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  • Police/Fire

    Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    GLOUCESTER

    Sunday, March 24

    6:23 p.m.: Fireworks were reported on Macomber Road.

    4:13 p.m.: A crash with property damage only was reported at Market Basket on Gloucester Crossing Road.

    3:30 p.m.: A resident came into the police station lobby to report identity theft. The resident explained someone used his Social Security number to create an account under his name. The account showed a balance of $1.01. Police said the resident contacted the company to report the fraudulent activity and the company canceled the account. The residentreported a separate incident in October 2023 in which someone tried to initiate a purchase using his credit card and the transaction was denied, and that reported that recently, his email was logged in from Vietnam, but his account has since been secured.

    Noon: A person reported the theft of approximately $100 in cash and a check that had been placed in the car’s visor after she went to Addison Gilbert Hospital on Washington Street and parked at the nearby Seacoast Nursing Home. She parked at 10 a.m. and noticed the money was missing around 10:50 a.m. on March 21. The bank put an immediate stop on the check to keep it from being cashed.

    11:32 a.m.: Police were called to help the Fire Department make entry into a residence on Sayward Street due to a person who fell and was home alone. The person refused medical treatment.

    10:27 a.m.: A caller from a vacant lot on Main Street reported someone was spitting on him. The indiviuals were separated and police cleared the scene.

    10:17 a.m.: A caller from Granite Street reported a carbon monoxide detector had activated. The caller was advised to step outside and the Fire Department was dispatched.

    8:15 a.m.: A resident reported someone tried to get into her shed. Police saw the shed door had a piece broken off and the door handle was found on the ground nearby. Police said it did not appear anyone got into the shed because the door was frozen shut due to the rain and falling temperatures overnight.

    Saturday, March 23

    Crashes with property damage only: at 11:36 a.m. on Blackburn Circle with a person reportedly taken to the hospital; at 9:03 p.m. on Grant Circle, Washington Street and Ashland Place.

    Disturbances were reported on Poplar Street at 12:38 p.m. and Sayward Street at 2:26 p.m.

    11:11 a.m.: Smoke alarms were reported sounding at 264 Main St. Gloucester Fire Department was dispatched.

    11 a.m.: Police on Friday, March 22, learned a man had two fully extraditable warrants issued in Texas against him and that he might be living in Gloucester at his parents’ house. The offenses included making terroristic threats against a police officer/judge and multiple warrants out of Collin County, Texas. On Saturday, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the warrant service was active and fully extraditable. Police requested a warrant against the man on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. The 36-year-old was arrested at a residence on Essex Avenue on a straight arrest warrant Monday, March 25, by a detective, a deputy from the U.S. Marshals Service and a trooper from the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section. The man was placed into custody without incident and taken to the Rockport Police Department for booking. He was later taken to court.

    ROCKPORT

    Sunday, March 31

    Traffic stops were conducted on Broadway at 6:33 and 6:56 p.m. Both drivers were given verbal warnings.

    9:58 a.m.: After an alarm was reported, the Fire Department was dispatched to a Beach Street address.

    9:52 a.m.: A police wellness check made at a Main Street address.

    7:58 a.m.: After a report was received at High Street address, a verbal warning was issued.

    Saturday March 30

    6:42 p.m.: A noise complaint was made at a Sandy Bay Terrace address.

    Medical alarms were activated on Curtis Street at 12:03 p.m. and High Street Court at 6:06 p.m. Both later proved to be false.

    5:38 p.m.: A report was made about lost and found property at a Granite Street address.

    2:08 p.m.: A report was made about road conditions on Main Street.

    1:26 p.m.: A motor vehicle crash was reported on Blue Gate Lane.

    12:09 p.m.: After a well-being check at a South Street address, an ambulance transport was conducted.

    12:04 p.m.: A report was made about a neighbor dispute on Granite Street.

    12:04 p.m.: After a motor vehicle stop on Thatcher Road, a verbal warning was issued.

    9:19 a.m.: After an alarm was reported, the Fire Department was dispatched to a Beach Street address.

    8:08 a.m.: A medical emergency ambulance transport was conducted at a Main Street address.

    Friday, March 29

    Medical emergencies: Ambulance transport to a hospital was made from South Street at 1:56 a.m. and Sandy bay Terrace at 3:38 a.m. while services were provided at a Rowe Avenue address at 7:22 p.m.

    2:13 p.m.: A motor vehicle crash was reported on Railroad Avenue.

    7:14 a.m.: After a motor vehicle stop on Thatcher Road, a verbal warning was issued.

    ESSEX

    Sunday, March 31

    Citizens were assisted on John Wise Avenue at 11:04 a.m. and 8:31 p.m., and Main Street at 11:04 a.m.

    8:11 p.m.: Suspicious activity was reported at a Water Street address.

    Disturbances were reported on Choate Street at 7:08 p.m. and Western Avenue at 7:46 p.m.

    Ambulance transport was refused by an individual who fell at a Western Avenue address at 11:02 a.m. and a patient who suffered a diabetic episode at a Main Street address at 4:52 p.m.

    4:23 p.m.: A motor vehicle crash on Lebaron Road was reported.

    10:27 a.m.: A report was made after a police investigation was conducted at a John Wise Avenue address.

    Saturday, March 30

    7:07 p.m.: A report was made after a motor vehicle complaint at a Martin Street address.

    9:04 a.m.: A welfare check was conducted at a Main Street address.

    8:54 a.m.: Assistance was provided during a community policing call at a Shepard Memorial Drive address.

    7:57 a.m.: After a report of a fall at a Southern Avenue address, a patient refused a medical ambulance transport.

    MANCHESTER

    Sunday March 31

    Traffic stops were conducted at the intersection of the northbound lanes of Route 128 and School Street at 12:41 a.m. and 1:12 a.m., when written warnings were issued, and on the northbound lanes of Route 128 at 6:09 p.m. when a verbal warning was given.

    12:13 a.m.: Suspicious activity at White Beach was reported.

    Friday, March 29

    2:54 p.m.: Community policing was provided at a Lincoln Street address.

    Traffic stops were made on at the intersection of Route 128 and School Street at 1:59 a.m., when no action was taken, and on the northbound lanes of Route 128 at 2:40 p.m., when a verbal warning was issued.

    Citizens were assisted on Central Street at 9:28 a.m. and 2:15 a.m.

    1:59 a.m.: After a motor vehicle stop at the intersection of Route 128 and School Street, no action was taken.

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  • Money flowing into jails for opioid treatment

    Money flowing into jails for opioid treatment

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    BOSTON — Money is flowing into state and county correctional facilities to help treat substance abuse disorders, putting sheriffs and jail wardens on the front lines of the state’s battle against opioid addiction.

    A first-of-its-kind report on funding for the 14 sheriffs offices across the state shows that a sizable chunk of more than $23.5 million in state and federal grants they received last year was earmarked for jail-based, medication-assisted treatment programs.

    The Essex County Sheriff’s Office received more than $2.7 million in federal and state grants for programs in the previous fiscal year, much of which was devoted to medication-assisted treatment and other substance abuse programs.

    The money was provided through grants from the U.S. Department of Justice and the state Department of Public Health, among other funding sources.

    Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger said about two-thirds of the inmate population is struggling with some kind of substance use disorder, and the demand for drug treatment is increasing.

    He has an average of about 170 inmates on medication-assisted treatment and other programs at Middleton Jail and other locations.

    The efforts are crucial to prepare inmates for reentry into the community and reduce recidivism by breaking the cycle of incarceration, he said.

    “When people get released we don’t want them to end up back in the criminal justice system,” Coppinger said. “We want to get them out of here and keep them on the straight and narrow.”

    Essex County was one of the first in the state to set up a detox inside the jail, and has expanded its substance abuse treatments over the years. It has been approved for a license to administer medication-assisted treatments.

    In some cases, inmates request medication-assisted treatment to get clean while they are incarcerated. In others, people committed to the jail are already in a community-based program receiving medication and are able to continue their treatment while they do their time, Coppinger said.

    He said the Sheriff’s Office is building a new dispensary for opioid-related drug treatments at its prerelease center in Lawrence – known as the “farm” – which also will have the authority dispense treatments without transporting inmates to an outside facility.

    “Because we have a license, we can do this now, which is going to help us substantially,” he said. “Securitywise, it’s a no-brainer. We can dispense it in-house now.”

    Sheriffs see spike in need

    In Middlesex County, the Sheriff’s Office received more than $815,000 in grants in the previous fiscal year with the majority of the money devoted to opioid and other substance abuse programs, according to the report.

    The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office received more than $3.7 million in the previous fiscal year, with more than $520,000 devoted for medication-assisted treatment and reentry services, the report noted.

    The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office reported a nearly $900,000 grant from the Department of Public Health for medication-assisted treatment programs.

    Sheriffs say while the inmate population in state and county correctional facilities has been declining for years, the demand for substance use and mental health treatment in county jails has been spiking, putting a strain on resources. The grants are intended to offset those costs, but more funding is needed, sheriffs said.

    “It’s never enough money,” Coppinger said. “But I think it’s working based on feedback I’ve received from former inmates and the community.”

    Treatment drugs, costs

    There are three types of medication-assisted treatment in use in state prisons and county jails around the state, to varying degrees.

    Methadone, which is usually dispensed to addicts who visit clinics for a daily dose, has been used for decades to treat heroin addiction. Until recently, it was one of the only options for medication-assisted therapy. Methadone, which acts to block opioid receptors in the brain, can ease withdrawal symptoms that may trigger a relapse.

