Massachusetts
Lauren Peters takes on new private-sector role to curb health care costs – The Boston Globe
“It really stems out of the growing need to address affordability in Massachusetts,” Peters said. “MP3 is a unique way of bringing together the local payers and providers in this market to address affordability and access challenges.”
Peters first got involved in health care policy as an aide in the House of Representatives. She later went to work for the Health Policy Commission, and then for Charlie Baker’s administration, as health and human services undersecretary. She was appointed to lead CHIA, a state agency that collects and crunches industry data, in late 2022, and left CHIA earlier this year.
MP3 members include Boston Medical Center and its WellSense plan, Mass General Brigham and MGB’s eponymous health plan, UMass Memorial Health and its Medicare Advantage plan, along with Baystate Health, Health New England, and Fallon Health (slated to be acquired by MGB).
Missing for now are the state’s two biggest health insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Point32Health. (Lora Pellegrini, who heads up the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, representing Point32Health among other insurers, says she looks forward to working with Peters if she should reach out.)
Peters sees opportunities in payment reform by rewarding providers for high performance, improving data sharing, and streamlining administrative processes. The MP3’s work, Peters said, can also complement the efforts of a task force Governor Maura Healey set up in January to address health care costs.
“It’s fair to say that the status quo is not working,” Peters said. “The idea is let’s break through the traditional silos and divisions that in my view have often stood in the way of real progress. … This gives us the opportunity to start rolling up our sleeves and implementing some of these solutions now.”
City Hall reunion takes shape at MCCA
John Barros is getting the band back together — under the giant roof of the Menino Convention & Exhibition Center.
Barros served as a top aide in Marty Walsh’s administration, as Walsh’s economic chief. After several years working in real estate, Barros was tapped by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board in January to be its interim executive director.
Now, Barros is bringing in some old friends from City Hall to help.
On Thursday, the MCCA announced three top-level appointments, all of whom once worked at City Hall for Walsh. General counsel Ashley Carvalho joins in May from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, taking over for Kevin Scanlon, who recently left to join the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Meanwhile, Joyce Linehan joins as the MCCA’s chief of staff, and Celina Barrios-Millner will be its chief of economic opportunity.
It’s a City Hall reunion over at 415 Summer St. in South Boston. That’s particularly true once two former Walsh advisers who joined before Barros arrived are factored in: John Towle, director of government affairs, and Broad Institute chief financial officer Emme Handy, the MCCA board chair.
Linehan might be the most well-known around Boston of the new arrivals. As Walsh’s former policy chief, she has spent much of her post-City Hall time working on special projects with the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Among Linehan’s last big initiatives with Barros at City Hall: the “All Inclusive Boston” campaign. Using federal pandemic assistance funds, city officials worked with Colette Phillips’s PR firm, the Proverb ad agency led by Daren Bascome, and the tourism bureau now known as Meet Boston, to paint a diverse picture of the city.
Linehan hopes to continue similar work with Barros, to help the city bounce back after the pandemic and improve the way it’s viewed by outsiders. As a Dorchester native, she knows that diverse aspects of her home city often get overlooked.
She arrives at a tumultuous time: Barros’s predecessor, Marcel Vernon, left in December amid a dispute with the MCCA board, and the convention center authority remains under pressure to show it’s improving the diversity of its management ranks and suppliers.
Linehan knows the Boston celebrations around the US bicentennial in 1976 helped put the city on the map as a tourism destination, and is hopeful the MCCA can play a key role in rekindling some of that magic as celebrations for the 250th roll out this year.
Boston aviation startup touches down in public markets
What a memorable way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Entrepreneur Matt George had asked Nasdaq management to pick March 17 as the day for the autonomous aviation startup he leads, Merlin, to fly into the public markets. As a result, Merlin employees trekked to Manhattan to ring the exchange’s opening bell that morning, as a crowd of St. Patrick’s revelers gathered for the annual parade outside.
“Because of our Boston roots, we tried to make sure we were listing on St. Patrick’s Day,” George said afterwards. “Nasdaq gets to decide when we list, and we lobbied them hard for St. Patrick’s Day.”
And with that, Merlin became the first tech company of the year from the Boston area to go public. Several biotechs have held initial public offerings during this slow time, and a local telehealth startup called Uberdoc went public on a Canadian exchange on Wednesday.
