A fresh coating to 2 inches of snow fell overnight. Roads are actually fine Friday morning with temperatures around 32 and the rock salt on the pavement did the job.
Snow showers continue throughout the day in scattered areas as a gusty northwest, …
Massachusetts
Manhunt continues for suspect wanted in Tewksbury Hospital stabbing
A manhunt is underway Friday to find a man wanted in a stabbing in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.
The incident happened at about 7 p.m. Thursday at Tewksbury Hospital, which is a state-run mental health facility.
Officers were called to the hospital …
Fight caught on camera as violence continues to plague Brockton High School
Violence has been a continuing problem among high school students in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Cellphone video shared with NBC10 Boston Friday shows students fighting on a stairwell in Brockton High School, the latest example of what staff members have said is an increasingly toxic environment.
Over the last few weeks, there have been several school committee meetings, with teachers saying there is a safety risk for staff and students.
One parent told NBC10 Boston Friday that school administrators that need to make immediate changes.
“It seems to be an ongoing issue that’s not getting resolved, and I think it’s in direct correlation with a lack of leadership and genuine care for what these students are going through,” the woman said. “Post-COVID, it’s been very difficult for a lot of members of this community, and I think the focus was kind of getting things done and not how we’re getting them done, and I feel like a lot of the student body has been neglected.”
In December 2022, a teacher’s arm was broken when trying to break up a fight. This year, administrators are still trying to find ways to curtail violence.
The next school committee meeting is at 7 p.m. on March 5.
Taxpayers doling out hundreds of millions for overtime at the MBTA
The latest power failure on the MBTA comes as the T tries to get back on track. But slowdowns, outages and shutdowns for repairs have left MBTA riders packing their patience once again after years of safety concerns on the rails.
As the MBTA continues to put out fires across the aging infrastructure, the work comes with a bit of sticker shock along the way. The NBC10 Boston Investigators followed the money and found hundreds of millions of dollars in overtime, year after year.
Taxpayers doled out $510 million in overtime in 2022 and $553 million in 2023.
Stefan Wuensch, who co-chairs the MBTA Rider Oversight Committee, said there’s no lack of places where that money could be spent.
“The concern is always, ‘Would that money be better used to improve safety in a more tangible way? Could it be spent better? Could it be better used by low-income fares?’ Which is now on the table, thankfully,” said Wuensch.
While many riders struggle to afford public transit, some MBTA employees are cashing in.
The MBTA shelled out more than $3.5 million in overtime for 25 foreperson-wirepersons in two years. The top earner almost tripled his pay to $413,192 in 2022, thanks to almost $262,000 in overtime.
“Overtime is a key part of our toolbox,” General Manager Phillip Eng told the NBC10 Boston Investigators. “At the same time, the T can be more efficient.”
More MBTA news
Eng says to get the MBTA back up to speed, it needs more of these workers who oversee and maintain the power systemwide.
“Our system needs some TLC, and the power system is one that 76% of it is not in a state of good repair,” said Eng.
That age was on display last month, when a decades-old power cable caught fire, bringing Orange Line and Red line service to a halt. The MBTA believes the wire that failed was 40 years old or older.
The foreperson-wireperson positions are jobs where safety is key, but records obtained by the NBC10 Boston Investigators show some of those workers are clocking in long days, seven days a week.
During a two-week period in March, that highest earner worked 233.5 hours, including 154 in overtime — averaging almost 17 hours a day. Those hours, unless approved, are far beyond the 24 hours of OT allowed per week, according to the employee handbook.
It comes at a time when safety is in the spotlight, with the Federal Transit Administration demanding improvement.
“The FTA wants the safety to be systemic,” said Wuensch.
When asked why the overtime is needed and about safety concerns, Eng said, “We are managing it from the perspective of making sure that our employees are able to perform work safely, but we also know that moving forward, as we better schedule work and as we repair our system, we will better control overtime.”
Eng also emphasized that the foreperson-wirepersons perform critical work and said the MBTA is trying to figure out how many more it needs to hire. Until then, wellness checks are being done on employees working long hours to make sure everyone is safe.
Tewksbury police search for man after stabbing on hospital grounds
Police in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, are investigating a stabbing.
The Tewksbury Police Department said it searching for a man “who stabbed another person on the State Hospital grounds.” The department later identified that man as Brian …
New call for breast milk donors: ‘A community of moms looking out for moms’
During the new year the nonprofit Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast sees a drop in donations, and right now they’re looking for donor moms to donate breast milk.
The nonprofit primarily services pre-term and medically fragile babies in the NICU, a…
