Latest news with #SHNS
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Feds allege MBTA workers falsified track inspection reports
BOSTON (SHNS) – Four former MBTA inspectors and one current T supervisor pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges that they falsified Red Line track inspection records while using an agency garage as their own 'automobile repair shop.' Prosecutors alleged the quintet of employees submitted or greenlit reports last fall describing track inspection work, despite surveillance video showing them engaged in conversation, using cellphones or working on motor vehicles at the same times that the inspections supposedly took place. Prosecutors charged 62-year-old Ronald Gamble of Dorchester, 42-year-old Jensen Vatel of Brockton, 53-year-old Nathalie Mendes of New Bedford, 36-year-old Andy Vicente of Bridgewater and 47-year-old Brian Pfaffinger of Marshfield with falsification of records and making false statements. All five pleaded not guilty, according to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley's office. 'The charges are a federal overreach into an internal personnel matter which should be handled by the MBTA, not the court system,' said Michael Tumposky, an attorney for Gamble. 'Mr. Gamble looks forward to exonerating himself at the conclusion of this process.' Attorneys for the other four defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors alleged in the 25-page indictment that the quintet and other unnamed Red Line employees 'treated and operated the Cabot Garage as an automobile repair shop during MBTA work hours.' The falsification of reports allegedly took place between at least Sept. 3 and Oct. 15, 2024 while the MBTA was approaching the end of a year-long repair campaign designed to eliminate subway speed restrictions required by federal regulators due to concerns about the state of MBTA infrastructure. IndictmentDownload Prosecutors alleged that each of the four inspectors in that span filed a report claiming to have examined Red Line tracks. But during the timeframes they claimed to be out on the system, surveillance cameras recorded Vicente working on non-MBTA vehicles, Mendes sitting inside her car, Vatel chatting with other employees outside the Cabot Yard garage, and Gamble inside the garage moving private vehicles. In one case, the indictment alleged, 'Gamble claimed to have verified four separate defects, on different tracks, within one minute,' in the final minute before his inspection ended. Pfaffinger, who according to prosecutors still works at the T, allegedly submitted a false work order for a falsified inspection report filed by Gamble covering a period of time when the two were together inside the garage. Foley's office said Pfaffinger 'allegedly not only knew that his subordinates worked on private vehicles during work hours, but had his subordinates work on his own vehicle.' WCVB reported in October that employees at Cabot Yard were on leave amid an investigation into whether they worked on personal vehicles while on the job. By December, a total of eight employees had been terminated in connection to the probe, according to WCVB. Gamble, Vatel, Mendes and Vicente no longer work at the MBTA, according to the indictment, which describes them as 'former' employees. The indictment calls Pfaffinger a current employee and 'previously a supervisor.' MBTA Transit Police referred the matter to the U.S. attorney's office last year, the T said. 'The MBTA thanks the U.S. Attorney's office for their thorough investigation and diligent work toward holding people accountable for alleged criminal activity. As a public agency, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of public resources and deliver safe and reliable service to transit users. That's why General Manager Phil Eng took immediate action to hold these employees accountable when this misconduct came to light,' MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in a statement. 'Their actions do not reflect the values of the MBTA, and they will not impact the improvements we continue to make across the system. We are taking these allegations very seriously, as we have an obligation to the public and to our workforce to ensure that every employee meets the highest standards of conduct.' All five defendants face charges of making false statements and falsifying records. Inspections typically take place using MBTA-issued cellphones and an app called MaxTrax, according to the indictment. An inspector opens the app and walks the relevant length of track, recording any issues they observe, then confirms the process is complete by touching a finger to the phone and signing their name. The MBTA is overseen by the state Department of Public Utilities and by the Federal Transit Administration. The T conducted a major track overhaul campaign last year after a series of problems thrust infrastructure woes into the spotlight. Officials announced in November that successful repairs allowed the Red Line to run end-to-end without speed restrictions for the first time in at least 20 years. Also on Thursday, former MBTA Transit Police Sgt. David Finnerty was convicted of aiding and abetting the filing of a false report. Finnerty had been charged for helping to cover up the physical assault of a man by Transit Police Officer Dorston Bartlett. 'Finnerty helped Bartlett draft a false arrest report regarding the incident, with the intent to impede any federal investigation of Bartlett's unconstitutional use of force,' Foley's office wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Expert: Economic downturn could trump impacts of GOP changes
