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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2009 : 7:42:12 PM
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| I'm all for wind turbines and if it helps Everett with energy costs, that's great. I have a small concern about the safety of bird species that migrate around the wetlands though. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
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makemelaugh
Member
37 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2010 : 4:50:04 PM
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Board finally revokes jailbird John Buonomo’s pension
By Hillary Chabot | Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | You must be logged in to see this link. | Local Politics
Photo by Herald file
Sticky-fingered former Middlesex Register of Probate John Buonomo - behind bars for ripping off thousands in change from state copy machines - continued raking in his monthly pension for more than three months after his Oct. 17 guilty plea.
The Somerville Retirement Board, which oversaw Buonomo’s $3,228.07-a-month city pension, took a final vote Jan. 21 to stop payments. Buonomo continued to collect until the vote was finalized, said Jackie Rossetti, spokeswoman for Mayor Joseph Curtatone.
“At the conclusion of the Jan. 21st hearing, the Retirement Board unanimously voted to rescind his pension, at which point he stopped receiving payment,” said Rossetti in a statement.
Buonomo, 58, pleaded guilty to stealing $102,792 in campaign donations and thousands of dollars he rifled from Registry of Deeds copier machines. He was sentenced on Nov. 18 to 30 months in the Billerica House of Correction and forced to repay the campaign contributions he boosted.
Buonomo also gave the $136,000 left in his campaign finance fund to the state’s general fund.
Somerville Retirement Board members voted to begin the process of canceling Buonomo’s pension at a December meeting after the former Somerville alderman was sentenced. They held a necessary public hearing on the matter on Jan. 7 and Jan. 21, and unanimously voted to rescind his pension on Jan. 21, Rossetti said.
Buonomo has 30 days until after the vote to appeal the decision.
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2010 : 07:16:22 AM
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Cops track down teen eyed in 4 stabbings
By Ira Kantor
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 -
A desperate, 90-minute foot chase through Revere woods, streets and back yards yesterday afternoon ended in the dramatic capture of a wily Dorchester 16-year-old wanted for allegedly stabbing four women in two separate incidents within a week.
Spotted outside a Reservoir Avenue residence, the teen - the target of a weeklong manhunt - was apprehended less than a half-mile away inside a trash barrel at the intersection of Tudor Street and Ridge Road, said Revere Police Capt. Michael Murphy.
“He certainly made extraordinary efforts to avoid being taken into custody,” Murphy said. “It was a fairly intensive search.”
The youth was wanted for allegedly stabbing three women - ages 17, 21 and 56 - in South Boston Feb. 3 and a 42-year-old woman at the Coolidge Street Housing Authority Sunday in Revere. All four victims were treated for non-life threatening injuries. Cops from Everett and Chelsea along with state police troopers and K-9 units assisted in the chase, Murphy said.
“We were very interested in getting this party into custody,” he said. “He was not in a good position to offer resistance.”
The youth is expected to be arraigned in juvenile court in Dorchester today on multiple counts of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent to murder. He is slated to be arraigned in juvenile court in Chelsea tomorrow on charges of assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, said Suffolk County District Attorney spokesman Jake Wark.
Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll praised all departments involved for their assistance in arresting Young.
“We greatly appreciate the collaboration with other law enforcements,” Driscoll said. The accused “is a dangerous individual and right now he’s where he needs to be, behind bars.”
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"Peek-a-Boo, I see you" |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2010 : 8:56:47 PM
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A rain of terror
By O’Ryan Johnson and Richard Weir
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 -
The great flood of 2010 continued to spread more misery today, stranding drivers in submerged cars, causing raging rivers to wash out streets and forcing already weary homeowners to bail out their basements and hundreds of others to flee.
The flooding could worsen tomorrow as rivers such as the Charles are set to crest after the water-logged state received record rainfalls.
For Iraq war veteran John Colasanti, today was a complete washout as he and a dozen other drivers made the mistake of trying to drive through a flooded Spring Street in Everett, only to have their cars die in knee-deep water.
“The whole street was just one big, giant lake,”said Colasanti, 43, of Everett, who, along with his brother, Joe, a passenger, pushed his stalled GMC Envoy to dry land before getting it towed to a garage.
