Chris Lisinski
State House News Service

A federal judge allowed the state’s temporary ban on evictions and foreclosures to remain in place, a decision outlined in a Thursday ruling that prompted parties on both sides of the issue to see positives.

Judge Mark Wolf told attorneys Thursday that he will not intervene to lift the ban, according to both the lawyer representing plaintiffs and a state lawmaker who co-authored the original moratorium. Wolf plans to explain his decision in detail in a forthcoming written opinion, according to the online court docket.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed a moratorium in April blocking most evictions and foreclosures for several months, aiming to avoid housing disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later extended its expiration to Oct. 17. Three landlords sued the state, alleging the ban breaches the Constitution’s contracts clause and prevents them from exercising free speech, petitioning the judiciary, and acquiring compensation for unlawful land taking.

“While we are currently awaiting the written ruling, my understanding is that today Judge Wolf indicated he would be denying every challenge that was made by the landlords against the eviction moratorium statute itself,” said Rep. Mike Connolly, who co-authored the legislation. “I think this affirms the principle that we as legislators are protecting the public health when we act to ensure housing stability during a pandemic.”

Richard Vetstein, who represented the landlords, wrote on Twitter Thursday that while the judge did not lift the ban on filing new eviction cases or issuing notices to quit, he was “pleased” that Wolf expressed some concerns about its viability going forward.

The City of New Bedford has roadwork sites for the upcoming week of September 14, 2020 –September 18, 2020 and they are as follows:

Eversource:

Eversource will replace the gas mains and service at the following locations:

• Myrtle St. from Sawyer St. to Cedar Grove St. (Main)
• Peckham St. from Mt. Pleasant St. to County St. (Main)
• Bannister St. from Coggeshall St. to Peckham St. (Main)
• Hathaway Rd. from Town Line to Rockdale Ave. (Services)
• Davis St. from Riverside Ave. to 389 Davis St. (Services) 
• Hatch St. from Acushnet Ave. to Belleville Ave. (Services)
• Conduit St. from Acushnet Ave. to Shaw St. (Services)
• Summer St. from Durfee St. to Locust St. (Main)
• Studley St. from County St. to Summer St. (Main)
• Woodlawn St. from Brock Ave. to W Rodney French Blvd. (Services)
• Bolton St. from Kaine St. to Rivet St. (Services)

Eversource will be doing final street and sidewalk restoration at various locations city wide

Other:

• Contractor (PA Landers) to continue drainage work at MassDOT Project #606709, New Bedford – Roadway Reconstruction and Related Work (including signals) along a section of Kings Highway and Tarkiln Hill Road.  Construction to take place during regular working hours (Monday – Friday), police details and traffic controls will be in place.
• Contractor (Private Contractor: Southcoast Development) will be conducting work within the roadway at the intersection of Acushnet Ave and Ashley Blvd. Police details and traffic controls will be in place.
• MassDOT will be making repairs on the bridge at I-195 eastbound over Route 18 ramp.  Work will be from August 18th to November 30th.
• Department of Public Infrastructure will be line painting at night at various signalized intersections city-wide.
• Department of Public Infrastructure will be filling potholes city-wide on a continuous basis.
• Department of Public Infrastructure conducting its annual street sweeping program city-wide.
• Contractor (WES Construction) scheduled to continue landscaping and final paving at the Front St./ Elm St. site. Elm St., between JFK Memorial Highway (RTE 18) and MacArthur Dr. will be closed to westbound traffic. Westbound traffic will be detoured via MacArthur Drive. There will be detour signage and traffic controls in place.
• The contractor (Bay State Wind Water) is tentatively scheduled to replace the Freetown municipal interconnecting water meters along Braley Rd. and Middleboro Rd. and continue large water meter replacements at various locations.
• Due to ongoing construction at the High Hill Reservoir residents may experience discolored water. The water is safe, and the discoloration will be temporary. We recommend allowing the water to settle for a few hours and then flushing your service line by letting the bathtub run for a few minutes until the water clears.

** Please note: Contractors will continue to follow guidelines and protocol regarding COVID-19 social distancing while conducting work in construction zone.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation the Department of Public Infrastructure will be closed to the public entry. Office staff is available to assist by email and telephone.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced four additional human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in the state this year. This brings the total number of WNV cases to seven. Three of the four cases are male – one in his 40s, one in this 60s, and one in his 80s. All were exposed to WNV in Middlesex County. WNV was also diagnosed in a female under the age of 19 with exposure in Bristol County.

As a result of information obtained during case investigations on where the four individuals were exposed to the virus, the communities of Cambridge, Newton, Somerville, and Watertown in Middlesex County were elevated to high risk for WNV. Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Sudbury, Waltham, Wayland, Weston, and Winchester, all in Middlesex County, were elevated to moderate risk. The municipalities of Dighton, Fall River, and Swansea in Bristol County were also elevated to moderate risk.

Most WNV virus activity this year has been focused in an area around Boston and includes parts of Norfolk, Middlesex, and Essex counties.

There had been three cases of WNV already reported in Massachusetts this year. In 2019, there were five human cases of WNV infection. WNV is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe disease. Most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. Updated case information is available atmass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-arbovirus-update.

When present, WNV symptoms tend to include fever and flu-like illness. In rare cases, more severe illness can occur.

People have an important role to play in protecting themselves and their loved ones from illnesses caused by mosquitoes.

A former member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (“Latin Kings”) pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges. The defendant admitted to his role in a May 28, 2019 incident in New Bedford, where a rival gang member was shot at.

