Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Tuesday, August 5th. Two Weymouth based ambulance companies have reached a 6 million dollar settlement with the State of over allegations that they submitted false claims to Mass Health. The Attorney General's office says Brewster Ambulance, owned by Mark Brewster and Ease Care, owned by George brewster, will pay $6 million to the state and implement an independent compliance monitoring program at their own expense. The state says the Brewster submitted false claims to MassHealth for more expensive services than were provided, violated Mass Health medical necessity, require and failed to disclose relevant information when submitting the company's applications to serve as Mass Health providers. The state says the companies billed for emergency services when only non emergency services were required or provided. Brewster and Ease Care are the largest medical transportation providers in the state.
[00:01:23] An apparent cyber attack hit a local town on Saturday, affecting the South Shore Regional Emergency Communications Centers computer aided dispatching. The FBI says it's closely monitoring the situation. The center said there were no disruptions to the 911 system to Hingham, Cohasset, Norwell and Hall, the four towns that the regional center serves, by taking emergency calls and dispatching resources. First responders in Cohasset, Hingham, Norwell and Hall didn't see any delays or missed 911 calls after the emergency center was the victim of an apparent cyber attack by a group with ties to Russia. The center noted yesterday that it was not immediately clear if confidential information was compromised in that leak. Cohasset police also reported that they too were able to respond to calls with no issues and take reports offline. The FBI says it is aware of the cyber incident and is in close contact with local officials. The Regional Emergency Communications center reported the issue with its dispatch software provided by multi service provider Global Data Systems last Saturday morning and it lasted for much of the day. The police department said they were still able to take calls through other methods, including radio channels.
[00:02:52] The people calling would not have known the difference in how their call was taken, the incident being investigated by Norwell police, state police and the FBI.
[00:03:04] A group of young baseball players from Braintree is now just one win away from clinching a berth in the 2025 Little League World Series. The Braintree American team crushed Vermont in the second round of the New England Regional Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut yesterday, securing a spot in Thursday night's regional final. Caden McCarthy opened the scoring for the Wops and he and his teammates never look back, picking up a 10 nothing mercy rule victory. The impressive win comes just days after Braintree handed Maine a 15 to nothing blowout loss in the opening round of the New England Regional. Braintree will next face the winner of Wednesday's New Hampshire Vermont game. Hot bats and dominant pitching have fueled Braintree summer success, pushing them to a 160 record. Dozens of excited fans gathered last week for a special send off to wish the youngsters good luck as they embark on a mission to advance to the Little League World series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on on August 13th. Many of those same fans gathered yesterday to watch the game and enjoy a French toast breakfast at the south side Tavern in Braintree.
[00:04:24] Well, tonight is National Night out and here in Quincy, the Quincy Police Department is holding a special event for youngsters from 5 to 8pm at Pageant Field. Children and families can enjoy activities and a Touch a Truck event for free. National Night out started in 1984 as an annual community building campaign that promotes police community partnerships and strengthens neighborhood camaraderie. It's a night for neighbors to get together, meet their local law enforcement, foster a sense of community. The event usually involves block parties, cookouts and other community gatherings.
[00:05:03] This is also National Health Center Week and here in Quincy, Manit Community Health center is hosting events at many of their locations. Today, Manit will hold patient and community appreciation events at their locations on Hausneck and at Father bill shelter from 9 to 11am and at their North Quincy headquarters and their Snug harbor location in Germantown from 1 to 3pm the public is invited to attend. The events will also be held at Manett locations in Hull, Taunton and Attleboro later this week.
[00:05:40] Mass General, Brigham and CVS would like to team up to tackle the dearth of primary care services in Massachusetts by expanding care options at Minute Clinic locations.
[00:05:53] Mass General and Minute Clinic Pharmacy's primary care practice, a subsidiary of cvs, file paperwork with state regulators seeking approval of their proposed clinical affiliation. Massachusetts is home to 37 minute clinics, which are located within CVS retail stores and staffed by about 80 advanced practice providers. Under the arrangement, mass general patients could receive in network primary care at Minute Clinic. Minute Clinic would also continue to make acute care services available for all Bay Staters. The proposed affiliation is also poised to give patients at MinuteClinic enhanced access to Mass General's network of hospitals, specialists, diagnostic and radiology facilities and specialty labs. Mass General's not making a financial investment into the affiliation. Primary care has emerged as a focal point on Beacon Hill this session amid troubling trends of Bay Staters struggling to access timely care and and ending up in costlier healthcare settings, including emergency rooms. A primary care task force is working to develop recommendations to boost investments in the sector, tackle workforce shortages and create standardized data reporting requirements among payers and providers.
[00:07:16] Massachusetts residents have the chance to purchase big ticket items without worrying about the six and a quarter percent difference tax during the sales tax holiday weekend this coming weekend. During the holiday, most retail items of up to $2,500 purchased for personal use will be exempt from sales tax. Not all of them, though. Several items are still taxable and are not tax exempt, including meals, cars, motorboats, telecommunication services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, marijuana or marijuana products and alcoholic beverages. Any single item that costs more than $2,500 is not tax exempt. If you spend more than 2,500 on an item, then the entire amount paid is subject to sales tax, not just the amount that exceeds the threshold. Layaway sales also don't qualify for the sales tax exemption, so state officials say if the price of each individual item is 2,500 or less, you can combine as many items as you want tax free, even if the combined items cost more than 2,500. Unless it costs more than $175. An item of clothing generally exempt from the sales tax. However, for items that cost more than $175, only the amount of 175 is subject to the tax on the sales tax holiday. If the price of an item of clothing is more than $2,500, then the first $175 is not taxable, but the rest would be if it's less than or equal to 2,500, the entire amount is not subject to tax. All businesses must participate in the sales tax holiday if it's open on August 9th and 10th and normally makes taxable sales of the tangible property in the Bay State or to purchasers in the state, purchases by corporations or other businesses and purchases by individuals for business use.
[00:09:25] Well, you can now get married at the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy Center. The Library is offering one hour wedding ceremonies in the historic Richardson Building for $212. Guests can be invited. The library will provide 12 chairs, six gold pedestal aisle flower arrangements and two floor standing flower plants. Not allowed Will be live music, food and beverages, decorations, additional furniture, animals or signs. Participants must provide their own officiant and one photographer. The library also does not manage marriage certificates or licenses.
[00:10:08] Ceremonies can only take place during certain days and times and must be booked at least 14 days out.
[00:10:16] Check of Business News this morning. Stocks bounced back yesterday. The Dow rose 585 points. The Nasdaq is up 403 and the S&P added 91.
[00:10:27] Asian stocks also advanced following US stocks higher after they won back most of the losses last week that were capped by a sell off driven by weak US Jobs data. The dollar rose, the euro slipped and oil is at $65 a barrel.
[00:10:44] Sports Red Sox beat the Royals 8 to 5.
[00:10:48] Series continues at Fenway at 7:10 tonight.
[00:10:51] Forecast from the National Weather Service today, mainly cloudy. Still some smoke from the Canadian wildfires at a high 80 degrees for for tonight's Apache fog, a low of 63. Cloudy tomorrow and again a high around 80 degrees. Thursday, partly cloudy, high of 82. Friday sunny and a high of 84 for the boater. Waves about 2ft. Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. High tide 9:13am Sunrise 5:41, sets at 7:57. I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Tuesday, August 5th.