BOSTON (SHNS) – Massachusetts could face billions in lost federal revenue and heightened economic risk under the second Trump administration, a budget expert warned lawmakers Thursday, but he emphasized that a broad economic downturn could deal the hardest blow. Testifying before the House Committee on Federal Funding, Policy and Accountability, Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, laid out the scale of the state's dependence on federal money: about $25 billion each year. That includes about $14.4 billion in Medicaid funds, as well as transportation and water infrastructure funding, and billions more in federal grants administered through state agencies. 'One in every $4 you just voted to spend in the FY26 operating budget is directly from the federal government,' Howgate told lawmakers. 'To contextualize that, that's about one and a half times what we get from the sales tax — it's like ten times what we get from the Lottery. So just to put your mind around how much that matters, it's a big element of the state budget, second only on the revenue side to the income tax.' As has been previously reported, President Donald Trump has targeted or promised to come down on areas that Massachusetts, specifically, has a vested stake in — such as higher education and research funding where the Bay State has a nationally competitive advantage. In other cases, like Medicaid spending reductions, the president and Republican-led Congress's policies are likely to affect every state. Trump and Republicans in Congress say their shift in national policy will put the country on a prosperous path but the view from many at the State House, where Democrats rule, is far different. The U.S. House voted last week to cut the health insurance program by nearly $700 billion — which state officials have warned could put Massachusetts in jeopardy of losing more than $1 billion annually, with 250,000 residents at risk of losing coverage between MassHealth and subsidized policies at the Health Connector. Yet even with these policy dangers, Howgate warned that a possible economic downturn could hit the state budget even harder. 'A major change in the global economy, especially a downturn, can have a far greater impact, certainly on public finances, but also on any of the programs we're talking about, than a specific federal policy action,' he said. Howgate compared potential cuts to Medicaid revenue to the state revenue losses during the Great Recession. 'If you take the revenue loss of 2009 during the Great Recession and you just prorate that forward as state revenues have grown, that's a one-year revenue loss of $6 billion, and those revenue losses persisted for several years,' he said. 'The order of magnitude of a global recession usually far outstrips any of the specific policy things we're talking about.' Lawmakers pressed Howgate for insight into how the state could shore up revenue if both federal cuts and a downturn hit at once. 'If they succeed in cutting these programs, apart from reallocating part of the budget, there is a need for revenue, and I'm curious to what MTF's view is on ways we can raise revenue if those things do happen' said Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven of Somerville, pointing to the impact on Head Start, food assistance and Medicaid in her district, all of which the Trump administration has threatened to cut. Howgate responded by pointing to lessons from past crises. 'When we look at the last two economic downturns — the 2001 downturn and the 2008 downturn — what did we see from a state budget standpoint? You saw use of reserves, you saw increases in taxes, and you saw major cuts,' he said. Clarifying that it wasn't the official stance of MTF, Howgate added, 'If there was a major economic recession in Massachusetts that lasts years, those are the three things you're going to see on the table.' The state's $8 billion stabilization fund has dramatically grown over the last five years. Legislative leaders have been reluctant to tap into it even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Howgate advised the Legislature to focus on three strategies: closely track federal budget and tax legislation, prepare for the potential scale of an economic slowdown, and identify which state programs and sectors are most critical to protect. 'There's going to be so many demands on things that the federal government does that the state doesn't do, that making sure we're staying true to the core goals of what government does, I think, has to be front and center,' Howgate said. He also urged the state to play to its strengths — particularly higher education and research — which are under federal scrutiny but remain key to Massachusetts' economy. Finally, Howgate underscored that if Massachusetts is to weather this storm effectively, it will require coordinated planning among the House, Senate and administration. 'We can't be moving in three different directions,' he said. 'At the end of the day, so many of these are going to boil down to resource decisions.' The Senate has its own response effort to the second Trump administration, which they've dubbed Response 2025. The two branches appear to have procedural differences that are slowing down that work of that committee. Quentin Palfrey, Gov. Maura Healey's director of federal funding, also testified about ripple effects Massachusetts could face — including changes in how the state and municipalities apply for and administer federal funds. Rep. Mark Sylvia Palfrey of Fairhaven asked Palfrey if his office is actively tracking any changes to the federal application process for grants. 