Massachusetts
‘It’s inexcusable’: As overdose deaths mount, millions in opioid settlement funds go unspent in Massachusetts – The Boston Globe
“I was dumbfounded,” said Jesi, a retired executive. “How do you let this money sit there in a bank while people are dying?”
The Middleton example is hardly an anomaly. Less than 5 percent of the $50 million that Massachusetts communities received from the opioid settlements so far has been spent on addiction-related services and overdose prevention efforts, according to a Globe analysis of municipal spending reports.
More than 90 percent of the 247 communities that submitted financial reports to the state hadn’t spent a single penny in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023. That includes most of the largest cities, all hard hit by the overdose crisis: Boston, Cambridge, Springfield, and New Bedford, which each received more than $1 million in settlement funds.
The money has sat unused while the decades-long opioid epidemic has entered a perilous new phase — marked by the rapid spread of fentanyl and other toxic substances throughout the illicit drug supply. More than 3,500 people in Massachusetts have died from drug overdoses since municipalities began receiving payouts in July 2022 — the first of about $400 million that drug companies will pay to cities and towns in the state over the next 18 years.
(Another 98 cities and towns were not required to submit reports because they received payments of less than $35,000 a year.)
“It’s inexcusable,” said Senator John Velis, a Westfield Democrat and chair of the Senate’s Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery committee. “This should be an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ moment. This is a public health crisis . . . and we need every dollar out there to minimize harm and save lives.”
Municipal officials and groups that monitor opioid settlements say the money is being held up by local disputes over competing priorities, accounting red tape, and protracted efforts to collect community input. While the legal settlements came with clear spending guidelines, some town and city officials said they were still unsure of how to spend the money effectively and equitably, given the complexity and persistence of addiction. Others said they were moving cautiously to gather ideas from residents, including treatment specialists and those with experience living with addiction, to make sure they are making the best decisions on their behalf.
Boston, which received $6 million as of December, announced plans late last month to use some of the money for supportive housing and for financial aid for residents who have lost loved ones to overdoses.
Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said the city preferred a “very thoughtful, deliberative, and inclusive” approach that included a public survey and listening sessions in communities particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic. The city expects to receive more than $1 million annually in settlement money through 2038.
“We will move as quickly as possible, but we’ll also be deliberative and make sure that we’re doing the right things with the money,” Ojikutu said.
The influx of opioid settlement money has been described by some public health experts as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change how local governments address substance abuse and possibly even reverse the scourge of overdose deaths.
Yet the sluggish pace of spending is frustrating some lawmakers and families who have lost loved ones to overdoses and are demanding faster action. Some of the grieving families played a pivotal role in the legal cases that led to the multibillion-dollar settlements, and they have emerged as the most outspoken voices for dispersing the money more quickly.
“Those of us serving a life sentence of grief over the loss of our loved ones do not want that money sitting in a bank account,” said Cheryl Juaire, who lost two sons to fatal overdoses and lives in Marlborough, which has yet to spend more than $160,000 in settlement money.
Marc McGovern, a city councilor and vice mayor of Cambridge, said administrators have only themselves to blame for why his city has failed to spend $1.9 million in settlement funds. They spent too much time, he said, deliberating over whether to fund existing harm-reduction programs or to tackle broader issues such as the shortage of supportive housing for people with substance use disorder.
“There are a lot of ideas,” he said. “What we need is a sense of urgency.”
Cambridge so far has decided to use some of the money to buy a medical outreach van.
New Bedford’s Health Department has been meeting with public health officials across the state and is still working on “detailed, long-term action plans” for using the settlement funds to address the opioid crisis and its root causes, the city said. Lynn organized public focus groups and gave away gift cards to encourage residents to attend.
Not every city has been slow to act.
Worcester is among nearly a dozen that spent all their settlement money. Its initiatives include $500,000 on mobile crisis teams to respond to emergency calls involving substance use and mental health. Teams of purple-shirted social workers are dispatched in vans to crisis calls to help steer people to treatment programs and other services.
Other programs in Worcester include a new office of maternal health, which will provide support to pregnant or postpartum mothers struggling with substance use, and recovery counseling for people who are homeless or incarcerated. “It’s an awful epidemic . . . and we need programs in place that can be long-lasting and self-sustaining,” said Dr. Matilde “Mattie” Castiel, Worcester’s commissioner of health and human services.
Policy makers are determined to avoid the mistakes of the Big Tobacco settlement of 25 years ago, when much of the billions in payments to states plugged budget holes and funded public infrastructure projects instead of nicotine-prevention programs. Under the statewide opioid settlements, cities and towns must use the dollars on substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery programs, as well as harm-reduction strategies that seek to mitigate the deadly risk of using drugs.
Massachusetts expects to receive almost $1 billion over 18 years from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Of that, 40 percent is going to municipalities based on such factors as the number of opioid-related overdose deaths and US Drug Enforcement Agency data on the amount of opioids shipped into local communities. The remaining 60 percent goes into the state’s Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund.
