Massachusetts

How a Massachusetts project is trying to fight the loneliness epidemic

Published

1 year ago

September 16, 2023

How a Massachusetts project is trying to fight the loneliness epidemic

Loneliness is a national epidemic, according to the U.S. surgeon general. A project in Massachusetts is trying to combat the problem by helping people make friends.

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The family of Mahsa Amini visited her grave in northwestern Iran today on the one-year anniversary of her death while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Amini’s death sparked nationwide protests that triggered a brutal crackdown by security forces. And today at the graveyard, that show of government force continued with a massive swarm of soldiers and police.

NPR’s Peter Kenyon has been speaking with Iranians forced to flee their homeland in the wake of the uprising. They see a population still desperate for greater freedoms and government determined to prevent that at all costs.

PETER KENYON, BYLINE: Nele (ph) is 32 years old. She’s from Hamadan in western Iran, where she used to work in the tourism sector. Now she’s left Iran. Nele asks that her family name and precise location not be disclosed. She’s concerned about retaliation for speaking about the nationwide protests and the crackdown by security forces. She says what strikes her most is the momentum the protest movement has gained, especially among Iranians who weren’t part of the street demonstrations and who may have been dismayed at the fury directed toward the government.

NELE: (Through interpreter) After one year, a large group of people who used to be in the gray zone, who hadn’t made up their mind, have gained higher awareness now. We can see that many have become really brave, and this is the biggest achievement.

KENYON: But she says the government has fallen back on its usual response, trying to frighten people into compliance. She says one tactic is to issue dramatic warnings about the chaos that could break out if the protests cause the regime to fall from power. She says that’s worrying, but not insurmountable.

NELE: (Through interpreter) These are ideas, debates and arguments among people. But I believe they will finally reach a consensus, and they can finally figure out what the majority wants, perhaps through a referendum.

KENYON: Twenty-one-year-old Milad Abdi (ph) was a university student in Iran when he joined the anti-regime demonstrations, only to be arrested, imprisoned and forced to flee the country once he was released. He’s from Saqqez in northwest Iran, where authorities have been busy installing concrete blocks and other barriers and inspecting vehicles trying to enter Mahsa Amini’s hometown. Abdi says he’s still convinced a new wave of protests will take place in Iran sometime soon, although perhaps not in Saqqez itself, which he says is even more locked down than usual. He also doesn’t think protests this year would rival last year’s in size or intensity.

MILAD ABDI: (Through interpreter) I don’t think there’s any less desire for change from the people’s point of view, but the government has only increased its crackdowns. People get more wounded every day. Their hatred of the regime gets higher every day. The regime does not care about any of this at all. Their only focus is their own survival and enforcement of things like the hijab.

KENYON: Abdi says he knows he suffered because of his willingness to stand up to the regime. But as the anniversary approaches, he finds himself thinking about others who have nobody speaking out for them.

ABDI: (Through interpreter) I myself never thought that a simple protest would cost me so much, would turn my life upside down. There are people in Iran who have no voice, and nobody knows them. There is no hashtag in their name, no foreign political guardian, and we must be their voice. We should not forget them.

KENYON: The government crackdown continues with mass arrests and court-ordered death sentences, and the morality police have been reactivated. But both Abdi and Nele have faith that the movement sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death will continue in the coming year. But they also know that the struggle is unlikely to get any easier. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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Massachusetts

Mass. gives noncompliant towns more time to meet MBTA zoning regulations

Published

4 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Mass. gives noncompliant towns more time to meet MBTA zoning regulations

The Healey administration filed emergency regulations late Tuesday afternoon to implement the controversial law meant to spur greater housing production, after Massachusetts’ highest court struck down the last pass at drafting those rules.

The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the MBTA Communities Act as a constitutional law last week, but said it was “ineffective” until the governor’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities promulgated new guidelines. The court said EOHLC did not follow state law when creating the regulations the first time around, rendering them “presently unenforceable.”

