirement that 50% of the housing capacity must fall within a half mile of a transit station.
Creating zoning for the units does not necessarily mean they would be built. Developers would still need to meet regulations; the town would just have less discretion to deny projects, according to planning officials. The district, crafted over the last three years, spreads the density over three sections of town – downtown, Ballardvale and the area off River Road near Old River Road.
The proposed district was debated Tuesday night on the Town Meeting floor at Andover High School, but few voters lined up to oppose the measure.
“Andover is aging and we need good housing that makes it possible for young people to live in town,” she said.
Other residents were concerned about how the new zoning might change the town.
“I moved to Andover because it is not densely populated,” said Mike Tompkins. “Andover would not be the first town to vote against this overreach.”
The new district could be formally created relatively soon. The plan will now be sent to the state Attorney General’s Office, which has 90 days to approve the new zoning.
The section of the district off River Road has sparked some concern since there is little infrastructure there. The area is dominated by parking lots, corporate buildings, restaurants and a hotel.
“The river district aims to transform the area into a vibrant village-like feel,” said Jennifer Lemmerman, who chairs the volunteer group that drew up the district proposal.
The location is not within a half mile of a MBTA transit station for the commuter rail line, though it does have a bus stop.
The downtown zone would allow for up to 1,234 units with 119 in Ballardvale and 768 off River Road. The zone would allow for a unit density of up to 23.2 units per acre, with 17 units per acre for Ballardvale and 39 units per acre for the River Road area.
Select Board Chair Melissa Danisch said the district is a “measured and thoughtful response” to the state’s requirement.
“Reflects that fellow residents were listening,” she said.
Danisch also spoke of the millions of dollars in the grants the town could lose if it does not comply with the law.
State Sen. Barry Finegold, who received the opportunity to vote on MBTA zoning for the second time, also voiced his support.
“I did vote for this because it is the right thing to do,” he said. “It has become impossible to afford to come to this community.”
The proposed district has been well-received by officials. It would boost growth in town and pave the way for more private investment in infrastructure, they said.
Some residents have voiced concerns that having more people in town would put a greater strain on school services. School and planning officials have said that would not necessarily be the case with enrollment more heavily tied to turnover of current housing stock rather than the construction of new units.
The district would allow for up to 2,121 housing units – 90 more than previously allowed. Officials have said the state recommends a small buffer.
A commuter rail line snakes through town and has stations in Ballardvale and the downtown.
The state law was met with a mixed response from community officials around the state. Not complying with the law could carry serious consequences.
In addition to the potential loss of grants, municipalities could also face legal action. Milton is being sued by the state after its residents chose to vote against a proposed district.
At Town Meeting, one resident advocated for only approving the district once the legality of the state requirement was settled through the lawsuit.
Andover had until the end of this year to approve the district or face consequences from the state.
ANDOVER — After almost three hours of debating town finances Monday night, voters approved an operating budget with an additional $1,875,000 to prevent cuts in school positions.
The new operating budget totals $235.9 million with the amended increase allocated for the school budget. Voters at the annual Town Meeting increased the budget to save 34 positions the school district is looking at cutting to eliminate a $2.7 million shortfall.
More than 900 voters turned out at Andover High School for Town Meeting, which continues Tuesday. Andover needs to balance its budget before the new fiscal year begins July 1.
The proposed cuts of 34 school positions amount to about $2.5 million in annual salary. The previous operating budget was $234 million.
During debate on the budget, which included three votes on amendments, school staff members, parents and other residents made cases for why the cuts should be prevented. Others, including community officials and some residents, stressed the importance of long-range financial planning.
“The quality of education in Andover will be diminished,” said Mary Robb, a social studies teacher at Andover High School.
As town officials work to balance the new budget, it is unclear if the extra funding would have the desired effect of preventing all or even some of the cuts. Since the extra money was appropriated for schools, the School Committee will need to decide how it will be spent.
Committee Chair Lauren Conoscenti said immediately after the meeting that the committee did not yet have a plan for the additional money.
To balance the budget, the town will need to either reduce expenses or hold a Special Town Meeting to appropriate more money, according to Town Manager Andrew Flanagan.
During the meeting, many in the community advocated for free cash to be used to save the jobs. Officials pushed back against the idea, stating it is against state Department of Revenue guidelines to use free cash for ongoing expenses.
Flanagan argued for sticking with the town’s budget and spoke against the solutions proposed by residents.
