HAPPENING TODAY:
9 a.m. | Gov. Maura Healey heads to New Hampshire to participate in a National Governors Association event meant to "model a more positive and optimistic way of working through our problems." | Media availability is planned for 12:30 p.m. | Southern New Hampshire University, Millyard Building, 33 South Commercial St., Manchester, N.H.
9:30 a.m. | A rally takes over the State House steps today when Lift Our Kids Coalition calls on the Legislature to pass bills (H 144, S 75) to raise cash assistance levels for families. | State House steps
10 a.m. | The Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities holds a hearing on nearly 50 bills including one that would ensure eligible immigrants can receive cash assistance and other benefits. | Gardner Auditorium
10 a.m. | The Joint Committee on Financial Services holds a hearing on about 30 bills tied to health insurance matters, | Room A-2
1 p.m. | Joint Committee on the Judiciary holds a hearing on dozens of bills related to sex offenses and domestic violence. | Hearing Room A-2
2 p.m. | Senate Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult Justice holds its first-ever hearing with plans to focus on inequities among young people. | Room 428
Society has deemed adults must mature to at least 21 before they can legally smoke, drink, gamble and buy guns but when it comes to the criminal justice system, adults “age in” at the ripe age of 18.
A new Senate committee is exploring the impacts of keeping older teenagers and emerging adults in the juvenile justice system in an effort to curb recidivism. Its inaugural hearing is today at 2 p.m. in Room 428.
Adults ages 18 to 21 in Massachusetts face a criminal legal system that offers little-to-no rehabilitation that sets them up for a high potential of reoffending, said Sana Fadel, deputy director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice. Her organization is one of several backing a bill that would put adult offenders under 21 in the purview of the juvenile justice system where Fadel says they’ll have a better chance at getting their lives back on track and becoming productive members of society.
“This is a harm reduction campaign,” Fadel told MASSterList.
Offenders ages 18 to 24 currently see the highest recidivism rate of any age group in Massachusetts, according to the Department of Corrections. “We’re talking about cutting the recidivism rate for this age group in half — that’s a pretty significant change,” Fadel said, adding the state has seen a 34 percent drop in juvenile crime — including faster declines in violent and property crime rates than the national average — since raising the age of juvenile court to keep 17 year olds out of the adult system.
Critics of the bill filed by Sen. Brendan Crighton, chairman of the chamber’s new Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult Justice, are concerned the change would overwhelm juvenile facilities or could allow young adults to skirt punishment.
Supporters counter that the capacity to handle more young adults committed to the juvenile system already exists due to the years-long decline in youth crime. Fadel argues young adult offenders won’t get out of punishment for their crimes but will escape what she calls a “failed system.”
Keeping 18- to 20-year-olds in the juvenile system where they will have increased access to diversion, record protections, educational and rehabilitative programming, will lower recidivism, she said. And the stats back it up: Teens and young adults incarcerated in Massachusetts’ adult correctional facilities have a 55 percent re-conviction rate, while teens exiting Department of Youth Services commitment have a re-conviction rate of 22 percent, data show.
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Keller @ Large
The upcoming midterm elections have yet to draw any interesting races in the Democratic supermajority state of Massachusetts. Bay State voters instead turn to the ballot questions for any semblance of excitement in the upcoming election, writes WBZ political analyst Jon Keller. Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified 34 initiatives last week. A handful promise to bring contentious battles to Massachusetts and voters will be left to decide who to trust as the two sides duke it out.
Life-threatening floods: Massachusetts submerged under heavy rains
Catastrophic flooding yesterday night following heavy rains prompted officials to declare a state of emergency in Leominster. Local officials said the city, along with neighboring Fitchburg and Lunenburg, remained under a flash flood emergency declared by the National Weather Service through Tuesday morning. Motorists and residents were left stranded in the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions.
