Happening Today:
9 a.m. | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu gives remarks at the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s Mother’s Day Walk For Peace community briefing. | Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street, Beacon Hill
10 a.m. | Gov. Maura Healey is expected to make remarks as Mass. Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition hosts annual Immigrants' Day at the State House. | State House
11 a.m. | Gov. Maura Healey makes "permanent supportive housing grant award announcement." LG Driscoll, Mayor Wu, Undersecretary of Housing Jennifer Maddox, and Rep. Samantha Montaño also plan to attend.| Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, 31 Germania Street, Jamaica Plain
12:30 p.m. | Gov. Maura Healey visits Canton Senior Center with LG Driscoll. | Canton Council on Aging, 500 Pleasant St, Canton
Noon | Senate Majority Leader Creem speaks at the Moms Demand Action Massachusetts Chapter's advocacy day about efforts to reduce gun violence. | Gardner Auditorium
12:45 p.m. | President James Vuona and the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts participate in a live burn demonstration to highlight effectiveness of sprinkler systems in buildings. | Institute Park, Salisbury Street, Worcester near the gazebo.
Democratic leaders in Washington and here in Massachusetts will get to work on Wednesday pressing for stricter gun control measures.
One day after a gunman killed six people, including three children, at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, President Joe Biden told reporters, he’s already pushed the limits of his authority.
“I have gone the full extent of my executive authority to do, on my own, anything about guns,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday, who were asking questions about what he could do to prevent mass shootings, particularly in schools.
Less than two weeks ago, Biden signed a new Executive Order bolstering background checks, “red flag” laws, accountability for the gun industry, and law enforcement efforts to identify and apprehend shooters.
The increased gun control measures were a response to the Jan. 21 Monterey Park, California shooting where a gunman at Star Ballroom Dance Studio took the lives of 11 people, injuring nine others.
In the wake of yet another mass shooting, which American standards describe as a shooting where more than four people are injured or killed, Biden says he is left powerless to act without any movement from Congress.
Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Ed Markey will reintroduce the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, legislation to fund research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better understand and address the “ongoing public health crisis.”
Markey called the scourge an “epidemic of gun violence” that has already claimed the lives of more than 180,000 people across the United States over the past five years.
Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts will be among Democratic leaders in Washington on Wednesday calling for action among their colleagues.
After the president’s last executive order, Clark praised the “commonsense reforms” she said are “vital to ending the scourge of gun violence.”
Every day, 111 Americans are shot and killed – including five children, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention statistics.
The shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville on Monday marked the 15th time since the 1999 Columbine massacre that gun violence has killed four or more people at a U.S. school, according to Northeastern University mass killings database
Massachusetts has long had some of the most stringent state laws concerning gun control measures in the nation.
But less than a year after a Supreme Court ruling expanding concealed carry rights, state actions remain uncertain.
Massachusetts Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers, part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, will gather for their annual advocacy day in Boston on Wednesday afternoon, where they will meet with lawmakers at the State House and advocate for gun safety measures.
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MBTA watch 🚇
Days since the last derailment, fire, falling debris, or critical incident: 7
Days with localized speed restrictions: 19
Days without “normal” weekday subway service: 280
On Jan. 5, Gov. Healey pledged to hire a new MBTA Transportation Safety Chief within 60 days. It has now been 83 days without the position being filled.
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NH governor facing pressure to cancel NRA forum appearance in wake of another school shooting
Will New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu show up to an upcoming NRA forum? Many are pressuring the Republican governor and presidential maybe not to in the wake of Monday’s school shooting in Nashville, reports Rick Sobey of The Boston Herald. He has been scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association’s annual leadership forum next month.
Boston mayor on the defense over fare-free transit plan
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is in defensive mode over her plans for fare-free public transit, which a recent Vox article suggested could distract from the goal of providing reliable quality service, calling it a “cynical, shortsighted take,” reports Ashley Soebroto for The Boston Globe.
Last measure slowing evictions to expire Friday
A temporary COVID-era law that staves of evictions for tenants who have an application for rental assistance that is pending – dubbed Chapter 257 – expires on Friday as evictions in Massachusetts and Boston are trending upward, writes Diti Kohli of The Boston Globe.
Mel King, legendary activist and mayoral candidate, dies at 94
Mel King, who was a powerful voice for social justice in Boston, a state Rep. and who reached the general election for mayor in 1983, has died. The Boston Globe covers the remarkable arc of his career.
Bay State schools sitting on $1.4B in unspent federal pandemic-era aid
Massachusetts schools are still sitting on more than half of the roughly $2.6 billion in federal emergency education aid doled out during the pandemic, reports Chris Lisinski of State House News Service. Deadlines to spend the funds are coming this fall and next fall.
COVID outbreak in Cambridge nursing home shows pandemic not gone
As many as 33 residents of Sancta Maria Nursing Facility have tested positive for Covid-19 since last week, according to the city’s health department. It’s the latest outbreak at a congregate care facility of late, showing the pandeimc is still not gone, reports Sue Reinert for Cambridge Day
When it comes to gov’s title, ‘history has blown by’ state constitution
The state’s constitution only refers to elected officials by male pronouns. The process to change that language would be lengthy, but one representative is ready to start as “history has blown by the Massachusetts Constitution.” Voters last November elected the state’s first all-women executive team, reports Sam Drysdale for State House News Service.
Head to head: Pangallo, Harrington will face off in Salem mayoral race
It’ll be experience vs. experience. Dominick Pangallo, chief of staff to former Mayor Kim Driscoll, and Neil Harrington, a former mayor and state senator, will face off to see who leads the city on May 16 after emerging atop a five-candidate field in Tuesday’s preliminary election. Dustin Luca of the Salem News reports Pangallo captured 43 percent of the vote to 32 percent for Harrington.
Officials from Worcester to tour NYC safe injection site
Worcester Health and Human Services Commissioner Matilde Castiel will travel to New York City next month to get a first-hand look at a supervised injection site as more Massachusetts communities consider establishing similar locations to help reduce overdose deaths, the Telegram’s Henry Schwan reports.
Dozens of Bay State schools targeted with hoax shooting calls
One day after the latest high-profile school shooting, this time in Nashville, at least 28 Massachusetts schools were targeted with hoax calls that led to lockdowns across the state. State police say most of the threats were quickly identified as hoaxes meant to create a law enforcement response.
MassLive | The Berkshire Eagle | The Sun Chronicle
Harvard Institute of Politics makes Setti Warren permanent leader
Former Newton mayor and ontime candidate for governor Setti D. Warren has been named the permanent director of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School. The Crimson’s Thomas Mete reports Warren, who had led the institute on a temporary basis, emerged from a field of four finalists that included three former members of Congress.