Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:16] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Thursday, January 8th the case of the Quincy mayor's pay raise is back in court today. A hearing will be held this morning in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham regarding starting a lawsuit brought by Quincy Citizens for Fair Raises. The group alleges that the City Clerk's office wrongly rejected the signatures of over 800 people who signed a ballot petition seeking to roll back the mayoral raise from 285 to $183,000. The group had hoped to have that question on last November's city ballot. The plaintiffs say the city should have used the printed names of the signers to verify if they were registered. Quincy the city claims they followed proper procedures. A judge ordered the city to re examine the signatures and that review will be presented at today's hearing. The mayor has since proposed that the mayoral salary go from the current $159,000 to $225,000 effective in 2028.
[00:01:27] Katherine Hubley is the new vice chairman of the Quincy School Committee for the next two years. Hubley was elected unanimously during last night's school committee organizational meeting at the Coddington Building. Returning committee member Tina Cahill nominated Hubley for the vice chairmanship, which was seconded by Paul Bregoli. Hubley has been a member of the school committee since 2012 and previously served as vice chair from 2014 to 2016.
[00:01:57] Hubley is currently the community affairs coordinator at the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office.
[00:02:02] Her husband, Walter, is the newly elected Ward 3 city councilor. Also last night, new committee members Kate Campbell and Tom Leong were welcomed. School Superintendent Kevin Mulvey was appointed secretary and Laura Owens was again appointed committee clerk. The mayor serves as chairman of the Quincy School Committee.
[00:02:24] The dock at the Town River Marina in Quincy will be replaced with help from a $200,000 state grant. The governor's office this week announced a series of grants designed to boost economic development and infrastructure improvements in 78 coastal communities, and Quincy is in line for the $200,000 grant from the Seaport Economic Development Council to replace the Town River Marina dock, which is also sometimes used by the quincy Police. Marine Unit 21 projects received a total of $16.7 million in grants. Weymouth also received $240,000 to design and permit the Back river dredging project.
[00:03:13] There's a bit of good news for apartment hunters in Massachusetts. Rent is getting cheaper in some Boston area locations, according to a new report.
[00:03:23] The Boston Metro report from the rental website Zumper shows where the cost of rent has gone up or down over the past year. The median rent for a one bedroom apartment in Massachusetts is $2,200. The city of Quincy saw the largest decline from the previous year with rent going down 6.8%. The median price for a one bedroom in Quincy, a little more than the rest of the state at $2,330 a month. Rent was down 6.4% in Lowell and dropped 6.2% in Somerville, although costs there are higher than most communities at $2,580 a month for a one bedroom. Other cities and towns that saw rents for a one bedroom go down a few percentage points include Boston, Newton, Melrose, Worcester and Manchester, New Hampshire. On the flip side, Portsmouth, New Hampshire had the biggest rent increase with rents going up 18.5% to a median price $2,500 a month. Medford saw rent rise 8.8% to $2,720 a month and Brockton rent went up 5.5%. The most expensive place to rent in the area is in Brookline at $3,040 a month for a one bedroom, followed by Cambridge at $2,990, the city of Boston at $2,880. Massachusetts voters are poised to weigh in on rent control on the ballot this year. Supporters say it will help fix the state's housing crisis and keep people from leaving. Opponents argue it would make things worse.
[00:05:15] Massachusetts lawmakers are pushing back after American forces took control of two Venezuelan oil tankers early yesterday morning. The Trump administration said it's part of a three step plan to stabilize the South American country.
[00:05:32] Part of that plan reportedly includes taking over the flow and sale of Venezuela's oil.
[00:05:39] Massachusetts Congressman Stephen lynch, along with other Democratic lawmakers, said they have questions about the way the operation was done and what comes next. Lynch said Congress was not notified, making the operation illegal and improper. Congressman Seth Moulton expressed his frustration with the military operation as well. Tomorrow, representatives from several oil companies are set to meet at the White House to talk about the Trump administration's plans.
