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Tag: LAW

  • Trahan calls for fed probe of Steward finances

    Trahan calls for fed probe of Steward finances

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    BOSTON — U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan is urging federal authorities to investigate Stewart Health Care System’s plans to sell its Massachusetts hospitals after the bankrupt company announced plans to close two of the facilities.

    In a letter to the heads of U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Health and Human Services, Trahan said Steward’s decision to sell two hospitals — Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, will “have a long-lasting impact on accessible healthcare” in those communities.

    The Westford Democrat, whose district includes Ayer, called on the agencies to probe the closures and “closely monitor” the sale of Steward’s six other hospitals in Massachusetts, including Holy Family’s locations in Methuen and Haverhill.

    “It is crucial to ensure that healthcare services remain accessible and affordable for patients as these hospitals transition to new ownership,” Trahan wrote.

    The Department of Justice and other agencies recently launched an investigation into the impact of “greed” at Steward and other health care systems. As part of the investigation, the agencies plan to review the impact of private equity firms on patient health, worker safety and the quality of care for patients.

    The Texas-based company is also the target of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston, which is probing allegations that include fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The federal law prohibits U.S. companies or citizens from engaging in bribery and corruption overseas.

    Trahan’s request would expand the scope of that investigation to include “domestic crimes” as well as “the consumer harms patients have faced because of the company’s actions.”

    Trahan cited the role of the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management in Steward’s finances in Massachusetts and other states. She said acquisitions and sale-leaseback deals enriched Cerberus and Steward’s executives, including CEO Ralph de la Torre.

    Last week, the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted to initiate the investigation and issue a rare congressional subpoena for Steward’s CEO Ralph de la Torre to testify on Capitol Hill before the panel at a September hearing.

    Steward plans to put its 31 U.S. hospitals up for sale to pay down $9 billion in outstanding liabilities owed to creditors as part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protections in May.

    Bids on Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals and other states were due last week= but the company hasn’t disclosed prospective buyers. The company’s attorneys have asked a federal bankruptcy judge on Monday to postpone a court hearing on the hospital sales until Aug. 13 as it finalizes lease terms and other details.

    Meanwhile, the Healey administration’s plans to provide about $30 million in repurposed state-Medicaid funding to keep the hospitals running as they transition to new ownership is facing opposition from a committee representing creditors during the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

    In a court filing late Monday, the committee said it has “significant concerns” that the $30 million pledged by the state may provide near-term (and important) assistance in transitioning the hospital to new owners, “it will do so at the expense of the rest of debtors, their estates and their creditors.”

    Gov. Maura Healey has pledged that “not a dime” of the $30 million will go to Steward and will instead help ensure a smooth transition to new hospital ownership. But she noted that her administration has little or no authority to block the hospital closures.

    “It’s Steward’s decision to close these hospitals, there’s nothing that the state can do, that I can do, that I have the power to do, to keep that from happening,” Healey told reporters on Monday. “We are in this situation … because of the greed of one individual, Ralph de la Torre, and the management team at Steward.”

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Trahan calls for federal probe of Steward finances

    Trahan calls for federal probe of Steward finances

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    BOSTON — U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan is urging federal authorities to investigate Stewart Health Care System’s plans to sell its Massachusetts hospitals after the bankrupt company announced plans to close two of the facilities.

    In a letter to the heads of U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Health and Human Services, Trahan said Steward’s decision to sell two hospitals – Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer – will “have a long-lasting impact on accessible health care” in those communities.

    The Westford Democrat, whose district includes Ayer, called on the agencies to probe the closures and “closely monitor” the sale of Steward’s six other hospitals in Massachusetts, including Holy Family’s locations in Methuen and Haverhill.

    “It is crucial to ensure that healthcare services remain accessible and affordable for patients as these hospitals transition to new ownership,” Trahan wrote.

    The Department of Justice and other agencies recently launched an investigation into the impact of “greed” at Steward and other health care systems. As part of the investigation, the agencies plan to review the impact of private equity firms on patient health, worker safety and the quality of care for patients.

    The Texas-based company is also the target of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston, which is probing allegations that include fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The federal law prohibits U.S. companies or citizens from engaging in bribery and corruption overseas.

    Trahan’s request would expand the scope of that investigation to include “domestic crimes” as well as “the consumer harms patients have faced because of the company’s actions.”

    Trahan cited the role of the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management in Steward’s finances in Massachusetts and other states. She said acquisitions and sale-leaseback deals enriched Cerberus and Steward’s executives, including CEO Ralph de la Torre.

    Last week, the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted to initiate the investigation and issue a rare congressional subpoena for Steward’s CEO Ralph de la Torre to testify on Capitol Hill before the panel at a September hearing.

    Steward plans to put its 31 U.S. hospitals up for sale to pay down $9 billion in outstanding liabilities owed to creditors as part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protections in May.

    Bids on Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals and other states were due last week= but the company hasn’t disclosed prospective buyers. The company’s attorneys have asked a federal bankruptcy judge on Monday to postpone a court hearing on the hospital sales until Aug. 13 as it finalizes lease terms and other details.

    Meanwhile, the Healey administration’s plans to provide about $30 million in repurposed state Medicaid funding to keep the hospitals running as they transition to new ownership is facing opposition from a committee representing creditors during the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

    In a court filing late Monday, the committee said it has “significant concerns” that the $30 million pledged by the state may provide near-term (and important) assistance in transitioning the hospital to new owners, “it will do so at the expense of the rest of debtors, their estates and their creditors.”

    Gov. Maura Healey has pledged that “not a dime” of the $30 million will go to Steward and will instead help ensure a smooth transition to new hospital ownership. But she noted that her administration has little or no authority to block the hospital closures.

    “It’s Steward’s decision to close these hospitals, there’s nothing that the state can do, that I can do, that I have the power to do, to keep that from happening,” Healey told reporters on Monday. “We are in this situation … because of the greed of one individual, Ralph de la Torre, and the management team at Steward.”

