Episode Transcript
[00:00:17] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Tuesday, February 3rd. The Quincy City Council will be reviewing the pay raises for the mayor and city councilors.
[00:00:29] Officials last night voted to place proposals to repeal the raises into the ordinance committee for further review. Councillor at large Noel DiBona explained that he objected to the repeal of the raises at the last meeting because he said they had no substance and could have resulted in the salaries being reduced to zero. DiBona thanked Ward 5 counselor Maggie McKee for rewriting the proposals to clarify the raise repeal orders and the ordinances would repeal the salary increases voted by the previous council and also repeal the annual raises that would be tied to the consumer price index. McKee said there needs to be a more public process for determining salary increases for elected officials. The ordinance committee will meet on February 23rd at 6:30pm at City Hall.
[00:01:23] Nine people spoke during the first public comment period before the new Quincy City Council last night. Council President Ann Mahoney said there will be a public comment period at every council meeting. Speakers will be limited to three minutes and the entire comment period will last 20 minutes. Mahoney cautioned that the comments must be respectful and said councilors will not respond. During the comment period, residents spoke about the pay raises for the mayor and city councilors, about snow removal, providing the auditor with more power and the city's debt level. Most speakers also thanked the council for allowing public comment. A proposal to make the public comment period formal was put into the City Council's Rules Committee for further review.
[00:02:12] Councilor at Large Noel debona supported the measure, saying he objected the first time it was proposed because he didn't have enough information about the rules.
[00:02:23] A worker was hurt when a plow truck caught fire in Milton yesterday. MassDOT says a private contractor was doing maintenance work on his truck when it went up in flames. This fire happened in the MassDOT lot right off Granite Avenue. They said the worker had burns on their hands and face but is expected to recover. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
[00:02:49] Problems continued yesterday for the operation of electronic court systems in Massachusetts following damage caused by a manhole fire last week. The court system is experiencing service and connection disruptions after nearby fiber optic cables were damaged and a Friday manhole fire, according to a state emergency alert. Disruptions include issues in accessing electronic court records and filing. The emergency alert stated that full service and connectivity are expected to be restored sometime this week. The fire erupted on Friday under a manhole in the area of Cambridge street and Staniford street knocking out power in that area and prompting traffic delays throughout the weekend. Repair efforts were ongoing yesterday afternoon, leading to some traffic redirections that could impact those trying to reach Mass General Hospital.
[00:03:45] Eversource confirmed it had completed repairs to its lines and that customers had their service restored.
[00:03:52] Fare gates recently installed at Boston South Station to combat fair evasion are currently inoperable and covered in plastic. Keolis Commuter Services cites recent weather conditions as the reason why in a statement. Spokesperson said fare gates were taken out of service last week in the wake of the major winter storm that delivered heavy snow accumulations and bitter cold temperatures. The gates, installed in December, require commuters to tap or scan their tickets before entering or exiting the tracks. They've been met with mixed reactions as some commuters say they contribute to congestion, especially during the busy morning and evening rush. Officials say they are assessing the impact the snow had on the gates and are working to return them to service. In the meantime, conductors will continue checking tickets on trains to and from South Station.
[00:04:49] A state police trooper appeared in court yesterday after he was arrested following allegations of domestic violence stemming from an incident in Plymouth. 25 year old Joseph Ward was charged with kidnapping, assault and battery on a family or household member, witness intimidation. He was held without bail after yesterday's dangerousness hearing where Ward's defense attorney disputed the victim's claims. According to a Plymouth police report. On January 10, Ward and a woman got into an altercation that became physical. Ward allegedly grabbed and shoved the woman, threatened her with a pistol. Woman eventually went with a friend to a relative's house after the couple went for a drive. Ward's defense attorney, Greg Henning, says the trooper and his girlfriend had a long standing relationship and pointed to evidence given to the court that shows the couple exchanged pleasant texts after the alleged assault. Henning has entered other evidence, including a picture of the couple shopping that the defense said was taken days after the alleged domestic assault. Ward will return to court in April. He has been suspended from his job.
[00:06:00] Three major companies are closing facilities and offices in Massachusetts, leading to layoffs that are affecting about 250 workers.
[00:06:11] Panera, Zipcar and Thermo Fisher Scientific all have different reasons for cutting jobs in the state. Panera is closing its Fresh Dough facility in Franklin. That move will affect 92 employees, according to a worker adjustment and retraining notification filed with the state. The fast casual restaurant chain said in its notice that the company is switching to the a new bakery operating model nationwide. Instead of getting fresh baked bread delivered daily, it will work with other bakery producers to get half baked items that will finish baking in cafe ovens. The Franklin Bakery will close on March 27. Also closing in Franklin is a Thermo Fisher scientific facility. Layoffs there will happen between December 31st of this year and December 31st of next year. The notice said 103 employees will be affected. In total, a Thermo Fisher spokesperson said up to 80 workers at the Franklin site will be impacted, many relocating to other Massachusetts facilities. The Boston Business Journal reports that the Waltham based company, like others in the life sciences industry, has struggled with funding slowdowns, policy changes and overall uncertainty impacting its customers, but still managed to grow revenue last year. And Zipcar, which got its start in Cambridge in 1999, is closing its corporate office in Boston. Those cuts will affect 65 employees who are based in the Boston area and 61 remote employees across the country. Those layoffs start on April 1st.
[00:07:57] Zipcar is owned by rental car company Avis Budget Group, which is consolidating corporate operations in New Jersey.
[00:08:05] And last week it was announced that Cape Cod chips will no longer be made in Massachusetts. The Hyannis factory, where they've been made since 1985, is closing, resulting in 49 layoffs.
[00:08:21] Check of business News this morning, stocks are higher. The Dow rose 515. The Nasdaq's up 130 in the S&P added 37. Global stocks were higher. The dollar was down. The Euro rose oil at $62 a barrel and sports Celtics are in Dallas at 8 o'. Clock. The Bruins will take on the Panthers in Florida tomorrow night at 7. Forecast from the National Weather Service today, mostly Sunny, high of 34 for tonight, partly cloudy and a low 10 tomorrow. Partly sunny, high 30 Thursday, lots of sunshine with a high of 29 and cloudy on Friday with a high 28. The marine forecast calling for 1 foot waves. Northwest winds at 5 to 10 knots. Become southwesterly later today. High tide 12:12pm sunrise 6:54 sets at 5pm I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Tuesday, February 3rd.