[00:06:08] A 66 year old woman with killed yesterday after a head on crash in Easton. Police say it happened just after 9am Officers were dispatched to the area of 99 Belmont street on Route 123 and reports of a crash. Once on scene, crews located two vehicles that collided head on. The first vehicle was a Pupil Transport van. The second vehicle was a four door sedan. The the drivers of both vehicles were the sole occupants. Both drivers were taken to Boston Medical Center South. The driver of the transport van suffered minor injuries. The driver of the sedan, a 66 year old Easton resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Belmont street was closed for several hours while the investigation continued.
[00:07:06] A man was seriously injured in a pedestrian crash yesterday in Canton.
[00:07:11] Police and fire crews responded just before 7pm to the intersection of Randolph street and Wentworth Road where a man had been hit by a sedan. The man was taken by ambulance to a Boston hospital with life threatening injuries. The driver did remain on scene and is cooperating, police said. There are crosswalks in the vicinity of the intersection, but it's not clear whether the man was in a crosswalk when he was struck. Randolph street was closed for several hours while that crash was investigated for the first time in over a century. The town of Hingham is one of three communities that will soon be opening up the harbor for shellfish harvesting and direct consumption. Officials with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries say it's all thanks to dramatic improvements in water quality, which came after decades of cleanup and billions spent to rid Boston harbor of pollution. Winthrop, Hingham and Hall now meet the water quality standards needed to allow clams, oysters and mussels to be dug and eaten straight off the flats. For more than a century, shellfishing in the communities was either banned or heavily restricted due to contamination concerns dating back to the 1920s. Even commercial harvesters have to send clams through an expensive purification process before they can go to market. Local restaurateurs say this could have a big impact on the regional economy.
[00:08:41] State officials stress it's not an immediate open for business moment just yet. Since Massachusetts gives local towns authority to regulate shellfishing, Winthrop, Hingham and Hall must still adopt their own management plans, permitting systems and enforcement structures before the public can hit the flats on a full time basis. Officials are expecting some areas like Winthrop and Hingham to start opening later this year.
[00:09:10] Attorneys yesterday presented a glimpse into the complicated plans for the upcoming trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three children.
[00:09:21] Clancy was indicted on three counts each of murder and strangulation in the 2023 deaths of her 5 year old daughter Cora, 3 year old son Dawson and 7 month old son Kellan. Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, has previously asserted that Clancy was suffering from postpartum depression and was overmedicated on the day of the killing. She's accused of strangling her three young children with exercise bands before jumping out of a window of the family's home, causing her to become partially paralyzed. Citing her injury, Reddington told the court yesterday at the upcoming trial will require nightmarish logistics. He said his client requires two nurses to use the bathroom and is on round the clock suicide watch. Lance is currently being held at Tewksbury State Hospital. She has pleaded not guilty.
[00:10:15] Prosecutors have said she knew what she was doing as she sent her husband out to pick up medicine and dinner, even mapping how long the trip would take. They told the court that there is no need for drama about the logistics for the case and that necessary medical accommodations are laid out in a report filed with the court. The report is sealed, but the judge indicated that an order on the logistics would be forthcoming, although it may require another hearing to complete. Clancy's trial is set to begin on July 20. Her legal team asked for a change of venue, but a Plymouth County Superior Court judge denied that request.
[00:10:54] Check of business News this morning. Stocks are mixed. The dow is down 466 points. The Nasdaq rose 37. The S&P dropped 23. Asian stocks mostly lower. The dollar fell, the euro was higher and oil at $56 a barrel and sports Celtics lose to Denver last night, 1:14 to 1:10. They'll be hosting the Raptors tomorrow night at 7. Tonight the Bruins host Calgary at 7.
[00:11:27] Forecast from the National Weather Service Some icy spots this morning, then turning partly sunny today with a high of 45 degrees.
[00:11:35] Cloudy tonight at a low of 26 tomorrow. Clouds and scattered showers high tomorrow, 49.
[00:11:43] Saturday, scattered showers with a high of 44 and more showers on Sunday, the high of 42.
[00:11:50] The marine forecast calling for 1 foot waves. Northwest winds at 5 to 10 knots and a high tide at 3:01pm Sunrise at 7:12, sets at 429.
[00:12:02] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Thursday, January 8th.