'Just to use as an example, if a municipality or county applies for a federal grant, and it's for infrastructure, and due to either an executive order from the federal government or some other policy edit, they're being directed to no longer refer to climate change as a justification for that infrastructure? Are you tracking any of those developments as part of your office?' 'The answer is absolutely yes,' Palfrey responded. '… It's a little bit of a difficult challenge, where, on the one hand, we want to be in close communication with our partners … and at the same time, we have to be very clear about the limitations that the state budget has to absorb some of these costs.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Repro rights lobby eyes ways to shield medical records, prescriptions
BOSTON (SHNS) – Scouring for ways to fortify a 2022 law, reproductive care providers and supporters are advising lawmakers to tighten protections around electronic medical records, omit certain information in a prescription monitoring database, and modify prescription labels. The Legislature passed the abortion and gender-identity shield law soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, with the aim of protecting providers and patients, including those traveling to Massachusetts for care, from out-of-state-legal action. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed that law in July 2022. But with President Donald Trump back in the White House House and restrictions on abortion access — including emergency abortion care — escalating across the country, Massachusetts Democrats have shown a heightened interest in revisiting the shield law to address what some see as lingering threats. 'Though the Attorney General's Office believes firmly in the strength of our shield law and stands ready to defend it should the need arise, we recognize that the national landscape has shifted since its original passage, and that there are gaps in the shield law that urgently need to be closed to ensure Massachusetts providers and patients are protected,' Allyson Slater, director of the office's reproductive justice unit, told the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy on Wednesday . 'By way of example, we know that states like Texas and Louisiana have initiated civil and criminal cases against a shield law provider in New York. We're watching these cases closely,' Slater continued. 'Further, Project 2025 has called for increased surveillance of abortion, weaponizing state data collected by states to further restrict and undercut access to this care, even in states that protect it.' While the Senate committee hearing did not focus on an explicit piece of legislation, discussion closely hovered around a bill (S 2522) that chair Sen. Cindy Friedman filed with AG Andrea Campbell in mid-April to install additional protections around reproductive and transgender care. Friedman, who helped author the original shield law, was named this year to helm efforts by Senate Democrats to respond to the Trump administration. Friedman told the News Service her colleagues were interested in hearing about the 'content of the bill, which is around making sure that we do everything we can to protect legally sanctioned health care in this commonwealth, and it's especially being attacked around reproductive health and gender-affirming care.' Asked about areas where the shield law has fallen short, the Arlington Democrat said, 'The law has worked out.' 'There's more to be done,' Friedman said. 'For instance, around prescribing and realizing now a doctor's name is on a bottle for mifepristone, and that's something that somebody who's out to get that doctor can get access to.' Putting the name of the provider's practice on the label, rather than the specific prescriber, adds a 'critical layer of anonymity for providers,' said Claire Teylouni, senior director of policy and programs at Reproductive Equity Now. Echoing Slater's warning, Teylouni also invoked Dr. Maggie Carpenter, the New York doctor facing a hefty penalty from Texas and a felony charge from Louisiana for prescribing medication abortion. 'We can act now to hopefully prevent any Massachusetts provider from also being identified with their personal information on a prescription,' Teylouni said. Friedman's proposal blocks state agencies from cooperating with or providing information for federal or out-of-state investigations into legally protected health care activities here. It also curtails the sharing of electronic medical records with out-of-state entities, and blocks insurance companies from discriminating against nonprofits that provide reproductive and gender-identity care. According to Senate President Karen Spilka's office, the bill also requires hospitals to provide emergency services to 'any person who presents at the hospital or is brought to the hospital by emergency medical services.' Slater said this provision stems from the federal government's unwillingness to enforce the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, given the Justice Department's decision to drop its case challenging Idaho's abortion ban and refusal to abide by EMTALA. Slater said the existing prohibition on law enforcement cooperating with out-of-state or federal investigations should be extended to all state and local agencies. Campbell's office also needs 'explicit authority' to enforce the shield law, Slater said. 