    Buprenorphine, which is sold by its brand name Suboxone and typically prescribed by a doctor, has become a preferred treatment.

    There’s also naltrexone, a non-narcotic drug often known by its brand name Vivitrol, which is injected monthly.

    None of the drug treatments come cheap. While methadone treatments can cost up to $3,500 a year per patient, even the generic form of Suboxone costs two to three times as much, according to the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. Vivitrol costs about $1,300 per shot, according to the group.

    Opioid-related overdoses killed 2,357 people in Massachusetts last year, setting a new record high fatality rate of 33.5 per 100,000 people – an increase of 2.5% from the previous year, according to public health data.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • City halfway there when it comes to school budget request

    City halfway there when it comes to school budget request

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    Even with the city planning to kick in $3 million of a proposed $6.1 million increase to keep Gloucester schools level funded in the new school year, Superintendent Ben Lummis cited possible cuts to balance the fiscal 2025 budget.

    He outlined a proposed $55.85 million level-services budget for the School Committee on Wednesday night. That is a 12.3% increase, or $6.1 million, more than this year’s spending, given a jump in costs for out-of-district special education and transportation, health care and contractual salary increases, among other things.

    Lummis said the city plans to meet the schools halfway.

    In doing so, the schools would have to cut $3.1 million worth of services, costs and staffing to balance its budget.

    “At this point, the city has let us know they can fund $3 million of the $6.1 million the schools require for a level-funded budget,” Lummis said.

    “But to be clear,” said School Committee Vice Chair Bill Melvin, “that’s not … It’s a reduction in services.”

    Lummis said coming to a balanced budget — not the level-services one — would depend on several factors, including:

    A $1.3 million supplemental appropriation prior to the end of the fiscal year in June to make pay prepaid tuition and special education costs. This would require a City Council vote.

    Another $200,000 for one-time costs for information technology and buses this fiscal year.

    A proposed $1.5 million annual increase in the schools’ operating budget from the city.

    Another $3.1 million in reductions in costs and staffing.

    “It is very unlikely that we’re going to be able to staff levels that we’ve had for recent years because of the increase in operating expenses, and also just to wage pressures as well,” Lummis said.

    What might the reductions look like?

    The administration wants to protect Tier 1 (core) instruction and curriculum and support vulnerable learners.

    In the elementary schools, the priority would be to protect social emotional learning and mental health. At the middle school this would mean maintaining the house structure, and at the high school, the priority would be preparation for post-secondary success, Lummis said.

    However, salaries and benefits make up 86% of the Gloucester schools’ operating costs, so reducing the operating budget means reducing staffing.

    A $500,000 cut in the operating budget equals about seven full-time equivalent positions, Lummis said.

    Reduction options

    Lummis referred to two different levels of cuts. The first would mean reductions of $1 million to $1.75 million.

    At the elementary level, this would include Tier II intervention and support, special education staff based on students’ Individualized Education Plan services, a move of some services to grants, and instructional support and curriculum initiatives.

    At the grade six through 12, the administration would look to trim Tier II intervention support, pause the planned medical assisting exploratory launch as a new career and vocational program at Gloucester High until September 2025, reduce special education staff based on IEP services, move related services onto grants, reduce staff in one or more academic areas which Lummis said would increase class size; and reduce increases in student support services for mental health and social emotional learning.

    At the district office, Lummis would trim IT infrastructure and delay upgrades, seek one-time funding for a one-to-one Chromebook initiative, and reduce administration and transportation costs.

    Lummis said the reductions would still mean smaller class sizes in the elementary schools and a range of class sizes at the middle and high schools. This level of reductions would allow for diverse academic offerings and a broad range of programming at Gloucester High, improvements at O’Maley Innovation Middle School and high-qualify art, music, and performing arts programs.

    However, those areas would be in jeopardy with reductions of $2 million to $3 million.

    The schools’ operating budget is not benefiting fully from the state funding increases that have come since fiscal 2023 as a result of the state Student Opportunity Act, Lummis said.

    For instance, in fiscal 2023, state Chapter 70 education aid to the city increased by $2.77 million and by $1.67 million last year, with the governor proposing $318,000 on top of that for this coming school year.

    Lummis said the state has determined the cost of educating students has increased $2.3 million for the upcoming school year, and that the local contribution should increase by $1.9 million, plus another $318,000 for Chapter 70 aid.

    Cumulative state aid for education increases since fiscal 2022 has totaled nearly $12 million.

    However, during that time, the city has increased the schools’ operating budget by a total of $1.85 million above the typical baseline increase to the schools each year which is typically $1.25 million, he said.

    Increased funding applied to the schools outside the operating budget since fiscal 2022 includes $2 million for DPW school facilities, $3.3 million for borrowing for school capital projects, and $4.2 million for one-time projects such as the Annisquam River flood barrier, demolition of East Gloucester Elementary School, grease traps, Gloucester High lockers, and American Rescue Plan Act funding for new playgrounds.

    Finding dollars

    There are opportunities to increase school funding, including the city funding the operating budget with the $2.3 million increase determined by the state, Lummis said.

    The city could put American Rescue Plan Act funding it received toward special education tuition, transportation and wage stabilization, which Lummis said are all eligible to be funded this way. The city could also reduce the facilities budget for such things as flooring projects and allocate those dollars to the schools, he said.

    Mayor Greg Verga, a member of the School Committee, said the city administration would continue to work with the school administration “to see what kind of rabbits we can pull out of our hats.”

    Verga said he shared with Lummis a spreadsheet showing the city spends $22.1 million outside the schools’ operating budget on the schools, an increase of $6 million from 2022 to 2024.

    “The kicker” is the city’s increase this year in new growth under Proposition 2 1/2 is 2.6% or $3.5 million. With a $130 million budget, total school spending represents about $72 million, he said.

    With another $1 million going toward the city’s pension liability, and the proposed increase to the schools of $1.5 million, Verga said he has $1 million in new growth funding to spread around to the rest of the city’s budget.

    One solution may be to lobby state lawmakers to pass the governor’s Municipal Empowerment Act to provide more opportunities for local option tax increases, he said.

    The School Committee’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee plans to take up the fiscal 2025 school budget April 8.

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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • BevCam to open studio in downtown Beverly

    BevCam to open studio in downtown Beverly

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    BEVERLY — The city’s local cable television station is heading to downtown Beverly.

    BevCam is scheduled to open a new media center next month at 261 Cabot St., the storefront formerly occupied by A New Leaf. The space will be called BevCam Downtown and will have two studios, including a podcast studio in the front window.

    “We’re very excited about this,” said Paul Earl, president of BevCam’s board of directors. “I think it’s a great move.”

    BevCam, which stands for Beverly Community Access Media, will keep its studio in Beverly High School. But officials are hoping the visibility of a downtown location will increase awareness of the organization.

    BevCam, which began in 2006, is known mostly for its coverage of local government meetings and high school sports. Earl said the organization does that very well, but acknowledged that the demographic of its viewers is “very old.”

    The station’s social media accounts have seen an uptick in recent months under new staff hired by Executive Director Rob Chapman. The opening of a studio on Cabot Street should expose BevCam to Montserrat College of Art students and other young people who visit the downtown’s coffee shops and shops. The studio will be open later hours in the evenings and on weekends, Earl said.

    “Once we get down there and we’re open for business it could help us a lot,” he said.

    In addition to a main studio and the podcast studio, the new location will have a common area that can hold up to 50 people for events and meetings; two edit suites; and an office for Chapman.

    BevCam launched a fundraising campaign to help pay for the new space. As of Friday, it had raised $5,355 toward its goal of $10,000. The fundraiser is scheduled to run through April 5.

    Chapman, who became BevCam’s executive director in 2022, said local access stations in other communities have opened locations in or near their downtowns. Salem, Danvers and Gloucester all have downtown-area studios.

    “There is sort of a move in the industry to be more accessible,” he said.

    Noting that organizations like BevCam are known as “PEG” channels, for public, education and government, Chapman said BevCam has traditionally done well on the government and education portions.

    “It’s building up that ‘P’, getting the public involved,” he said.

    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.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Senate approves $800M for migrant shelters

    Senate approves $800M for migrant shelters

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    BOSTON — The Democratic-controlled Senate has approved a plan to spend $800 million over the next two years to support the state’s emergency shelter system, which is buckling under the weight of a historic surge of asylum seekers. The supplemental spending bill, which passed 32 to 8 on a largely party line vote last Thursday, sets the maximum length of stay in shelters at nine consecutive months, with the possibility of another three months for migrants who are pregnant, disabled, or enrolled in work programs.

    Democrats who pushed the bill through the chamber argue that the additional funding and reforms are aimed at preventing a collapse of the state’s beleaguered shelter system.

    “With the failure of our federal government to act in aide in this crisis, the responsibility unfortunately falls upon our shoulders,” Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said in remarks ahead of the bill’s passage. “Knowing that, this crisis requires multifaceted approach to stabilize families and address barriers to shelter.”

    To pay for the additional spending, the plan calls for depleting a $1 billion escrow account set up by the Legislature to cover costs for the emergency shelter system.

    Republicans sought to amend the measure during Thursday’s debate to include more transparency in the spending, and set tighter limits on the length of stays and funding for the shelters. All of those proposals were rejected.

    Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr raised concerns that record spending on emergency shelter will impact education spending and other priorities, with the state’s revenue benchmarks coming in below projections for several months.