State Trooper Patrick Ahl waded through chest-deep water to reach a 28-year-old Weymouth woman whose Nissan was quickly filling with water after it skidded off Interstate 95 in Danvers and into a water-filled gully.
“She was floating in her car,” Ahl said of the driver, who he and two other troopers rescued after breaking a passenger window.
State transportation officials warned drivers and straphangers alike to expect long delays with tomorrow’s morning commute as the downpours continue to cause pooling on major highways and along railways.
The history-making flood also pushed already swollen New England rivers to peak levels as the rainstorm turned the month of March into the second wettest on record.
By the afternoon, the state had recorded 14.18 inches of rainfall for the month, making it a March record, but nearly 3 inches short of the record 17.09 inches that fell in August 1955, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini.
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge said the Fall River area has been hardest hit by the storm, forcing parts of Route 24 to be shut down and hundreds of residents to be evacuated.
The Red Cross also set up emergency shelters in Somerset, Brockton, Weymouth and Framingham.
In Lakeville, resident Edward Rand said nearby Long Pond overflowed its banks and filled his home’s crawlspace with water.
“We’ve been pumping nonstop and we’re losing,” he sai |
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cathyk
Member
97 Posts |
Posted - 10/27/2010 : 10:42:21 AM
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Illegals’ medical bills top $35.7M
Taxpayers hit hard for trips to ER
By Jessica Van Sack | Wednesday, October 27, 2010 | You must be logged in to see this link. | Local Politics
Beleaguered Bay State and U.S. taxpayers coughed up a staggering $35.7 million this year in free emergency health care for more than 52,000 illegal aliens in Massachusetts, sparking outrage from candidates and critics who back a tougher line on immigration.
The figures — released by Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration under an order for the Secretary of State’s office and after more than a month of ducking questions — show illegal immigrants who belong to MassHealth Limited received $33.8 million in taxpayer-funded in-patient hospital care this year.
They also made 6,160 visits to the state’s overburdened emergency rooms in the fiscal year ending in June for an additional cost of $1.9 million, a Herald analysis shows.
The Patrick administration, which supplied the figures last week, refused to make state health insurance officials available to discuss them.
But critics were quick to blast the huge medical bill being footed by hard-pressed, law-abiding taxpayers.
“Incorporating illegal immigrants into any type of government-sponsored health care is legitimizing their presence here,’’ said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration policies. “It’s a kind of piecemeal amnesty.’’
Added state Rep. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), “It’s just another example in this state of working people paying the bills, and some people availing themselves of the benefits we have in the commonwealth.’’
The Patrick administration maintains that its hands are tied because failing to treat gravely illegal immigrants would be a violation of federal law, but some disagree.
“It’s hard to say that’s the case directly,’’ said James Edwards, a fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based immigration center. “My suspicion is it’s willful ignorance.’’
The center calculates that Massachusetts has 220,000 illegal immigrants overall.
Independent gubernatorial candidate Tim Cahill, the state treasurer, said no one wants to deny illegal immigrants life-saving care — but it’s time to scrutinize the program and ensure that the services covered are truly emergencies.
“The cost sounds extremely high,’’ Cahill said. “I get the same feeling about the governor’s claims that illegal immigrants can’t access certain state services. A lot of them are. We need to be vigilant, especially in these difficult times.’’
Patrick’s GOP rival Charlie Baker declined to comment.
The figures show 69 percent of the state’s MassHealth Limited subscribers are illegal immigrants. The state is projected to pay $13.7 million of the cost of the health-care program this year, while federal Medicaid picks up the other $22 million.
Rosemarie Day, former deputy director of the state’s Health Insurance Connector Authority, said MassHealth Limited is akin to a “political compromise.’’
“There’s a certain amount of coverage that we as a civilized society must accept, even though people don’t want to think about it,’’ she said yesterday. “It had to be set up as a standalone program to cover folks who couldn’t be covered any other way.’’
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/27/2010 : 10:52:54 AM
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| I'll say it's time to scrutinize the program............DUMP DEVAL. That number will probably double by 2014 if Deval is kept in and does nothing, as usual. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2011 : 08:59:26 AM
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Another business bites the dust........and so does 145 union jobs in Everett.
