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Migrant crisis projected to cost Massachusetts taxpayers $1.8 billion over next two years

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Migrant crisis projected to cost Massachusetts taxpayers .8 billion over next two years


A new report analyzed the impact the migrant crisis will have on Massachusetts residents with the state projecting to spend $1.8 billion over the next two years, making it a potential “fiscal time bomb.” 

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released a report on July 24, which predicted The Bay State will struggle to manage the growing number of migrants coming to the state. 

“The cost to Massachusetts taxpayers of temporary housing and shelters is enormous, but it pales in comparison to the costs that will accumulate in the future if those in the temporary shelters today remain in the Commonwealth for the long term,” CIS director of policy studies Jessica Vaughan wrote. 

A new report released in July projected that Massachusetts’ taxpayers will be on the hook for $1.8 billion to tackling the migrant crisis in the state.  (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

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In addition to housing, some other costs taxpayers will have to cover include schooling, social services, medical care, and public safety.

MASSACHUSETTS CLOSES COMMUNITY CENTER TO PUBLIC TO SHELTER MIGRANTS, PROMPTING BACKLASH

These migrants are eligible for certain welfare programs in Massachusetts like food stamps provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, and other public services. Migrants can access these programs even while the federal government prohibits access to such programs.

The report said the state has already spent more than $1 billion on the Emergency Assistance (EA) sheltering program that houses migrants.

Veterans housing plan migrant shelter Boston

Maura Healey, governor of Massachusetts, announced that the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home would be turned into a facility for migrants.  (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Google Maps/Screenshot)

According to the report, some of the migrants housed by the Emergency Assistance program “arrived under one of the Biden administration’s controversial parole programs.” 

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“And some who State budget officials expect they will have to spend another $1.8 billion in the next two years,” the report added. 

In order to manage the growing number of migrants, Gov. Maura Healey, D., had to place restrictions on shelter programs to prioritize state residents.

MIGRANTS CONTINUE TO STREAM INTO BOSTON AIRPORT AS MORE THAN 100 SLEEP ON THE FLOOR

The report estimates that the number of “illegal and inadmissible” migrants living in Massachusetts is about 355,000 with 50,000 new arrivals since 2021. It also reported that 10,000 migrants were minors with 8,500 being unaccompanied. 

While migrants tend to have high labor force participation rates, the new arrivals face a language barrier. The report states that new arrivals “lack the education or skills needed for an individual or family to be self-sufficient in Massachusetts.”

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A separate report by MassInc and UMass Donahue found that over 450,000 Massachusetts residents have limited English-language proficiency. This makes up approximately 10% of the state’s workforce. The data could be an undercount, considering that it stems from 2022 Census estimates.

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Beds for migrants at Massachusetts shelter

Boston, MA – January 31: A worker walks through the over 300 Army cots on the gym floor as State and local officials toured the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. The facility will be housing over 300 migrants.  (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Healey announced last month that she had sent members of her administration to the Texas border, citing “record” numbers of migrants coming to Boston. 

Officials will make connections with federal agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and migrant families “to educate them about the lack of shelter availability in Massachusetts.”

Healey’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the CIS study. 

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Explosions reported at Massachusetts fire, one resident injured in blaze

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Explosions reported at Massachusetts fire, one resident injured in blaze


Firefighters extinguished a house blaze that injured a resident on Wednesday after “explosions” reportedly fueled the fire.

Gloucester firefighters responded to 20 Marina Drive for a report of a structure fire at around 10:39 a.m., as the two-story, single-family home with an attached garage was fully involved with fire.

A resident who evacuated the home on his own was reportedly injured, and he was taken to Beverly Hospital for treatment.

Upon arrival, firefighters used two, 2 1/2 inch hose lines to knock down the main body of the fire before entering the garage to contain the flames to the attached garage.

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“Several flammable containers and an oxygen tank burned inside the garage, causing what appeared to be small explosions as the gases in the containers vented and fueled the fire,” fire officials said in a statement.

The main body of the fire was knocked down by 11:09 a.m., and the fire was fully under control by about 11:20 a.m.

The home’s attached garage is likely a total loss, officials said. The rest of the home suffered smoke damage.

The family that lives in the home will be displaced, and will reportedly stay with family in the area.