    “We face declining revenue projections, an uncertain future for the economy, a situation with inflation that the Federal Reserve is struggling with,” Tarr said in remarks. “Against that backdrop, we would argue there’s a different course and a different path.”

    Democrats did, however, agree to an amendment requiring safety checks at state-run homeless shelters, which lawmakers said is in response to an alleged sexual assault on a migrant teenager by a Haitian migrant last week.

    The spending bill is similar to a proposal approved by the House of Representatives earlier this month, which called for pumping $245 million into the emergency shelter system.

    Differences between the bills will need to be worked out by a yet to be appointed six member legislative committee before the bill heads to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for consideration.

    Healey, a Democrat, signed a supplemental budget in December that included $250 million for migrant costs, but her administration called on lawmakers to provide more funding.

    Currently, the state is spending about $75 million monthly — or roughly $10,000 per family — to provide housing and other needs for 7,500 migrant and other homeless families living in emergency shelters.

    Massachusetts is dealing with a historic 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.

    About 800 families were on a wait list for emergency housing as of Thursday, according to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

    Healey has estimated the state will spend nearly $1 billion to support emergency shelter for homeless families and migrants through the end of the fiscal 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.

    Meanwhile, only about 3,000 migrants who’ve arrived in the state have been given federal authorization to work, despite Healey’s efforts to fast track the approvals to ease the burden on the state’s emergency shelter system.

    Sen. John Velis, one of four Democrats who voted against the spending plan, blasted the federal government’s handling of the crisis and the failure of Congress to approve funding to states to help cover the costs as an “absolute disgrace.”

    “To no one’s surprise, they didn’t do it, and left us with the bill. Left us to fend for ourselves,” Velis said in remarks late Thursday. “And they don’t allow us to take the necessary steps at the state level, like state work permits, to provide our state with a fighting chance to tackle this unprecedented crisis.”

    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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  • Warren renews push for U.S. wealth tax

    Warren renews push for U.S. wealth tax

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    BOSTON — Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leading a renewed effort in Congress to impose a wealth tax on the nation’s top earners.

    The proposed Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, filed by Warren and other Democrats, would set a new 2% annual surtax on the net worth of households and trusts between $50 million and $1 billion and a 1% annual surtax on the net worth of households and trusts above $1 billion, adding up to an overall 3% tax.

    The plan also includes anti-tax evasion and avoidance provisions that seek to prevent wealthy families from squirreling away money in trusts to avoid taxation.

    The lawmakers say the new wealth tax would drum up an estimated $3 trillion over 10 years by requiring the nation’s top earners to “pay their fair share” of taxes.

    “No one thinks it’s fair that Jeff Bezos gets enough tax loopholes that he pays at a lower rate than a public school teacher,” Warren, a Cambridge Democrat, said in a statement.

    “All my bill is asking is that when you make it big, bigger than $50 million dollars, then on that next dollar, you pitch in 2 cents, so everyone else can have a chance.”

    Warren and other backers of the plan say the gap in wealth between the richest and the poorest in the U.S. is expanding.

    They cite Federal Reserve data showing the average wealth of the top 10% of the nation was $7.73 million, up 17% in 2022 from 2019. Despite that growth, families in the bottom 50% owned only 2% of the total wealth distributed across the country, according to the data.

    The proposal, backed by Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern, would affect about 100,000 families nationwide, according to Warren’s office.

    Warren filed a similar bill in 2019 when she was running for president, but it failed to gain momentum.

    Even if her proposal is approved by the Democratic-led Senate, it faces long odds in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where lawmakers have resisted calls from Democrats to take up a wealth tax.

    President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is seeking reelection this fall, is also pushing for higher taxes on the nation’s top earners.

    Earlier this month, Biden unveiled a federal budget proposal that calls for $5 trillion in additional taxes on corporations and high earners over the next decade.

    The plan, which is subject to congressional approval, includes raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, which is the level that was set by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under then-President Donald Trump.

    Biden wants to raise the tax rate on capital gains such as stock sales for people who earn more than $400,000 to 39.6% and impose a 25% “billionaire tax” on those with assets of more than $100 million.

    Massachusetts has a tax – set by a voter-approved law that went into effect last year – which charges a 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million in addition to the state’s flat 5% personal income tax. The money is earmarked for education and transportation.

    A 2023 report by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C-based think tank, ranked Massachusetts 46th in the nation for its business tax climate, ahead of only neighboring Connecticut, California, New York and New Jersey, citing the negative impacts of the “millionaires tax”.

    The foundation cautioned states against taxing the rich to drum up money, saying it undercuts investment and drives entrepreneurs and innovators away.

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • State eyes simplification of college aid process

    State eyes simplification of college aid process

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    With an array of more than 50 state financial aid programs available to college students, public higher education officials are embarking on an effort to simplify those offerings by 2026.

    The Department of Higher Education plans to evaluate gaps in financial support as officials consider redesigning the mix of tuition reimbursement, grant, loan forgiveness and tax programs. The overhaul is meant to expand education access, improve affordability, and ensure that aid delivery is reliable and predictable, Deputy Commissioner of Policy Michael Dannenberg said.

    “So part of our analysis will look at the ultimate unmet need or need of students, whether they are in state or out of state, whether they’re receiving financial aid programs from the state or not from the state,” he said during a virtual Board of Higher Education meeting Tuesday. ”We’ll try and simplify, and highlight, (and) prioritize those for needy families and socioeconomic mobility.”

    Developing a “more coherent financial aid system” would also focus on ensuring students complete their degrees and certificates, Dannenberg said.

    Earlier this year, DHE launched its Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA), a portal that’s meant to mimic the federal FAFSA form and allow undocumented students to unlock the millions of dollars available in state aid programs.

    Nearly 400 MASFA applications have been submitted or are in progress for the 2023-2024 academic year, with another 230 applications in the pipeline so far for the next academic year, a DHE spokesperson said Monday.

    At least 34 state financial aid programs serve less than 10,000 students, and more than 20 programs reach less than 2,000 recipients. At least two dozen state financial aid programs are not based on economic need, and at least 16 programs have a median award value under $200, Dannenberg said.

    Officials do not want to harm current financial aid recipients, and some programs may need to be adjusted with a grandfather clause to protect them, he said.

    The deputy commissioner showed board members a list of the programs, with some serving categories of students, including athletes, children of Sept. 11 victims, foster and adopted children, and aspiring educators, paraprofessionals and nurses. Also on the list were recent major expansions of financial aid, including making community college free for adults ages 25 and older and covering tuition costs and fees for Pell-Grant eligible students.

    “So we’ve got a lot of programs, a lot of very small small programs, and a lot of programs that are not linked to economic need,” he said.

    As the redesign continues, the plan is to conduct analyses this spring and summer, and review redesign options with the board in the fall. Officials would then seek input from advocates, experts and others at the start of 2025, share recommendations by spring 2025, and prepare to implement the changes for the fall 2026, Dannenberg said.

    Beyond the state’s financial aid portfolio, higher education officials are grappling with the ripple effects of the severely delayed launch of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

    The form only became available in January, compared to its typical fall rollout, after the system experienced multiple glitches with new funding formulas. During Tuesday’s board meeting, state officials urged students, including those frustrated by the FAFSA’s challenges this year, to still complete the form.

    Students need to submit the FASFA by May 1 for “priority consideration,” though officials are considering extending that deadline due to the form’s delay, said Clantha McCurdy, senior deputy commissioner of access and student financial assistance.

    The DHE is spending $1 million on “strategies” to boost FAFSA completion rates, said Robert Dais, director of GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. Dais did not offer examples, and said the department has partnered with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on ideas to “excite and incentivize students.” The funding, outlined in the fiscal 2024 budget, can be used on public awareness campaigns and FAFSA “completion clinics.”

    “We are targeting Gateway Cities and students from historically underserved populations,” Dais said. “There’s more to come soon, but essentially we just wanted folks to know know that the Department of Higher Education is clearly focused on improving FAFSA and MASFA completion rates, and doing everything that we can to ensure that the neediest students are doing so.”

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    By Alison Kuznitz | State House News Service

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  • Voices of Hope to reach $1M in donations

    Voices of Hope to reach $1M in donations

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    ANDOVER — At first they sang to remember, now they also sing to celebrate.

    Local nonprofit and production company Voices of Hope will hold its annual check presentation today at 7 p.m. at the group’s “Nest” at Ballard Vale United Church, 23 Clark Road.

    The check will push the group above the $1 million mark in its fight against cancer. Voices of Hope has been singing and raising money since 2009.

    “It’s been a whirlwind,” said Greg Chastain, founder of Voices of Hope.

    Money raised by the group go directly to the Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies.

    The guest speakers will include Dejan Juric, head of the Termeer Center; Casandra McIntyre, head of nursing at Termeer; Erika Rosato, head of nursing MGH Cancer Center; Jonathan and Susan Zuker, Conquer Cancer Coalition; Jordan Rich, WBZ Radio; and state Reps. Adrianne Ramos and Frank Moran.

    Voices of Hope also has an upcoming production of “Hello, Dolly!” at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly on April 13-14. The production is based on Thornton Wilder’s comedy “The Matchmaker” and follows matchmaker Dolly Levi while she meddles in the love affairs of others while pursuing a match of her own, according to a press release from Voices of Hope.

    Chastain’s first production for the group came after losing his mom to pancreatic cancer, as a way to give back to the community.

