Massachusetts
Editorial: Mass. caught in migrant crisis cycle
Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, is in a state of perpetual triage when it comes to the influx of migrants.
The sense of urgency started with the initial landing of 50 migrants on Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 and the securing of shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod. From then, it’s been a cycle of finding space (using hotel and motel rooms, college dorms and emergency shelters), seeing those spots fill up, and repurposing other spaces to house the growing number of migrants and homeless Bay Staters.
It’s always a crisis, and the ship of state keeps springing leaks. Migrant families had to bunk down at Logan Airport when the state shelter system hit its cap, until a new temporary solution was found with the takeover of the Melnea Cass recreational shelter in Roxbury.
The running tab on all this care and shelter is astronomical.
One problem in being in a constant state of overwhelm is the inability to plot an end game, to ask the question “and then what” as each new crisis is averted.
The migrant overflow shelter at the Cass center is already nearing its 400-person capacity, Mayor Michelle Wu told Java with Jimmy Wednesday.
The mayor said that putting up people at the Cass is temporary, as it displaces programs for those in the neighborhood. And the neighbors, as expected, aren’t happy about it. A visit by Gov. Maura Healey and Wu was met with shouts of “Shame on Wu” and “Shame on Healey.”
Healey, as the Herald reported, said in a news conference “We are here today because we really don’t have a choice. As you know, families continue to come into this country, continue to come into Massachusetts.”
The Cass will stop being used as a shelter by May 31, according to administration officials.
And then what?
There are city-owned buildings that could be utilized, and if they are, they, too, are likely to reach capacity.
And then what?
There are efforts to fast-track work authorizations and housing to give people in shelters more stable footing, but there are undoubtedly more people ready to replace them.
Are leaders hoping that migrants, once they’ve secured jobs, will realize just how expensive it is to live in Massachusetts and make for less-expensive states, as many residents have done?
Or are they hoping for a Hail Mary from President Biden in which the borders are closed and the brakes slammed on illegal immigration? In an election year that has some promise, but the risk of ticking off the progressives who are all for open borders may prove too great.
Healey and Wu will keep plugging up the leaks and continue to find and repurpose buildings into places where families can at least sleep and wash up. They will keep pleading for money, from the legislature and the feds. It may come, it may not.
“And then what?” is a question residents and taxpayers will continue to ask as cities and towns contort their budgets to pay for Biden’s folly.
Healey and Wu could accomplish a lot with an end run – by ceasing Boston’s sanctuary city status and repealing the right to shelter law. If the feds aren’t coming up with a solution, they must.
The alternative is a permanent state of temporary measures.
Massachusetts
EEE is still a threat in Massachusetts, horse tests positive: ‘People shouldn’t let their guard down’
With October only a few days away, EEE remains a threat in the Bay State.
That’s the message from health officials after another horse in Massachusetts tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
Four people in the state have been infected with the rare but serious and potentially fatal disease during this busy year of mosquito-borne illnesses. A man in New Hampshire died from EEE.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday announced a third confirmed case of EEE in a horse this year. The horse was exposed to EEE in Carver, an area in Plymouth County that’s already at high risk for EEE.
“This latest animal case of EEE confirms that even this late in the season, the risk for spread of EEE virus from infected mosquitoes is still present,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein.
“With more people going outside to enjoy the mild fall weather, we continue to recommend that residents take steps to protect themselves from mosquito bites until the first hard frost,” Goldstein added.
There have been 96 EEE-positive mosquito samples in Massachusetts this year.
Infected mosquitoes have been found in Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Norfolk, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Worcester counties.
EEE is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. The last outbreak of EEE in Massachusetts occurred in 2019–2020, and resulted in 17 human cases with seven deaths, and nine animal cases.
There were no human or animal cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2021, 2022, or 2023.
“Cooler temperatures will start to reduce mosquito activity, but people shouldn’t let their guard down yet,” said State Epidemiologist Catherine Brown. “We continue to strongly advise that everyone in areas at high and critical risk for EEE reschedule evening outdoor activities to avoid peak mosquito biting hours.”
DPH continues to urge people to use bug spray, and to wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors.
2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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EEE is still a threat in Massachusetts, horse tests positive: ‘People shouldn’t let their guard down’ (2024, September 28)
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Massachusetts
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Massachusetts
New Massachusetts bill would reinstate commercial driver’s licenses for hundreds of drivers
BOSTON – Relief may be on the way for hundreds of truck and bus drivers in Massachusetts, who lost their commercial driver’s licenses due to violations from decades ago.
Nearly 500 licenses revoked
Weeks ago, the I-Team uncovered that Registry of Motor Vehicles revoked the commercial driver’s licenses of nearly 500 drivers, effectively putting them out of work. Mike McDonald is one of the hundreds of commercial drivers that got caught up in the RMV dragnet. McDonald said losing his license means he can’t work and has no income coming in. He has been a truck driver for Ground Effects Landscaping in Carver for 17 years.
Until recently, the RMV had not fully enforced Melanie’s Law, which prohibits anyone charged with repeat drunk driving, refusing to take a breathalyzer or leaving the scene crashes from holding a commercial driver’s license, no matter how long ago the violations may have been. The law had been on the books for nearly 15 years.
It wasn’t until 2019 when a truck driver whose license should have been suspended was involved in a New Hampshire crash that killed seven members of a Marine motorcycle club. Since then, hundreds of drivers like McDonald have had their licenses and their livelihoods taken away.
10-year limit proposed
Now the I-Team has learned that the legislature is taking action with a new bill that would limit the look back period to 10 years, the same as the federal law. If it passes, it would allow drivers with clean records and no violations during the last decade to keep their licenses and their jobs.
Attorney Brian Simoneau represents dozens of drivers like McDonald. He told the I-Team, “What I’m hoping is the registry got the message loud and clear that this is outrageous and egregious and it’s a case of the punishment not fitting the crime. I’m hoping that this may pressure the registry now into delaying these disqualifications to give the legislature some more time to act because they can see that there is a huge strong interest in fixing this problem.”
All of this could happen quickly. If no one in the legislature objects to the bill it would pass quickly and move to the governor’s desk. If she signs it, the law would into effect immediately.
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