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Steward delays hearings on hospital sales

    Steward delays hearings on hospital sales

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    BOSTON — Bankrupt Steward Health Care System is delaying hearings on the sale of its Massachusetts hospitals by another two weeks, as the company finalizes lease terms and state funding, according to a new court filing.

    The delay, which pushes back the hearing date to Aug. 13, comes two days before the company was scheduled to appear before a federal bankruptcy judge in Texas to receive approval to sell its hospitals in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania to pay off creditors.

    The company didn’t cite a reason for the delay and it is not clear if U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez will approve the request.

    Steward, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, is putting its 31 U.S. hospitals up for sale beginning this month to pay down $9 billion in outstanding liabilities owed to creditors as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. The company has eight hospitals in Massachusetts, two of which are being closed.

    Steward has received bids for the six hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Haverhill, but has yet to identify bidders or disclose the sale prices. It plans to sell its hospitals in Dorchester and Ayer after failing to reach adequate terms with prospective buyers.

    Meanwhile, the state’s taxpayers could be on the hook for $30 million to support Steward’s hospitals as they are shut down or transitioned to new owners.

    A proposal filed by Steward on Friday as an emergency motion seeks approval of the payment and an expedited plan to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. It’s not clear if that request has been approved.

    Karissa Hand, a spokeswoman for Gov. Maura Healey, said the $30 million, which does not require legislative approval, will “ensure that patients can continue to access care and workers can keep their jobs until Carney and Nashoba Valley close and the remaining hospitals are transitioned to new owners.”

    “Because of Steward and Ralph de la Torre’s greed and mismanagement, these hospitals are in bankruptcy and starved of the resources needed to keep operating for another month,” she said in a statement.

    The payments are “advances” on Medicaid funding that the state owes Steward, according to the Healey administration, and cannot be used for rent payments, debt service or management fees.

    Healey has blasted the company’s decision to close the two hospitals and called on the company to disclose details of the sale of the other hospitals.

    “It is time for Steward and their real estate partners to finally put the communities they serve over their own selfish greed,” she said in a statement Friday. “They need to finalize these deals that are in their best interest and the best interest of patients and workers.”

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Can you have a gun in your car without a concealed carry permit? What NC law says

    Can you have a gun in your car without a concealed carry permit? What NC law says

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    Open carry is legal in North Carolina without a permit if you are at least 18 years old and have no felony convictions, according to Raleigh-based Manning Law Firm.

    Open carry is legal in North Carolina without a permit if you are at least 18 years old and have no felony convictions, according to Raleigh-based Manning Law Firm.


    File photo by DAVID PULLIAM

    The Kansas City Star

    Concealed carry permits allow North Carolina residents to transport firearms on their person and in their vehicles. But what if you don’t have a permit?

    Open carry is legal in North Carolina without a permit if you are at least 18 years old and have no felony convictions, according to Raleigh-based Manning Law Firm.

    State law also includes rules on driving with a firearm in your vehicle without a permit. Here’s what to know about open carry while traveling in North Carolina.

    Can you open carry in your vehicle in NC?

    North Carolina law allows gun owners without concealed carry permits to transport firearms in their vehicles, but the weapons must be displayed openly, visible and readily seen, according to Charlotte-based law firm Randall & Stump.

    However, state law allows those without concealed carry permits to store weapons in the trunk, since they wouldn’t be within reach of anyone in the vehicle.

    “If you’re driving a vehicle with access to the trunk area, like an SUV or van, your weapon must be securely locked away in a container,” the firm says.

    What is the penalty for concealing a gun inside a vehicle in NC?

    First-time offenders convicted of illegally concealing a weapon without a permit could be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor, which comes with up to 60 days in jail and a fine, according to Randall & Stump.

    Any subsequent offense could result in a felony conviction, punishable by up to 39 months in prison depending on criminal history, the firm says.

    Can you fly with a gun in NC?

    People over the age of 18 can fly with firearms and ammunition, but they must be unloaded and in a locked, hard-sided container. They can only be transported in checked baggage, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

    Gun owners must also declare their firearms or ammunition when checking their bags at the ticket counter, the TSA says.

    What is the penalty for carrying a loaded gun through TSA?

    If TSA finds you have a loaded gun in the airport, “you will be charged with a crime and face civil fines,” says law firm Randall & Stump.

    “Also, if you have an unloaded gun that is not stored and transported properly, you will face charges and civil fines.”

    Attempting to transport a gun through a TSA checkpoint could lead to thousands of dollars in fines, the firm says.

    Fines range from a few hundred dollars for BB guns and flare pistols to nearly $10,000 for any type of loaded firearm (or unloaded with accessible ammunition).

    You could also be fined between $650 and $2,610 for firearms that are not stored properly inside your luggage.

    Ask the North Carolina Service Journalism Team

    Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.

    Related stories from Charlotte Observer

    Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.

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  • Pros And Cons Of Granting Trump Presidential Immunity

    Pros And Cons Of Granting Trump Presidential Immunity

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    The Supreme Court recently made it more difficult to prosecute Donald Trump in his election interference case, ruling 6-3 along ideological lines to grant him partial immunity from criminal charges. The Onion explores the pros and cons of bolstering Trump’s presidential power by making any “core” constitutional act while in office legal.

    NYPD Arrests Trump After Routine Stop-And-Frisk Turns Up Unlicensed Handgun, 400 Mg Of Ketamine

    • PRO: Can finally stop pretending we live in a democracy.
    • CON: Nothing we can print out of fear of retribution.
    • PRO: Saves a ton on prosecution costs.
    • CON: One more jaywalker.
    • PRO: Nice to finally have it in writing.
    • CON: Encourages him to put personal crimes on company card.
    • PRO: Country won’t last long enough for him to use it very often.
    • CON: Being president will probably get boring after the fourth or fifth time.