    “Supposed to be a one-time show,” he said. “It has exploded since then.”

    Last year, the nonprofit held two sold-out shows of “The Music Man.”

    The group will also be receiving congratulatory messages via video from Cheryl Bentyne of The Manhattan Transfer; Dave McGillivray, the founder and president of DMSE Sports Inc. and race director for the Boston Marathon; Jonathan and Patti Kraft of the New England Patriots; and Sam Kennedy, president of the Boston Red Sox.

    The group’s donations over the years have been in concert with large strides in medical progress that prolonged the lives of many.

    “Since we have started working with MassGeneral, they brought 24 FDA-approved therapy drugs to market,” he said. “We are a huge part of that.”

    Their donations also fund nursing scholarships at the hospital.

    In addition to the concerts, Voices of Hope also holds a summer youth program. The program lasts for five weeks and sees about 20 participants, Chastain said.

    He said students learn a show as well as theater skills, life skills and about philanthropy.

    It also funds a ride share program to transport patients to the hospital.

    Chastain has a photo of his mother at the studio where Voices of Hope rehearses productions.

    “She is a constant reminder of why we do this,” he said.

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    By Teddy Tauscher | Staff Writer

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  • Open Door reopens its doors for meals as need for food rises

    Open Door reopens its doors for meals as need for food rises

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    With the COVID-19 pandemic receding and a project to create a new Food and Nutrition Center complete, The Open Door food pantry on Emerson Avenue restarted in-person dining for its Community Meals program in early February after a nearly four-year hiatus.

    Bringing back Community Meals to its dining area “was the last leg of the journey for us,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said.

    Recent in-person Community Meals have featured baked haddock, rice and zucchini, and Greek-style chicken souvlaki, lima beans, eggplant and tomato.

    Even as the numbers for in-person dining are still ramping up, the nonprofit food resource center said it saw a 30% increase in requests for food assistance across its service area from 2022 to 2023.

    This territory covers Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Ipswich, Rowley, Topsfield, Boxford, Hamilton and Wenham with mobile sites in Danvers and Lynn.

    The Open Door operates a food pantry in Gloucester on Emerson Avenue and the Ipswich Community Food Pantry at the Ipswich Housing Authority’s Southern Heights housing development.

    Last year, the food pantry served one in six Gloucester residents.

    Rising prices, rising need

    “We did see a 30% increase in requests for food assistance,” LaFontaine said. “So people who may have only been coming once a month came twice a month or three times a month as the need rose, as the cost of food especially rose, people found it harder and harder to keep a roof over their head, lights on, and food on the table. It was just a juggling act.”

    While it’s not true for everyone who uses the food pantry, the spike in the cost of living was a contributing factor to the household instability Open Door staff have seen.

    “The good news is that it’s a story of hope as people recover … people are getting back to work, and people are starting to climb out of the hole that the increase in cost created,” LaFontaine said.

    Last year, The Open Door provided 1.98 million pounds of food which equates to 1.65 million meals to 9,836 individuals in 4,952 households, according to its most recent fact sheet.

    It saw 77,400 visits and its kitchen prepared 91,700 Community Meals, including Meals To-Go, Senior Soup and Salad at the Rose Baker Senior Center in Gloucester, and other community meal programs, including 6,500 meals delivered by volunteers.

    In addition, The Open Door served 15,300 summer meals to children last summer.

    Its Mobile Market served 3,289 people 187,000 pounds of food in 2023.

    And 28% of food distributed last year consisted of fresh produce. The Ipswich Community Food Pantry served 562 individuals 149,000 pounds of food, while the Gloucester pantry served 5,371 people 1.3 million pounds of food.

    Ways to dine

    On hand Thursday in the Open Door kitchen in Gloucester were Dan Trimble of Salem, the food services manager, and executive chef Thomas Riordan, who previously owned Ripple on the Water in Essex.

    Prep cook Kenn Taber of Gloucester and others were busy preparing a savory dish of ramen noodles with stock that included seaweed, dried mushrooms, pork and chicken that had been simmered overnight in a large tilt skillet in the facility’s brand new commercial kitchen.

    The Open Door offers many ways for its clients to dine, either in-person, to-go, or having their meals delivered, LaFontaine said. That’s in addition to being able to order groceries online and being able to pick them up.

    “All of those choices mirror how we get our food in a socially acceptable way,” she said. The in-person Community Meals give people one more way to connect.

    One of the greatest stories of the pandemic was the way people stepped up to help “and that hasn’t stopped.” The way the food pantry operates may have changed, but that has not lessened the need for volunteers. The fulfillment center has 170 volunteer slots each week that need to be filled to pick and pack groceries, LaFontaine said.

    “And, bringing back community meals is so important because people are hungry not just in their bodies, but also in their spirits and the companionship they find around the table really makes the difference for so many people,” she said.

    Free in-person dining at The Open Door, 28 Emerson Ave., is available Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., with extra meals available to-go for the weekend. Free Meals To-Go are available Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m., and from Thursday to Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the food pantry. To learn more, go to foodpantry.org.

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

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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • Lawmakers seek to finalize gun control bill

    Lawmakers seek to finalize gun control bill

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    BOSTON — House and Senate lawmakers huddled on Wednesday to begin negotiations on a gun control proposal that calls for updating the state’s bans on “assault” weapons and setting new restrictions on the open carry of firearms.

    Both the state Senate and House of Representatives have approved legislation banning untraceable firearms or so-called “ghost” guns, authorizing tracking systems for handguns, and setting tougher firearm licensing requirements.

    But differences between the bills must be worked out by House and Senate negotiators before a final version heads to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for consideration.

    On Wednesday, a six-member committee that includes Sens. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Joan Lovely, D-Salem, held its first meeting to kick off the negotiations. The panel voted to close the meeting to the press and public to conduct deliberations behind closed doors.

    A key sticking point in the talks is likely to be differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill dealing with where lawfully owned firearms can be carried.

    The House’s bill drew strong opposition from the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, which cited concerns that include provisions which limit where gun owners may bring their weapons. But the association has backed the Senate’s plan and voiced support for the changes.

    Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Tarr, sought to amend the bill by increasing criminal penalties for gun-related crimes and improving reporting on illegal gun seizures. Most were withdrawn or rejected.

    But Democrats joined with Tarr and other Republicans in supporting a bipartisan amendment “grandfathering-in” firearms and long rifles that would be added to the “assault” weapons ban under the proposed legislation.

    Under the amendment, if the owners lawfully purchased the firearms before the bill’s passage, they would not be subject to enforcement of the ban. Tarr is likely to push for that provision to be included in the final bill.

    A key provision of both bills would update the “assault” weapons ban by outlawing untraceable guns that can be assembled using parts manufactured on 3D printers. The plan also adds dozens of long rifles and firearm components to the ban, first approved in 1998.

    Both proposals would expand the state’s “red flag” law, which allows a judge to suspend the gun license of someone deemed at risk to themselves or others.

    The law, approved in 2018, allows police, friends or relatives of a legal gun owner to seek an order if they believe that person poses a risk to themselves or others. The changes would expand that list to include physicians, nurses, psychiatrists and other health care professionals.

    Massachusetts already has some of the toughest gun control laws in the country, including real-time license checks for private gun sales and stiff penalties for gun-based crimes.

    Last year, Democrats pushed through changes to the state’s gun licensing laws in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling guaranteeing a constitutional right of people to carry firearms in public places.

    Democrats cite mass shootings across the country and argue the high court’s ruling in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case weakened the state’s firearm protections.

    Gun control advocates argue the strict requirements have given the largely urban state one of the lowest gun-death rates in the nation, while not infringing on people’s right to bear arms.

    But Second Amendment groups argue that tougher gun control laws are unnecessary, and punish law-abiding gun owners while sidestepping the issue of illegal firearms.

    The Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts, has dubbed both proposals the “Lawful Citizen’s Imprisonment Act” and urged its members to contact conference committee members and urge them not to approve the firearm restrictions.

    “There is nothing in any of the language that will reduce violent crime or address the mental health epidemic,” the group said in a statement.

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

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Supermom In Training: Our favourite spring crafts

    Supermom In Training: Our favourite spring crafts

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    Hooray for spring and warm weather and being outside (and, when it’s raining, crafting like we’re outside)! My bean is much more grown up now, but we always kept busy doing all sorts of fun activities when spring arrived, and I thought we’d share our favourite springtime crafts.

    Squirt gun painting. We filled two plastic dollar store squirt guns with coloured water and propped our cardstock “target” on an easel. My preschooler loved getting it all wet and watching it drip and make a mess everywhere (and then mommy just hosed the easel down).

    Homemade garden markers. Just a few Popsicle sticks glued together and voila – we had fun ways to mark what we had planted and where. You could also use wooden spoons (they come in packs of three at the dollar store).

    Egg carton aquarium. We gathered our favourite things that we’d collected on vacations (rocks, shells, sand, etc.) and turned an ordinary egg carton into a bright and beautiful mini aquarium. Use blue paint and glitter to get the water effects just right, and add some fun fish and sea creature stickers.

    Handprint flowers. We made a flower for the grandmothers by tracing and cutting out a few paper handprints, threading them onto a pipe cleaner, and adding a few paper leaves. Curl the fingers of the “flower petals” with scissors for added effect.

    A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with Suburban readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.

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  • Keeping the ‘old’ in old school

    Keeping the ‘old’ in old school

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    BEVERLY — The lockers are staying. So are the chalkboards. Not to mention the windows and wood floors and the entire auditorium.

