Latest news with #Tarr
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Move to close background check gap for daycare providers following 25 Investigates report
BOSTON, MA - In response to a recent 25 Investigates report exposing a loophole in the screening process for licensed daycare providers, Republican leaders in the Massachusetts State Senate are drafting a budget amendment aimed at requiring international background checks. The current state regulations do not mandate checks for warrants or criminal convictions occurring outside of the United States. A draft of the proposed amendment, filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr and Assistant Minority Leader Peter Durant, seeks to mandate that the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) 'to the maximum extent feasible, conduct checks on all international criminal databases.' Furthermore, the draft amendment stipulates that 'any licensees shall submit under the pains and penalties of perjury all information submitted to the department.' The legislative action comes after a 25 Investigates report that highlighted the case of Andre Tiago Lucas. Lucas was wanted in Brazil, having been convicted of raping a 13-year-old. Federal immigration authorities tracked him down to Hyannis in October, where he was residing at his wife's licensed home daycare facility. 'The most recent reporting makes me even more concerned. Ted, that we are not doing an appropriate job of monitoring who is in these facilities into which the care for our children is being entrusted,' State Senator Tarr said in an interview with Ted Daniel. 'Clearly we have to do better and we need to expand the background checks and we also need to increase the penalties for providing false information as it's being gathered by the Department of Early Education and Care.' Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, called the situation 'a failure at the state level,' citing both the vetting process of the daycare operator and the fact that Lucas was able to evade authorities while hiding from a prison sentence for a 'heinous crime. Governor Healey previously told 25 Investigates Lucas's wife failed to register him as a household member as required, but even if she had complied with the regulations, his criminal history in Brazil would not have been flagged under the existing screening procedures. EEC follows federal and state laws and regulations regarding background record checks, which does not include screening for immigration status or international criminal history, an agency spokesperson said. The proposed amendment is one of hundreds to be debated before the senate version of the budget is finalized. 'My assumption is that every one of my colleagues wants to make sure that daycare facilities are safe, and wants to make sure that we have appropriate monitoring, appropriate background checks. And I think it's hard to argue with the proposition that those background checks need to be effective and comprehensive as possible,' State Sen. Tarr said. 'My hope is that we'll be able to move forward and make this very simple in many ways, but very powerful change soon. 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
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Liability woes leave snow contractors on slippery ground
BOSTON (SHNS) – Joe Szczechowicz has spent 11 years calling on state lawmakers to address liability issues that snow and ice removal service providers face across Massachusetts. Szczechowicz, the president of SLS Outdoor Living, recalls first contacting Sen. Bruce Tarr and former Rep. Lenny Mirra in 2014 about the issue, and seeing an initial bill filed in the Senate the following year. Snow removal service providers like Szczechowicz, who have been held liable for incidents they say are out of their control, are backing a longtime Tarr bill (S 1370) that would further regulate contracts for snow and ice removal services between providers and their customers. In 2021, when Doug McDuff's company Landscape America had its first 'slip and fall' in 19 years, the issue hit with full force. Several days after McDuff's company finished plowing operations and multiple corresponding property checks, an individual pulled into the property's parking lot with snow still on the roof of their car. 'The sun hit the snow, it melted down the tailgate, formed a puddle behind the vehicle. The individual was moving into this complex, and so at the end of the day, they came out of the apartment, they slipped on the ice that had formed, and fell and then sued our company,' McDuff told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday. His insurance company settled the claim two years later for $365,000 and subsequently dropped McDuff's business, he said. Even if a company is contracted to begin plowing when there's two inches of snow on the ground, companies are taking a risk by not proactively treating because they're liable for any slip and fall, Brian Paige, owner of Paige Landscape Company, said Tuesday. If they proactively plow the property when there's one inch of snow on the ground to create a safer environment for whoever's there, they might not be paid for that precautionary service, Paige explained. 'We're forced to assume liability while being restricted from plowing or treating services in certain conditions,' Paige said. A representative of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals and the Snow and Ice Management Association, McDuff said liability factors are causing insurance rates to skyrocket and decreasing the willingness of insurance companies to insure companies like his. 'If a janitor were to come outside and throw a bucket of water with no snow prep present — if it froze and someone slipped, we're going to be held responsible for the issue,' McDuff said. 'What we're looking for is just fair terms in regards to liability and to avoid absorbent insurance costs.' Whenever McDuff would cross out or amend terms based on his attorney's recommendations — like indemnification clauses and hold harmless agreements — contracts were often rescinded and given to another contractor who he said 'was either ignorant to what they were signing, and/or didn't have the correct insurance needs that required contracts.' Those decisions make it difficult for snow and ice removal companies to grow their businesses, especially when they already struggle to retain a workforce, he said. The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development reported the Tarr-sponsored bill out favorably in 2022 and 2024. It stalled in Senate Ways and Means both sessions. 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