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  • Californians won’t pay more than one month’s rent for security deposits under new law

    Californians won’t pay more than one month’s rent for security deposits under new law

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    The days of needing to save two to three months’ worth of rent for a security deposit are largely over in California.

    Legislation took effect Monday that limits a security deposit on a rental property to no more than one month’s rent for all but the smallest landlords. The law, passed as Assembly Bill 12, was authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco).

    “Massive security deposits can create insurmountable barriers to housing affordability and accessibility for millions of Californians,” said Haney, who chairs the California Legislature’s Renters Caucus, in a statement.

    Previously, owners could charge two months of rent for unfurnished property and three months for furnished.

    The median rent in Los Angeles is $2,795, according to Zillow, an online real estate marketplace.

    An exception in the bill was carved out for landlords who own two or fewer properties that collectively have no more than four rental units.

    The bill was written in December 2022, passed by the Assembly and Senate last fall and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October.

    Along the way, it earned support from the Los Angeles County Board of Trustees.

    Supervisor Lindsey Horvath noted in May 2023 that she was unable to move into a rental a couple of years earlier because she was asked to pay “nearly a half a year’s rent upfront.”

    “As someone with a well-paying job, making more than the median income of the county, it was difficult for me to rent a new apartment because of the substantial deposits that were required,” she said.

    But the legislation raises concerns among some in the real estate industry.

    Sharon Oh-Kubisch, a partner at Irvine-based Kahana Feld, which practices real estate law, noted two potential drawbacks to the legislation.

    While she supports the bill’s aim of alleviating high costs of renting, financial burdens are being flipped to landlords, she said.

    She noted that security deposits are intended to cover damages when a tenant moves out. Lower deposits mean landlords are more likely to have to sue clients who cause considerable damage.

    “A landlord can demand damages at the back end, but then they’re more than likely going to have to sue and hire counsel to get that money,” Oh-Kubisch said.

    Additionally, she said that reducing security deposits may work against tenants who have less than perfect credit or lack a strong history of renting.

    Higher security deposits allowed landlords to be more flexible, Oh-Kubisch said. With those “safeguards” gone, she expects landlords to be “more precise and heighten scrutiny for tenants.”

    Still, others say the legislation will benefit those who have the most trouble finding housing.

    Masih Fouladi, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said in a statement that the law will help vulnerable communities.

    “In California’s high-cost rental market, expensive security deposits are often imposed on immigrants and people of color, effectively limiting access to safe and affordable housing,” he said. “By capping high security deposits, AB-12 advances a measure of equity.”

    Catherine A. Rodman, director and supervising attorney of San Diego-based Affordable Housing Advocates, a tenants rights legal group, said the news received mixed reviews among her mainly working-class clients.

    “I know that it’s been a big relief to many throughout the state, but at least here in the San Diego area, it’s not a big issue,” Rodman said.

    Zillow lists the median rent in San Diego at $3,095.

    She said “soaring rents” have already led most area landlords to require no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit.

    “I’ve been here for 40 years, and I’ve only encountered security deposit gouging on a few occasions,” Rodman said. “Our issue is rent.”

    Rodman said she didn’t want to “pooh-pooh” the legislation but hoped it was part of a broader vision to make housing affordable for larger swaths of the state.

    “I’m sure it helps, but we need to address the cost to rent, because that’s really the big roadblock,” she said.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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  • Justice Department to Criminally Charge Boeing for Breaching 737 Max Settlement: Reports

    Justice Department to Criminally Charge Boeing for Breaching 737 Max Settlement: Reports

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    Photo: Anadolu (Getty Images)

    The U.S. Justice Department intends to criminally charge Boeing for breaching a settlement connected to two deadly 737 Max jetliner crashes, according to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters. The federal government is reportedly seeking a guilty plea from Boeing, which may include a $243.6 million criminal fine and force the planemaker to bring on an independent compliance monitor.

    Florida Family Takes NASA to Court Over Home Damaged by Space Trash

    The Boeing-DOJ settlement followed a 2017 crash in Indonesia, which killed all 189 people on board; and a 2018 crash in Ethiopia, which killed all 157 people on board. Despite opposition from some lawmakers and relatives of those killed in the incidents, Boeing secured the $2.5 billion settlement in 2021, which temporarily protected it from criminal prosecution. The agreement required the planemaker to report evidence and allegations of fraud and “strengthen its compliance program,” the Justice Department said at the time.

    Then a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing plane in January, uncloaking continuing safety and compliance issues at the company. Four months later, the federal government said in a court filing that Boeing had breached its 2021 agreement by failing to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations.”

    The DOJ has now decided to bring criminal charges against Boeing and wants the planemaker to accept a plea deal, according to several reports. Such a deal would include about a quarter of a billion dollars in additional fines, per Bloomberg; it could also force Boeing to bring in an independent monitor to make sure the firm follows anti-fraud laws, per AP News.

    The DOJ reportedly told the 737 Max crash victims’ families and lawyers about the plea deal on Sunday, and said it would give the planemaker a week to decide whether to accept the offer or argue its case in court. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.

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    Harri Weber

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  • Beverly man charged with trafficking cocaine

    Beverly man charged with trafficking cocaine

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    BEVERLY — The execution of a search warrant Wednesday has resulted in the arrest of a 58-year-old Beverly man on charges of drug trafficking.

    On Wednesday evening, members of the Beverly Police Drug Control Unit, with assistance from Salem police and detectives, executed a search warrant at the Beverly home of David Davis, 58, and charged him with trafficking over 100 grams of cocaine.

    A search of Davis’ home and vehicle located approximately 119 grams of cocaine in baggies of various sizes, a digital scale, and $1,033 in cash.

    A Beverly police detective was bitten by a dog while serving the search warrant. He was taken to Beverly hospital for treatment of injuries to his arm.

    Davis was taken into custody at the scene and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday in Salem District Court. He is being held on $10,000 bond, and a probable cause hearing has been set for July 24 in Salem District Court.