    The former Briscoe School is nearing the completion of a dramatic makeover into affordable housing and artists studios. But a recent tour of the building revealed there will still be plenty of “old school” left in the old school when it opens in the fall as Beverly Village for Living & the Arts.

    “We are really delighted with how the vision is turning into reality,” said Andrew DeFranza, executive director of Harborlight Homes, the Beverly-based affordable housing nonprofit that with Beacon Communities bought the building from the city in 2019. “It’s coming out better than I expected it would.”

    The Briscoe building was built in 1923 as the city’s high school. It went on to serve generations of Beverly students as a junior high school and middle school until it closed in 2018 when the city opened a new middle school.

    In its new life as Beverly Village, the building will have 85 apartments for low-income people 55 and older, and six live/work studios for artists. About 550 people have applied for the units. A lottery to determine who gets them is scheduled for April 4.

    On a tour of the building, Jake Briere, assistant superintendent for general contractor Keith Construction, pointed out how workers are retaining as many historic elements as possible.

    The most obvious feature from its school days are the student lockers that line the hallways. The orange and green lockers, which are original to the building and are built into the walls, will remain as a decorative element. They will also remain closed; they have been sealed shut.

    Inside the classrooms-turned-apartments, the old chalkboards remain on the walls, many in their original slate form. The windows — 564 of them — are staying, as are the wood floors. The auditorium will stay basically as is, with a plan to use it as a community theater. The stairways will retain their existing tiled walls and handrails.

    On the ground floor, the level of the former gym has been raised 16 feet to make it easier for residents to access. The space will be used for amenities including a fitness room, yoga studio, wellness center and community room with a kitchenette. The old locker rooms are being converted into the artist studios.

    Jay Leahy, a volunteer for Historic Beverly who was on the tour, said he was pleased to see the efforts to retain as much as the historical character as possible.

    “When you walk into that building you’ll know it’s a historic building,” Leahy said. “It will have modern amenities for the residents, but it still has the flavor of its original design and construction.”

    DeFranza credited city officials, including Mayor Mike Cahill, for their determination to retain much of the historic character of the building.

    The building is important to generations of Beverly residents who attended the school or know someone who did, and because it is so centrally located at the intersection of Colon Street and Sohier Road, DeFranza said.

    “If you were going to preserve a building in the city, can you imagine one that was more important than this one in terms of its impact on generations of families?,” he said. “It was a time and a place and a century worth of legacy.

    “These kind of chances are rare. They don’t make buildings like this anymore.”

    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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  • Ride-hailing fight returns to Beacon Hill

    Ride-hailing fight returns to Beacon Hill

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    BOSTON — The battle over unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers returns Tuesday to Beacon Hill with a legislative committee set to take up several proposed ballot questions.

    A special legislative committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the proposals that reshape the employment status of ride-hailing drivers in Massachusetts during a hearing at the Statehouse, where supporters and opponents will make their cases to lawmakers to put the questions on the November ballot.

    Several proposed ballot questions, filed in August by Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers 2024, a group whose contributors include Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, would ask voters to allow the companies to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees who are entitled to benefits.

    The ride-hailing companies argue that their drivers prefer the flexibility of working as independent contractors, not employees. They cite surveys of drivers saying they prefer the flexibility of contractual work.

    The plan, if approved, would set an earnings floor equal to 120% of the state’s minimum wage for the drivers — $18 an hour in 2023 before tips. Drivers would be eligible for health care stipends, injury insurance and paid sick time, the companies say.

    But labor unions argue that the ballot question is a veiled attempt by the companies to skirt state taxes, labor laws, better wages and benefits.

    Meanwhile, another referendum — which is also inching toward the November ballot — would authorize ride-hailing drivers to unionize, which supporters say will allow them to bargain collectively for better wages and benefits from the companies.

    Gov. Maura Healey hasn’t said what she would do with the bills if any reach her desk for consideration. As attorney general, Healey filed a lawsuit in 2021 asking a judge to recognize ride-hailing drivers as employees under the state’s wage and hour laws.

    The proposals face legal challenges that are being considered by the state Supreme Judicial Court. Labor unions have sued to block the industry-backed referendum, while the conservative pro-business group Fiscal Alliance has sued to block the unionization ballot question.

    This isn’t the first time the state’s highest court has considered legal challenges over the state’s employment rights for ride-hailing drivers.

    In 2022, a coalition backed by California-based tech giants Uber, Lyft and DoorDash filed a similar proposal for the November ballot asking voters to decide whether drivers for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft should continue to be classified as independent contractors.

    But the SJC rejected the move, siding with opponents of the proposal. They filed a lawsuit arguing that it would violate a requirement in the state Constitution that initiative petitions must contain only “related or mutually dependent” subjects.

    Massachusetts has seen the number of ride-hailing trips soar from 39.7 million in 2021 to 60.6 million in 2022 — a more than 52% increase, according to state data.

    There are more than 200,000 approved ride-hailing drivers in the state but it’s not clear if all of those authorized to drive are on the roadways.

    The ride-hailing proposal is one of 10 proposed referenda inching toward the November ballot, a record number that includes competing versions of the same questions.

    Under the state constitution, the Legislature is required to consider the initiative petitions before backers of the referendums must conduct another round of signature gathering. Lawmakers have until April 30 to vote on the proposals.

    Other ballot questions would ask voters to authorize an audit of the state Legislature; update the state’s voter laws to require photo IDs to cast ballots in elections; and legalize psychedelic mushrooms for adults 21 and older for “therapeutic” purposes.

    If lawmakers don’t take up the measures, backers of the referendums must gather another 12,429 signatures by a July 3 deadline to make the ballot.

    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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  • Healey unveils new workforce agenda

    Healey unveils new workforce agenda

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    BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is renewing a push to ease the state’s post-pandemic workforce crunch with a new plan to attract and retain workers for health care, education and other key industries struggling to fill vacancies.

    On Monday, Healey unveiled a new five-year workforce development plan – which her administration has submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education for approval – that will serve as a “roadmap” for boosting the beleaguered workforce and improving the state’s economy.

    “Our goal is to have the most competitive economy in the world – one that solves the world’s greatest challenges and problems while providing opportunities for all of our residents,” Healey said in remarks Monday. “We must also set the goal of having the best workforce. We have the people, the leaders and the talent.”

    To do that, Healey said the plan focuses on tapping the state’s “under-served” workforce, including low-skilled workers, minorities and new immigrants with work authorization, with expanded recruitment, training and retention programs.

    “By helping them, we can also meet the needs of employers large and small in industries statewide,” she said. “And in everything we do, we’re going to measure the results – to make sure this work has a real impact in our state.”

    A key plank of the plan calls for a new “stipend initiative” for low-income workers to “incentivize enrollment, completion and employment and reduce barriers to training and employment.” It wasn’t clear how much the plan would cost.

    Lauren Jones, the state’s  labor and workforce development secretary, said the plan includes strategies to close the skills gap “and bring discouraged and disconnected people far too often left on the sidelines back into the labor market to build a robust talent pool for employers.”

    A recent survey of private employers by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 37% of small-business owners in Massachusetts had job openings they could not fill in February, while 35% have raised pay to lure workers back into the labor force and fill open positions.

    Business leaders say the reasons behind the worker shortage are complicated, but it has long-term implications in hard-hit industries such as health care and early education.

    Many suggest the dynamic is more of a churn in the labor force as the pool of available workers looks for advancement and higher-paying jobs.

    Some workers are permanently leaving the labor force, and others are moving between positions to receive better pay, benefits and other hiring perks.

    For employers, the hiring crunch means having to provide more incentives such as signing bonuses and competitive pay to attract new candidates.

    In Massachusetts, the rising wages come as Beacon Hill lawmakers weigh a controversial proposal to increase the state’s minimum wage from $15 to $20 per hour, which business leaders strongly oppose.

    Massachusetts has one of the highest state minimum wages in the nation, which rose to $15 per hour in January under a 2018 “grand bargain” agreement between lawmakers, worker advocates and the business community. The wage has increased nearly every year since 2014, when it was $8 an hour.

    Backers of higher wages say workers are still struggling to make ends meet in Massachusetts, where the overall cost of living remains higher than many other states in the Northeast.

    But the state’s business community says additional wage increases will put the squeeze on employers, prompting belt-tightening, layoffs and ultimately higher prices for consumers.

    A recent NFIB report estimated that raising the state’s wage floor to $20 per hour would cost 23,000 jobs – or 0.5% of the state’s employment base – many of them among small businesses.

    “Labor, health care, and energy costs all continue to rise for small businesses, so lawmakers on Beacon Hill must do no harm and not exacerbate the state’s affordability problem by making it even more expensive to operate a Main Street business,” said Chris Carlozzi, NFIB’s Massachusetts state director.

    “Unfortunately, Massachusetts lawmakers continue to offer proposals that would raise costs for small businesses and working families and impose burdensome mandates.”

    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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  • We tried 13 meal delivery services, here are our reviews

    We tried 13 meal delivery services, here are our reviews

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    MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been almost six years since I gave up my Blue Apron subscription. I was a regular meal-kit user, but after having a baby, I found that I couldn’t keep up with the weekly deliveries of groceries and their corresponding recipes.

    When my spouse suggested recently that we start using meal kits again, with the aim of bringing some consistency to our weekly grocery budget, I assumed we’d go back to Blue Apron. Then I did an online search, and found dozens of new players in the market.

