Latest news with #Kittredge
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Yet another championship moment for Izzy Kittredge as Medfield girls' lacrosse repeats in Division 3
'She shows up for the big games,' said Medfield coach Mary Laughna. 'She loves to compete. She loves winning. She can take over those games.' It's the second straight title, third in four years, and fourth overall for Medfield, which swiftly retooled after losing all-time great Kelly Blake and the rest of a strong Class of 2024. Advertisement Kittredge had plenty of help, as juniors Mia Macropoulos and Stella Scobbo added three goals apiece and eight players scored to fuel the No. 1 Warriors (22-3) to a resounding triumph. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up UMass-bound senior catalyst Reese Bromby paced the No. 2 Clippers (17-6) with five goals, and classmates Avery Tahnk, Grace Chandler, and Emerson Leahy all contributed in a rematch of last year's final. 'We graduated so much and had 13 brand new girls to the team,' said Newburyport coach Cat Batchelder. 'They just grew from the start to the finish. I don't think we ever thought we'd be here at the beginning of the season. It's a huge accomplishment.' Medfield built a 6-3 edge through 1 and led 9-6 at halftime after timely goals from Kittredge to cap each quarter. Advertisement Scobbo, Kendall Herrick, and Sophia Zeppieri helped the Warriors push the margin to 13-7 through 3, then Kittredge provided the dagger and Elizabeth Blake the exclamation point in the fourth. 'I'm in shock,' said Herrick, a senior captain. 'I can't believe we did it back to back.' For Kittredge, who will attend Noble and Greenough School in the fall, it was an exhilarating yet bittersweet end to a truly magical run in her hometown. 'I'm so sad leaving, and I'm probably going to cry my eyes out later,' Kittredge said. 'I'm excited to go there, but I'm also going to miss them so much.' When it was over, the players bolted from midfield to the sidelines to embrace the Warrior faithful. Maeve Kelly, Michaela McDonald, and Blake stealthily snuck up behind Laughna and gave her a Gatorade shower (of water). Laughna has now steered Medfield to consecutive titles on the anniversary of her father passing. Rory, who helped her discover the sport, died June 13, 2022, at age 67. 'It's kind of ironic and crazy that we keep playing in the state championship on this day,' Laughna said. 'I like to think that he probably helps me out a little bit.' Medfield midfielder Izzy Kittredge (25) rifles in one of her six goals in the Division 2 final against Newburyport. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo Medfield attack Sarah Faust (13) celebrates with her teammates after scoring. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo The Medfield players shared the trophy with friends and family after winning the Division 3 title. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo Medfield won its third state title in four years, and fourth overall Friday night at Babson. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo Trevor Hass can be reached at
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Kills morale': Students in Mass. town to hold walkout in protest of ‘brutal' staffing cuts
Students in a Massachusetts town will hold a walkout on Monday in protest of 'brutal' job cuts and a temporary school closure, impacting dozens of staff members come the next school year. The North Andover school district sent out about 40 job elimination letters across PreK-12, affecting both full-time staff and contracted employees for one-year terms. Some teachers gathered outside North Andover High School ahead of the planned student walkout. 'It's frustrating and it's sad and it's brutal for our teachers and it kills morale. I lost almost 60% of my department,' teacher Robert Dugan said. Teacher Tony Delmonico added, 'Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears and now we're just banking on a good show of support at town meeting on May 13 to get the townspeople to vote on a better school budget.' The North Andover Teachers Association had warned that the approval of a $68.2 million budget for the next year would result in the loss of 40 jobs and the closure of Kittredge Elementary School. In a post from March 8, NATA outlined the challenges: not only will jobs be eliminated, but class sizes will increase, and funding for athletics will be reduced by 10%. Posted by North Andover Teachers Association on Saturday, March 8, 2025 North Andover Superintendent Pamela Lathrop said this is a 9.89% increase from last year's budget but its $3.5 million dollars less than a level of services budget meaning 'difficult decisions will need to be made.' Lathrop pointed to the end of federal stimulus funding, which had helped during the pandemic, as a major factor in the district's financial challenges, bringing funding back to pre-COVID-19 levels. Staffing reductions will occur at all levels—elementary, middle, high school, and central office. Additionally, Kittredge Elementary School will be temporarily closed in an effort to maintain financial stability. Lathrop explained that keeping Kittredge open would require 'deep, impactful cuts' elsewhere in the district. The closure of Kittredge will help keep class sizes within the range of 18-25 students per class. Other cuts include reductions to summer IT support, individual school budgets, and curriculum funding. 'These decisions are never easy, but they are necessary to stabilize the district's finances while continuing to prioritize student learning,' said Lathrop. Staff members have yet to hear about any transfers taking place.'When you give your heart and soul to something every single day and then told you are not worth the money, which and we know the money's there right, Middle School teacher Nick Conti said. 'It feels really bad. It feels like something is not right.' In a second letter to the community, Superintendent Lathrop said, 'Throughout this process, we have worked closely with the North Andover Teachers Association to ensure that we are following the provisions outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). We will continue to collaborate and provide support to affected staff members in the days and weeks ahead.' Union members now hope a change can be made by the town select board, making an amendment to the budget at their May 13th meeting. High School students are also planning a walkout on Monday, March 24 to express their concerns. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Leaders of SC courts, DMV warn what could happen if ‘ancient' technology isn't upgraded
