Happening Today
Leadership meeting, committee hearings, and more
9 a.m. | Two bills decriminalizing possession of controlled substances and three bills calling for safe drug consumption sites are on the agenda for a Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery Committee virtual public hearing.
11 a.m. | House holds an informal session and Senate meets without a calendar.
1 p.m. | Elder Affairs Committee holds virtual public hearing on bills broadly classified under the topics of health, safety and training.
1 p.m. | Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee holds virtual public hearing on four bills dealing with the racing industry and simulcast wagering.
2 p.m. | Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ronald Mariano, and other legislative leaders hold a private meeting in the State House. A media availability follows.
Today’s Stories
Janey backs Wu in Boston mayoral race
It was an unprecedented move. That’s how the Boston Globe’s Laura Crimaldi described Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s endorsement of mayoral candidate Michelle Wu over the weekend.
More from Crimaldi: “Janey’s support gives Wu, who is Asian American, the blessing of the candidate who had the best preliminary election showing in precincts with the highest concentration of Black voters, according to the MassINC Polling Group.”
UMass Amherst investigating ‘vile, blatantly racist’ emails
The University of Massachusetts Amherst said it was investigating “vile, blatantly racist, and violently offensive” emails sent earlier this month to a handful of Black student groups on campus. Boston Herald’s Amy Sokolow reports that is one of several anti-Black incidents that the institution has acknowledged this year.
Mayoral power swap will happen in mid-November
The date is set. The transition of mayoral power in Boston will happen on Tuesday, Nov. 16, reports Dorchester Reporter’s Gintautas Dumcius. Candidates Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu met with Acting Mayor Kim Janey met last Thursday at the Parkman House in Beacon Hill to discuss the date where the three also discussed transition teams.
How will Correia spend his last weeks of freedom?
He has less than eight weeks of freedom left. Jasiel Correia II that is. Fall River Herald News’ Jo C. Goode reports that as Correia was walking out of prison last week — chased by a mob of reporters and cameras — he had about eight weeks before he would have to hand himself over to the Bureau of Prisons for a six-year prison sentence.
More from Goode: “On Tuesday, the judge rejected the prosecutions recommendation of 11 years in prison and the defense request for three years, and sentenced Correia to six years. It’s unclear precisely how Correia will spend his final weeks a free man, but his bail conditions and narratives in letters by family to [Judge Douglas] Woodlock, in support of court leniency, paint a possible picture.”
Getting involved: In tweet, Baker urges settlement of St. Vincent strike
He stayed out of it for some 200 days, but on Friday afternoon Gov. Charlie Baker took to Twitter to urge striking nurses and the owners of St. Vincent Hospital to return to the negotiating table and end one of the state’s longest job actions, Cyrus Moulton of the Telegram reports. Both sides tell the paper they agree with Baker that the strike needs to end, but say the other party is the one preventing nurses from being back on the job.
UMass Lowell researched gets $2.7M grant
A federal grant of $2.7 million will help a University of Massachusetts researcher look into the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The Associated Press reports that engineering Associate Professor Joyita Dutta received the grant from the National Institutes of Health and plans to study interconnections between regions of the brain as it relates to the disease.
DCU Center not requiring proof of vax for most events
Last week, TD Garden announced it would require essentially everyone who walks into the stadium to show proof of vaccination. What about large spaces in Central Massachusetts? Telegram & Gazette’s Anoushka Dalmia reports that the DCU Center is not requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for most events, though the policy could change.
More from Dalmia: “The DCU Center is leaving it up to the promoters of acts and shows renting the premises to decide on the requirements, according to DCU Center General Manager Sandy Dunn.”
State police request for injunction on vax mandate denied
Request denied. A Superior Court judge denied last week the State Police Association of Massachusetts’ request to block the implantation of the governor’s vaccine mandate until details could be sorted out, reports State House News Service’s Matt Murphy.
Pembroke selectman draws fire for comparison to Nazi Germany
At the very least, it might be time for some new historical analogies. Pembroke Selectman Dan Trabucco is taking heat from the Anti-Defamation League and some residents after he compared questions being posed to potential members of a new diversity committee to the tactics of Nazi Germany, Wheeler Cowperthwaite of the Patriot Ledger reports. Candidates for the committee were being asked whether they opposed its formation, sparking Trabucco’s response, which he later said he stands by.
Here’s an idea
What’s another idea to help stem the issues near “Mass and Cass” in Boston? Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins has one. WBUR’s Deborah Becker reports that the sheriff is proposing moving people living in tents in the area to a former detention center. Up to 100 people could be involuntarily sent to receive drug treatment and mental health counseling at the South Bay House of Correction.
Reinstated: Fired Fall River teacher back on job after arbitration victory
It was sarcasm, people. That’s the message from an arbitrator who ordered a fired Fall River teacher be put back in the classroom and given back pay after she was fired last July over a Facebook post, Jo C. Goode of the Herald News reports. The arbitrator said that taken in context, it’s clear that special education teacher Taryn Camara was being facetious when she wrote: “There is one supreme race and gender and that is the white man.”
Going big: Milford man seeks $51M in lawsuit against Amazon after crash
He’s taking on the whole business model. Milford resident Joseph Graziano is seeking $51 million in damages from Amazon, saying the e-commerce giant’s business model is to blame for a crash involving a tired delivery driver in January that left him with chronic injuries. Norman Miller of the MetroWest Daily News has the details.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Boston’s long-unfulfilled promise to high school students – CommonWealth
Massachusetts
Few abuse survivors were involved in task force report on Springfield diocesan reforms – MassLive
Key witness in long-running Springfield police brawl case dies of COVID – MassLive
Nation
Pelosi sets infrastructure vote as Dem leaders struggle to unify caucus – Politico
Trump says Stacey Abrams ‘might be better than existing governor’ Kemp – The Hill
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