“These ideas are contrary to the guiding principles that have provided the town with financial stability,” he said. “I respectfully ask that you consider the option of adhering to our plan.”
Residents voted 488-451 against an amendment to increase the school operating budget by $2.7 million. But they also voted for the amendment to increase the school operating budget by $1.8 million.
Operating budgets tend to make up the majority of the town’s overall budget.
Votes on the operating budget are also often straightforward and residents’ ability to vote down the budget or amend it is rarely utilized. With hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to various departments, amending the budget can be a tricky task for residents.
Before the amendment, the school budget totaled $103,335,959, an increase of $3,735,035 or 3.75% in the current budget.
Personnel make up about 80% of the school budget, according to the district.
The budget deficit is mainly the result of a contract won by the teachers union during a strike, as well as an increase in costs for services such as transportation, according to the school district.
Conoscenti reinforced that fact during the meeting.
“During the strike, this point was repeatedly made,” she said. “The educators acknowledged that was something we were wrestling with.”
School budget shortfalls are not unique to Andover this year, with North Andover facing a deficit of $3.1 million.
Cutting positions is expected to affect class sizes, however, the School Committee has said it will stick to the district’s goals.
Ever since the Andover Education Association was awarded the new contract, the union has said the cuts were proposed in retaliation for a largely successful strike.
School officials have said the cuts are also in line with reductions in enrollment that total about 11% over the past decade.
School instructional assistant Holly Currier said staff are asked to do more.
“Students’ needs have grown in complexity every year,” she said. “The level of need demands more staff.”
Officials have also said larger-than-usual increases in school spending would be unwise. For each of the last few years, Andover has increased its school budget by roughly 3.75%. The norm promotes the long-term financial health of the town and stops departments from having to fight for their budgets at Town Meeting, according to officials.
Town Meeting concluded on Monday night with only a handful of the 34 articles being taken up. The meeting resumes Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Andover High School when a proposal for a state-mandated zoning district will be addressed.
MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Daisy, the newest hire at the Manchester-by-the-Sea Police Department, has already made her mark.
The 5-month-old female, yellow Labrador retriever reported for duty April 17. She’s partnered with Officer Andrea Locke, the department’s school resource officer.
Daisy will live with Locke, her husband, her two children and the family dog, Rudy.
“She is adapting,” Locke said. “We’re just working on basic commands so far. She barks but she’s right at home. She’s very calm and loves people.”
Daisy’s job will be to provide general support for Manchester Essex Regional School District students, faculty and staff, and for the town’s senior citizens.
She’ll also serve as a “department ambassador” in the downtown area, including Masconomo Park, especially during community events.
“While a comfort dog can create positive interactions within a community, it also can greatly assist with our public safety work,” Police Chief Todd Fitzgerald said. “A dog can be a calming influence when we meet with a child victim or witness, provide a sense of comfort during a mental health intervention, and reduce the stress felt by residents during a critical incident.”
Fitzgerald described Daisy as having a “great temperament.”
“That’s what they’re bred for,” he said. “It’s not only for the schools, but for the elderly, too. So far, it has worked out well.”
Training for Daisy will take place for two weeks, starting the second week of July at Professional Canine Services in Middleboro. After that, she will have follow up visits to confirm the commands and skills she has learned, Lt. Mark McCoy said.
“It just makes the relationship better between the police and the public,” he said of Daisy’s presence.
But sightings of Daisy out and about in Manchester-by-the-Sea may take some time. Locke and other Manchester Police officers want to ease her into public appearances — especially at the Manchester Essex Regional School District schools.
“We want to be low key,” Locke said. “We don’t want her to be overwhelmed. She takes it all in. She does bark.”
Manchester Essex Regional High School first-year students Cate Vendt and Scarlett Lee proposed the idea for a comfort dog at the high school to Locke. Then the two met later with Fitzgerald and McCoy to formally pitch their idea. That meeting was followed by a presentation to the Select Board, which approved the idea April 16.
The Manchester Essex Regional School Committee is slated to consider the plan for the comfort dog during its May 21 meeting.
The cost to buy and train Daisy will total about $6,200, Fitzgerald said, and eventually there will be a swearing-in ceremony for the dog.