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dems criticize West Virginia Senate Republicans for ‘blatantly violating rules' in passing DEI bill
West Virginia Senate President Randy Smith, seen on the final night of the session on April 12, 2025, said that he didn't understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of Senate Bill 474. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) The West Virginia Democratic Party on Tuesday condemned Senate Republicans' passage of a bill ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the state, saying the way they did so violated the Legislature's rules. 'What happened on the Senate floor was nothing short of disgraceful,' Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said in a release Tuesday. 'They did not allow any debate. They didn't even allow us to take up the amendments we had filed in the system and have a hearing on each of them — which I believe, under the rules, is something that had to happen. The rules were simply not followed.' The Senate passed Senate Bill 474 March 26. The House of Delegates passed it at 10:41 p.m. Saturday, a little over an hour before the legislative session ended. When the bill got back to the Senate to concur with House changes to the legislation, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, made a motion to suspend Joint Legislative Rule 3, which governs how amendments to amendments and disagreements are handled between the two legislative chambers. The motion was adopted and the Senate concurred without considering any of the 13 amendments to the bill that Garcia filed. Minutes later, Tarr withdrew the motion to suspend Joint Rule 3 due to a technical error. Another member then moved the previous question to consider the Joint Rule 3 motion again and concur with and pass the House's version of Senate Bill 474. Again, the Senate voted 31-2 approving the bill. As motions were considered, microphones for Garcia and Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell — the lone no votes on the bill — were muted while they attempted to call points of order on Tarr's motions as well as Smith's rulings. According to the Democrats, Tarr's motion to suspend Joint Rule 3 required a two-thirds vote by the Senate and concurrence by the House of Delegates, neither of which happened. The Democrats also criticized comments from Senate President Randy Smith, who said after the chaos that he didn't understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of the bill. His job, he told West Virginia Watch, is to preside over the body and the process, but other people tell him what is within the rules and not. 'The Senate President is the presiding officer of the Senate. It's literally his job to make sure rules and procedures are properly followed,' West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin said in the news release. 'In this instance, President Smith didn't just neglect his duties; he actively abdicated his responsibility.' Smith, through a spokeswoman for the Senate, did not comment further on Tuesday. Senate Bill 474 is the legislative side of an executive order posed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey that bans offering specific services or opportunities to people based on their race, color, ethnicity, country of origin and, in some instances, sex. It's reflective of a trend spearheaded by Republicans nationwide meant to undermine and end DEI in all its forms. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Senate passes bill targeting abortion medication sent to West Virginia residents
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, was one of five no votes on a bill prohibiting the sending abortion medication to West Virginia residents, except when the abortion is legal. Tarr said the bill's private cause of action would be a deterrent for companies that might consider operating in West Virginia. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) The Senate has signed off on a bill that would target out-of-state health care providers and others who send abortion-causing medication to people in West Virginia, except in the few circumstances when it's legal. The Senate passed Senate Bill 85 with a vote of 28 to 5 and 1 person absent. The bill would make it a felony to prescribe or distribute medications used for abortion to people in West Virginia unless the abortion is legal. In West Virginia, abortion is illegal except for medical emergencies and in cases of rape and incest. Abortion via telehealth is also illegal. Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, a sponsor of Senate Bill 85, said the 'important legislation is designed to protect life in West Virginia and stop the practice of abortifacients being sent and delivered to West Virginia residents without a lawful prescription.' The penalty for violating the law would be three to 10 years in prison for a person who is not a licensed medical professional. Licensed medical professionals would face the revocation of their license, according to the bill. The Senate on Monday adopted an amendment from Rucker that allows a pregnant woman in West Virginia who receives an abortifacient to sue the sender and requires circuit courts to award injunctive relief and damages of $10,000 for each abortion that results. It clarifies that a person need not be indicted or convicted in order to pursue civil remedies. Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, was one of five no votes on the legislation. Tarr said private causes of action like what is in the bill dissuade companies from locating in the state. Senators had also adopted Tarr's amendment that allows a public cause of action — the attorney general pursuing civil penalties of $150,000 per offense. 'Had the private cause of action, the job killer in this bill, not been in here, man, I'd have been the biggest champion for this bill,' Tarr said. 