South Carolina's courts and DMV are running on software systems that are three decades old and in need of massive upgrades. (Stock photo by) COLUMBIA — South Carolina's courts and drivers' licensing agency are running on software systems that are roughly three decades old and in need of massive upgrades. Together, the updates will cost about $200 million — of which, at least $45 million is requested in the coming budget. Without an overhaul, agency heads say, the central database that courts rely on could go dark, law enforcement officers on patrol won't have a clue who they're pulling over, wait times at motor vehicle offices could skyrocket from minutes to months, and the risk of identity theft will keep rising. 'We have the keys to the kingdom with regards to personally identifiable information,' Kevin Shwedo, director of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, recently told a House budget-writing panel. 'People try to hack in every day.' Beyond addresses and phone numbers, the personal data the DMV has on millions of South Carolinians includes Social Security numbers, birth certificates, passport numbers, marriage licenses, and divorce papers. All of that's stored on a system developed at the turn of the century and modified more than 11,000 times since to keep up with an ever-increasing workload, Shwedo said. The threat of getting hacked is real, he said, reminding legislators of the 2014 hacking of taxpayers' data from the state Department of Revenue. At the time, it was the largest hacking of a state agency. Protecting the DMV's treasure trove from cyberthieves gets more difficult 'with an antiquated system,' Shwedo said. 'Everything we do is with a computer — everything,' he told legislators. 'If a computer shuts down, you get zero service from the DMV.' He added, 'Not one of you would operate a home computer on 1990s technology.' But that's what the DMV is doing. The judicial branch isn't much better off, relying on early 2000s technology, and it's a problem that's becoming increasingly difficult to fix. 'I am informed that this ancient system utilizes a code that is outdated — no longer being used,' Chief Justice John Kittredge told a different House budget-writing panel. 'And the number of IT people who know the code and can decipher and understand it and respond to these problems gets smaller and smaller,' he said in his first budget request since taking the helm of the judicial branch last summer. 'That pool of talent and people decreases every year.' The judiciary previously tried to upgrade its case management system, where court filings, schedules, judges' decisions and other court information can be accessed electronically. The Legislature provided $28 million to the judicial branch between 2019 and 2021 to do it, and a vendor was awarded the contract. But that contractor failed to deliver, and the cost of upgrades has grown to an estimated $100 million, Kittredge said. On Wednesday, Kittredge made his case to a Senate budget panel. The system is in constant need of fixing, and the information it provides even when working properly is 'incomplete at best,' he said. For example, he knows court backlogs are delaying justice and resolutions for families, but the judicial computer system doesn't track the numbers he needs, such as emergency child custody hearings daily, to even know how badly schedules are swamped. 'I have to embark on a treasure hunt to find out,' he said. 'Why is the judicial branch this clueless? The list of what we don't know goes on and on, and I stress to you this must change.' The judiciary still has $25 million unspent from the original contract that it's suing to void. It's also making cuts and repurposing some $30 million — collected mostly from court fines and fees — to help cover the cost. That leaves $45 million in one-time funding the chief justice is seeking from legislators in the upcoming budget. At the DMV, Shwedo has sought an upgrade for the past seven or eight years, but it keeps getting pushed back. 'We can't afford to wait for the system to be broken.' he said. 'When we kick the can down the road because the system hasn't broken yet, we're playing Russian roulette.' Between June 2023 and July 2024, the DMV system went down 14 times and had to be fixed, according to the agency's budget proposal. And it's only going to get more expensive over time, Shwedo said. The Legislature set aside a total of $26 million in the last two budgets for the project. The DMV also has squirreled away $18 million in fees it collects. Shwedo wants to raise the remaining $43 million needed for the upgrades by upping the fees it charges for drivers' records and other documents. He needs legislators' approval to do that. Bumping those charges from $6 up to $10 per driver's record would put South Carolina more in line with fees charged in other Southern states and bring in an extra $12 million annually, he said. That's enough to pay for the new system within five years as well as cybersecurity measures to protect against identity theft. After the upgrade's complete, the additional fees will cover the system's annual maintenance costs. 'If it breaks, it will take years to fix,' Shwedo said. 'I don't know what the pain level is.' He reminded legislators of the four-hour waits at the DMV that South Carolinians complained about before the current computer system went live in 2002. Shwedo told legislators there are states in the Southeast where residents cannot get an appointment at their local DMV for three months. He declined to specify which states. But news outlets in North Carolina and Florida have reported on three-month waits. In North Carolina for example, only 16 out of nearly 100 offices have a small number of appointments available in the next three months. Still, every office in the state takes walk-ins for those willing to wait in line, reported WLOS in Asheville. In parts of Florida, people can spend an entire day waiting in line on top of a three-month wait for an appointment just to change their address or get a new ID, reported WSVN in Miami.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New SC chief justice seeks extra Family Court judges to handle backlogged cases