The emergency regulations filed Tuesday are in effect for 90 days. Over the next three months, EOHLC intends to adopt permanent guidelines following a public comment period, before the expiration of the temporary procedures, a release from the office said.

“The emergency regulations do not substantively change the law’s zoning requirements and do not affect any determinations of compliance that have been already issued by EOHLC. The regulations do provide additional time for MBTA communities that failed to meet prior deadlines to come into compliance with the law,” the press release said.

Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state’s attorney general has the power to enforce the MBTA Communities Law, which requires communities near MBTA services to zone for more multifamily housing, but it also ruled that existing guidelines aren’t enforceable.

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The MBTA Communities Act requires 177 municipalities that host or are adjacent to MBTA service to zone for multifamily housing by right in at least one district.

Cities and towns are classified in one of four categories, and there were different compliance deadlines in the original regulations promulgated by EOHLC: host to rapid transit service (deadline of Dec. 31, 2023), host to commuter rail service (deadline of Dec. 31, 2024), adjacent community (deadline of Dec. 31, 2024) and adjacent small town (deadline of Dec. 31, 2025).

Under the emergency regulations, communities that did not meet prior deadlines must submit a new action plan to the state with a plan to comply with the law by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2025. These communities will then have until July 14, 2025, to submit a district compliance application to the state.

Communities designated as adjacent small towns still face the Dec. 31, 2025 deadline to adopt compliant zoning.

The town of Needham voted Tuesday on a special referendum over whether to re-zone the town for 3,000 more units of housing under Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities law.

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Like the old version of the guidelines, the new emergency regulations gives EOHLC the right to determine whether a city or town’s zoning provisions to allow for multi-family housing as of right are consistent with certain affordability requirements, and to determine what is a “reasonable size” for the multi-family zoning district.

The filing of emergency regulations comes six days after the SJC decision — though later than the governor’s office originally projected. Healey originally said her team would move to craft new regulations by the end of last week to plug the gap opened up by the ruling.

“These regulations will allow us to continue moving forward with implementation of the MBTA Communities Law, which will increase housing production and lower costs across the state,” Healey said in a statement Tuesday. “These regulations allow communities more time to come into compliance with the law, and we are committed to working with them to advance zoning plans that fit their unique needs.”

A total of 116 communities out of the 177 subject to the law have already adopted multi-family zoning districts to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, according to EOHLC.

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Massachusetts

Revere city councilor slams Massachusetts officials for being ‘woke’ after migrant shelter bust

Published

12 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Revere city councilor slams Massachusetts officials for being ‘woke’ after migrant shelter bust

A Revere city councilor says the state’s right-to-shelter law is a “perfect example” of how “woke” ideologies are harmful, as he addressed the arrest of a migrant who allegedly had an AR-15 and 10 pounds of fentanyl at a local hotel.

Originally Published: January 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM EST

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Massachusetts

Massachusetts senator seeks to extend deadline for TikTok ban | TechCrunch

Published

20 hours ago

January 14, 2025

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Massachusetts senator seeks to extend deadline for TikTok ban | TechCrunch

Senatory Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is planning to introduce legislation to extend the TikTok ban deadline by 270 days. TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just five days, but the new legislation, officially called the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, would give TikTok more time to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, if approved by Congress.

TikTok is currently expected to “go dark” on January 19, unless the Supreme Court intervenes to delay the ban. The Supreme Court is weighing the ban, and is expected to decide sometime this week whether the law behind the ban violates the First Amendment.

“As the January 19th deadline approaches, TikTok creators and users across the nation are understandably alarmed,” Markey said in a Senate floor speech on Monday. “They are uncertain about the future of the platform, their accounts, and the vibrant online communities they have cultivated. “These communities cannot be replicated on another app. A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process.”

Markey noted that while TikTok has its problems and poses a “serious risk” to the privacy and mental health of young people, a ban “would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood.”

Markey and Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17), recently submitted a bipartisan amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision that upheld the TikTok ban. The trio argued that the TikTok ban conflicts with the First Amendment.

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