    The search was a result of an ongoing investigation.

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    By Buck Anderson | Staff Writer

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  • Mass. leaders react to blocking of Purdue Pharma payout

    Mass. leaders react to blocking of Purdue Pharma payout

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    Beacon Hill leaders are pledging to push for money from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that nullified a $6 billion settlement with the Sackler family over their alleged role in fueling a nationwide opioid crisis.

    On Thursday, the high court rejected a controversial settlement that would have sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Massachusetts, New Hampshire and other states for treatment programs and victims of the opioid epidemic, but that also shielded the Sacklers from any future lawsuits.

    Gov. Maura Healey, who in 2018 as attorney general filed the first lawsuit against Purdue and the Sacklers, said she will continue to push for relief for the families “who have been hurt in this crisis and for the communities that desperately need these resources for prevention, treatment and recovery.”

    “Today’s decision will never erase the role that Purdue and the Sacklers had in creating the opioid crisis, destroying the lives of American families, and exploiting a broken legal system to protect their billions,” Healey said in a statement.

    Attorney General Andrea Campbell vowed that the Sacklers “must and will be held responsible, and, in the wake of this decision, we will use every power available to us to make sure that occurs.”

    “It is no secret that members of the Sackler family, through their control of Purdue, fueled the opioid crisis, devastating countless lives in the pursuit of profit,” she said.

    The deal rejected by the high court was to be financed largely by the company being converted into a public benefits corporation, with profits used to fight the opioid crisis. The Sacklers were supposed to kick in up to $6 billion, but would be shielded from any future civil liability claims.

    In a statement, the Sackler family suggested they will likely pursue negotiations to settle claims by state attorneys general and other parties to the now-defunct deal.

    “The unfortunate reality is that the alternative is costly and chaotic legal proceedings in courtrooms across the country,” they said in a statement. “While we are confident that we would prevail in any future litigation given the profound misrepresentations about our families and the opioid crisis, we continue to believe that a swift negotiated agreement to provide billions of dollars for people and communities in need is the best way forward.”

    The high court’s 5-4 rejection of the agreement focused on the limitations of the U.S. bankruptcy system.

    “The Sacklers seek greater relief than a bankruptcy discharge normally affords, for they hope to extinguish even claims for wrongful death and fraud, and they seek to do so without putting anything close to all their assets on the table,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.

    “Describe the relief the Sacklers seek how you will, nothing in the bankruptcy code contemplates it,” he added.

    But in a minority opinion, Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined with Chief Justice John Roberts in declaring that the court’s decision will have a “devastating” impact on thousands of victims of the nation’s opioid crisis.

    “As a result, opioid victims are now deprived of the substantial monetary recovery that they long fought for and finally secured after years of litigation,” Kavanaugh wrote.

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Cambridge, said the Supreme Court’s ruling closed a bankruptcy “loophole” that would have allowed the Sacklers to avoid more financial liability, but said “that doesn’t make things right for the millions of people who have lost loved ones to opioid overdoses.”

    “This is a first step toward accountability for the Sackler family,” she said. “It’s time for the Sacklers to pay up.”

    Healey’s 2018 lawsuit, which was signed onto by dozens of other states, alleged the Sacklers reaped billions of dollars as their company misled prescribers and patients in order to boost sales of their addictive medications.

    Massachusetts still is grappling with a deadly wave of addiction that has claimed thousands of lives from overdoses, despite a declining number of deaths.

    There were 2,125 opioid-related deaths in 2023, a 10% decline over the previous year, according to the state Department of Public Health.

    Experts say many of those addictions started with pain pills, usually prescribed by a doctor.

    Massachusetts was slated to get about $110 million from the deal with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, which would have added to hundreds of millions of dollars from other multistate settlements with opioid makers and distributors. The money is devoted for drug treatment and prevention efforts.

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • House approves plan to end ‘equity theft’ in foreclosure sales

    House approves plan to end ‘equity theft’ in foreclosure sales

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    BOSTON — The state House of Representatives has approved a proposal to stop “equity theft” from property owners who fall behind on their local taxes, which comes in response to federal and state court rulings that deemed the practice unconstitutional.

    The bill, which passed Wednesday by a vote of 154-0, would establish a process allowing delinquent property owners to claim “excess equity” within 60 days of a foreclosure sale or seizure by local governments.

    The excess equity would be determined by deducting the tax title account balance owed to a local government on date of a foreclosure judgment, the cost of appraisal, and other related expenses, according to the proposal. Property owners would need to file a claim to recoup the excess equity.

    The changes are a matter of fairness to property owners who shouldn’t lose equity in their home that they’ve built up over years because of an unpaid tax bill, lawmakers said.

    “No one, and no entity, should gain a windfall profit in a split second by stealing every bit of equity someone else has built over decades or a lifetime,” state Rep. Tram Nguyen, D-Andover, said in remarks ahead of the bill’s passage. “Not here. Not anywhere.”

    Another architect of the bill, state Rep. Mark Cusack, D-Braintree, said the changes are aimed at “protecting property owners and making towns whole” and ensuring that excess equity is “returned to the rightful owners.”

    To help prevent property owners from slipping into foreclosure, the proposal would require local governments to provide advanced notice to people who have fallen behind on their taxes and at risk of having a lien placed on their property.

    Movement on the legislation comes amid pressure on lawmakers to act following a series of court rulings over the past year holding that government can’t take value of someone’s property beyond taxes owed without reimbursement.

    A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a Minnesota tax foreclosure case that effectively deemed the practice unconstitutional by siding with a 94-year-old woman over her claim that a county government violated the Constitution by keeping a $25,000 profit when it sold her home in a tax foreclosure sale.

    Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling that taxpayers are only required to pay the government what it is owed and anything beyond that is an unconstitutional taking of property.

    “The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s but no more,” Roberts wrote, in a reference to biblical scripture.