The payments do not include the settlement with Purdue Pharma, producer of OxyContin, which is undergoing court review.
The state has been far more decisive with its share, about $100 million thus far, funding three mobile programs for delivering methadone and addiction teams to consult at 15 hospitals, among other efforts.
The state Department of Public Health said it plans to sponsor a conference this spring to help municipalities better understand how to use the funds, including whether to team up with neighboring communities..
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
“Town government is picturesque and nice, but many towns are not large enough to have a public health function,” said David Rosenbloom, a professor of public health at Boston University and a member of a state advisory council on the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund. “Something like this [opioid epidemic] comes along and they don’t know how to respond.”
As for Jesi, the Middleton retiree turned his frustration over the unused settlement money into action. Since his visit to Town Hall, the retired executive organized a series of monthly meetings that involved the local Fire Department, public health nurses, and addiction treatment specialists. The town has since tapped about $8,000 of its settlement money to install opioid overdose “rescue kits” equipped with free Narcan in dozens of local restaurants, Dunkin’ shops, and public buildings throughout Middleton.
“Every parent who’s lost a child . . . wants to see that money out there saving lives,” said Jesi, after stopping at Middleton’s public library to check on one of the kits. “If we can save one life, then it’s worth every cent.”
Chris Serres can be reached at chris.serres@globe.com. Follow him @ChrisSerres.
Massachusetts
A look inside the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Massachusetts – The Boston Globe
The latest USS Massachusetts is a Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine that can patrol undetected with an arsenal of Tomahawk cruise missiles and torpedoes. The keel was laid in 2020 at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, and construction costing about $2.8 billion continued through its christening in May 2023.
More than 10,000 shipbuilders — including electricians, pipefitters, welders, and myriad other workers — brought the submarine into being. Extensive and demanding sea trials followed the christening, and now the boat — as submariners like to call their vessels — will be formally accepted by the Navy.
During its initial trials, which were completed in October, the submarine’s systems and components were tested, including submerging the submarine for the first time and conducting high-speed maneuvers while on the surface and submerged.
The commissioning ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at the Conley Terminal in South Boston. The public has been invited free of charge to the event, but the USS Massachusetts Commissioning Committee is no longer taking additional requests because of overwhelming demand.
To coincide with the ceremony, the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship, will proceed from its berth in the Charlestown Navy Yard toward the USS Massachusetts.
“In that moment, in one visual, there will be none older, none newer, none better, and none finer than the duo of the USS Constitution and the USS Massachusetts,” said Dinis Pimentel, chair of the USS Massachusetts Commissioning Committee.
“You’ll see Navy heritage and tradition, and our most capable, most lethal, and most stealthy submarine,” he added.
The ship’s sponsor is Sheryl Sandberg, the founder of LeanIn.Org and former chief operating officer of Meta Platforms.
The submarine’s home port is scheduled to be Groton, Conn., and its voyages over an expected life span of 30 years could take the ship on underwater assignments anywhere in the world.
More than half of its 377 feet is occupied by a nuclear reactor that could power a small city, according to the Commissioning Committee. Its crew is divided among the engineering department, which operates the reactor, and other sailors assigned to weapons, navigation, and on-board supply duties.
The USS Massachusetts is the 25th Virginia-class submarine, which usually are named for states, to be delivered to the Navy.
Pimentel said that having the commissioning in Boston is a natural fit during the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, and also considering the city’s close ties to the American Navy during that entire time.
“This is a capital ship,” Pimentel said of the USS Massachusetts, “and the Navy likes to be able to commission ships in places attached to their namesakes, where the area is meaningful.”
Globe Photo David L. Ryan Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@globe.com.
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Your household can earn more than $200,000 a year and still be considered part of the “middle class” in Massachusetts, according to a recent study by SmartAsset.
Massachusetts ranks as the top state with the highest income range for households to be considered middle class, based on SmartAsset’s analysis using 2024 income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning roughly two-thirds to twice the national median household income.
According to a 2022 Gallup survey, about half of U.S. adults consider themselves middle class, with 38% identifying as “middle class” and 14% as “upper-middle class.” Higher-income Americans and college graduates were most likely to identify with the “middle class” or “upper-middle class,” while lower-income Americans and those without a college education generally identified as “working class” or “lower class.”
Here’s how much money your household would need to bring in annually to be considered middle class in Massachusetts.
How much money would you need to make to be considered middle class in MA?
In Massachusetts, households would need to earn between $69,900 and $209,656 annually to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. The Bay State has the highest income range in the country for middle-class households. The state’s median household income is $104,828.
In Boston, the range is slightly lower. Households need to earn between $65,194 and $195,582 annually to qualify as middle class, giving the city the 19th-highest income range among the 100 largest U.S. cities. Boston’s median household income is $97,791.
