Massachusetts
Ex-romantic partner of Massachusetts governor says she’s ready to serve on state’s high court
BOSTON (AP) â Appeals Court Associate Justice Gabrielle R. Wolohojian, a former romantic partner of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, testified Wednesday before the Governorâs Council on her nomination to the stateâs highest court.
Healey has said her past relationship with Wolohojian shouldnât deny the state the benefit of having her serve on the state Supreme Judicial Court. The panel didnât vote on the nomination Wednesday.
Healey defended her decision to nominate Wolohojian, describing her as a remarkable jurist who has displayed âkindness, patience, empathy, humility and an abiding sense of justiceâ to those who have come before her in court.
âI know that personally,â Healey said. âAs I have said in the past a personal relationship, and my personal relationship with Judge Wolohojian, should not deprive the people of Massachusetts of an outstanding SJC justice.â
Wolohojian said she went through virtually the same process with the Healey administration that she did when she sought a nomination to the SJC under former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.
âI understand your concern about the optics, but sitting from my chair I have done everything like every other candidate, and I donât know what else I can do other than do the process thatâs been really in place since the Dukakis administration,â she told the council.
Healey has also said she doesnât think Wolohojian would have to recuse herself from cases involving the administration despite their personal history.
Wolohojian said the decision by judges to recuse themselves is taken on a case-by-case basis.
âRecusal is something that I take very seriously. Itâs a two-sided question. There are cases in which you need to recuse yourself and you do so and then there are cases where you donât recuse yourself,â she said.
âI have absolutely no interest and never have in sitting on cases I shouldnât sit on or not sitting on cases I should sit on,â she added.
Wolohojian is the second nomination to the stateâs highest court by Healey, the first woman and first open member of the LGBTQ+ community to be elected governor of Massachusetts.
Amy Carnevale, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, faulted Healey for relying on âa select group of rubber stamp advisorsâ in making the decision.
âRegardless of whether the judge opts to recuse herself from issues involving the governor or the executive branch, the impropriety of this nomination remains unchanged,â Carnevale said in a statement. âItâs difficult to conceive that the personal relationship didnât impact the nomination process.â
Wolohojian, 63, would fill the seat vacated by Justice David Lowy. Last year Healey nominated then-state solicitor Elizabeth Dewar to the high court.
Wolohojian was appointed to the Appeals Court in February 2008 and has authored more than 900 decisions.
Healey and Wolohojian, who met when they both worked at the Boston law firm of Hale & Dorr, had been together for eight years when Healey began her first term as attorney general in 2015, according to a Boston Magazine profile.
Wolohojian and Healey lived together in a rowhouse in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston that also served as a campaign headquarters for Healey. The governor now lives with her current partner, Joanna Lydgate, in Arlington.
The Supreme Judicial Court is Massachusettsâs highest appellate court. The seven justices hear appeals on a range of criminal and civil cases.
Born in New York, and the granddaughter of Armenian immigrants, Justice Wolohojian received a bachelorâs degree, magna cum laude, from Rutgers University in 1982; a doctorate in English language and literature from the University of Oxford in 1987; and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1989.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
Massachusetts
‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’: Massachusetts couple frightened by huge shark by their boat (WATCH)
A Massachusetts couple, out boating, were startled and frightened by a 20-foot shark this week.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
One started videotaping the experience, while the shark came close to the boat.
“Oh, God!, Oh God!” the woman said.
The main responded, “Wow!”
Because the fish was so big, the woman, at first, thought it was a whale, but the man said, “No, that is a shark.”
“That is a shark like I’ve never seen,” said the woman after realizing it was indeed a shark.
The shark swam toward the boat, before the video ends.
Massachusetts
Gov. Healey’s southern border trip cost taxpayers $6,800, according to new data
The Healey administration shelled out more than $6,800 to send a five-person team to the southern border in Texas to “educate” people of a shelter shortage here, according to her office.
The trip was pitched as another attempt to curtail the number of migrants arriving in Massachusetts and make connections with federal immigration officials who were dealing with a surge in border crossings down south.
A spokesperson for the governor said Friday the group spent a total of $6,804 on the four-day trip this week, including $2,028 on hotels, $3,903 on flights, and $872 on ground transportation.
Scott Rice, a retired National Guard general who oversees the state-run shelter system, said the trip was an “important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the U.S. and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts.”
“It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go,” he said in a statement earlier this week.
The group visited locations in San Antonio, McAllen, Hidalgo, and Brownsville, the most common points of entry for migrant families that later arrive in Massachusetts, according to the Healey administration.
Healey said earlier this week that the trip was “successful” even as conservatives criticized the move as a “publicity stunt.”
“We don’t have housing available right now, and we wanted to be really clear. It’s something I’ve been saying for a long time, but I think it was important that we be able to communicate directly with folks on the ground,” she said. “I think it’s successful. I think it’s important that we be out there with that message.”
Details on how much the trip cost were released only hours after Gov. Maura Healey banned migrants from sleeping at Logan Airport, where large groups have gathered for months to stay overnight.
The directive takes effect July 9 and the state plans to offer people at the airport transportation to overflow shelter sites, including one that opened this week at a former prison in Norfolk.
Healey did not say if police would arrest those that violate the order.
“We’re going to take it as it comes. My hope is through the work that we’re doing and the extensive communication that we’re doing right now with folks, not just at the border, but folks who are in our service provider community, that we’re going to get people relocated,” she said Friday, “and also be clear to people who might think about coming here that this really is an option.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts gas prices fell from last week: See how much here
Massachusetts gas prices fell for the second consecutive week and reached an average of $3.40 per gallon of regular fuel on Monday, down from last week’s price of $3.44 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The average fuel price in the state has fallen about 11 cents since last month. According to the EIA, gas prices across the state in the last year have been as low as $3.07 on Jan. 29 and as high as $3.76 on Aug. 7, 2023.
A year ago, the average gas price in Massachusetts was 3% higher at $3.51 per gallon.
>> INTERACTIVE: See how your area’s gas prices have changed over the years at data.capecodtimes.com.
The average gas price in the United States last week was $3.44, making prices in the state about 1% lower than the nation’s average. The average national gas price is up from last week’s average of $3.44 per gallon.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu.
-
News1 week ago
Tracking a Single Day at the National Domestic Violence Hotline
-
Fitness1 week ago
What's the Least Amount of Exercise I Can Get Away With?
-
News1 week ago
Supreme Court upholds law barring domestic abusers from owning guns in major Second Amendment ruling | CNN Politics
-
World6 days ago
Israel accepts bilateral meeting with EU, but with conditions
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump classified docs judge to weigh alleged 'unlawful' appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith
-
Politics1 week ago
Supreme Court upholds federal gun ban for those under domestic violence restraining orders
-
World7 days ago
New Caledonia independence activists sent to France for detention
-
World1 week ago
Is Israel’s Smotrich fulfilling his dream of annexing the West Bank?