    I tried 13 of them.

    Not only were there different formats — prepared meals, partially prepared dishes, gourmet groceries that get slapped together into meals with some guidance — but there were so many different flavors. It wasn’t all just sautéed chicken breasts and potatoes, though there was plenty of that, too. We enjoyed ramen and tagine, bulgogi and Beef Wellington. Even birthday cake.

    Starting out: To pull this off, I took advantage of signup deals (Important: never start out paying full price). I succumbed to mouthwatering advertisements, dealt with buggy apps, forgot to skip some deliveries and wound up with a fridge overflowing with food, and made some amazing meals.

    A note about prices: Prices can vary widely. With add-ons, upcharges and freely distributed coupon codes, it’s hard to predict exactly what a box of food will cost from week to week (and it’s also why we didn’t include prices). The services no doubt benefit from that fuzziness. Blue Apron, CookUnity and Marley Spoon, for example, all average about $15 per serving, when you include shipping and other fees. Ultimately, expect that a weekly delivery of three meals serving two people will cost somewhere between $60 and $90.

    How to choose: The best service will be subjective to your family’s circumstances. We found that a mix of prepared meals, gourmet groceries and you-be-the-chef kits worked for us.

    I am still a member of three services. Is that sustainable? No. Is there a cardboard box tower in my garage? Most definitely. Have I saved money? Not likely. But I have managed to shake up my family’s meal-planning repertoire, exposed my kids to some new flavors, and had a lot of fun doing it.

    Here’s what you can expect from 13 meal delivery services.

    blueapron.com The first breakout star in the meal kit world is still standing. It has changed a lot since those early times, when the recipes were crowd-pleasing basics. Now there are more dishes with varying difficulty levels. The possibilities are endless: healthy meals, put-stuff-in-the-pan-and-bake meals, frozen dinners. I was blown away by the ramen, which had so many components, down to the perfectly soft-boiled egg. The packaging was minimal, and the ingredients were of high quality, like Brodo brand chicken broth. I also liked the subtle shortcuts. For example, instead of sending garlic cloves and a nub of ginger, my box had a package of “sautéed aromatics” that I ripped open and squeezed into the pan. Saving a little time on chopping: much appreciated.

    marleyspoon.com Maybe it’s just Martha Stewart’s charisma, but this service delighted me. The app and website are easy to use, transparent about prices (no small feat) and filled to the brim with gorgeous-looking recipes. I was most taken by the variety; these are not just for dinner. Meals can be breakfast (overnight oats), even dessert. Yes, I ordered a birthday cake. The delivery was the most confusing part; all of the produce came together in one little box, like someone had just filled it up at the farmers market. Cute, but it took time to sort things out by recipe. and some vegetables were so overripe they were leaky and a bit smelly. (They credited my account when I lodged a complaint through the app.)

    hellofresh.com The first subscription I canceled is an otherwise popular one. There were a few too many shortcuts, to the point where I felt like I wasn’t doing any cooking, even when I wanted to. For example, I ordered an empanada meal I thought would appeal to my kids. What I received was a bag of frozen mini empanadas I could have bought at the store, a pouch of pre-sliced apples, and a bladder of yellow cheese sauce that looked like it came out of a pump. The dinner entrée, a baked mashed potato casserole, was heavy. and when I ordered a four-serving meal, they sent four plastic packets of every item — four bags of chives, four bags of cheese, etc. Environmentally, it didn’t feel right.

    greenchef.com An all-organic, nutritious and a little more grown-up offering from HelloFresh. Just browsing the app felt like a healthy act. (And looking at all those greens, I knew not to bother trying to find recipes my kids would eat.) You can choose your meals by diet — low-carb, high-protein, keto, etc. Breakfast egg bites, smoothies and protein shakes were available as add-ons at checkout. The recipes offered more global flavors than its sister company, and while it nudged me in the Mediterranean direction with its suggestions, I enjoyed swapping my selections for 10-minute salads, Moroccan turkey tagine and fish tacos.

    gobble.com Chopping vegetables is one of my least favorite activities, so I was drawn to this brand by the promise that their “sous chef” would do the prep work for me. Instead, I got whole veggies that needed to be scrubbed and peeled, while the primary components of the dish — the ones I actually wanted to put my own stamp on — were already cooked. Pot roast arrived as chunks of meat in a plastic bag, reminding me too much of canned stew; mashed potatoes were sent to me cooked and in pouches. On the flip side, the one prechopped vegetable, cauliflower, had turned to mush before I’d had a chance to use it. (They did credit my account after I wrote them an email.)

    hungryroot.com Imagine Trader Joe’s delivered. If you find that idea thrilling, you might like these grocery boxes. Hungryroot carries a line of its own products, a la TJ’s, that offer shortcuts to faster meals, like precooked grains and chopped veggies. They also sell brands that you won’t find at your average supermarket, which makes snack shopping feel like Christmas. French pot de crème? Yes, please. What’s innovative here is that you can select recipes that will auto-fill your shopping cart with the necessary ingredients. It’s easy to make swaps and adjustments to your cart. Pricing is abstract; you pay for a certain number of credits, then use the credits to shop. It feels like an arcade game, one that can get sneakily expensive.

    littlespoon.com This one is for the kiddos, though no one will stop you from sneaking a few bites. Compartmentalized dishware (it’s all recyclable) comes filled with deconstructed meals acceptable to an evolving palate. Lunchers contain make-your-own pizzas and PB&Js packed with protein and hidden veggies; Plates have some more sophisticated bites, such as edamame and quinoa. For the really little ones, there are smoothies and purées. We’ve been in a snack rut lately, so an add-on snack pack, with Little Spoon’s own brand of sweet (but not too sweet) treats was exciting at first, until my too-smart-for-his-own-good kindergartner figured out that “confetti dip” was actually puréed squash. Still, anything that gets my kids to try something new is working miracles. I only wish the plates were compostable.

    cookunity.com These premade meals are designed by chefs we’re meant to know. You can look up their bios and find their restaurants in other cities, which makes eating at home feel more connected to the wider restaurant world. I was intrigued to try dishes from two New York chefs, Einat Admony of Balaboosta and Esther Choi of Mŏkbar, and “Top Chef” contestant Fabio Viviani. Big props to the packaging: Compostable containers of fresh food arrive in a reusable insulated bag, forgoing the cardboard box entirely. The only negative, besides the $15-per-meal price tag? Many of the dishes I ordered had close to 1,000 calories. The site does make it easy to sort for meals with less than that; I’ll pay better attention next time.

    factor75.com What wowed me the first week grew tedious by the third week. These fresh (not frozen) premade meals from the HelloFresh group, aimed at people on keto diets, are hearty, healthy and packed with vegetables. But they quickly become repetitive. The grilled salmon, for instance, tastes exactly the same whether it’s served over cauliflower “grits” or braised kale. When I realized I was paying $13 for a meal as exciting to me as a Lean Cuisine, I pulled the plug. If variety is a big thing in your house (as it is in mine), skip it. But for people for whom food is merely fuel, these filling meals are nutritious and require no work, just a two-minute blitz in the microwave.

    earnestprovisions.com Former restaurant chef Jeff Lakatos went solo last year with his meal service, which provides two a la carte menus per week for delivery or pickup in Mendota Heights. There is a main (your choice of meat or vegetarian), a couple of vegetable-forward sides, and a kids’ version that isn’t dumbed down. The week I ordered, we had a vegetarian shepherd’s pie made with lentils, an arugula salad with roasted grapes, and for the kids, beef and pork meatballs in gravy with mashed potatoes. Everything was packed in aluminum containers that went right into the oven for half an hour, infusing the house with all the good smells of a homemade dinner. If I didn’t live so far from Mendota Heights, I’d order again.

    letsdish.com This local company sells what it calls “barely lift a finger” meals in its stores. The partially cooked components are packed in separate bags, frozen and sold in one package. The shops carry more than 80 selections. A pasta dish came together incredibly fast, with frozen, par-baked pasta, a pouch of vodka sauce and precooked chicken and sausage. White chicken chili was ready to go; my job was to turn cornbread mix into a freshly baked side dish. Because these come frozen, you can stock your freezer with them at once, rather than relying on a weekly order. and they’re economical: A three-serving meal pack cost me $20. Locations in Eden Prairie, Prior Lake, Apple Valley, Maple Grove and Woodbury;

    parisdiningclub.com When Minneapolis’ Grand Cafe closed during the pandemic, chef Jamie Malone pivoted to issuing boxes of provisions that looked like precious, pink-paper-wrapped presents, filled with fine things like sourdough loaves, salty French butter and stuffed lobster. She has since turned those boxes into a calling card, now as Paris Dining Club. Subscribe for monthly dinners (starting at $60) or order a one-off; the menus are inspired by different regions of France, and often include some of the Grand Cafe’s greatest hits. Malone will even rent you some fabulous dishware on which to serve them.

    table22.com This national company facilitates the sale and delivery of meals-in-a-box from top restaurants around the country, including our own Martina, Union Hmong Kitchen, Alma, Colita, France 44, Cardamom and Petite Leon. Subscribe for a new menu each month. When I had a newborn, these ready-to-heat-and-eat meals were how I stayed in touch with the part of myself that had previously been able to freely leave the house for a nice dinner. Instead, it was like having a fine meal catered in, just for me. The drawbacks: price, which can go up to $150 per shipment; a nearly monthlong gap between ordering and receiving, and the mystery of not knowing what you’re getting until the box has arrived.