    In April, a Massachusetts judge added to the pressure on lawmakers to take steps to comply with the high court’s ruling. Superior Court Judge Michael Callan’s ruling in a Hamden County lawsuit deemed the law “unconstitutional,” saying “the statutory scheme, in its present form, is untenable and requires Legislative correction.”

    Massachusetts is among a dozen states, plus Washington, D.C., with tax foreclosure laws allowing local governments or investors to take dramatically more than what is owed from homeowners who slip into default.

    Under the state’s foreclosure law, cities and towns can sell or keep tax liens on delinquent properties. The lienholder — whether it’s a local government or investor — can file for foreclosure once the debt is six months old.

    Once a property is foreclosed on, the lienholder gets a deed and can keep or sell it. A lienholder can keep profits from the sale, under the law.

    Critics of the practice, including the Boston-based New England Legal Foundation, argue that if the government seizes a home to collect overdue taxes the homeowner should be allowed to collect the surplus revenue from the sale once the taxes are paid.

    Dan Winslow, the foundation’s president, said the House’s plan to fix the law “strikes a fair balance between the need for cities and towns to collect taxes for local services while protecting homeowners from being cheated out of their hard-earned equity.”

    A 2022 report by Pacific Legal Foundation found homeowners in Massachusetts and other states collectively lost more than $777 million in savings on more than 5,600 homes based on their market value, above what they owed in taxes. On average, homeowners lost 86% of their equity, the group said.

    Local governments, which often sell properties for a fraction of market value, collected about $26 million more than they were owed on 1,300 homes, the report said.

    Meanwhile, private investors collected an estimated $250 million more than they were owed on about 2,600 homes, the report’s authors said.

    In Massachusetts, the report identifies about 315 homes in the state — including several in Lawrence — that have been affected by home “equity theft” totaling more than $48 million.

    The House’s excess equity proposal must be approved by the state Senate before heading to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for consideration.

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Records Show Postal Service Regularly Spies On Americans’ Mail For Law Enforcement

    Records Show Postal Service Regularly Spies On Americans’ Mail For Law Enforcement

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    A congressional probe recently revealed that the U.S. Postal Service has shared information from Americans’ mail with law enforcement, including names and addresses, without requiring a court order, with the organization approving 97% of the 60,000 requests they’ve received from police departments since 2015. What do you think?

    “It’s worrisome that law enforcement would have that kind of access to the deals Spectrum is offering.”

    Sohail Ashraf, Asylum Greeter

    Nation’s Men In Bathroom Stalls Announce Plan To Breathe Really Loudly

    “I always suspected my mailman was a fed.”

    Aiya Thorp, Company Downsizer

    “They must have a hell of a file on Current Resident.”

    Trevor Moayedi, systems analyst

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  • Julian Assange Released From Prison in Plea Deal With U.S.

    Julian Assange Released From Prison in Plea Deal With U.S.

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    WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been released from prison in the UK and will be allowed to return to his home country of Australia after he pleads guilty to illegally disseminating national security material in the U.S., according to a surprising new report from NBC News.

    Will The MSI Claw Scratch Your Handheld Gaming Itch?

    Court documents filed Monday by the U.S. federal government in the Northern Mariana Islands suggest the plea deal is imminent, though the New York Times notes everything still needs to be approved by a judge. Assange previously faced 170 years in prison.

    Why have the court documents been filed in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific? According to the Associated Press, it’s due to Assange’s “opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court’s proximity to Australia.”

    The 52-year-old has been held in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison for the past five years, a period that follows a years-long saga that saw Assange holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy while first claiming asylum in 2012. Assange was physically dragged out of the embassy by British authorities in April 2019.

    “Julian Assange is free,” the WikiLeaks X account tweeted on Monday around 8:00 p.m. ET. “He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.”

    WikiLeaks also published a video of Assange, embedded below, showing him reading paperwork and appearing to board a plane, presumably bound for the Northern Mariana Islands to formally enter his plea.

    The Times explains that a plea deal was deemed acceptable to top officials at the Justice Department because Assange had already served five years in the UK while awaiting extradition to the U.S.

    The original charges against Assange were brought by the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump in 2019, despite the fact that Trump would often talk about how much he loved WikiLeaks. Trump failed to pardon Assange before leaving office, something many Assange backers insisted the former president would do.

    Assange faced 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act along with charges related to criminal hacking, but the Times reports he’ll only plead guilty to one charge. Assange allegedly provided instructions to whistleblower Chelsea Manning on how to access classified computers, which is what experts claimed was the differentiating factor that made his conduct more serious than a typical journalist who simply disseminates sensitive information.

    Some of the documents were published by WikiLeaks in 2011 under the name “Collateral Murder,” including a video from 2007 that showed U.S. forces in Iraq killing several civilians, including two journalists from Reuters.

    The plea deal would put an end to the incredibly long saga that has engulfed Assange for over a decade now, though it’s not clear whether the WikiLeaks founder would immediately get back to work. Assange started as a celebrity among lefty and libertarian circles in the early 2010s before becoming celebrated more by the political right-wing after furthering conspiracy theories that supported Donald Trump in 2016.

    Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, released a video statement along with WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson which appears to have been shot shortly before Julian was actually released.

    “I just came out of Belmarsh prison and what I hope is my last visit to see Julian here in this prison where he spent five years, two months and two weeks. And if you’re seeing this, it means he is out,” Hrafnsson says in the video.

    Stella Assange says that a crowdfunding campaign would be launched to support Julian’s “recovery” and health care costs.

    SA KH statement 260624

    The Australian government and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made repeated pleas to the White House for Assange’s release, though it was never clear whether President Joe Biden was going to intervene in the case. Assange has reportedly suffered various health issues in prison, though the short video clip released by WikiLeaks appears to show Assange is visibly healthy.

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    Matt Novak

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  • Killer in 1987 Salem murder granted parole

    Killer in 1987 Salem murder granted parole

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    BEVERLY — A man who was serving a life sentence for a 1987 execution-style murder in Salem has been granted parole, despite the objections of the victim’s family and the Essex District Attorney’s office.