U.S. Foodservice to can workers
Teamsters deliver pressure in bid to save 150 jobs
By Donna Goodison
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A company that delivers frozen food to Hub restaurants, universities and hotels will shutter its Everett warehouse this spring, despite union protests and efforts by local officials to save more than 150 jobs.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. said the city reached out to U.S. Foodservice, which secured a $900,000 property tax break over a 10-year period starting in 1999 for an expansion project.
“But they had their mind set on leaving, and they didn’t want to talk about another (tax increment financing deal),” DeMaria said. “It’s terrible for us to lose a company like U.S. Foodservice.”
The Teamsters plan to escalate pressure on U.S. Foodservice as a last-ditch effort to stop the shutdown of the Everett warehouse. Local 25 said yesterday it is calling on customers to sign an appeal asking the Illinois company to delay the May 1 closure by six months so they can work toward a resolution.
One customer, Boston-based Uno Chicago Grill, said it wouldn’t get involved in the labor dispute.
“This is just not our conversation,” said Uno’s spokesman Richard Hendrie. “This is just not our situation.”
The Patrick administration, hit last week by Fidelity Investments’ bombshell decision to ship 1,100 jobs out of state, said it has been deployed a work-force development team to help laid-off workers.
U.S. Foodservice — which also has a Peabody warehouse where 290 non-union employees work — said it’s closing the Everett location because the market doesn’t support two divisions 15 miles apart. The facility also is old and inefficient, spokeswoman Christina Koliopoulos said.
The 153 layoffs include 145 jobs in Everett — about 121 of which are union — and eight support positions at the Peabody warehouse, according to a company filing with the state. Fifty-five other Everett workers have been offered transfers to a Norwich, Conn., facility.
“They claim they’re going to allow (laid-off workers) to fill out applications for Peabody, but it’s a non-union entity that’s probably $13-an-hour cheaper,” O’Brien said. “They don’t have pension benefits, and the employees have to pay large amounts toward their health insurance.”
U.S. Foodservice said it has proposed two job fairs for union workers, but Local 25 has yet to accept the offer.
dgoodison@bostonherald.com
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2011 : 11:50:56 AM
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| So much for stimulating growth to help our tax base.... |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2011 : 3:50:01 PM
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| It also goes to show those TIF agreements are crappola. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2011 : 08:48:35 AM
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The Boston Globe
Whites still fleeing cities in Mass.
Crime fears, schools are probable factors
By Peter Schworm and Matt Carroll
Globe Staff / March 24, 2011
Whites are abandoning Massachusetts cities at a rapid clip, continuing well-worn paths to the suburbs or out of state, according to new demographic data from the US census.
In Lawrence, the white population plummeted by more than one-third over the past decade, while Chelsea’s dropped 34 percent. Springfield lost some 17,000 white residents, Brockton and Worcester dropped more than 14,000, while Lynn lost 12,600.
Overall, 43 of 45 large communities examined by the Globe saw declines in white population, with only suburban Peabody and Franklin countering the trend. Fourteen — including Everett, Lowell, Malden, and Watertown — dropped by double digits.
“It continues to be a challenge for cities to hold middle-class families,’’ said Joseph C. O’Brien, the mayor of Worcester, who said schools continue to be the “biggest driver’’ of white flight to the suburbs. In Fall River and Holyoke, for example, where the state is threatening to take over the schools if they do not improve, the white population fell off considerably.
O’Brien noted that strong rates of immigration allowed the city to grow briskly in recent years, in keeping with his city’s history of drawing newcomers in search of a new life.
“The story really hasn’t changed,’’ he said. “The only thing that’s changed is where they come from.’’
In all, the communities examined by the Globe lost 190,000 white residents, or 9 percent, even as surging numbers of minorities in many cases boosted their overall populations. For example, the state’s five largest cities — Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, and Cambridge — all grew despite losing whites, underlining the relative growth of minorities compared with whites.
The exodus reflects the continued move of whites to suburban and rural communities and the overall drop in the white population in Massachusetts. A Globe analysis of census data found that the number of whites statewide dropped 4 percent since 2000, the result of migration to other states and declining birth rates.
The Globe reviewed the state and local numbers of non-Hispanic whites, since some people of Hispanic origin identify themselves as white.
Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire, said the number of white children dropped sharply, suggesting that families were leaving and that whites were having fewer children. With such a steep drop in the number of young whites, he said, the proportion of white residents is likely to continue falling.
