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.”
We’re still on the good side of the forecast today. We’ll see a good supply of sun to start, then the clouds will increase and a few showers will sink down from the north in the afternoon. We still manage to make it near 70. (Yay.)
Tomorrow’s high temperatures, however, comes after midnight tonight — before falling toward Saturday morning. If you think that’s confusing, try explaining the snow that’ll be flying in the higher elevations across New England (with solid accumulation above 4k feet).
Yes, the weather is upside down for late May.
We can blame an intense, compact upper-level pool of cold air that broke loose from a larger pool near the Arctic Circle days ago.
The pattern across North America has dropped it in our laps for a day, with cold, rainy, windy consequences.
Rain, wind and… snow?
This will be a sneaky storm. Early on, there might even be a calm, bright sky (very) early Saturday morning. Then the clouds move in and the wind intensifies from the northeast. Gust will briefly peak at 50+ along the coast (40+ inland).
Rain will mix with snow in northern New England, and perhaps in the highest elevations of southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts.
This also depends on the intensity of the precipitation. Heavier bursts of rain can drag down colder air aloft, helping the snowflakes make it from cloud base to your home place (if you live above 1k feet).
Ironically, we’re not expecting a deluge from this storm. Most spots keep near a half inch, with higher amounts near an inch in northeast Mass./southern NH.
And then just like that, it’s over. The storm pulls away Saturday evening, the skies clear and we’re back to sun Sunday. Highs recover to near 70 with the slightest chance for a shower late day.
Better chances – and cooler temps – come both Monday and Tuesday.
Will summer ever take hold? We know from past years that June can really struggle. It appears that the start of the month may not live up to expectations. Although we are at least climbing back to the 80s late next week.
Have a good weekend.
The head of the Massachusetts State Police can’t be sued for an alleged program that secretly recorded officers’ phone conversations with civilians and used them to bring criminal charges, the First Circuit said Thursday.
A group of Massachusetts residents filed a putative class against against Superintendent Geoffrey Noble, as well as Motorola and other companies, over the secret recordings, which were used to propose criminal charges in at least 181 cases without prosecutors’ knowledge, the three judge panel said.
The opinion by Circuit Judge Seth Aframe said the residents, led by Jason Courtemanche, failed to show how they’d be directly …
Massachusetts families are spending 8% of their monthly income on health care, according to a new study. That puts the Bay State toward the higher end of the scale, coming in at No. 12 in the country.
The analysis from personal finance website WalletHub examined where people are spending the most and the least on health care.
Alaska was No. 1 in the U.S., spending over 10% of their income on health care. On the other end of the scale, Utah residents spend 5% of their income on health care.
“Sharp increases in health care costs in recent years have made it difficult for some people to seek essential care,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “Even in states with lower-than-average health care prices, residents’ incomes may not be enough to keep up with the cost, especially since virtually every part of Americans’ budgets have been impacted by inflation over the past few years.”
To determine how much families are spending, WalletHub analyzed the prices of five key health care components across all 50 states, then combined those costs and compared them with each state’s median household income.
Read more: 1 MA Town Among 250 Best Places To Live In US News Ranking
Massachusetts spends the most on health care compared to other states in the region, according to the study. Vermont is the next-highest state in the Northeast, ranking at No. 14 with residents spending 7.98% of their income on health care.
Here are the top 10 states where people are spending the most on health care:
- Alaska
- Oregon
- Maine
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Montana
- South Dakota
- Louisiana
Check out the full study at WalletHub.
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