    Does convenience cost more? A Marley Spoon meal averages $30 for two servings. We shopped for the same ingredients at Cub (via Instacart). See how it compared.

    Turkey Smash Gyros & Oven Fries

    2 potatoes: $2.20

    1 red onion: $2.68

    Garlic: $1.75

    1 plum tomato: 70 cents

    1 cucumber: $1.49

    10-ounce package ground turkey: $6.99 (for 16 ounces)

    1/4 ounce gyro spice: $3.69 for 3.25 ounces Greek seasoning

    2 Mediterranean pitas: $3.99 (for 6 pitas)

    1 package hummus: $5.99 (for 10 ounces Baba’s hummus)

    4 ounces tzatziki: $6.99 (for 8 ounces)

    2 ounces feta: $4.59 (for 4 ounces crumbled)

    Cub shopping list: $38.40. You get more in quantity, but if you’re only cooking for one or two, you might not want the extra ingredients anyway.

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    By Sharyn Jackson | Star Tribune

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  • Senate approves bill to expand early education

    Senate approves bill to expand early education

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    BOSTON — The state Senate has approved a plan aimed at expanding access to child care and early education for parents while attracting and retaining new workers to ease persistent labor shortages in the industry.

    The measure, which was unanimously approved on Thursday, calls for boosting financial assistance for families seeking child care, establishing new funding for child care providers and higher pay and benefits for early educators.

    Backers of the plan said the changes are needed to help lower the cost of child care and early education programs with parents paying as much as 20% to 40% of their household incomes on child care, often making it their second-highest expense after housing costs.

    “Besides the high costs, families also face other barriers including a lack of available slots at their preferred providers, the hours of available care, transportation challenges and more,” Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, a primary sponsor of the bill, said in remarks on Thursday. “All this hurts families’ economic well-being.”

    It’s not clear how much the changes, if implemented, would cost and the bill doesn’t include additional funds.

    Senate leaders note that $1.5 billion is already earmarked for early education and care in the current state budget, but that new funding will be dependent on future budgets.

    Lewis said the “substantial” price tag for the plan is “justified” given the money that many families, businesses and the state are losing as a result of the spiraling early education costs.

    “The status quo is already costing us a lot of money,” he said. “We have already demonstrated that we can indeed prioritize investments in early education and child care and follow through on those commitments.”

    Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said it’s critical that the state take steps to improve the affordability of early education and child care in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the rising cost of early education has major implications for the state’s post-pandemic economy.

    “It is an essential part of the fabric of our state,” Tarr said in remarks. “If we do not act, it will continue to be in serious jeopardy. We cannot allow that to happen.”

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

    The current threshold is 50% of state median income for a family of four — which is about $73,000. The plan calls for “gradually” increasing that level to 85% of state median income, or $124,000 for a four-member family.

    “That means we will be opening up access to assistance to not just low-income families, but middle income families,” Lewis said in remarks.

    It would also make state funding for the Commonwealth Cares for Children program, which has provided grants to nearly 7,500 child care providers since 2021, a permanent line item in the annual state budget. Other policy changes include setting new patient-staff ratios.

    During Thursday’s debate, Tarr sought to add safeguards on spending to the bill after raising concerns about the costs and how the state will pay for it going forward.

    “Lest we make a promise that can’t be fulfilled,” Tarr said. “My concern is that making sure that … we can say with confidence that the initiatives that are proposed here are things we can afford and sustain.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The Senate bill must be approved by the House of Representative before heading to 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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  • Senate approves bill to expand early education

    Senate approves bill to expand early education

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    BOSTON — The state Senate has approved a plan aimed at expanding access to child care and early education for parents while attracting and retaining new workers to ease persistent labor shortages in the industry.

    The measure, which was unanimously approved Thursday, calls for boosting financial assistance for families seeking child care, establishing new funding for child care providers, and higher pay and benefits for early educators.

    Backers of the plan said the changes are needed to help lower the cost of child care and early education programs with parents paying as much as 20% to 40% of their household incomes on child care, often making it their second-highest expense after housing costs.

    “Besides the high costs, families also face other barriers, including a lack of available slots at their preferred providers, the hours of available care, transportation challenges and more,” Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, a primary sponsor of the bill, said in remarks Thursday. “All this hurts families’ economic well-being.”

    It’s not clear how much the changes, if implemented, would cost and the bill does not include additional funding.

    Senate leaders note that $1.5 billion is already earmarked for early education and care in the current state budget, but that new funding will be dependent on future budgets.

    Lewis said the “substantial” price tag for the plan is “justified” given the money that many families, businesses and the state are losing as a result of the spiraling early education costs.

    “The status quo is already costing us a lot of money,” he said. “We have already demonstrated that we can indeed prioritize investments in early education and child care and follow through on those commitments.”

    Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said it’s critical that the state take steps to improve the affordability of early education and child care in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the rising cost of early education has major implications for the state’s post-pandemic economy.

    “It is an essential part of the fabric of our state,” Tarr said in remarks. “If we do not act, it will continue to be in serious jeopardy. We cannot allow that to happen.”

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

    The current threshold is 50% of state median income for a family of four – which is about $73,000. The plan calls for “gradually” increasing that level to 85% of state median income, or $124,000 for a four-member family.

    “That means we will be opening up access to assistance to not just low-income families, but middle-income families,” Lewis said in remarks.

    It would also make state funding for the Commonwealth Cares for Children program, which has provided grants to nearly 7,500 child care providers since 2021, a permanent line item in the annual state budget. Other policy changes include setting new patient-staff ratios.

    During the debate Thursday, Tarr sought to add safeguards on spending to the bill after raising concerns about the costs and how the state would pay for it going forward.

    “Lest we make a promise that can’t be fulfilled,” Tarr said. “My concern is that making sure that … we can say with confidence that the initiatives that are proposed here are things we can afford and sustain.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The Senate bill must be approved by the House of Representative before heading to 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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  • History Happenings: March 15, 2024

    History Happenings: March 15, 2024

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    On this day in 1856, George Lyon let readers know that he bought the right to manufacture and sell Boyd’s Patent Bridle Winkers. The winkers would prevent horse blindness and shying by allowing light and air to the animal. He…

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  • Healey wipes away prior marijuana convictions

    Healey wipes away prior marijuana convictions

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    BOSTON — With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Maura Healey is moving to wipe away the prior pot convictions of hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents.

    On Wednesday, Healey signed a “first-in-the-nation” executive order that, if approved by the Governor’s Council, would grant a blanket pardon to those with previous misdemeanor convictions for possession of marijuana, which has been legal for more than seven years.

    Healey, who estimates the pardon will impact “hundreds of thousands” of people, says those with misdemeanor pot charges on their records from prelegalization days face restricted access to jobs, housing and education.

    “The reason we’re doing this is simple, justice requires it,” the first-term Democrat told reporters at a briefing. “Massachusetts decriminalized possession for personal use back in 2008, legalized it in 2016, yet thousands of people are still living with convictions on their records.”

    If Healey’s order is approved by the council, those with previous convictions wouldn’t need to apply for pardons — which would be done automatically — but would be able to request a “certificate” from the state verifying the pardon.

    The pardons won’t apply to convictions after March 13, and would exclude charges such as possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, distribution, trafficking, or operating a motor vehicle under the influence or convictions outside the state, including federal court, the Healey administration said.

    Attorney General Andrea Campbell, the state’s top law enforcement officer, was among those who praised the move. She said it will improve racial justice, with data showing that blacks and other minorities have been “disproportionately” charged with marijuana possession in the state prior to legalization.

    “These pardons will transform the lives of thousands, remove barriers allowing them to live with economic dignity, and right past wrongs and stigma that these individuals have faced,” she said in remarks.

    Voters legalized marijuana more than seven years ago, but people previously arrested with the drug are still being haunted by past convictions.

    A 2008 ballot question made possessing an ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense, punishable by a $100 fine. Four years later, voters approved its medical use.

    Then, in 2016, nearly 54% of voters at the ballot box approved legalized recreational marijuana.

    Marijuana advocates say voters have made clear over the years that possession of small amounts should not be illegal, and people with old convictions should get a second chance.

    Other states where recreational marijuana is legal have taken similar steps to seal or expunge criminal records en masse.

    California wiped away past marijuana convictions under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an expungement bill in 2019 that allowed an estimated 150,000 people to have previous convictions sealed.

    In 2022, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation pardoning many federal offenses for simple marijuana possession offenses. Biden has expanded that pardon to include more offenses and has called for a review of the classification of marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law.

    But clearing records of past convictions, even in places where pot is legal, remains controversial. Washington state, which legalized pot in 2012, wrangled for several years to pass a pot expungement bill amid opposition from prosecutors.

    In Massachusetts, law enforcement officials and even some lawmakers have pushed back on efforts to retroactively wipe away previous convictions.

    Proposals to grant blanket pardons for pot convictions have been filed in the past several sessions only to languish due to lack of support.

    A 2018 law allowed Massachusetts residents with previous convictions for offenses that are no longer illegal — including marijuana possession — to have those records expunged from their records. But advocates say since then few people have benefited from the changes.

    In some cases, judges refuse to sign off on expungement of previous marijuana possession convictions, even if the individual’s records have been sealed.

    Under state law, expungement requests must be deemed to be “in the interest of justice” but the interpretation of what that might be is generally left up to judges.

