We’re really ramping up the weather intensity in the coming days. The pendulum swings from warm to cold and the pattern spins up a robust winter storm by Monday night. Then it’s all about the cold into Valentines Day and beyond, so whatever snow we re…
Massachusetts
Nor’easter could dump ‘significant snowfall’ across Massachusetts, bombogenesis is possible
A nor’easter could dump several inches of snow across Massachusetts from Monday night into Tuesday.
Fall River shooting leaves man injured
A man was injured Friday evening in a shooting in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to NBC affiliate WJAR.
Police responded around 7:40 p.m. to Lonsdale Street, where a 34-year-old man was found suffering from gunshot wounds, the outlet reported…
Boston worker beaten for writing parking ticket, police say
A Boston parking enforcement worker is recovering after police said he was a victim of a brutal attack after he ticketed an illegally parked car in Dorchester.
The city and union officials are calling for more to be done to protect city workers after the violent incident on Hartwell Street.
Kenneth Vandergrift, a Dorchester resident and the vehicle’s owner, was arrested. Police say Vendergrift took the worker’s radio and started hitting him with it. He is also accused of kicking and stomping on the worker, leaving him bloodied with one of his eyes swollen shut.
Vandergrift is facing a number of charges, including assault on a person over 60.
Those who live in area were shocked to hear the details, but the union that represents the workers is not.
“These men and women endure verbal and physical assaults on a regular basis simply for doing their jobs,” Jim Durkin of AFCSME 93 said.
Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy is calling for a hearing on the issue. She wants the city to explore solutions, including increased security and letting parking enforcement work in pairs during overnight shifts.
“We need to make sure they have what they need to do their job, and if they don’t feel safe, then what do we, as a city, need to do to change that,” Murphy said.
Durkin said he appreciates any and all support. He plans to meet with the workers before the hearing, but he said the public can also play a role in the solution.
“Really, what needs to change is the public attitude toward these officers, and the mean-spirited and often violent way they’re treated,” Durkin said.
Defense, prosecutors in Karen Read case ask judge to push back start of trial
The prosecution and Karen Read‘s defense attorneys have not agreed on much, but they filed a joint motion Friday seeking to push back her murder trial.
The second-degree murder charges against Read for the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, two years ago in Canton, Massachusetts, have drawn national attention. The state alleges Read hit O’Keefe with her vehicle and left him for dead in the snow outside a home, while Read alleges she is being framed in a large-scale coverup.
Friday’s motion, filed by Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally and defense attorney David Yannetti, asks the court to move a hearing from Feb. 15 to March 12 — the date the trial was set to start. Yannetti said in a separate affidavit that Read was waiving her speedy trial rights to facilitate the change.
It was not immediately clear whether the motion had been approved by a judge.
The motion stated that both sides took part in a conference call last month with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, which said it would produce information for both parties that has not yet been received
“Assuming this information is received prior to February 15, 2024, the parties will still need time to assess the information, to potentially conduct further investigation and to modify their arguments for the hearing on the defendant’s motions. Given that the hearing date is only one week away, the parties believe there is not enough time to do the proper investigation and/or preparation for the motion hearing on that date,” the joint motion read.
The coverup allegations — which prosecutors deny, as Read denies killing O’Keefe — have turned the case into among the most closely watched criminal proceedings in Massachusetts in years.
More on the Karen Read case
Read and O’Keefe were out drinking Jan. 28, 2022, with a group of people including Boston Police Officer Brian Albert. Members of the group went back to Albert’s Fairview Road home, and Read says she dropped O’Keefe off there went home. He was found the next morning and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Prosecutors allege Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die. But Read’s attorneys say evidence points to O’Keefe being attacked inside the home and brought outside, arguing, among other points, that the wounds on his body are not consistent with a crash.
The defense has also argued that Jennifer McCabe, who was in the group that went out and returned to Albert’s home, Googled “ho[w] long to die in cold” hours before 911 was called to report O’Keefe had been found.
Read’s claims have prompted arguments of what records should be available to her attorneys, and the case has divided the town of Canton, which voted for an independent audit of its police department.
Earlier this month, an affidavit from the Massachusetts State Police alleged that Read sent confidential information to Aidan Kearney — the blogger known as Turtleboy, who has long advocated on her behalf — in more than 40 hours of conversations during 189 phone calls and other methods of communication. She allegedly provided personal details about witnesses, autopsy photographs, crime scene photographs, images of her car and the 911 call made when O’Keefe’s body was found.
Kearney’s coverage of the case, which has garnered extensive attention, had previously led prosecutors to charge him with witness intimidation.
“Free Karen Read” merchandise with the Turtleboy logo remains available for sale on his site, and past stories have said proceeds go to a fund for Read’s legal defense. In posts since the revelation, Kearney said he had not admitted publicly to communicating with Read because she “was an anonymous source.”
His attorney, Timothy J. Bradl, said in a statement that the affidavit “is an investigation without a crime,” adding that “The only crime here is the robbery of privacy.”
Kearney’ ‘s bail on the witness intimidation charges was revoked after he was charged with assault and battery following allegations from a woman he was dating.
Mass. town wants private day cares to pay to play at local parks
Private preschools and day cares in Arlington, Massachusetts, could soon be paying a fee to play in its public parks.
It’s a proposal that’s causing concern among business owners.
Arlington’s director of recreation said they’re currently collecting data on who is actually using the public playgrounds at what times before they make a final decision.
But one day care owner said she thinks the proposal is unfair and if it goes through, it will impact her business and their families.
“We’re going to have to increase tuition. Tuition is already high enough in the town of Arlington,” Elizabeth Noguera, who owns Elizabeth’s Day Care, said.
The Greater Boston area has some of the highest child care costs in the country, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The town says these fees would only affect schools that use the public parks regularly to help maintain the upkeep. They already charge youth sports organizations using public spaces.
In a statement, Director of Recreation Joseph Connelly said in part:
“The thought process is that these are private organizations using public facilities as part of their daily or regular curriculum in a manner which could exclude public use.”
Ha added that they want to emphasize that the intent of this policy is not to put a financial burden on any of the private schools/preschools/businesses in Arlington.
Noguera said they rely on the public parks because they have limited outdoor space, and any fees will be felt by families.
“Imagine telling a parent your kid can’t go to the park because there is another program there or you have to pay a fee for today and you didn’t pay it, so your child is not allowed to be at the park.”
Noguera said that around a dozen day care and preschool owners are putting together a letter for the town manager to express their concerns.
If the proposal is finalized, permitting could start as soon as the beginning of the summer.