“The decline was almost entirely concentrated in the child population,’’ he said. Johnson said many states had shown a similar pattern, and the rate of minority growth nationally far outshadowed that of the white population.
In Massachusetts, the number of Asians and Hispanics rose 46 percent, and the black population climbed 26 percent.
Frank Moran, president of the City Council in Lawrence, said yesterday that he was startled by the extent of the departure of whites from his city, where the Hispanic population grew 31 percent. He speculated that fears of crime, which he described as exaggerated, have driven many white families away.Continued...
“There is crime, like a lot of cities,’’ he said. “But it’s more the perception. That’s the reason people are scared and leaving the city.’’
The migration of whites out of communities has also left many public school districts in cities made up overwhelmingly of minority students. In Lawrence, just 6 percent of this year’s public school students are white. In Chelsea just 8 percent are, according to state Department of Education figures.
The trend was strongest in lower-income communities plagued by violent crime and struggling schools. Yet wealthier communities like Beverly, Gloucester, Melrose, and Salem also saw declines, as did wealthy ones like Newton.
Compared with other Massachusetts cities, Boston and Cambridge showed only slight declines, which demographers credited to the cities’ economy. Because the cities weathered the recession better than most, many workers moved here for job opportunities, and others were effectively frozen in place.
Charlotte Kahn, who directs the Boston Indicators Project, said Boston and Cambridge have become a “knowledge economy’’ that attracts highly educated, predominantly white workers.
Alan Berube, a demographer with the Brookings Institution, said cities such as Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington have seen increases in 30-something professionals, typically whites, who prefer the urban lifestyle and being close to work.
Boston’s white population had dropped steadily in recent decades, but rebounded more recently because of surges in the numbers of young couples and empty-nesters settling in the city, realtors said. “You’ve seen a huge expansion in the condo market, and many more younger couples are wanting to live in the city than in the past,’’ said Michael DiMella, managing partner at Charlesgate Realty Group.
Some older couples are trading in their suburban homes for condos downtown or in the Back Bay, realtors said, reliving the city experience they had in their youths.
Some observers cite the transformative effect of the Big Dig, a more vibrant night life, and other quality-of-life improvements for holding on to more white residents. “It’s a different city,’’ said Melvin Vieira Jr., a real estate consultant. “They want to be close to the action. You’re seeing things totally change.’’
Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com, Carroll at mcarroll@globe.com.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2011 : 10:15:33 AM
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People cant get out of this city fast enough. I know I've been procrastinating since I'm born and bred here, but crime is so bad that we have to get the hell out of dodge. It's a real shame too, what this city has become. It has become so violent in Everett and no one is even addressing the issue. We are all made out to believe that everything is wonderful....and that is what irks me the most!
A HUGE problem in this city are the Illegal Aliens... and that's why you cant catch them. They come here, they are desperate and steal, rob and even murder! That said, that is why I will NEVER support Sal DiDomenico ever again. Bad enough he overspends......BUT to vote to give taxpayer services (Health Care, Housing) to Illegal Aliens all basically for all the liberal, progressive socialist was the final straw for me. Everett guy or not!
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2011 : 10:39:20 AM
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I hear you, Tails. My kids have been urging us to get out of Everett. They have all left. Like you, I was born and raised here and have been reluctant to leave, but we are now seriously considering it. I just don't feel safe here anymore.
As for Sal, I am also disappointed. Way too liberal for me. |
Edited by - massdee on 03/24/2011 10:41:58 AM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2011 : 3:24:35 PM
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Is St. Therese and St. Anthony's merging?
Cardinal Sean O’Malley to sell 6 Massachusetts churches
By Associated Press | Thursday, July 14, 2011 | You must be logged in to see this link. | Local
The head of the Archdiocese of Boston has paved the way to sell six churches, including three where parishioners have been holding protest vigils since their parishes were closed in 2004.
The decision by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, announced Thursday after several weeks of "consultation, reflection and prayer," means the churches are no longer holy places, but secular buildings.
The church term for the move - "relegation for profane use" - means the churches can be sold and used for other purposes in line with Roman Catholic values, including as places of worship by other denominations, affordable housing or community centers.
The churches deconsecrated are St. James the Great in Wellesley; St. Jeanne D’Arc in Lowell; Star of the Sea in Quincy; Our Lady of Lourdes in Revere; St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in Scituate; and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Boston.
