Episode Transcript
[00:00:16] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, October 14th. A proposal for a large new apartment complex in North Quincy is back before the Quincy Planning Board tonight. A developer wants to build four residential buildings with 520 apartments on the Newport Avenue extension. The project would have a parking garage and surface level parking for 540 vehicles. Project would replace a parking lot and two vacant office buildings. Ward 3 Councilor Walter Hubley says the developer has updated the plans to increase the green space, purchase a strip of land between the two parcels or reconfigure the sidewalk to create a buffer to the street and make the new buildings solar ready. Tonight's meeting will be held at 6pm at Old City hall and will be live on QATV channels 9 and 1072.
[00:01:14] Quincy Ward 1 counselor David Jacobs says there's been an increase in complaints about the use of ATV quad vehicles, dirt bikes on the dike and How's Neck recently, and he's asking Police Chief Mark Kennedy to arrange for additional patrols to discourage further vehicle access.
[00:01:35] Jacobs shared a video of a Ford F250 pickup truck driving on the dike near Bibb Service Station and the Most Blessed Sacrament parking lot on October 10th. Jacobs also says he observed three ATV quads in the area and and found the lock of the Rockland street gate had been cut with bolt cutters. Jacob said the MWRA told him that they would replace that lock. Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy said his team is working on creating special messaging urging young people to be responsible when riding those vehicles.
[00:02:11] Quincy firefighters were among many firefighters from across Massachusetts that participated recently in and specialized training for building collapses and major emergencies. The Massachusetts Firefighters Academy Structural Collapse Rescue Technician curriculum is now in its fourth year. The program trains firefighters to safely reach and rescue people trapped following building collapses and other major events. The eight day course was taught at the Department of Fire Services Bridgewater Campus and was taught by instructors with decades of experience from interstate and international disasters.
[00:02:55] Websites and apps for Stop and Shop and Hannaford are still offline after their parent company experienced a network security issue on Monday.
[00:03:06] Ahold Delhay says in a statement that they took some systems offline to help protect them after the cyber incident and as their teams take steps to assess and mitigate the issue. A spokesperson for the Dutch company confirmed to the Boston Globe that other store operations like refrigeration and sale systems are unaffected. Both grocery chains, apps and websites displayed maintenance messages to customers, noting they're working to restore service as quickly as possible and that they apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone's patience.
[00:03:42] Giant Food is also implicated, telling customers they could place delivery orders through third party sites like Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats. Stores, pharmacies and fuel stations remain open during normal business hours. Any unfulfilled orders placed through the websites or apps during the outage will be refunded. It's unclear when the apps and websites will be back up and running again.
[00:04:10] Ajo Delhez is based in the Netherlands and has 17 local brands across nine countries, including five in the U.S. stop and Shop, Hannaford, Giant Food, the Giant Company and Food lion the way some travelers get to Logan Airport is expanding with a new remote terminal planned for Braintree. Massport broke ground yesterday on a facility and at the Braintree Logan Express that will allow passengers to check their bags and clear TSA security before boarding a secure bus to the airport. Once at Logan, the bus will drop passengers off beyond the security checkpoints, allowing them to head directly toward their gates. The Braintree facility will be added to the remote terminal pilot program that opened at the Framingham Logan Express in June, Massport said. The Framingham pilot served 10,000 passengers during its first month. The existing Framingham program costs $9 per adult and currently serves passengers flying Delta Airlines and JetBlue Airways between 5:30am and 4pm Massport plans to operate that pilot through March of 2027.
[00:05:27] A new report from the state auditor's office is calling for major changes to the states liquor licensing system, saying the current process creates an uneven playing field for businesses and communities.
[00:05:41] Massachusetts has limited the number of liquor licenses certain cities and towns can issue since 1933, with the caps based on population.
[00:05:51] State Auditor Diana De Zaglio said those restrictions can make it harder for businesses to open and drive up the cost of obtaining a license. In some communities.