McCoy is working with Hooper Fund officials to secure financial support for the initial costs of purchasing Daisy and for training. Additional financial support for the dog was provided by a gift from the Manchester Essex Regional High School Class of 2024, the Manchester Masons Lodge, the Manchester Rotary Club and resident Ralph Bates. Contributions of dog food and supplies were made by the Essex County Co-Op and Crosby’s Market.
The comfort dog program will be financed, in part, by the Police Department’s account with North Shore Health Outreach for mental health programming and its K-9 allocation.
Although Daisy is the Police Department’s first comfort dog, she is its second canine. The town’s first and only K-9, Kato, a German shepherd, joined the force in 2014 and retired in 2018 when his human partner went to work for another police agency.
Kato and his partner located missing people, discovered illegal narcotics, tracked criminals together, worked as part of the Cape Ann Regional Response Team, and appeared on the NBC television show “American Ninja Warrior.” K-9 Kato is enjoying his golden years as ambassador for the nonprofit K9 PTSD Center of Seekonk, a therapeutic center for dogs who have worked in law enforcement and the military.
BOSTON — Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton is seeking a sixth term in Congress, touting accomplishments in Washington that he says have roped in tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for his district, and pledging to work to bolster national security, and push for immigration reform and reproductive rights.
Moulton filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday to run for reelection in the 6th Congressional race, which includes most of Essex County along with eight towns in Middlesex County. His campaign turned in more than 3,400 signatures from voters to qualify for the November ballot.
If reelected to another two-year term, Moulton said he plans to work on protecting reproductive rights, push to modernize public transportation — including high speed rail, improve mental health care, and bolster national security amid increasing military threats from Russia and China.
“We need a national China strategy,” said Moulton, who serves on a special House subcommittee on China. “We need to better manage competition, but most of all to succeed in deterrence. It’s critical that we succeed on deterrence.”
Moulton, 45, said he also plans to focus on immigration reform, as Massachusetts wrestles with a surge of asylum seekers that have overwhelmed the state’s emergency shelter system and forced the state to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars amid a lack of funding from Congress and the Biden administration.
“We need bipartisan immigration reform. Everyone knows the border is a mess,” Moulton said. “We need to do a lot more to discourage illegal immigration while encouraging people to come in through the proper pathways.”
He touts his accomplishments in Congress, from pushing through legislation creating a new 988 nationwide suicide hotline to improving mental health care for active duty military service members and making ALS disability insurance “more comprehensive and accessible.”
His reelection bid comes as a record number of congressional lawmakers have stepped down amid partisan bickering and redistricting changes in their home states. In the 118th Congress, at least 48 House members have departed or announced plans to leave Congress, about 11% of the lower chamber.
Moulton, a former Marine captain, stresses his record of working with Republicans to get things approved by Congress, but says he won’t shy away from a fight.
“Marines run toward the fight,” said Moulton, who served four combat tours of duty in Iraq. “There are problems and we’ve got to fix them. We have the best government in the world, but it needs a lot of work.”
Moulton was first elected to Congress in 2014, after toppling nine-term incumbent Democratic Rep. John Tierney and beating Republican Richard Tisei with 55% of the vote in the general election. He has won reelection four times, sometimes with opposition.
In the 2022 elections, he easily defeated Republican Bob May of Peabody and Mark Tashjian of Walpole, who was running as a Libertarian candidate.
Moulton said he’s expecting a challenger in the Sept. 3 Democratic primary, but it isn’t clear how many candidates will jump into the congressional race.
Nathaniel Mulcahy, a Rockport Democrat, pulled nomination papers to challenge Moulton, but hadn’t turned them in as of Thursday afternoon. The deadline to file paperwork to run is June 4, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
So far this election cycle, Moulton has raised close to $3.8 million, according to his campaign and Federal Election Commission filings. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, he raised $1.5 million, primarily for other Democratic candidates in congressional races.
While the control of Congress will be up for grabs in the November elections, when voters will also choice a president, deep-blue Massachusetts isn’t of the competitive battleground states.
All 11 members of the state’s current congressional delegation are Democrats, and the party has a 3 to 1 voter registration advantage over Republicans.
The 6th Congressional District, which was once considered a competitive seat, hasn’t been held by a Republican in nearly three decades.
Peter Torkildsen, who represented the 6th District from 1993 to 1997, lost the seat to Tierney in the November 1996 election by a razor-thin, 371-vote margin that took a month of recounts to finalize. He challenged Tierney two years later in what was described as a grudge match, but he failed to win back the seat.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
