Episode Transcript
[00:00:17] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Thursday, May 1st. Well, the election season is heating up in Quincy. Quincy City Clerk Nicole Crispo says nomination papers to run for City Council or school committee this year will be available in her office at City hall beginning next Tuesday. All the City Council seats are up for re election to two year terms and three school committee seats are also up for four year terms. Ward 3 City Councilor Ian Kane is not running for reelection this year. All other counselors except at large Councilor Nina Liang have told me they are running again. School Committee member Doug Guttro is not seeking reelection, Tina Cahill is and Emily Lebo has still not announced if she'll be seeking reelection this year. Mayor Thomas Koch is not up for reelection until 2027.
[00:01:16] Quincy Democrats will convene tonight to elect delegates to represent all six wards at the State Democratic Convention in September. Tonight's meeting will be held at 6:30 at the Nickerson Post in Squantum. Democrats from Wards 1, 4, 5 and 6 may elect nine delegates and four alternates and Democrats from Wards 2 and 3 can elect eight delegates and four alternates. This year's convention will be held at the Massmutual center in Springfield on September 13th. Quincy College will hold another free community lecture series tonight. The scholarly conversations are free and open to the public. Three lectures this evening will focus on artificial intelligence and the effects of screen time on personal relationships and the mental health of young adults. The program will begin at 5pm in the Colleges Anselmo Library on the third floor of President's Place in Quincy Center. Each 30 minute session includes a question and answer period.
[00:02:27] Dove Domestic Violence Ended of Quincy will hold their annual let's Dance fundraiser this evening at 6pm at the Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy. The event is one of two main fundraisers for the nonprofit organization each year.
[00:02:45] Today is the deadline to Register for the 41st annual Quincy Senior Olympics that begin next week. You can visit quincyrec.com for all the details.
[00:02:58] A Quincy self storage company wants to expand extra space. Self Storage on Weston Avenue in Wollaston wants to build another storage facility right next to its existing facility. The Planning board is reviewing the proposal for the new six story building. It would be built on a current parking lot at that site. The MBTA would also have to approve the project. Planning board is also reviewing a proposal for a 4 story 21 unit condo complex on south street in Quincy Point. The new development would be built on a vacant lot at 506 South Street Planning Board will review the matter again on June 25. The board recently did approve three single family homes for Lyons street in West Quincy. The height of the homes was reduced and at the request of neighbors, one person is dead following a collision between a train and a car in Abington yesterday. Police responded to the railroad crossing at Center Avenue and Park Avenue at about noontime yesterday. A woman inside the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators found there were no mechanical faults on the train. The conductor was utilizing the train horn and the train was operating below the 70 mile per hour speed limit. No foul play is suspected. A Keola spokesperson said the car drove through the gates. Yesterday marked the fourth incident since December where a pedestrian or vehicle was struck by a train in Abington. Two pedestrians in two separate incidents were hit and killed by the train in March. One of the victims was an off duty Randolph police officer.
[00:04:47] A Halifax army veteran and football coach is being remembered as a hero after family members say he drowned while saving his son and niece from a rip current on a Florida beach. This happened April 24th at Fernandina beach, about 35 miles north of Jacksonville. Family members say 38 year old Joshua Curtis rushed into the water when his six year old son Owen and niece got stuck in a strong rip current. While he rescued the children, Curtis drowned. Curtis, who was survived by his wife and son, had only been in Florida for several days. The family lives in Halifax but would often visit his hometown in Florida. Curtis served in the army for 15 years and was also a football coach for the Silver Lake Warriors, a youth football program serving children in Kingston, Plimpton and Halifax. A celebration of life in memory of Curtis was held Tuesday night in Florida. The family is also thanking first responders who they said worked hard to save his life.
[00:05:56] An elected town official is looking to impose tolls on the Cape Cod bridges, MASHPEE Select Board Vice Chairman David Weeden said at a meeting this week there should be a modest rate charged to tourists crossing over the Bourne and Sagamore bridges. Weeden proposes a $2 toll on the over 35 million cars that cross both bridges annually, raising about $70 million. He said he'd want to see the money go toward coastal and water quality issues. He said tolls could be a long term funding mechanism, recognizing that Massachusetts reaps the benefits of Cape Cod tourism. People who live on the Cape would be exempt from the tolls, but state officials do not currently support adding tolls for the Cape Cod bridges. Preliminary construction work has started on replacing the bridges, which are more than 85 years old and have been deemed structurally deficient. The state is replacing the Sagamore first because it experiences more traffic and crashes than the Bourne Project is expected to cost billions of dollars.
[00:07:09] The carousel from Edaville Railroad was one of the items up for auction in Carver yesterday. It won't be traveling far to its new home. Auctioneer Darren Spieth estimated more than 100 people attended the auction at the amusement park, which announced it was preparing for a new and exciting era later this year. Spieth says the majority of the people at the auction own commercial property or their own parks, but he did meet somebody who had other plans. One of the big draws was the park's carousel, which dates back to 1986. The carousel sold at auction for $90,000 and its new home is not too far away. It was bought by Scott Sawchuck, who owns Sawchuck's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Plimpton. Sawchuck said his pumpkin patch opens in mid September and he hopes to have the carousel up and running by then. He said he has memories of bringing his children to Edaville, so he's happy to own a piece of history for his own pumpkin patch. King Richard's Fair says it's moving into Edaville's space in time for the Renaissance Fair to open in August. It'll be open weekends from August to mid October, and Edeville plans to continue its Christmas and holiday lights traditions.
[00:08:30] Check of business news this morning. Stocks are mixed. The dow is up 141, the Nasdaq dropped 14 and the S&P rose 8. Asian stocks were higher. The dollar rose. The euro is down. Oil at $58 a barrel.
[00:08:46] Sports Blue Jays beat the Red Sox in 10 innings in Toronto last night, 7 to 6. Wrap that series up tonight at 7:07pm Today's forecast from the National Weather Service Partly sunny, high 71 degrees for tonight. Cloudy and a low in the mid 50s tomorrow. Clouds in the morning, then some sunshine later. Mild and muggy tomorrow. High around 80 degrees. Got some showers moving in for Saturday, mainly in the afternoon with a high again around 80 and some afternoon showers possible. Sunday. The high of 68 out on the water waves about a foot right now. An east wind at 5 knots becomes southeast 10 to 15 with gusts to 20 at a high tide at 3. 10pm Sunrise 5:38 sets at 7:43. I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Thursday, May 1st.