    Charles “Chucky” Doucette, who pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Raymond Bufalino, was granted parole by the state parole board on May 13.

    Doucette, who is now 64, shot Bufalino twice in the head as they were sitting in Bufalino’s car near Harmony Grove Cemetery on the Salem-Peabody line in 1987. He was also convicted of two violent home invasions while on bail awaiting trial, and was arrested when he was out on parole on two previous occasions.

    In its unanimous decision, the parole board said Doucette “has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.”

    In testimony before the parole board in March, Bufalino’s wife, Shauna O’Sullivan, pleaded with the board not to release Doucette.

    “With his tendency for violence I fear that he will reoffend,” she said in a video of the hearing. “I would hate to hear of another person having to live through the anguish and emotional turmoil that I went through. I believe he made his choice all those years ago and that he should be held accountable for his crimes.”

    O’Sullivan said her son was 9½ months old at the time his father was murdered.

    “I’m not angry or bitter,” she told the board. “I’m past that now, some 38 years later.

    “I feel I owe it to my husband’s memory to say something.”

    Bufalino’s sister and brother also spoke against giving Doucette parole. In a statement read by a victim service advocate at the parole hearing, Suzanne Maynard and Anthony Bufalino called Doucette a “menace to society and a true threat to society.

    “Look at what happened the first time he got paroled,” they said. “Nothing but trouble. So tell me, since being back in prison has he changed? I doubt it.”

    Essex County Assistant District Attorney Kayla Burns also spoke against parole, saying Doucette has continued to minimize his culpability and deflect blame.

    “He puts the blame on other people being in his life,” Burns said.

    During the hearing, Doucette, who has lived in Beverly and Peabody, said he has changed in his years in prison thanks to counseling and programs on subjects such as domestic violence and anger management.

    “I’ve always been bigger and stronger than most people. I always got my way through intimidation and being a total ass,” he told the parole board. “I’m not that person today. I have children. I have grandchildren. I have great-grandchildren. I don’t want them to make the mistakes I made. I want them to learn from the mistakes I made.”

    Doucette’s mother and sister spoke in favor of his release. His sister, Kim Malick, said Doucette has remained close to her children, who are now in their 20s.

    “He met my oldest daughter when she fit into the palm of his hand in prison,” Malik said. “I would love for him to have the opportunity to come home and see her.”

    Doucette had been granted parole twice previously and was arrested both times — once on a rape charge that was later dropped, and another on a domestic assault charge of which he was acquitted — and sent back to prison.

    In total, Doucette was serving seven life sentences for the murder, two counts of home invasion, two counts of armed robbery, and two counts of stealing by confining or putting a person in fear.

    He was denied parole in his last three attempts before the board granted parole in May.

    According to the board’s decision, Doucette has invested in his rehabilitation, including participating in domestic violence programs and counseling, and working and volunteering in the prison law library. “He has strong vocational skills and work ethic,” the board said.

    Doucette has maintained stable relationships with his family and has been sober since 1990, according to the board.

    He told the board he wanted to get his commercial driving license and move to Texas to be near his family.

    Bufalino, of Salem, worked for Doucette’s father at a Salem gas station and was considering a lawsuit after getting injured while working. Doucette was also angry that Bufalino owed him money, according to the parole board’s statement of the case.

    While seated together in Bufalino’s car, Doucette shot him once behind the right ear and once in the mouth. Bufalino’s body was found by his wife, who had gone to search for him. He was 30 years old.

    At the hearing, Doucette apologized to Bufalino’s family. At one point he broke down crying when he said that his own daughter no longer talks to him.

    “I know how bad it hurt me with my own daughter not being part of my life,” Doucette said. “I can’t put into words what I must have cost Ray’s family and his son especially.”

    After gaining parole, Doucette was scheduled to be released to a long-term residential program. Conditions included a 10 p.m. curfew, electronic monitoring at the parole officer’s discretion, a substance abuse treatment plan, domestic violence counseling, counseling for intimate partner/co-dependence relations, and no contact with the victim’s family.

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

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Can you drink a beer on a boat in NC? What to know about the state’s BUI laws

    Can you drink a beer on a boat in NC? What to know about the state’s BUI laws

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    Boaters enjoy time on the water near Ramsey Creek County Park at Lake Norman, NC.

    Boaters enjoy time on the water near Ramsey Creek County Park at Lake Norman, NC.

    Dillon Deaton


    ddeaton@charlotteobserver.com

    Boating season has arrived in North Carolina, with many already hitting the water to beat the heat.

    Having a beer on the lake is common during those 90-degree days, but it can also be dangerous.

    Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents, and it was listed as the leading factor in 16% of deaths in 2022, according to the most recent report from the U.S. Coast Guard.

    Luckily, North Carolina has laws that protect people on the water.

    Here’s what to know about the state’s boating while under the influence laws.

    What are the laws on drinking + boating in NC for drivers & passengers?

    According to state law, it is illegal to operate a boat “while under the influence of an impairing substance” or “in a reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person.”

    Similar to driving statutes, a person is in violation of the law “after having consumed sufficient alcohol that the person has, at any relevant time after the boating, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more,” the law says.

    While it is against the law to drive a boat while impaired, it is legal for passengers to consume alcohol while on a boat, according to Glover Law Firm, a firm based in eastern North Carolina.

    Boaters enjoy time on the water near Ramsey Creek County Park at Lake Norman, NC.
    Boaters enjoy time on the water near Ramsey Creek County Park at Lake Norman, NC. Dillon Deaton ddeaton@charlotteobserver.com

    What happens if you break the law?

    Violations of North Carolina’s BWI law are a class two misdemeanors, according to the law

    If convicted, you could be fined a minimum of $250, the law says.

    People who are found guilty of breaking the law could also face up to 60 days in jail or probation, according to NC-based Wentz Law Firm.