'The 2022 shield law was silent, in particular respect, with the attorney general's enforcement mechanisms, with respect to certain provisions, ' Slater said. 'I think our office's recommendation would be to create explicit in the statute the fact that the attorney general could enforce certain mechanisms and certain protections, so that anytime the shield law was invoked, we would be notified and we would be in a position to defend and work with the providers or the patients that were subject to the shield law.' Gavi Wolfe, legislative director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, urged senators to impose new limits on the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program. To raise awareness among prescribers, the system tracks drugs that come with a risk of abuse or potential for psychological or physiological dependence. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton has used information from the state's monitoring program to sue physicians for prescribing gender-identity medications, Wolfe said. 'Let's make sure that our state Prescription Monitoring Program can't be used by the feds to go after reproductive or gender-affirming care,' Wolfe said. 'The Prescription Monitoring Program was established to prevent abuse of prescription drugs, especially opioids, but there's no reason that medications related to reproductive health and gender-affirming care need to be included in its vast database and made vulnerable to prying eyes.' Aiming to curtail access to another trove of information, providers and advocates urged lawmakers to improve privacy protections around sensitive electronic medical records. With most Massachusetts hospital systems using the same platform, called Epic, people's medical histories can be easily accessed. That information could become potentially harmful in the wrong hands, said Dr. Megan Evans, an OB-GYN representing the Massachusetts Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 'Although this is helpful in accessing prior notes and labs to add to a patient's history or better understand their disease, it can also detail a patient's abortion procedure, IVF, or gender-affirming care, even if received in another state,' Evans said. 'When seeking care, patients may unknowingly provide consent for access to this information, or providers with malintent may say a patient provided consent for medical records when they may not have or may not have fully understood what they were consenting to.' Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, who pointed to past efforts to develop a streamlined, common platform like Epic, asked how the system could be adapted to address mounting privacy concerns. Evans said providers could make certain records 'protected,' which would require future providers to secure 'specific consent' from their patients before they can access the information. Medical records dealing with behavioral health care, HIV testing and genetic testing already require 'explicit consent' from patients before they can be released, added Dr. Chloe Zera, a Boston-based maternal fetal medicine physician. 'I'm not too concerned that it can be done technologically,' Friedman told Tarr. 'I would worry how it's done, because as we know, electronic health records have been both a good thing and a bad thing, and we don't want to add to the confusion. But you raise a really good point.' Ahead of the hearing, practicing and studying obstetricians and gynecologists pressed for stronger abortion protections and access to care, and shared support for Friedman's bill. The Senate referred Friedman's bill to the Health Care Financing Committee, which Friedman chairs, on April 14. The House non-concurred with that action Tuesday and sent the bill to the Judiciary Committee. On Thursday, the Senate receded with its referral and also sent the bill to the Judiciary Committee. Senate members of the Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity earlier this month favorably reported out Sen. Cindy Creem's location shield law (S 197). The bill would also tighten abortion protections by blocking the sale of location data to third parties. Friedman said Creem's bill is part of the 'whole package' of abortion protections. 'If people are selling your data, if they're tracking you, if we don't have any privacy, then we're just adding burdens to people who are providing legally protected care and getting legally protected care,' Friedman told the News Service. Physicians and students also advocated for the location shield bill, which in the House is sponsored by Reps. Lipper-Garabedian and David Vieira (H 86). Lipper-Garabedian said that in 2023, more than 171,000 women traveled out of state to seek reproductive health care, with many getting care in Massachusetts. 'We know this in part because a federal investigation last year revealed that a data brokerage firm tracked interstate travel visits to Planned Parenthood clinics in 48 states, including here in Massachusetts, and then sold that data to the largest anti-abortion campaign in the country,' said Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose). 'Patients deserve privacy and dignity in making deeply personal health care decisions,' she added. 'Providers like you, who dedicate your lives to delivering life saving care, deserve to do so without fear and interference.' [Ella Adams contributed reporting.] Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lottery skid extends through April