“Crews did an outstanding job attending to the victim and knocking the fire down quickly,” said Fire Chief Eric Smith. “We’re hoping his injuries are minor and that he is released soon.”

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The cause remains under investigation by the Gloucester Fire Department, but it appears welding may have been involved.

Rockport firefighters covered Gloucester stations while companies battled the blaze, and eventually responded to the scene to provide additional manpower.

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As legislative session winds to a close, Mass. lawmakers still have big policymaking to do. Here’s what they have left. – The Boston Globe

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As legislative session winds to a close, Mass. lawmakers still have big policymaking to do. Here’s what they have left. – The Boston Globe


The Senate approved six new significant bills Monday — covering issues as diverse as domestic violence and sexual assault awareness, liquor licenses in Boston, and legal parentage for families that have children through means such as in-vitro fertilization or surrogacy — voted on three others Tuesday. Representatives also pursued their own batch of late-session legislation. On Thursday, the House teed up and approved nine bills, including a string of proposals related to the welfare of animals.

Here are some of the larger bills left to be hammered out between the chambers if a compromise is to land on Governor Maura Healey’s desk before the formal session comes to an end.

Housing policy

Healey’s first big swing on housing policy, a multibillion dollar bond bill, is coming down to the wire as well. Bond bills for housing come up every five years, typically for the Legislature to reauthorize bond spending for housing programs and development. Healey however, has turned this bill into a vehicle for wide-ranging housing policy legislation, which has complicated its path and drawn intense lobbying from real estate interests and housing advocates.

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While the House and Senate are in agreement on most of the major policies and spending commitments — such as legalizing Accessory Dwelling Units and rejecting the prospect of a new fee on high-dollar real estate transactions — there are a few major sticking points.

The House, for example, proposed spending $6.2 billion on housing programs, while the Senate only proposed $5.2 billion. The $1 billion difference between the two versions is a proposal in the House that is a priority of Speaker Ron Mariano to help expand the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s water service area, making housing production easier in some municipalities.

The Senate version of the bill proposes to reduce a fund to jumpstart paused mixed-income developments from the House’s proposed $250 million to $50 million, and removes a clause from the House version that would give renters the opportunity to buy their unit if their landlord wants to sell.

The Senate bill favors a provision from Healey’s initial proposal that would allow for the sealing of renters’ past eviction records in some cases. The House did not include that policy.

The two chambers also differ over a policy that would allow cities and towns to pass rules that mandate certain ratios of affordable housing in new market rate developments by simple majority instead of a two-thirds vote.

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Liquor licenses

The Legislature is weighing plans to add more than 200 liquor licenses to Boston, where permits to serve alcohol are expensive, in short supply, and especially rare in communities of color.

In May, the House recommended creating 205 permits in total. That would include 180 restricted liquor licenses for 12 ZIP codes (Roxbury, Roslindale, Mattapan, Hyde Park, West Roxbury, East Boston, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Charlestown). Those permits cannot be bought and sold to other businesses, as Boston licenses typically are, and they must be returned to the city after a business closes. In the House plan, six licenses would be distributed annually to each neighborhood for three years. The House version also created 15 restricted licenses for nonprofit agencies, such as zoos and small theaters; three restricted license for Oak Square in Brighton; and seven unrestricted licenses to be used anywhere in the city.

The Senate came back with an expanded plan on Monday, looking to add more licenses to Boston than the City Council asked for in its original home-rule petition.

In that version, lawmakers created 264 restricted permits for the same areas the House identified, plus parts of the South End, with the same rollout schedule. The additional 15 licenses for nonprofits would also be made available to quasi-government and government agencies. The Senate also chose to create 12, rather than seven, unrestricted permits citywide. Another three restricted licenses would remain for Oak Square.

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Both versions would mark the largest effort to expand licenses in Boston since Prohibition. Advocates hope that introducing more permits will aid disadvantaged restauranteurs, enliven quiet neighborhoods, and help narrow the racial wealth gap.

Economic development

Both chambers have also passed sweeping economic development bills that tuck in hundreds of millions for the life sciences industry, though they vary drastically in funding levels.

The Senate’s $2.8 billion economic development package dramatically scaled back what Healey and the House sought for life sciences. Senate lawmakers propose to borrow $225 million over five years for the sector — less than half of the $500 million over a decade that Healey and House lawmakers sought.