[00:06:01] According to the report, business owners have paid as much as $600,000 for a liquor license in Boston, compared with just $2,500 in Cambridge, where the city has more local control over licensing. Dazaglio said the current system can favor wealthier communities and business owners with greater financial resources and political connections. The report also estimates Massachusetts could see nearly 3500 additional restaurants and 9500 new jobs if the state matched restaurant rates in neighboring states. Dezaglia recommended that Massachusetts eliminate state imposed liquor license quotas and give cities and towns more control over how licenses are issued. The proposals are recommendations and have not taken effect.
[00:06:52] With temperatures dropping and election rhetoric heating up, governor Healey wants utility companies to fast track refunds that are not legally due to Massachusetts ratepayers until late spring. In a letter yesterday to Eversource, National Grid and Unitil executives, Healy demanded that the utilities immediately issue refunds to Bay State customers who paid transmission rates with an excessive return on equity for more than a decade. Roughly one and a half billion dollars in refunds are owed to New England ratepayers overall. Healy also sent the letter to the head of grid operator ISO New England. The governor's call stems from a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision in March which reduced the profits that New England's transmission utilities can earn on their investments and initially said refunds were due within 30 days. That deadline was later extended to May of next year and the U.S. court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit denied the utility's effort to delay, according to the letter that Healy's office circulated.
[00:08:00] Healy, who is up for re election in three weeks as a second debate against Republican gubernatorial challenger Mike Minogue on Thursday night, ahead of their first televised showdown last week, Healey declared a state of energy emergency and issued an executive order that featured legal protections against price gouging one time heating assistance for middle income households, expanded heating assistance for low income households and and the temporary elimination of clean energy charges on electric bills. Meantime, highly anticipated energy affordability legislation has been lodged in private conference committee talks for months. House Speaker Ramariano has said his branch is not using Election Day as a goalpost for finalizing negotiations on major bills. In her letter, Healy told the utilities she wants information by October 27, including a clear accounting of the expected refunds attributable to Massachusetts customers, the schedule for returning those refunds and the process for issuing the refunds.
[00:09:08] BJ's Wholesale Club is celebrating its 42nd birthday by giving more than 30,000 hourly workers gift cards worth 250 to $2,000 each. The Marlboro based retailer set aside $25 million for the gift cards. Workers will receive different amounts based on how long they've worked for. BJ's company called it the largest employee recognition award in its history.
[00:09:37] Last time the company gave away a large Bonus was in 2021 when it awarded $8 million to its full time and part time employees. The company has since expanded by nearly four 50 stores. BJ's opened its first club in Medford in 1984. 42 years later the company serves more than eight and a half million members at 268 clubs across 22 states.
[00:10:05] Well, there is an effort underway to save an over 100 year old copper Beech tree at St. Chrysostom's Episcopal Parish in Wollaston.
[00:10:16] One side of the huge tree is rotting, and arborists have determined that the tree is worth saving because it's trying to heal itself. The Reverend Christopher Capaldo says the tree was part of what was once an elaborate classic English garden at the churchyard. The Reverend says the tree provides essential shade for the many outdoor events at the church, including the Quincy Farmers Market. The Charles River Farm of Franklin brought attention to the trees plights, and the Quincy Farmers Market is now trying to raise funds to pay for its care. Save A Tree of Hanover will trim some branches and apply a special treatment to help the tree heal at a cost of approximately $1,700. Donations to save the Tree will be collected at the Quincy Farmers Market on Sundays from 12:30 to 4:00pm A check of business news this morning and stocks are down. The Dow dropped 180 points. The Nasdaq fell 41. The S& P dropped a point. Asian markets also fell. The dollar was lower. The Euro rose oil at $105 a barrel.
[00:11:29] Sports Bruins beat the Sharks out on the West Coast 6 to 3. They continue their West coast swing Friday night at 10 o' clock against Anaheim.
[00:11:42] The National Weather Service forecast for today, cloudy and mild, high of 75 degrees.
[00:11:47] For tonight, cloudy and a low 55. Tomorrow, mainly sunny at a high of 62. Rain on Friday, a high of 64 and partly cloudy on Saturday. High Saturday only 49 degrees.
[00:12:02] The boater today waves about 2ft. The winds west at 5 to 10 knots with August to 20. High tide 2:19pM Sunrise 6:55 sets at 6:03.
[00:12:14] Traffic Note 4 River Bridge is scheduled to open at 9am I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, October 14th.