The Boston Globe | The New York Times
At the ballot box: It’s preliminary day in Massachusetts
Bay State voters across Massachusetts will head to the voting booth today to cast their ballot in local elections. In Boston, voters are tasked with narrowing down four Boston City Council races to two candidates apiece. The Herald’s Gayla Cawley wrties that the contested preliminary races are in Districts 3, 5, 6 and 7. For New England Public Media, reporter Elizabeth Román writes that five mayoral candidates — including incumbent Dominic Sarno — are vying for two sports on the November ballot. Several other towns have contentious races today as well, media point out.
The Boston Herald | The Boston Globe | WBUR
House Democrat who led on accountability for COVID response criticizes Healey’s handling of migrant crisis
As the state states down the barrel of a worsening migrant and shelter crisis, Milton Rep. William Driscoll sent a scathing letter to Gov Maura Healey on her handling of the situation so far, urging a full “pivot.” Driscoll, who worked in emergency preparedness before joining the Legislature six years ago said, “The structure and cadence of the response underway is not recognizable to many with a lifetime of emergency management experience and expertise.” He told MASSterList he is concerned with communication after hearing of missteps and what happens next in terms of staffing emergency shelter sites with the 250 national guardsmen called into service already dedicated to understaffed locations.
Nearly 6,300 families currently reside in the state’s shelter system — roughly 800 of which were placed in shelters in the last month. Expanding need has pushed state shelter capacity to the brink, with 2,700 or so now placed in hotels.
Read more: The Boston Globe
T expanding service on commuter rail for late-night schedules
The MBTA’s commuter rail operator plans to expand service this fall, adding late-night departures from Boston and more trains during peak periods on select lines to meet increased demand, reports Bruce Mohl for CommonWealth Magazine. The commuter rail operator, Keolis Commuter Services, already offers service at roughly one-hour intervals through most of the day. The new schedule begins Oct. 2 and will include a late train from Boston on weekdays and weekends to accommodate people with unconventional work schedules or those attending late-night events.
Not so fast on clearing Mass and Cass
Clearing the homeless encampment at the intersection of Mass and Cass could do more harm than good, one critic of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s new plan for the troubled area opines.
Madeline Lessing, a licensed social worker in Massachusetts, writes in an op-ed for CommonWealth Magazine that she is disappointed in Wu’s decision to enact another sweep of tents at the intersection. Under the guise of “public health,” this sweep will misuse tax dollars and exacerbate an enormous workload for local service providers.
Emails suggest Brockton schools were warned about deficit last year
The assistant CFO of Brockton schools warned his boss that the district’s budget was headed for a crisis last July–more than a year before a $14 million budget deficit became public, newly released emails show. Attorneys for Chris Correia say they will file a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit over the school board’s decision to place him on administrative leave last week.
The Boston Globe | The Brockton Enterprise
Still trying: Fall River mayor unveils another panhandling ordinance
Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan is proposing an anti-panhandling ordinance that he says would curb but not ban the practice of soliciting money curbside. As Jo C. Goode of the Herald-News reports, the proposal is meant to address the Supreme Judicial Court’s 2019 ruling that earlier ordinances violated the First Amendment
Ahead of preliminary vote, Sarno dominates Springfield mayoral fundraising
Springfield voters will narrow the field of mayoral hopefuls today at the ballot box and MassLive’s Greta Jochem reports incumbent Mayor Domenic Sarno holds a sizable fundraising lead over his four rivals. Sarno has raised $150,000 for his bid for a sixth term so far this year, well ahead of all four of his rivals,a group that includes two sitting city councilors and the local state representative.
MassLive | Western Mass Politics
Cash-strapped state GOP eyes presidential ballot fee
Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Carnevale is proposing the party charge a $20,000 fee to Republican presidential candidates who want to be on the 2024 primary ballot, Christian Wade of the Eagle-Tribune reports. Candidates who commit to attending Bay State GOP events could get the fee halved under.
DraftKings apologizes for sports betting offer referencing 9/11 terror attacks
Call it the poor taste parlay. Boston-based DraftKings issued an apology after it offered sports bettors a Sept. 11-themed parlay on the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks. DraftKings, which billed the offer to bet on three New York-based teams as part of a “Never Forget” campaign, took the promotion down after a brief burst of social media outcry.