Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Monday, May 5th. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch will present his proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to the city council tonight at 7:05 at city hall. Koch says the budget is up at least $20 million to cover the payment on the $475 million pension bond that was approved in 2021. A public hearing about the budget will be held on May 12th at 6:30pm at City Hall. Nomination papers for candidates to run in this year's Quincy City election will be available at the City Clerk's Office beginning tomorrow. Prospective candidates must collect the signatures of 50 registered voters by July 15th in order to appear on the ballot. All nine city council seats are up for re election to two year terms and three school committee seats are available for four year terms.
[00:01:20] Local historian Wayne Miller will speak about his new book Birdmen Over Boston harbor tonight from 6:30 to 7:30 in the community meeting room of the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy Center. The book is about the 1910 Harvard Boston Aero Meet that was held in Quincy.
[00:01:42] Opening ceremonies will be held this evening at the Kennedy center for the 41st annual Quincy Senior Olympics. Each year hundreds of people 55 and older compete in a variety of events, from pool, cornhole volleyball and darts to pickleball, swimming, bocce golf and even track and field events. Senior Olympics are designed to celebrate health, community and spirited competition. The games run through May 22 when closing ceremonies will be held at the Kennedy Center.
[00:02:18] National Grid will be holding an informational meeting for the public this Friday to talk about the programs they have available to help you pay your energy bill. The Quincy Customer Assistance Event will be held this Friday from 3 to 6pm at the Four River Clubhouse on Nevada Road in Quincy Point. National Grid says the meeting will provide information about their discounts, budget plans, special plans for families on the SNAP and WIC program programs, the Good Neighbor Energy Fund and their forgiveness program for gas and electric customers.
[00:02:58] The new Quincy Animal Shelter will open this Saturday the new Quincy Animal Care center on Quarry Streets will hold a grand opening this Saturday from 11am to 3pm and the public is invited. The new center will be home to the volunteer Quincy Animal Shelter, the Quincy Police Canine Unit and the Quincy Animal Control office. The new $28 million center will also have animal enrichment programs and a pet food donation initiative to assist families in need. The shelter has been operating at a temporary facility on East Quantum street for the past two years after being moved out of their Broad street location to make way for the new police station.
[00:03:44] A drunk driver was arrested after allegedly crashing into a Massachusetts State Police cruiser in Milton early Saturday morning, according to State Police. Around 3am a Dodge Durango traveling on the expressway southbound struck a state police cruiser responding to a separate two car crash. The Durango continued on the road until another trooper stopped it just south of exit 3. The operator, now identified as 31 year old Charles Keaton of Dedham, was arrested for drunk driving. He'll be arraigned today in Quincy District Court. The trooper working in the cruiser that was struck sustained non life threatening injuries.
[00:04:29] An elderly man died when his pickup truck was hit by an MBTA train in Cohasset on Saturday. 78 year old was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining traumatic injuries when his truck was hit by the train at the Beachwood street rail crossing at about 11:20 Saturday morning. State, local and T police were investigating. No suspected cause was shared. The driver has now been identified as John Caney from Cohasset. The crossing gates and the warning system were functioning properly when the vehicle drove through the gates, according to Keolis, which operates the commuter rail. Beechwood street reopened more than five hours after the crash. Crash remains under investigation by local, state and T police as well as the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office.
[00:05:22] Students in Braintree paid tribute to local veterans during an assembly at Archbishop Williams High School on Friday. Students in the Youth and valor program interviewed 11 veterans for the project. They then crafted essays to detail each veteran's story of sacrifice and service to the country. At Friday's event, the students read them aloud. The veterans who attended say they're proud to pass on their knowledge to another generation. Program is led by the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office.
[00:05:58] A seafood restaurant on Cape Cod was demolished after a massive blaze tore through the building yesterday, according to Sandwich Fire Chief John Burke. Firefighters responded to Captain Scott's Restaurant on Tupper Road at 5:30 in the morning. When crews arrived, they were met with heavy smoke and flames pouring from the rear of the building. Firefighters initially launched an interior attack, but the floor became unsteady within about 20 minutes. They were forced to attack from the exterior. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion at the scene but did not require hospitalization. There were no other injuries. The fire caused an estimated million dollars in damage. The building was declared a total loss and torn down later in the day, the chief said. Firefighters struggled to extinguish the fire due to wind directions and how old the building was. Total of 44 firefighters responded to the scene. Took 7 hours until the fire was officially declared extinguished about 12:30 yesterday afternoon. While fighting the fire, crews noticed outside that a natural gas regulator for the building was burned off by the flames, causing a gas leak. The gas company had to dig into the street to shut off the gas. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
[00:07:24] Senate Democrats plan to send $370 million to the MBTA under a spending plan fueled by excess surtax revenues, about $420 million less than the House approved for workforce infrastructure and reduced fare investments at the beleaguered transit agency. The Senate's $1.28 billion supplemental budget unveiled last week, looks to steer $613 million to education and 670 million to transportation. Senate budget chief Michael Rodriguez said the branch attempted to achieve a mostly even split between the two spending categories allowed for surtax revenue, which are collected from households with annual incomes above a million dollars. The Senate will debate the spending bill this Thursday, and the Senate Ways and Means Committee is also on the brink of releasing its fiscal 2026 budget proposal. The House passed its surtax backed supplemental budget on April 9. Representatives allocated 353 million for education and 828 million for transportation. The bill steered around 793 million to the T as the agency faces a huge budget gap.
[00:08:45] Former Vice President Mike Pence yesterday repeatedly invoked the Constitution and said it is what binds us all together. After receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile and Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, Pence received the award for his refusal to go along with President Trump's efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election. The award recognizes Pence for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021. Pence's comments came hours after an interview with Trump aired in which he was asked whether US Citizens and non citizens both deserve due process as laid out in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. Trump was non committal. Pence never mentioned Trump during his 10 minute speech, but made several references to the Trump administration, referencing what he called these divided times and these anxious days. He acknowledged that he probably had differences with the Democrats in the room, but also with his own Republican Party on spending, tariffs and his belief that America is the leader of the free world and must stand with Ukraine until the Russian invasion is repelled and a just and lasting peace is secured.
[00:10:10] A check of business news this morning and stocks are higher. The dow is up 564 points. The Nasdaq rose 266. The S&P is up 82 global stocks were mixed in holiday thinned trading today. The markets closed in Britain and much of Asia. The dollar's down, the euro is up. Oil at $57 a barrel and sports Celtics and Knicks in the garden tonight at 7:00 for game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Twins beat the Red Sox 5 to 4. The Rangers will come to Fenway park tomorrow night at 6:45.
[00:10:54] Today's forecast from the National Weather Service calling for off and on rain and showers. The high 54. Lingering showers, some fog tonight, low 53 tomorrow. Rain heavy at times. A high tomorrow of 60 Wednesday, some afternoon thunderstorms at a high of 71, mainly cloudy on Thursday and a high 69.
[00:11:18] The boater waves 2ft. Northeast winds at 10 to 15, gusting to 20 knots. Next high tide 7:15pm sunrise 5:33, sets at 7:48. I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Monday, May 5th.