    Do you need a license to drive a boat in NC?

    You don’t need a license to drive a boat in North Carolina.

    However, any person born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, must complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators-approved boating education course before operating a boat with 10 horsepower or greater, according to state law.

    Boating education courses can be completed in-person or online. There is no minimum age requirement, but the course is taught at a sixth-grade level, and a written exam must be completed to pass the class, NCWRC says.

    Ask the North Carolina Service Journalism Team

    Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.

    Related stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.

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    Evan Moore

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  • Timeline of the case

    Timeline of the case

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    1990

    Newlywed Pam Smart, then a 22-year-old media coordinator at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire, plots with her teenage students to have her husband, Gregg Smart, murdered. She has an affair with a student, William “Billy” Flynn of Seabrook, then 15, who shoots Gregg Smart in their Derry condominium.

    1991

    Pam Smart is convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole after a trial in Exeter, New Hampshire. The case gained international attention and was one of America’s first major cases involving a sexual affair between a school staff member and student. Flynn is later convicted of second-degree murder.

    1992

    Notable author Joyce Maynard writes the novel “To Die For” drawing from the Smart case.

    1994

    Pam Smart is transferred to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York to serve her life sentence.

    1995

    “To Die For” inspires a film of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix.

    2005

    Pam Smart is denied her first request at a commutation hearing that year.

    2010

    In interviews, Smart says she never wanted Gregg killed and never asked anyone to do it.

    2015

    Flynn is freed after serving a 25-year prison sentence.

    2019

    N.H. Governor’s Council votes 4-0 against Smart’s request for a commutation hearing.

    2022

    Smart appeals to N.H. Supreme Court, which dismisses her petition a year later.

    2024

    In a video sent to WMUR TV, for the first time at age 56, Smart says she accepts responsibility for Gregg’s murder and asks to have an “honest conversation” with Gov. Chris Sununu and the Executive Council.

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  • New Rule Requires Migrants To Find Lawyer Within 4 Hours of Border Crossing

    New Rule Requires Migrants To Find Lawyer Within 4 Hours of Border Crossing

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    According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, migrants crossing the border into the United States illegally are now required to find a lawyer to represent their case within four hours of crossing if they want to argue their exemption from the asylum restrictions enacted by President Biden on Tuesday. What do you think?

    “That’s why the Statue of Liberty is engraved with that 800 number.”

    Rizwan Oneill, Inflation Predictor

    Biden Announces Plans For Extra PlayStation 5 Controller In Case Someone Visits Nation

    “Introducing them to convoluted bureaucracy early on will help them assimilate faster.”

    John Smart, Road Manager

    “It’s barbaric that we’re asking them to interact with lawyers.”

    Valerie Cordero, Systems Analyst

     

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  • Housing forum with Tarr, Ferrante slated for June 4

    Housing forum with Tarr, Ferrante slated for June 4

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    ROCKPORT — Advocates for affordable housing on Cape Ann and statewide are sending out a clarion call to lawmakers, urging them to back the state’s Affordable Homes Act, a $4 billion effort that seeks to support a wide array of housing projects across the state.

    Seen as the centerpiece of Gov. Maura Healey’s effort to tackle rising housing prices in the state, the Affordable Homes Act, filed in 2023, includes $4 billion in capital spending authorizations and 28 “substantive” policy changes, three executive orders and two targeted tax credits.

    The measure is the largest of its kind in state history, according to Rabbi Allen Lipson, organizer and development coordinator for the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO).

    “But the real estate lobby is pushing hard against the key funding mechanism and state reps are wavering,” he said. “The bill will be voted on in the next couple of weeks. So, we are organizing to save it before it’s too late.”

    ECCO has organized a meeting with regional lawmakers to try and convince them to back the bill which seeks to increase the amount of money available for affordable housing, reduce barriers to the production and preservation of housing, and give communities the tools to develop more housing where they need it, according to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

    “We have an urgent opportunity to save funding for hundreds of millions of dollars in housing across the state,” Lipson said.

    The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Rockport Public Library, 17 School St. in Rockport.

    Event organizers said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, will attend.

    “We’ll be asking for their support for key provisions of the bill currently under attack,” Lipson said.

    “Non-Cape Ann residents are also welcome since this issue impacts everyone in the state.”

    Those interested in more information or attending may contact Lipson at allen@eccoaction.org.

    Stephen Hagan can be reached at 978-675-2708 or at shagan@northofboston.com.

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    By Times Staff

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  • Trump Found Guilty On All Counts In Hush Money Trial

    Trump Found Guilty On All Counts In Hush Money Trial

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    Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying documents to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star during the 2016 election, becoming the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. What do you think?

    “It’s his grace in defeat I admire most.”

    Manny Wendelin, Elephant Interpreter

    NYPD Arrests Trump After Routine Stop-And-Frisk Turns Up Unlicensed Handgun, 400 Mg Of Ketamine

    “Those jurors just ruined their chances of being Trump’s VP.”

    Brianne Prater, Tractor Curator

    “It’s hard when the crook you thought you knew is revealed to be a criminal.”

    Jorge Cree, systems analyst

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  • Trump’s Online MAGA Army Calls Guilty Verdict a Declaration of War

    Trump’s Online MAGA Army Calls Guilty Verdict a Declaration of War

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    The words “RIP America” trended on X minutes after a jury in Manhattan found former president Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts for falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

    Images of an upside-down American flag—a symbol of distress that became co-opted by the 2020 Stop the Steal movement—flooded social media, as Trump supporters, fringe extremists, right-wing pundits, and politicians voiced their anger.

    Ever since the trial began, pro-Trump commentators —and Trump himself—have been priming MAGA online ecosystems to claim foul play if the jury found him guilty. The response to his felony conviction was predictably swift, with many characterizing it as a declaration of “war” from the “deep state.” Incendiary rhetoric about how the guilty verdict was a sign of America’s collapse reverberated from the mainstream right all the way to the fringes.