South Carolina Supreme court Justice John Kittredge arrives for his screening by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Columbia, S.C.(Mary Ann Chastain/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — When it comes to questions of child custody or divorce, South Carolina families can wait weeks for a court hearing. That delay can leave children in homes with an abusive parent or one who is struggling with addiction. And that is 'unacceptable,' the new head of the state's judicial branch said Thursday. State Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge, whose own legal career started in Family Court, said judges have been doubling up dockets and holding evening court sessions in some parts of the state to catch up. But the system has reached its limit on how far it can stretch, he told a House budget-writing panel. 'Quite frankly, family courts are in crisis,' he said in his first budget pitch since ascending to the state's top judicial post. 'We are in desperate need of more resources.' Meet John Kittredge, SC's next chief justice Kittredge, who was sworn in as chief justice last August, is seeking an additional $1.8 million in the coming fiscal year to pay for three new Family Court judges — one in Lexington, one in Beaufort and one in Berkeley County — to help with backlogs. It's a request that the top House budget writer expects the General Assembly will support and a problem he understands personally. House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister works as a family court attorney and has seen domestic struggles involving children play out in his law practice. 'The day you serve the other parent, there's a heightened conflict,' said the Greenville Republican. 'From that time until you get a hearing before a judge, it's the wild, wild west.' Bannister said he's had cases where a parent has taken a child out of school without the other parent knowing, essentially keeping the child out of the classroom, missing out on learning and hidden for days. Without a judge's ruling, Bannister said, there's nothing to keep a child away from an abusive spouse or stepparent. 'It puts stress on the parties, minor children, in dire need of resolution and stability,' Kittredge said. Wait times for court hearings can vary from one county to the next. In Greenville, where Bannister practices, he said it typically takes 10 days. But in areas where there is only one Family Court judge, it can take a month or longer. Kittredge said the need is actually greater than three new judges can cover. But to keep costs down, he focused new positions in some of the state's fastest-growing areas, where the courts that resolve family issues — including adoption, child custody, juvenile delinquency, and domestic abuse — are particularly strained. In Lexington County, the Family Court was able to hear more than 1,100 cases in the second half of 2024 but still had upwards of 1,500 pending cases at the end of the year, according to judicial branch data. Berkeley County heard nearly 1,1oo cases but had a backlog of the same size. Each of those counties have just two Family Court judges in residence. And in Beaufort, where there is only one Family Court judge, 625 cases were heard, leaving nearly 750 still pending. Part of the reason for the logjam, Kittredge said, is a growing caseload from the state's child welfare and foster care agency and the state Department of Juvenile Justice. 'Not only have we seen explosive population growth, South Carolina has also seen an increase in the number of children in (Department of Social Services) custody, as well as juveniles involved with' DJJ, he said. 'The undeniable reality is that the number of Family Court judges has not kept pace with the growing population or the increase in the demands on the family courts themselves.' When the state removes a child from parental custody and places them in foster care, there are at least four court hearings required. In 2024, that meant nearly 15,000 hearings for children alone, Kittredge said. Thousands await trial in SC on years-old charges. AG proposes way to clear cases. And according to Bannister, a law passed in 2019 that moved 17-year-olds from adult to criminal juvenile court proceedings added to the caseload. Even if legislators were to approve funding for additional Family Court judges, the earliest those judges could get through the Legislature's screening process and elected to the bench would be July 2026. And it may take a year or longer before they're comfortable enough to handle complex cases, Kittredge said. That's why he also is looking for more help in the interim. Kittredge wants to encourage more retired judges to come back part-time to hear cases. (In South Carolina, state law requires judges to retire from full-time work after they turn 72, but they can still work on an as-needed basis.) The chief justice asked for an additional $1 million in the fiscal year starting July 1 to pay retired judges a rate of $400 a day. 'These judges represent a great resource and opportunity,' Kittredge said. Bannister agreed, saying he's excited to see the court focused on getting dockets caught up and using good, trained judges to do so.