'I'd have been all over it. Because we can still come back and do this without making this mistake. Because if you want young families having babies over here in West Virginia, we need jobs, Mr. President.' Rucker said the private cause of action in the bill is not unique to West Virginia's legislation. It's a deterrent for people wishing to ignore state law, she said. 'This legislation does not further expand abortion restrictions,' Rucker said. 'It does not create new law regarding abortion, it is enforcement of the existing law that West Virginia legislators have supported and voted for in the past. So just like we have lots and lots of laws in the books, we expect those laws to be followed. What this legislation does is give a pathway for enforcement.' An attorney for the Senate Judiciary committee told lawmakers that federal courts are likely to decide the issue of criminal penalties for bills like this one. Louisiana last month charged a New York doctor with a felony for allegedly sending abortion pills to a pregnant minor in the state, according to reporting by the Associated Press. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to extradite the doctor to face the charges. New York has a shield law to protect abortion providers who prescribe the medication to patients in states where abortion is outlawed. Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, was another of the five no votes on the bill. Garcia said the legislation chips away at people getting health care in West Virginia. Health care providers testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the state's existing abortion ban makes it difficult for patients to get access to drugs like misoprostal, one of two drugs used in a medication abortion, which is also used to manage hemorrhaging and treating a miscarriage. The bill would make it even more difficult to access the medications, Kelly Lemon, a nurse midwife, testified. 'This is just muddying the waters and making it harder to be a medical professional in the state of West Virginia,' Garcia said. 'And it's another step back. And yeah, there are going to be job losses, not because of trial lawyers, but because of the fact that we're doing something again to just hurt the people of the state of West Virginia.' The bill next goes to the House of Delegates for consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Chicago Tribune
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
West Aurora's Sara Tarr switches gears, changes college commitment to Ohio State. But before? ‘I was freaking out.'
One day can make quite a difference. Early last June, everything was going pretty well for West Aurora's Sara Tarr. The previous October, she made up her mind, committing to play softball for Miami of Ohio coach Kirin Kumar. Then, in Kumar's fourth season, the Redhawks produced a program-record 49 wins that featured a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance while leading the nation with 160 home runs. But Tarr, a hard-hitting shortstop, checked her X account, formerly known as Twitter, on June 4. '(Kumar) got the Ohio State job,' she said. 'I saw it on Twitter everywhere. I was freaking out. (Kumar) couldn't tell anyone about it until OSU officially announced she had been hired.' Kumar did call Tarr that night, however, trying to reassure her suddenly former recruit. Also that night, Kumar spoke with Lauren McNulty, Tarr's travel coach with the Dennison Silver Hawks travel team since the bright young prospect was 13. 'I had developed a really good relationship with coach Kumar,' McNulty said. 'It's horrible any time that happens because there's so much pressure involved with recruiting. 'You finally make a decision and commit, feeling fortunate your future is set. You let out a big sigh because it's like the weight of the world off your shoulders. Then, everything is turned around.' Fortunately, it worked out in the end for Tarr. She's back in a good place and looking forward to her senior season for the Blackhawks after committing on July 8 to — you guessed it — Ohio State. 'Miami had good facilities and a lot going for it, but everyone wants to get to a Power Four,' Tarr said. 'There's a crazy difference. The weight room is bigger. There's a dining hall for athletes.' And the school's academic offerings are top-notch quality, too. After reopening her recruiting, Tarr had coaches from multiple Power Four conferences flying out to see her play in the summer, but the relationship she developed with Kumar and her coaching staff in the 18 months leading up to her decision to commit to Miami of Ohio played a big part. West Aurora coach Randy Hayslett can't wait to see what Tarr's final high school season brings. He'll bat Tarr leadoff again. She'll be joined by sister Anna, a sophomore who also plays volleyball. 'I want my best hitter getting the most at bats,' said Hayslett, who worries about other teams pitching around his star. The 6-foot Sara Tarr had her freshman year cut short by labrum surgery in her throwing shoulder. She continued to dominate pitchers after returning, posting a .513 career batting average. Hayslett expects Tarr to set multiple program career records. West Aurora's return to the Upstate Eight Conference, which hasn't been as strong as the Southwest Prairie, also should help. 'The thing what makes her very special is her work ethic, which is second to none,' McNulty said. 'She also has a tremendous softball IQ.' Tarr, who missed West Aurora's run to the supersectional during her freshman season, would like to experience an extended playoff journey. It will be a challenge, though. The Blackhawks will be young this spring after losing eight seniors to graduation. Keira Hayton, a center fielder, is the only other senior in the starting lineup. West Aurora will have speed to burn, which could also key the defense, but the growth of young pitchers will be big along with the growth of four sophomores who played last spring on varsity. Because of that, Tarr's leadership will be important, as well as her knowledge and experience. 'I think part of it is she's grown up in a sports environment with two older brothers who have or are still playing college baseball,' McNulty said. 'Exposed to so much, she takes everything in, every practice, every game, as much as she can.'