Vigils are still being held at the Wellesley, Scituate and East Boston churches.
O’Malley made the move after consulting with lay Catholics in an online survey, neighboring parishes, priests’ councils and the archdiocese’s finance council, and only after those who had opposed the closure of their parishes in 2004 had their appeals to the Vatican rejected.
"What I have heard from these consultations is that we have reached a point as a community of believers where we must relegate these church buildings as part of the continuing healing and rebuilding of the archdiocese," O’Malley said in a statement.
Church buildings sold by the archdiocese since 2004 have been used by other faiths, for housing and, infamously, by a photographer who quickly flipped the building for a $1.8 million profit.
Peter Borre, co-chairman of the Council of Parishes, which formed to fight church closings, anticipated the Cardinal’s decision and said the vigils will continue and the decision will be appealed to the Vatican, which has already reversed the decisions by some U.S. bishops to deconsecrate churches.
"We are deeply disappointed in the refusal of Cardinal O’Malley to take into account the landmark decision from the Congregation of Clergy ordering American bishops to open 12 parochial churches for Catholic worship," Borre said.
Jon Rogers, a parishioner at St. Frances X. Cabrini of Scituate who has spent countless nights in vigil at the church since October 2004, said he wasn’t surprised by the announcement and believed the archdiocese had always intended to "throw us out in the streets" so it could sell to churches to pay for the sexual abuse scandals.
He said parishioners have no intention of stopping vigils or giving up hope.
"We’re going to ignore this ... as we have for about seven years," he said. "We are going to continue our process of appeals to the Vatican."
The Vatican earlier this year rejected the nearby Springfield Diocese’s attempts to convert three churches to secular use, although it backed the decision to close the parishes.
Canon lawyers draw a distinction between a parish and a church. A parish is the people, while a church is the bricks-and-mortar building.
Fighting O’Malley’s decision could mean it would be at least another two years before the archdiocese could put the buildings on the market, he said.
The Vatican recognizes that there is a resurgence of Catholicism in the U.S. driven by Latino immigration, and American bishops do not, Borre said.
"The bishops in their cocoons cannot see beyond the tips of their noses," Borre said. "The fight is on."
O’Malley also allowed two churches to remain open in different capacities. St. Therese in Everett will be allowed to stay open as an oratory, or place of worship for the Brazilian community of St. Anthony Parish.
Negotiations are ongoing to transfer control of St. Jeremiah in Framingham to the Syro-Malabar church, an East Syrian Rite in full communion with the Roman Catholic church.
All eight parishes had their appeals to reopen rejected last year by the Vatican’s highest court.
The decision Thursday becomes effective Monday.
The Cardinal’s move does not mean the archdiocese will be more aggressive in getting people holding vigils to leave.
"There’s no plan to drag people out of church," archdiocese spokesman Terry Donilon said.
The archdiocese will continue its peaceful approach, said the Rev. Arthur Coyle, O’Malley’s liaison for the relegation process and the Episcopal Vicar for the Merrimack Region.
"The Cardinal has shown remarkable patience over the last six or seven years," he said. "There have been ongoing discussions, outreach to these people. Once the final appeals were finished in the fall there was renewed outreach with all of these individuals to enter in dialogue again. In most cases these discussions are ongoing."
Just 300 people expressed opposition to the move in the online survey, Coyle said. The archdiocese has 1.8 million Catholics. About 150 supported the move.
"One person to whom I spoke basically said ... it’s very painful to drive by the empty church and just see it sitting there, and it’s been like a six-year wake," Coyle said.
The archdiocese in 2004 started a series of church closings in response to financial struggles, a shortage of priests and falling attendance, reducing the number of parishes from 357 to 290.
Some Catholics feared the archdiocese was closing churches to help pay for settlements in the clergy sex abuse scandal.
Church officials stressed that money made through the sale of churches would not be used to pay legal settlements, but would be placed in a fund to help other parishes. Stained-glass windows, sacred artifacts and other religious items that have not already been removed would also be made available to other parishes.
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Online: Archdiocese of Boston, You must be logged in to see this link.
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Linda M
Member
43 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2011 : 11:05:47 AM
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| I heard this on the news this morning about merging churches |
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Boston Herald