    “As of today, with this fake guilty verdict against Trump, America is no longer the United States,” wrote Joey Marianno, a pro-Trump political commentator, to his 466,000 followers on X. “We are a third-world shithole heading for a Civil War. I have no desire to see this country to unify. There’s no country to unite. We are long past that.”

    Many of the biggest proponents of “Stop the Steal,” which culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, did not hesitate to claim that the verdict was the result of a “rigged” justice system.

    In a video posted to his 2.3 million followers on X, Infowars’ Alex Jones said that the “deep state and globalists” put Trump through a “kangaroo” court in the hope that a guilty verdict would harm his campaign. “Ladies and gentlemen, we see our republic on its deathbed right now,” said Jones, adding that he believed that “false flag terror attacks blamed on Trump supporters angry about the verdict” were imminent. “We do not want any violence, we do not want any attacks,” he said.

    Ali Alexander, a far-right conspiracy theorist, did not mince words either. “Today is Jan. 6th for the entire nation,” he wrote on Telegram to his 12,000 subscribers. “This is worse than the Civil War. Respectfully.”

    That kind of rhetoric even made it to the airwaves. “We have been calling it lawfare,” said Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro.“I think lawfare is far too soft, it’s far too benign. This is warfare.”

    Trump sounded off on Truth Social and in a fundraising email shortly after the verdict came in, doubling down on his false claim that he’s a victim of political persecution, perpetrated by a corrupt system that’s hellbent on “stealing” the 2024 election from him again.

    “THIS WAS A DISGRACE—A RIGGED TRIAL BY A CONFLICTED JUDGE WHO IS CORRUPT. WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR CONSTITUTION—THIS IS LONG FROM OVER!” he wrote on Truth Social.

    Trump’s claims of “rigging” were repeated by supporters. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also perpetuated conspiracy theories about the verdict. “This case was engineered for years, from the very top of the Democrat apparatus, to bring down Trump, using a rigged law in a rigged courtroom with a rigged jury,” Kirk wrote on X. “We must win. We must defeat these savages. Stand with Trump.”

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    Tess Owen

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  • Peter Van Ness writes a new life chapter

    Peter Van Ness writes a new life chapter

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    Former Gloucester resident Peter Van Ness’s debut novel, a tech thriller called “The Faithful” has arrived, and it is very ambitious indeed.

    Van Ness, who now lives in Florida, says he has always been fascinated by the intersection of science and spirituality/religion. Add to that the confluence of 21st century technology, and you are inside the mind of John Welles, a brilliant and ambitious MIT graduate who is not just the central character but absolutely central to the novel, as much of the book takes place in his mind.

    We first meet John when, as a precocious and curious child, he questions the very existence of reality. Little John recalls in a first-person introductory narrative that he observes the world as a place he can only think to call “pretend.” He can escape it by entering a secret portal in the hallway into infinity where he can time travel at will.

    As the son of a prominent Presbyterian minister, Van Ness himself developed an early interest in spirituality and religion, and their link to the metaphysical. Likewise, as a natural math whiz, science was second nature to him. His mind, he says, was ready made for the 21st century, and his tech resume began in high school when he programed computers connected to the ARPANET, the first operational computer network that became the foundation of the modern internet. Later, he’d go on to co-found a software company “that made his investors rich.”

    Anyone who knows Van Ness from his entrepreneurial 25 years in Gloucester, knows he marches to his own drum. He skipped college, and became a student of world religions, with a special inclination toward Buddhism.

    All of this — science, technology, religion, spirituality, mysticism, not to mention Van Ness’s passion for music — comes home to roost in “The Faithful,” as John’s tech brilliance gets him and his equally brilliant girlfriend Emily swept up in a struggle between two opposing secret religious sects, the Faithful versus the Disciples.

    Van Ness describes “The Faithful” sect as representing those wanting “to protect people from all the dangers of the world. They are absolutely sure they are right and committed to their mission, whatever it takes.” The Disciples, on the other hand, “are endlessly curious, seek adventure … constantly question whether they are doing the right thing, and are always adjusting their plans to adapt to current conditions.”

    When John and Emily stumble upon evidence of an undiscovered energy field that is, to make a long story short, the key to life itself, they become targets of an ensuing Dan Brownish conspiracy reminiscent of a high tech “The Da Vinci Code,” plunging the reader “into the minds and psyches of the couple as they each embark on a personal journey of self-discovery.”

    Ten years in the writing, “The Faithful” evolved with today’s rapidly changing technology and came to include new advances in artificial intelligence. Suffice to say, this is not a tale for tech luddites. But is you are a 21st century digital citizen, then fasten your seatbelts, you’re in for a ride.

    Tech aside, at its heart, “The Faithful” remains deeply humanitarian, even romantic. John, like Van Ness himself, loves music, and music weaves its magic throughout “The Faithful.” John hears it in everything, including the glug, glug, glug of fine wine decanting. Then there is “the maestro” — a beloved conductor revered by his musical students, one of whom is John. Van Ness creates in the relationship between the maestro and his students what sounded to this reader as a metaphor for the relationship between the all-seeing God orchestrating life itself.

    Van Ness, who, with his wife Vicky, was well known in Gloucester as a mover and shaker in downtown community creative and cultural initiatives. From the summer block parties to Discover Gloucester, they were on the launching pads. But they were best known as promoters of local live music. As founders of Gimme Music and Beverly’s “intimate listening room” 9 Wallis, they were — until the COVID-19 pandemic hit — major players on the North Shore’s live music scene.

    One door closes, another opens. In his new home in Florida, Van Ness says he loves swimming daily in the ocean. and as anyone who knows him will not be surprised to hear, in between riding the waves, he’s already writing a sequel. Stay tuned.

    Joann Mackenzie may be contacted at 978-675-2707 or jmackenzie@northofboston.com.

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    By Joann Mackenzie | Staff Writer

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