Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, June 4th. There are now a total of 28 candidates who've taken out nomination papers to run in this year's Quincy City election, including nine candidates for counselor at large. In addition to incumbents Noel debona and Scott Campbell, other potential at large candidates are Bill o' Neill, Allie Shaughnessy, Zequan Yuan, Andrew Pham, Jackie Carvey, Hannah Kaplan and Mike Keneally. None have returned their nomination papers to City hall yet. In Ward 1, incumbent Dave McCarthy and Spencer Henderson have taken out papers and incumbent Ward 2 Councilor Richard Ashe still unopposed. Kathleen Thrun and Walter Hubley are seeking the Ward 3 seat. Hubley has his signature certified. Ward 4 counselor James Devine is facing a challenge from Virginia Ryan Divine signatures are certified.
[00:01:18] Incumbent Dan minton and Maggie McKee both have certified signatures in running for Ward 5 and in Ward 6, Councilor Bill Harris faces potential challenges from Deborah Riley, James Coffey, Jason Loeb and Christopher Chan. None have returned their papers yet. There are five candidates for three school committee seats, including incumbent Tina Cahill along with Kai Lee, Kate Campbell, Tom Leung and Frank Santoro, and candidates have until July 15th to return their papers to City Hall.
[00:01:55] The Quincy City Council is considering a proposal that would provide some tax breaks for the Grossman companies and their plan to build 256 apartments and some retail space along Granite street in Quincy Center. Mayor Thomas Koch is proposing to add the property that's currently home to TJ Maxx and other retailers to the city's Housing Development Incentive Program, which would allow him to negotiate with the developer for tax exemptions for up to 20 years. Koch says the details of the tax agreement have not been finalized. Residents at a public hearing this week said the development should not receive tax breaks because they're not planning to include affordable housing in their project. However, the mayor says some affordable apartments are part of the plan.
[00:02:47] Another public hearing will be held on that matter on June 16.
[00:02:52] City Council also considering a proposal to change the zoning laws around the Crown County Office park in West Quincy and the North Quincy T Station to allow for more Transit Oriented Development.
[00:03:06] Quincy Deputy Planner Rob Stevens says the idea, especially at Crown county, is to make it easier to fill some vacant office space.
[00:03:15] The city councilors in the impacted areas both support the zoning change, saying it will help bring more commercial tax revenue to the city. A public hearing on the proposal will be held on June 16th.
[00:03:29] The Quincy Police Department recently honored former members of the department who have died. The annual Police Memorial Sunday service last Sunday at the Police Memorial at Mount Wollaston Cemetery brought out family, friends and colleagues of late Quincy Police Office officers. Chief Mark Kennedy said the ceremony is a lasting tribute to all members of the department.
[00:03:54] Officers marched from the Quincy District Courthouse to the cemetery for the annual ceremony. The annual Firefighters Memorial Sunday service will be held this coming Sunday at 9am at the Firefighters Memorial at Mount Wollaston Cemetery.
[00:04:13] FEMA is holding a virtual open house today to explain the recent changes made to the FEMA flood maps in Quincy. The open house on Zoom will be held today at 4pm and can be accessed through the City of Quincy's website at Quincy Ma Gov. Participants will be able to speak directly with local, state and FEMA experts. Recently, more than 300 Quincy properties were removed from the FEMA flood zones after the city worked with the agency to explain the flood control measures that have taken place in the city. There have been no changes to the coastal flood zones. However, many properties along rivers, brooks and streams were taken out of the flood maps. Removal from the flood zone may mean that property owners would no longer be required to carry expensive flood insurance.
[00:05:08] A Braintree man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for leading a large scale drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl and cocaine from Latin America. 32 year old Jonathan Melendez Decatur, also known as Jaka, was sentenced in U.S. district Court after pleading guilty to drug distribution and possession charges. Prosecutors say Decatur was identified as the leader of the large scale drug operation in the Brockton area sold drugs from Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Investigators seized over $11,000 in cash during a search of his Braintree home during the investigation. Decatur also faces five years of supervised release after his 10 year prison sentence.
[00:06:03] A check of business news this morning and stocks bounced higher yesterday. The dow was up 214 points, the Nasdaq rose 156 and the S&P is up 34 shares, advanced in Europe and Asia after US stocks drifted closer to their records. The dollar fell, the Euro rose and oil at $63 a barrel.
[00:06:29] Sports Red Sox lose again to the Angels 43 in 10 innings last night. They're back at it at 1:35 this afternoon at Fenway Park. Going to be a hot one. The old ballpark today. The forecast from the National Weather Service hazy and warm with a High today of 88 degrees for tonight, partly cloudy and a low of 63 tomorrow. Hazy, hot and humid. High tomorrow of 92.
[00:06:58] Friday Warm and humid with afternoon thunderstorms and a high Friday of 84 showers around throughout the day on Saturday with a high of 74.
[00:07:09] The marine forecast calling for 1 to 2 foot waves, southwest winds 5 to 10 knots and high tide 7:29pm sunrise at 5:08, sets at 8:16.
[00:07:21] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, June 4th.