    Pauline Quirion, a lawyer and director of the criminal records sealing project at Greater Boston Legal Services, said anyone who undergoes state Criminal Offender Record Information checks for housing or work can be turned down if they have marijuana charges in their past.

    “In practice, any criminal record, no matter how old or how minor, creates barriers to jobs and other opportunities,” she said. “Pardons especially matter where record sealing simply is not enough because an employer or occupational licensor is granted access to the record by state law.”

    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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  • Police/Fire

    Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    ROCKPORT

    Monday, March 11

    7:03 p.m.: A burglar alarm reported at a Phillips Avenue address was later determined to be false.

    Medical emergencies: Individuals were taken to the hospital by ambulance from Main Street at 6:41 a.m., Granite Street at 12:45 p.m. and Rowe Point at 1:13 p.m.

    12:48 p.m.: After a report was made about an animal on Smith Street, Animal Control was notified.

    9:42 a.m.: After a well-being check, an ambulance transport was refused at a Granite Street address.

    9:19 a.m.: After a motor vehicle stop on Granite Street, a verbal warning was issued.

    MANCHESTER

    Monday, March 11

    2:11 p.m.: A report was made about a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of School and Pleasant Streets.

    11:36 a.m.: Assistance was provided to a citizen on Central Street.

    11:31 a.m.: After a motor vehicle stop on the northbound lanes of Route 128 near Exit 53, a verbal warning was issued.

    11:22 a.m.: An animal complaint was made at a Beach Street address.

    11:18 a.m.: A report of an alleged fraud/scam was made at a Desmond Avenue address.

    9:26 a.m.: A motor vehicle crash was reported on Central Street.

    4:42 a.m.: The Fire Department was dispatched to a Beach Street address.

    GLOUCESTER

    Tuesday, March 5

    9:46 p.m.: Police responded to a past break in on Spring Street.

    Crashes with property damage only: at 6:47 p.m. at Cape Ann Medical Center on Blackburn Drive; at 3:03 p.m. at East Veterans School on Webster Street.

    12:38 p.m.: Police responded to a parking complaint at Gloucester Fire Headquarters on School Street.

    12:14 p.m.: Police responded to a disturbance on Gloucester Crossing Road.

    11:34 a.m.: A resident came to the Main Street station and filed a report of harassment.

    11:08 a.m.: Larceny was reported on Fernwood Lake Avenue.

    3:26 a.m.: Peace was restored after a disturbance at the Action shelter on Main Street.

    1:02 a.m.: Four juveniles face a charge of being minors in possession of alcohol, after officers came across a car parked with all its doors open at the Dun Fudgin Boat Ramp on Leslie O. Johnson Road, according to the police report. An officer found the driver standing by the front passenger door while the three others were walking around the boat ramp parking lot. As the officer notified dispatch, three juveniles took off toward the high school nearby. A juvenile who said he was the driver asked if he was in trouble. While speaking with driver, police saw a 12-pack of Arnold Palmer Spiked malt beverage outside the driver’s side door. The driver told police the 12-pack was not his, and since he had been driving, he did not drink. The officer also saw a large marijuana smoking pipe, an open Smirnoff Ice six pack on the back passenger floor, and another large smoking pipe and two marijuana grinders with some leafy green material believe to be marijuana. Police asked the driver for his license, and he said he only had a learner’s permit, which was not on him. Other officers arrived to the front of the school and apprehended two juveniles without incident. They were brought back to the boat ramp. The juveniles said they had been out driving and hanging around since they had no school in the morning. They were asked to contact their parents to take custody of them. The officer told the parent of one juvenile he planned to file a complaint against the juvenile on a charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol. Another parent arrived and took custody of two of the juveniles. He was told his son would be summonsed on a charge of being a minor in possession. The driver, listed in the log as 16, was told he would be summonsed on charges of being a junior operator driving from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. without a parent in the vehicle, having an open container in a vehicle and being a minor in possession of alcohol. Police planned to charge the juvenile who ran away with being a minor in possession of alcohol. Police had the vehicle towed and disposed of the alcohol and the large marijuana smoking pipes and grinders. The report was forwarded to the Community Impact Unit for followup.

    Monday, March 4

    10:18 p.m.: A crash with property damage only was reported on Centennial and Emerson avenues.

    9:42 p.m.: A caller reported a small baggie containing a white substance, possibly drugs, was in the first parking spot to the left of the 7-Eleven off Maplewood Avenue. Police found this to be crushed breath mint.

    9:15 p.m.: A disturbance was reported at Ocean Crest Seafoods on Commercial Street. An intoxicated man was on a fishing vessel and a possible fight was reported to have taken place with no weapons involved. The man was given a courtesy ride to the train station.

    6:13 p.m.: A crash with property damage only was reported to police at the station.

    2:31 p.m.: A vehicle was towed after a crash with property damage only on Main and Prospect streets.

    2:27 p.m.: A 29-year-old Gloucester resident of no known address was arrested on Lincoln Avenue on a charge of distribution of a Class C drug. Police noticed a man pacing back and forth and checking his cell phone. An officer and a detective followed the man to Lincoln Avenue where he met another man and they walked into the bus stop. Police said as they drove by they could see the 29-year-old hand the other man a small object and the man hand the 29-year-old cash. Police approached the men in the bus stop and separated them. The man said he had just purchased 20 Klonopin pills for $100. Police retrieved the pills from his sweatshirt pocket. Police asked him how he contacted the 29-year-old and he said he uses his cell phone and showed police four recent calls. The detective found the 29-year-old clutching $100 in his right hand and he was arrested and charged. Police searched the suspect and reported finding over a dozen needles, tourniquets and other drug paraphernalia. Police found the suspect had a Clonazepam prescription bottle with 29 pills that had been filled yesterday. Police said it appeared the suspect was selling the medication to control seizures. He was taken to the Rockport Police Department for booking.

    1:33 p.m.: Debris in the roadway was reported on Middle and Pleasant streets. The call was referred to another agency.

    1:01 p.m.: An abandoned vehicle was reported at the Water Treatment Station on Russell Avenue. Police located a silver BMW on the side of the road, and a query found the vehicle was uninsured. Police had the vehicle towed and planned to file a criminal complaint against the owner, a 57-year-old resident, on a charge of having an uninsured vehicle on a public way.

    9:15 a.m.: A man reported he had left a black electric scooter unattended on the train station platform on Railroad Avenue while he went to a nearby convenience store, but when he returned, it was gone. He was told by others on the platform that a man with a cat on his shoulders made off with it, riding toward Maplewood Avenue. The scooter was described as having “Hot Shot” written on the side, one light at the front and a fingerprint reader which starts it. He estimated the scooter cost about $700. Police were unable to locate anyone matching the description.

    8:26 a.m.: A crash with property damage only was reported on Duncan and Rogers streets.

    2:35 a.m.: No action was required for a report of a disturbance on Bass Avenue.

    Sunday, March 3

    8:47 p.m.: No action was required for a report of a vehicle repossessed on Gould Court.

    7:17 p.m.: The Fire Department was assisted with a call from Mansfield Court.

    4:31 p.m.: A holdup alarm was reported at the Curiseport Gloucester on Rowe Square.

    3:51 p.m.: An unwelcome guest was reported at the Cape Ann Marina and Motel complex on Essex Avenue.

    1:13 p.m.: Police took a report of harassment from Millett Street.

    8:10 a.m.: A crash with property damage only at Beacon Marine Basin on East Main Street was under investigation.

    Saturday, March 2

    8:54 p.m.: Police could not locate a report of a crash with property damage only at the Flannagan Service Station.

    4:59 p.m.: A crash with property damage only was reported at 15 Washington St.

    3:22 p.m.: The Fire Department was assisted with a call from Main Street.

    2:52 p.m.: Harassment was reported at a café on Main Street.

    9:55 a.m.: Police planned to file a criminal complaint against a 21-year-old Peabody man charging him with assault and battery on a police officer during a prisoner transport to Middleton Jail. During the ride from the Rockport Police Department where he had been booked, the man became confrontational, the report said, swearing at the officers because he was not allowed to use his vape pen, which infuriated the man. He swore at officers and became agitated when he did not get much of a response from officers, the report said. As they pulled onto the highway, the officer who was a passenger saw the man had unbuckled his seatbelt and flipped his handcuffs in front of him. The officer driving was able to get off the highway at Exit 54 and pull into a dirt lot. The man continued to be confrontational and pounded on the glass in the cruiser. The officer in back got out and ordered the man to get out of the cruiser and face away from him, but the man refused. Police were able to get the man handcuffed behind his back and continue on to the jail as the man hurled insults at the officers. He again managed to unbuckle his seatbelt, flip his handcuffs in front of him, slam on the cage, all while screaming and insulting officers, the report said. The man then began untying his shoelaces and the cruiser pulled over at Exit 47 in Beverly around 10:13 a.m. The officer in back told the man that for everyone’s safety, they needed to take his shoes and glasses. When the officer went to remove the man’s glasses, the report said the man lifted his cuffed hands and swatted at the officer’s hands and grabbed his wrists. The officer was able to break away. The officer was eventually able to remove the man’s glasses, which were placed with his belongings. Police told him he would be charged with assault and battery on a police officer, and the man continued insulting officers, slamming on the cage, and ducking down in the back seat. At the jail, police said the man continued to be confrontation and refused to comply with simple commands, and kept pulling away before he went through intake at the jail.

    9:36 a.m.: Fraud was reported on Mt. Pleasant Avenue.

    9:05 a.m.: A disturbance was reported on Veterans Way.

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