Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:16] Speaker A: I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Thursday, December 4th. Fire damaged a portion of Common Market Food Court in West Quincy early this morning.
Police say the fire started in an outdoor trash barrel and spread to the side and roof of the Village Food Market on Willard street at 2am the fire was at the fish and chicken takeout area of the market. Firefighters doused the blaze before it damaged the interior of the building and no one was hurt. The fire is not believed to be suspicious and crews cleared the scene about an hour later.
A planned power outage in West Quincy last night was related to the construction of a new MBTA bus garage. National Grid says power was turned off to most of West Quincy from 9 to midnight last night due to the construction of the new garage being built on Bergen Parkway across from the Quincy Adams T station. Power was fully restored by midnight. The garage is scheduled for completion in 2027.
The Quincy Mayor's Good Scout Breakfast is taking place this morning. The annual breakfast helps to raise funds for Quincy Friends of Scouting, which provides Scouting and summer camp activities for Scouts across Quincy. This morning's breakfast will honor John Keohane of Keohane Funeral Home and Sean Glennon of the Quincy Planning Department with the Good Scout Awards for their support of Scouting. The Breakfast begins at 7:30 at the Terrell Room.
The annual Tis the Season Symphony and Song concert by the Quincy Symphony Orchestra will be held tonight. The holiday concert begins at 7pm at Quincy High School and will also feature performances by the Quincy Public Schools combined high school choral group, the John Adams Orchestra, featuring many Quincy music teachers. A three course dinner is served prior to the performance at the President's Cafe in the high school at 5pm for ticket holders, all the funds raised go to support music programs in the Quincy Public Schools. The show runs through 8:30 and will be shown live here on QATV and on our website qatv.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: Well, no one has seen Anna Walsh since New Year's Day 2023, but she certainly is making her presence felt at the murder trial of her husband, Brian Walsh. As police presented evidence of her death collected from a dumpster in Walsh's murder trial yesterday, the jury saw grim images of evidence collected in the case. Walsh is charged with first degree murder for the death of Anna. Prosecutors believe Brian Walsh, angry over the failing marriage, killed Anna in their cohasset home, dismembered her body in the house and threw her remains away in area dumpsters. Anna has never been found, but police found traces of her in a dumpster in Swampscott, near Brian Walsh's mother's home. Among the evidence shown to the jury Anna Walsh's clothing, a jacket and boots. They found her slippers, a notebook, headphones and car keys. Also in the dumpster pieces of a bloody rug. The rug was similar to one seen in a picture of Ana taken in the living room of their Cohasset home. Prosecutors say after Ana's murder, Brian Walsh searched the Internet for best ways to dispose of a body and how to clean up after dismemberment. Walsh's lawyers say Anna died of natural causes and that Brian panicked when he found his dead wife in their bed. Testimony continues today in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.
The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General says a series of leadership failures and weak financial oversight led to Brockton public schools unprecedented $18.25 million budget debt deficit in fiscal year 2023. In a letter yesterday to Mayor Robert Sullivan, the superintendent and other city and state officials, the Office of the Inspector General outlined systemic problems that allowed the deficit to spiral unchecked. Despite clear warning signs, the state found that the FY23 budget was inherently flawed, relying on unrealistic enrollment projections and and maintaining high staffing levels even as state aid declined. Overspending in payroll, out of district, tuition and transportation, police details and energy costs drove the shortfall. Key finance positions remained vacant through 2023, and internal warnings raised as early as July of 2022 were ignored or never escalated. Written communication was discouraged, leaving little documentation for accountability. By late March 23, emergency measures like hiring freezes and spending cuts were introduced but not enforced and came too late to prevent the deficit, the state says. The Brockton School Committee and Mayor Sullivan, who chairs the committee, failed to act despite receiving monthly financial reports showing overspending.
The deficit was ultimately covered using reserve funds, free cash and increased local revenue estimates. Several officials, including a former superintendent and the cfo, have since resigned or been placed on leave. The state recommends sweeping changes, including stronger financial controls and clear reporting structures. Mandatory fiduciary training for school committee members finance staff A tone from the top emphasizing budget discipline and accountability.
City and school officials have 45 days to respond with plans to implement the recommendations.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: Governor Healey announcing yesterday that the Trump administration has finally released federal funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, ending a delay that left thousands of families waiting for help as winter sets in.
Funding, which was held up for more than a month, became available yesterday, allowing Massachusetts to begin processing applications immediately. Liheap, known locally as the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program, helps more than 150,000 households, representing over 300,000 residents, afford heating costs each winter. The program's funding typically arrives in early November. This year's allocation was delayed by the federal government shutdown. Even after the government reopened on November 13. The Trump administration took nearly three additional weeks to release the funds, a delay that Healy sharply criticized. During the funding gap, the administration used leftover federal dollars from last year to help households facing heating emergencies. The Department of Public Utilities also extended its shut off moratorium through April 1, 2026, ensuring vulnerable residents would not lose service during the coldest months.
[00:07:56] Speaker A: A check of business news this morning. Stocks are higher. The Dow rose 408 points, the Nasdaq is up 40 and the S&P added 20. Asian stocks are mixed. The dollar rose, the Euro slid, oil at $59 a barrel and sports Bruins will take on the blues at the garden tonight at 7. Celtics are on the road in Washington against the wizards tonight at 7. Today's forecast from the National Weather Service is calling for scattered snow showers with a high of 37 degrees for tonight. A bitter blast of Arctic air blows in. Temperatures tonight will dip into the single digits for for tomorrow. Sunny, windy and very cold. Temperatures only in the mid 20s. Wind chills in the single digits for Saturday. Mostly cloudy, high of 36. Sunday, partly cloudy at a high 40 for the boater. Waves about 2ft. Winds southwest at 10 to 15, gusting to 25. Will become westerly 20 to 25 knots, then gusts to 35 knots later today. High tide 10:01am Sunrise 6:56, sets at 4:11.
I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Thursday, December 4th.