How do other New England states compare?
Massachusetts has the highest income range for middle-class households in New England. Here’s what households would have to earn in neighboring states:
- Massachusetts (#1 nationally) – $69,885 to $209,656 annually; median household income of $104,828
- New Hampshire (#6 nationally) – $66,521 to $199,564 annually; median household income of $99,782
- Connecticut (#10 nationally) – $64,033 to $192,098 annually; median household income of $96,049
- Rhode Island (#17 nationally) – $55,669 to $167,008 annually; median household income of $83,504
- Vermont (#19 nationally) – $55,153 to $165,460 annually; median household income of $82,730
- Maine (#30 nationally) – $50,961 to $152,884 annually; median household income of $76,442
Which state has the lowest middle-class income range?
Mississippi ranks last for the income range needed to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. Households there would need to earn between $39,418 and $118,254 annually. The state’s median household income is $59,127.
AG Andrea Campbell called Diana DiZoglio’s personal cell phone a day after an SJC justice moved the legislative audit legal case to the full court, a call that the auditor alleges violates the state’s professional conduct rules.
DiZoglio’s fight with Campbell is steaming ahead, even as the attorney general claims that there’s a “path forward” for the voter-approved audit of the state Legislature, over 15 months after 72% of the state signed off on the ballot measure.
DiZoglio’s office argues that Campbell’s attempt to call the auditor on her personal cell phone violates Rule 4.2 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits lawyers from communicating directly about a case with an individual represented by another attorney without consent.
“The Attorney General is our state’s top law enforcement officer and should follow the Rules of Professional Conduct,” DiZoglio said in a statement on Wednesday. “I will not participate in dark, shadow conversations with the AG about this lawsuit.”
“That she is trying to get me to speak with her alone, via private cell phone, without my legal counsel present, is unacceptable,” the auditor added.
Campbell’s office is firing back at DiZoglio’s claim, which it says is a “false and baseless accusation.”
“If the Auditor is interested in a solution,” the office said in a statement shared with the Herald, “the AG is available to speak with her or the Auditor’s staff can speak with our office – but as it stands, her office refuses to engage with us directly on a path forward.”
DiZoglio and Campbell have been locked in a legal tug-of-war since voters approved the audit in November 2024.
Siding with legislative leadership, Campbell has claimed that DiZoglio has not answered basic questions on the scope of the legislative audit. The AG argues that the auditor’s review may also violate the state Constitution.
In February, DiZoglio sued House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka for refusing to comply with the audit. The auditor is asking the SJC to allow her to appoint an outside attorney, as Campbell is representing the top Beacon Hill Democrats.
DiZoglio spotlighted Campbell’s attempt to talk with her on her personal cell phone after the AG appeared on GBH’s Boston Public Radio on Wednesday. The auditor also released emails between the two offices regarding the call.
In her radio segment, Campbell admitted to calling the auditor after seeing her at a recent event in Worcester and that she had yet to hear back from DiZoglio. The AG said the message that she is trying to convey to the auditor is that “there’s a pathway forward.”
Speaking at an event on March 16, DiZoglio said, “I have only asked for financial receipts and state contracts. There is nothing unconstitutional about … getting access to that information.”
Campbell argues DiZoglio has “changed” her stance on the audit’s scope.
Deputy Auditor Michael Leung-Tat expressed his concerns about Campbell’s call to DiZoglio in an email on Monday to Assistant Attorney General Anne Sterman and First Assistant Attorney General Pat Moore.
Leung-Tat emphasized that the last time DiZoglio and Campbell spoke via phone was allegedly in November 2023, when the AG informed the auditor of her support of the legislative audit.
“They don’t have a relationship beyond our office’s official communications,” Leung-Tat wrote, “and, as you know, official business between our offices is conducted at the staff level. … it appears that the Attorney General was calling the Auditor about the pending litigation before the SJC.”
“As you are aware,” the deputy auditor added, “we have been engaged with your office seeking assistance in our efforts to audit the Legislature since 2023, so it is curious that the Attorney General only just now decided to call.
In an email reply, Moore said there was “nothing unethical” about Campbell’s call and that the AGO was “surprised to see” the auditor’s “unfounded assertion.”
“The Auditor has also used her time in those forums make false allegations against the Attorney General and officers of every other branch of state government, recently including judges,” Moore wrote. “Having now heard multiple variations of these comments, the Attorney General felt it appropriate to reach to talk with the Auditor.”
After multiple exchanges back and forth, Moore refuted Leung-Tat’s claims that DiZoglio has answered Campbell’s questions to help the legislative audit proceed. The first assistant AG added that the office “takes pride in our professionalism.”
“We do not, just to pick one example,” Moore wrote, “claim that every state agency funded by legislative appropriation is corrupt; nor that the courts adjudicating our cases are.”
“Nor do we take exception to conferring with those against whom we are litigating,” he added. “We do that every day.”
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