For the city kids who didn’t get to play soccer, tennis, basketball, or track and field at the Melnea Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury all spring, it’s probably tough to understand that the reason is because a bunch of adults almost 500 miles away can’t get their act together. They’d likely be similarly confused to learn that their fieldhouse became a shelter for dozens of vulnerable kids who came to America because adults in their native countries couldn’t get it right there either.
When I lived in Roxbury while attending law school, after becoming the first in my family to graduate high school and college, I played ball at Washington Park (also known as Malcom X Park), usually the only white guy, and probably with the dads of some of the kids barred from the Cass complex the last few months, before it finally reopened last week.
Before that, I was an inner-city kid myself with limited access to sports facilities, and even fewer avenues out of what was then, and remains, one of the most impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods in America.
So the Cass complex’s conversion to a migrant shelter really hit home.
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I recently visited Yuma, Arizona, where I was stationed during my time as a U.S. Marine Judge Advocate, to witness the problem firsthand. The crisis I saw there, which is hurting working families here in Massachusetts, is two-fold: national security and humanitarian.
As much as 50% of the fentanyl tearing apart our communities comes through Yuma, Arizona. Not only is Washington’s inability to solve this crisis hurting those who already live in America, but the migrants being trafficked alongside it are also at risk. Asylum seekers hoping for a better life in the U.S. face a treacherous journey at the hands of the cartels. Women and children are raped or abused by traffickers who don’t care if they survive.
Congressional inability to address the serious problems facing this country is no longer a theoretical exercise or a punchline; it’s harming our kids’ development and quality of life. In Massachusetts, we see other tangible impacts. Governor Maura Healey has projected the emergency shelter program will cost nearly $1 billion next fiscal year, in addition to $700 million already spent this year, while our state’s one-party leaders have implored their counterparts in Washington – like Senator Elizabeth Warren – to address this exploding crisis.
What else could that $1.7 billion be doing in Massachusetts? How about repairing our roads and transit system, in such dangerous disrepair? Or ameliorating the educational crisis? In Boston, our kids aren’t just losing access to the Cass complex; the school district itself is teetering on receivership.
Do you think the rest of the state might benefit from $1.7 billion to help combat an upswing in violent crime? In 2022, the most recent year for which federal data is available, violent crime in Massachusetts rose, while dropping nationwide. Some of the alleged perpetrators made their way into Massachusetts by claiming to be refugees before committing violent crimes. Police departments, diversion programs, substance abuse and recovery efforts – all of these could benefit from precious state funds now being funneled into a problem that Washington created and refuses to fix.
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Working families are suffering because of Washington dysfunction, and no amount of press releases, viral videos, or soundbites will fix that. Nor will new taxes from cannabis, gambling, or millionaires.
That’s a big reason I’m running against Senator Warren this year; it’s not just that Washington is broken, it’s that Washington is breaking great states like Massachusetts. Senator Warren voted against the bipartisan border legislation, voting with MAGA Republicans to sink the bill at the cost of her own constituents. Even worse, Senator Warren is talking out of both sides of her mouth on the issue.
This is the problem with Washington politicians – on both sides of the aisle. They become beholden to the special interest groups who exact outlandish policy promises to help them win primaries while red and blue states become even more polarized. It’s a cynical way to run a country, and those who have become a part of it should examine whether they’ve stayed true to their promise to voters.
I am running to be your senator to stand up for the poor and middle class. I have fought for the underdog my entire life, and I’ll do the same in the Senate. This era of gridlock and cynicism has to end.
The kids who run and play ball at the Cass complex don’t deserve to lose another season.
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John Deaton is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and an attorney specializing in representing asbestos victims suffering from mesothelioma.
Migrants wait along a border wall in August 2022, after crossing from Mexico near Yuma, Ariz.
Up the road from Gillette Stadium, a town neighboring Foxboro is pressing for funding to meet public safety demands arising from the World Cup, with the first match just over a month away.
Walpole’s state delegation has written a letter to the state Office of Travel and Tourism requesting approval of the town’s request for nearly $200,000 to support “essential public safety personnel,” as officials expect “significant spillover impacts” from the premier soccer tournament.
As the Walpole/Foxboro town line on Route 1 is a handful of miles north of Gillette Stadium, officials are expecting increased traffic congestion and pedestrian activity to amount to “heightened public safety demands.”
“As outlined in the Town’s proposal,” the state delegation wrote in the letter it sent to the state last week, “Walpole will play a critical role in ensuring safe and efficient operations for both residents and visitors.”
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“This funding will help close a critical gap and ensure that Walpole can safely support this internationally significant event,” the delegation added.
The state Office of Travel and Tourism confirmed to the Herald that it received the letter from state Reps. John H. Rogers, Paul McMurtry, Ted Philips and Marcus Vaughn and Sen. Mike Rush. The office said it will announce decisions in the coming weeks about round two of the $2 million grant program that supports municipal public safety needs tied to the World Cup.
The first round of the program, a $10 million competitive initiative, awarded funding earlier this year to 17 communities to support tournament-related events, including fan festivals, watch parties and regional activations.
This comes after the Foxboro Select Board battled the Boston Soccer 2026 nonprofit host committee and Kraft Sports & Entertainment, which operates Gillette Stadium, for months to ensure it received full funding to cover all security personnel and equipment.
In mid-March, the David vs. Goliath fight concluded, with Boston Soccer 2026 and the Krafts agreeing to cover Foxboro’s $7.8 million request.
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Gillette, which will be rebranded as “Boston Stadium,” is set to host seven matches – five in the group stage and two knockout games – between June 13 and July 9. The World Cup is considered a SEAR 1 event, the highest risk level for public gatherings in the country.
“These matches will bring an excitement that this town has never seen,” Foxboro Police Chief Michael Grace said before the Select Board voted to grant an entertainment license for the matches to go on.
Gillette Stadium. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
No other city in the country boasts more championships than Boston, giving Massachusetts a sporting pedigree unlike any other.
What’s unique about many of the state is that several of the stars from those championship-winning teams were Massachusetts natives.
Before they were winning the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, World Series or a gold medal, those athletes were high school standouts.
Which high schools in Massachusetts are considered the best for athletes today?
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According to a study conducted by Niche, which accounts for survey feedback from students and parents—accounting for “reviews of athletics, number of state championships, student participation in athletics, and the number of sports offered at the school”—and data from the U.S. Department of Education, these are the top 25.
BOSTON (WHDH) – It was a powerful moment on Friday during the annual Law-Enforcement Memorial Ceremony at the State House, as the ceremony remembered those lost in the line of duty, including State Trooper Kevin Trainor.
Trainor was killed in a wrong-way crash this week. Trainor’s family was in attendance.
“We’re here today with the Trainor family as another tragedy and agonizing time in policing has found us,” Larry Calderone, Boston Police Union President, said.
The day brought a moment to pause and remember the 30-year-old who is being hailed a hero after he was struck and killed Wednesday morning on Route 1 in Lynnfield.
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“We’ve lost a brother,” Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said.
The fallen trooper’s fiancée spoke out for the first time since losing the love of her life. She posted to social media, “I am beyond proud of the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you shows us who you really were, a friend, a partner, a brother, a son, and a hero. You weren’t just a hero to me but a hero to all.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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