In its version of the economic development bill, the House also sought to increase tax incentives for life sciences companies by $200 million.

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Senate leaders skipped that measure in their proposal, instead proposing to keep the tax incentives at their current level.

The Senate also includes language that would allow the Kraft Group to build a new soccer stadium for the New England Revolution near the Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett — a key provision left out of the House’s version.

The House, on the other hand, included a proposal to rename the Seaport convention center after late Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino while the Senate did not.

Climate bill

Negotiators from the House and Senate are still at work on a climate bill. The main thrust of bills passed in both houses would reform the process for approving new energy infrastructure in the state — cutting the time to less than half of the current rate, while adding in assurances to consider the needs of environmental justice communities and the environment.

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But the rest of the bill has proven harder to nail down. The Senate is seeking a broader bill that would rein in natural gas infrastructure, ban the ability of third party competitive electric suppliers to sell directly to residents, update the state’s bottle bill, and more.

The House, meanwhile, has pushed for a bill that would call for the procurement of additional clean energy, including long-duration battery storage, and introduce measures to boost the availability of electric vehicle chargers in the state.

At stake is the state’s ability to pass its third successive major climate bill, and continue its momentum on slashing emissions and greening the electricity supply.

Opioid bill

Massachusetts senators approved a bill that would allow cities or towns to approve sites that could offer supervised consumption of drugs, marking an 11th-hour push for a provision that surprised House leaders who passed their own opioid-related bill earlier this summer.

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The provision allowing for so-called overdose prevention centers, more commonly known as safe consumption sites, is part of a larger package released by the Senate on Monday aimed at treating substance abuse. Senate leaders had supported a measure six years ago to create a supervised consumption site pilot program before they stripped it from a bill amid opposition from then-governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, and the Massachusetts US attorney’s office.

Members of the House did not make a push for the idea this session. Neither did Healey, though late last year her administration signaled its support for the concept.


Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her @samanthajgross. Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com. Follow her @ditikohli_. Andrew Brinker can be reached at andrew.brinker@globe.com. Follow him @andrewnbrinker. Sabrina Shankman can be reached at sabrina.shankman@globe.com. Follow her @shankman.





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Olympic gymnasts from Massachusetts boost Team USA to bronze medal – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Olympic gymnasts from Massachusetts boost Team USA to bronze medal – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


STERLING, MASS. (WHDH) – Massachusetts Olympic gymnasts Stephen Nedoroscik and Frederick Richard helped clinch a bronze medal for Team USA Monday, with the moment making its rounds online and across TV channels.

Now, Nedoroscik, 25, of Worcester, and Richard, 20, of Stoughton, will be returning to the state as hometown heroes.

As soon as Nedoroscik dismounted from the pommel horse — his specialty — during the men’s gymnastics team final at the Paris 2024 Olympics, his teammates hugged him with great fervor.

Some are calling the Worcester gymnast Clark Kent, because he took off his glasses and became a hero up there on the gym floor.

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“He just fell in love with the pommel horse and kind of just became obsessed,” said Jon Rydzefski, who trained with him at Sterling Gym, north of Worcester. “And that was his thing, that’s what he only wanted to do, all the time. He’d get pried away to do the other events, because you had to at that age.”

“But, his heart, that’s what he wanted to go to and all that work paid off,” Rydzefski continued.

Also making his mark, Richard competed in the floor exercise, parallel bars, horizontal bar, and still rings events, pushing his team to a solid bronze medal — the first U.S. men’s gymnastics team medal since 2008.

Stoughton Public Schools hosted an Olympics watch party Monday night, with Richard’s family members, former teachers, and local community members in attendance. On the district’s Facebook page, Richard’s headshot sits front and center as the account’s cover photo.

Stoughton High School Principal Juliette Miller couldn’t be prouder.

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“He met with me around his sophomore year or late freshman year, told me that he was going to be in the Olympics. That’s what his goal was. He was striving for that. We’ve known all along to expect great things from him,” Miller said.

Back at the Sterling gym, young gymnasts said they were determined to follow in the Olympians’ footsteps.

“It’s pretty crazy to think about an Olympian doing gymnastics where I’m doing gymnastics,” said Jacob Jones.

Richard is scheduled to compete again Wednesday, and Nedoroscik will be back on the pommel horse Saturday.

(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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