Massachusetts
Massachusetts fire chief facing heat after his private company received $5 million in town contracts
A Bay State fire chief is in the hot seat after his private company received more than $5 million from town contracts, according to the State Ethics Commission.
Townsend Fire Chief Gary Shepherd is accused of violating the state’s conflict of interest law, the Massachusetts commission said on Thursday.
The fire chief allegedly violated state law when he represented his private company in business with the town, and had financial interests in town contracts.
Shepherd, who operates the private company Shepco, Inc., first entered into a $754,333 contract with the town for a bridge replacement project. Then, his company agreed to a $4.7 million contract with the town for a water main project — for a total of about $5.4 million.
The fire chief was reportedly warned by the state before he did business with the town.
“Shepherd entered into the contracts despite having been issued a letter from the Commission’s Enforcement Division raising conflict of interest law concerns,” the Ethics Commission wrote.
Back on Nov. 30, 2022, the Ethics Commission in a letter from the Enforcement Division warned Shepherd that he needed a conflict of interest law exemption to contract with the town. The Commission also and told him how to comply with the law.
Shepherd was also told to contact the Commission’s Legal Division whenever he considered contracting with the town. The Enforcement Division alleges that Shepherd did not take any action in response to the letter.
The first contract was in December 2022, and the second project was in March 2023.
“The conflict of interest law prohibits municipal employees from having a financial interest in a contract made by the municipality they serve,” the Ethics Commission wrote. “The law also prohibits municipal employees from acting as agent for or being paid by anyone other than the municipality in relation to a matter in which the municipality is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
“The Order alleges that Shepherd violated these prohibitions by having a financial interest in the contracts for the bridge replacement and water main projects, by acting on behalf of Shepco in relation to those contracts, and by receiving payments through Shepco’s work on those contracts,” the commission added.
The Ethics Commission can impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation of the conflict of interest law.
The Enforcement Division will give him the opportunity to resolve the matter through a disposition agreement. The commission plans to schedule a public hearing on the allegations against Shepherd within 90 days.
Massachusetts
Is it really going to snow in New England tomorrow? Here’s what to expect from storm
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.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Top Cop Off the Hook for Secret Recording Program
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
How Hard Health Care Hits MA Family Budgets
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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