Merlin didn’t go public via the traditional IPO route, nor did Uberdoc. They both merged into publicly traded shell firms, known as special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. In Merlin’s case, it teamed up with a SPAC created by New York investment firm Inflection Point, and Inflection Point chief executive Mike Blitzer joined Merlin’s board.
“It’s exciting for the team,” George said. “I think it should be hopefully exciting for Boston.”
Charles River chamber reels in Brookline
The Charles River Regional Chamber has gradually grown its ranks over the years, rising to the top five biggest chambers of commerce in the state from 20th just over a decade ago.
It could be poised to rise in the ranks yet again, now that the Brookline Chamber of Commerce’s board members have decided to dissolve their organization, with the bigger chamber next door adopting its members and at least two of its traditions.
Charles River president Greg Reibman had reached out to Chris Mutty, the Brookline chamber’s executive director, with an open invitation to join, if the time became right, several times over the years. Apparently, in December, that time had arrived.
“It was always something I thought would be good for the businesses in Brookline,” Reibman said. “This is not a takeover. … It’s a deliberate choice to help their members land somewhere strong.”
Mutty blamed rising costs and the increasing demands of effective advocacy and programming as reasons for the move, and noted that Reibman’s chamber is financially stable with a strong regional presence. Mutty will join Reibman’s team for the transition, based in Needham, bringing it up to eight people.
The Brookline chamber has about 150 members, the vast majority of them small businesses. Their memberships will roll over into Charles River memberships, expiring at the time their previous memberships would have ended. Reibman agreed to keep running Brookline’s annual First Light holiday shopping promotion along Harvard Street, and to continue its annual Chobee Hoy award, in honor of the real estate broker and civic leader who died in 2024.
The Charles River chamber, which adopted its current name in 2021, got its start in Newton and has grown to encompass Needham, Wellesley, and Watertown. Brookline happens to be the first community that’s not along its namesake river. But Reibman has an explanation for that.
“The Muddy River [in Brookline] is a tributary to the Charles River,” Reibman said, “so we’ve got that one covered.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
Family members of slain trooper George Hanna Jr. speak before killer’s parole hearing
Family members of State Police Trooper George Hanna Jr., shot on Feb. 26, 1983, outside an Auburn liquor store, speak moments before Hanna’s killer, José Colon, goes before the Parole Board in Natick.
The Massachusetts Parole Board has denied parole for a man who was convicted in the slaying of Massachusetts State Trooper George Hanna in 1983, saying he has failed to take full responsibility for his actions.
Jose Colon, now 64, killed Hanna, of Holliston and originally of Natick, on Feb. 26, 1983, outside an Auburn liquor store.
In its ruling, the Parole Board cited several reasons in its decision to deny parole. Those included that Colon testified during his parole hearing that he had been sober for 30 years, contradicting evidence of drug use during that time while in prison. It also cited the fact that he denied committing an armed robbery two days prior to killing Hanna, despite pleading guilty to the crime.
The Board also wrote that Colon hasn’t taken full responsibility for killing Hanna.
“Although he accepts responsibility, Mr. Colon maintains that he closed his eyes and fired his gun six times, hitting Trooper Hanna all six times,” the Board wrote. “He insists he had no intention of harming or killing Trooper Hanna. (However) Mr. Colon did appear to be remorseful that his actions led to the death of Trooper Hanna.”
Although Colon was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a Supreme Judicial Court decision in 2024 ruled that those younger than 21 at the time a crime is committed can’t be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Colon was 20 when he killed Hanna.
Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early applauded the Parole Board’s decision.
“We are pleased with the Parole Board’s decision and grateful that it carefully considered the seriousness of this crime and its lasting impact on the Hanna family and our community,” Early said in a statement. “Our thoughts remain with the Hanna family, whose strength and perseverance throughout this process have been remarkable.”
State trooper intervened on armed robbery attempt
Hanna was killed on Feb. 26, 1983. According to published reports, that night Hanna pulled over a red Chevy Vega in the parking lot of J&S Liquors on Southbridge Street in Auburn. He did not know that the three men in the car were there to rob the store. All three were armed with handguns.
Hanna frisked one of the men and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Colon shot Hanna six times. Hanna was shot a total of seven times.