BOSTON (SHNS) – All but one Massachusetts Lottery offering saw its sales dip in April, though agency overseers approved changes to one game Tuesday that the Lottery expects will lead to increased sales and profits. The Lottery's $454 million in sales last month fell $29.3 million or 6.1% below sales in April 2024, according to Executive Director Mark William Bracken's report to the Lottery Commission on Tuesday. It was the fourth consecutive month featuring a year-over-year drop in sales. The only product to post an increase in April was Keno, which saw its sales climb by $5.9 million or 5.9% to $105.7 million for the month. On top of the sales slump, the Lottery's monthly profit was affected by a prize payout percentage higher than last April's. The Lottery estimated that it paid out the equivalent of 76.2% of April revenue in prizes last month, compared to 74.64% a year prior. The Lottery's estimated profit for April was $74.1 million, compared to $82.6 million in April 2024, according to Bracken's report. Through 10 months of fiscal year 2025, the Lottery has sold more than $4.89 billion worth of its scratch tickets, draw game numbers and more this year. That trails fiscal 2024 by $178.9 million or 3.5% through the same 10-month period. Keno and Lucky For Life are the only two Mass. Lottery games that have sold more in fiscal 2025 than they did to the same point in fiscal 2024. The Lottery said Tuesday it is currently estimating a net profit of $876.5 million so far in fiscal 2025. After adjusting for differences in the calendar, the Lottery said that represents a $88.3 million drop compared to the same checkpoint a year ago. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has told lawmakers she expects the Lottery to generate $1.05 billion in profit for fiscal 2025, and has also projected 'flat' retail sales and profit for fiscal 2026. The Lottery Commission on Tuesday voted to give Bracken the authority to amend the Lottery's regulations to facilitate a change to the drawing schedule for Mass Cash, a game first introduced in 1991, essentially expanding it by double. Drawings for that game happen daily at 9 p.m., but the Lottery is looking to begin holding two Mass Cash drawings a day starting July 20, one at midday and one in the evening. 'The Lottery anticipates this change will be welcomed by our players and will lead to increased sales and profits,' General Counsel Gregory Polin wrote in a memo about the change. To play Mass Cash, a bettor pays $1 to select five numbers between 1 and 35. Matching three of the numbers drawn wins $10, matching four wins $250 and matching all five wins the player $100,000. The Lottery says the overall odds of winning are 1 in 72, or 1 in 324,632 to win the grand prize. The Lottery had sold $67 million worth of Mass Cash tickets through April, according to Bracken's report Tuesday. That's down $1.9 million or 2.8% through the same 10 months of fiscal 2024. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Healey 'outraged' by shootings of Israeli Embassy staffers
BOSTON (SHNS) – Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday said she was 'horrified and outraged' by the shootings of two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night, and 'at this time, there is no known connection or any direct threat to Massachusetts,' her office said. 'I'm horrified and outraged by the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside of an American Jewish Committee event in Washington D.C. last night,' Healey said in a statement her office released just before 10 a.m. 'This was a senseless, hate-fueled act of violence.' The governor added: 'There is no justification for antisemitism or violence – in our nation's capital or anywhere else. My thoughts are with Yaron and Sarah's families, friends and colleagues, and I'm sending love and support to the Jewish community. I'm grateful to the first responders and law enforcement who responded quickly to the scene and are working in communities across the country to keep people safe.' Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said Wednesday night that the shooting occurred just after 9 p.m. as both victims were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect, who Smith said was tentatively identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, was observed pacing back and forth outside the museum before approaching a group of four people and allegedly opening fire. The suspect then entered the museum, Smith said, where he was detained by security. 'Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon and that weapon has been recovered and he implied that he committed the offense,' Smith said. 'The suspect chanted, 'Free, free Palestine' while in custody.' D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday night, 'The horrific incident is going to frighten a lot of people in our city and in our country and I want to be clear that we will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city. We will not tolerate any acts of terrorism and were going to stand together as a community in the coming days and weeks to send a clear message that we will not tolerate antisemitism.' Healey's office said the Massachusetts State Police are in 'close collaboration with federal, state and local partners to monitor new information and ensure the safety of Massachusetts communities.' Her office encouraged people to 'remain vigilant and report anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.' Commonwealth Fusion Center officials briefed State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble on Thursday and will keep Healey and her public safety and security team apprised of any developments, Healey's office said. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