Colon, Emilio Otero and Miguel Rosado, were all convicted of first-degree murder. Colon was the only one younger than 20 at the time, so the SJC ruling only affected him.
In a statement, Gov. Maura Healey celebrated the Parole Board’s decision.
“I strongly opposed Jose Colon’s parole and am grateful that the Parole Board denied his request,” she said in a statement released by her office on Monday, June 22. “More than four decades after Trooper George Hanna was brutally murdered while serving and protecting the people of Massachusetts, his loss continues to be felt by his family, fellow law enforcement officers and communities across our state. Today’s decision recognizes the magnitude of that loss and provides some measure of relief to those who have fought to ensure his memory is never forgotten.”
Hanna grew up in Natick, the son of longtime Natick Police Officer George Hanna Sr., and became a state trooper in 1974. He was married and had three children, and was living in Holliston at the time of his death.
A series of awards in his name, The Hanna Memorial Awards for Bravery, are the highest the state presents to police officers who exhibit exceptional bravery while in the line of duty.
Colon admitted to wrongdoing at parole hearing
During his parole hearing on Jan. 15, Colon admitted what he did was wrong.
“What I did was wrong and inexcusable,” he said during the five-hour hearing in Natick. “I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. I have asked God for forgiveness. I hope that one day the Hanna family will forgive me for the suffering I’ve brought into their life.”
The Board wrote in its decision that it realized Colon was not eligible to participate in several programs that most people seeking parole could because he was serving a life sentence with no chance at parole, until the court’s ruling.
However, the board also wrote that it felt Colon needs to seek treatment regarding his history of trauma and other issues that were contributing factors to the shooting.
“The Board recommends that Mr. Colon address the concerns of the Board, specifically related to accountability and treatment needs,” according to the decision. “The Board concludes Jose Colon has not demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.”
Colon is eligible to seek parole again in 2029.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at Facebook.com/NormanMillerJournalist.
Federal prosecutors said Henriques victimized numerous girls and young women online between the ages of 12 and 18. According to court records, Henriques met or spoke with at least eight admitted or prospective students before later contacting them using information obtained through the college’s admissions system.
The case centered on a 17-year-old prospective student whom Henriques met during a campus tour. Prosecutors said Henriques reviewed the student’s tour registration form, which included her date of birth, and learned she was still in high school. Within hours of the tour, Henriques began texting the student using the phone number she had provided on her admissions form.
Half of the city turned out this weekend to celebrate what’s great about Boston — its people.
On sunny or snowy days, Bostonians will help you out. The Tartan Army from Scotland and Norwegian soccer fans witnessed that last week.
This time, the surprise was all local.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” said George Regan, as he gazed at nearly 300 people who showed up for the christening of his son, George Kenneth Regan IV.
“Teach number four to be a really wonderful person and he’ll teach it to number five,” said former Gov. Charlie Baker, who said that’s the secret to life. Baker himself is the fourth Charlie, with a son the fifth. We all stand on those who came before us, the former governor added.
Work will come around soon enough, but Saturday was a celebration that started at St. Gregory Parish in Dorchester and finished with a reception at Davio’s in the Seaport.
Regan, founder and CEO of the Regan Communications Group, welcomed everyone alongside his wife, Elizabeth, and their new baby boy.
Former Mayor Ray Flynn said it best: Reagan has “stood up for people who needed you.”
There’s not enough ink in this paper to chronicle how connections keep Boston thriving. That’s the space where Regan’s PR firm operates. There are plenty of other similar agencies; it’s just that George Regan has been at the helm of his group since he left former Mayor Kevin White’s office.
Maybe that’s what makes dealing with him so rewarding. Kevin White loved Boston, and that rubbed off on everyone who worked for him.
Former police commissioners Bill Bratton and William “Willie” Gross both spoke as did UMass President Marty Meehan, Denella J. Clark, president and CEO of Boston Arts Academy Foundation, Steve DiFillippo, Davio’s owner, and more.
Former Herald editor Ken Chandler, newly reelected Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, and car magnate Herb Chambers were some of the notables in the crowd.
“Elizabeth and I are honored to welcome our miracle child into the faith alongside the remarkable circle of friends, mentors, and partners who have stood with us through every chapter,” said Regan, who was just recently sick.
But, like Boston, you can’t keep a good man down.
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