Luis Santiago, a/k/a “King Tiny,” 22, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Dec. 17, 2020. Santiago was charged in December 2019, at which time he was a member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Latin Kings.

The Latin Kings are a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue and engages in violence against witnesses and rival gangs to further its influence and to protect its turf.

As detailed during the hearing, Santiago admitted that on May 28, 2019, he was one of multiple members of the Latin Kings who travelled to Dartmouth Street in New Bedford to confront and assault rival gang members. For this incident, Santiago was provided with a firearm by another member of the gang. The confrontation began as a fight, but at some point Santiago pulled the firearm and began to chase the rival gang members. Santiago fired one shot at the fleeing rival gang members, missing and striking a parked vehicle.

In December 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Santiago is the 11th defendant to plead guilty in the case.

The RICO conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard and Mark Grady of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.

The following was submitted to New Bedford Guide by Ian McGonnigal:

“A couple of months ago, Nick and I decided to start an organization called Southcoast Helps.

We’re both small business owners who wanted to do something to give back to our beloved Southcoast community. The idea is to create several small initiatives that support Human Rights & Social Justice, Education, Health & Wellness, Arts & Culture, Conservation, and other areas where we see there is a need. We keep it small and nimble, with no bureaucracy, fund our efforts with personal investments, and volunteer our time. 100% of any proceeds we get go directly to the local organizations we choose to support.

Black Lives Matter:

For our first project, we decided to support local black organizations. To do so, we invested in printing Black Lives Matter lawn signs for community members to show their support and solidarity against the racial injustice we see every day.

We sell these signs for $20 each, and hand-deliver them to community members in a safe, socially distanced manner. To date: residents in Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, and New Bedford have ordered signs and we’ve installed them in their front yards. We even have one community member who purchased several of these signs to distribute to other people who cannot afford them. We’ve promoted this on Facebook, and keep all recipients confidential.

We’ve had reports from some supporters that their signs were stolen. In some cases the supporters simply ordered a new sign giving more support to our cause, in other cases, they decide not to replace the sign for fears it will only be stolen again. And while we are disappointed that people would commit larceny to show their disdain for a human rights issue, we’re also grateful it has helped us raise more money via replacement signs.

It’s a challenging time for our society for sure. There is misinformation everywhere, and people are taking up sides when there should be none. Human rights have been politicized. The fact of the matter is most people have more complex views than choosing either side of a coin. I find we’re all so busy yelling at one another, we’re not hearing what is being said. If we could all take a moment to listen to understand, rather than listen to respond, we’d be in a better place.

The First Amendment provides every one of us freedom of speech, and we need to respect that.”

Have an essay you’d like to share? Email info@newbedfordguide.com

The crowd was small, but the smiles and congratulations were enough to fill an auditorium.

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office hosted a socially distant graduation ceremony for cadets in the 46th Correction Officers Academy Wednesday night at the correctional complex on Faunce Corner Road. To comply with gathering protocols, each graduate was only able to invite one guest, and staff attendance was limited.

The smaller crowd didn’t lower the enthusiasm as the 15 graduates were met with thundering applause and congratulations after taking the oath and officially becoming the newest law enforcement professionals in Bristol County.

“You’re ready to make your mark on your neighborhood. You’re ready to make your community safer by helping those most at risk. You’re ready to be a coach, a mentor and a friend to those in need by giving encouragement, discipline and guidance to individuals getting ready to return to society,” Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson told the graduates. “You are now working in one of the most impactful and rewarding professions. Every day on every shift, you will have the opportunity to help people get on a path to a better place in life. You’ll make the world a better place.

“For that, you deserve the world … or at the very least, a gallery of cheering family and friends.”

Over the course of the eight-week training academy, graduates did a mixture of classroom and hands-on learning on a variety of corrections topics, including everything from policy and procedure to defensive tactics and first aid. But the most important lessons of the academy were communication and teamwork.

Judging from the comments from the class officers, it’s safe to say “mission accomplished” on that front.

“During the eight weeks, we were challenged mentally and physically,” said Nicole Arsenault, class president. “As the days went on, acquaintances became friendships and 15 individuals became one team.”

“I’m blessed to call these 14 other officers not just friends, but brothers and sisters,” said Tina Chute, class valedictorian who finished with a 98.61 average.

The graduates of the 46th academy and newest members of the Bristol County team are Kelsey Alexander, Michael Arpa, Nicole Arsenault (president), Melanie Barbosa (vice president), Dylan Boardman-Filipe, Tina Chute (valedictorian and treasurer), Christopher Gardner (secretary), Beaudouin Jolivert, Kandice Lague, Jonathan Moniz, David Oliveira, Keith Pallatroni, Michael Silvestri, Brandon Southworth and Jordan Torres.

The class earned a guidon, a special marker used throughout history in the military and law enforcement to signify unit designation. The guidon is awarded by the training staff based on the class’ teamwork and togetherness; not every class receives the honor of carrying a guidon to graduation like this class did.

Academy Director Lt. Robert Matos thanked BCSO leadership and his team in the training division, including Sgt. Moses Isidoro and Correction Officers Amanda Custodio and Robert Lavalette, while urging the graduates to reach for new heights in their law enforcement careers.

“Just remember as you go through your career to choose a goal and strive for it,” he said. “Whether it’s a K9 officer, investigator or even in the training division, keep striving to that goal.”

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office has openings in the next Correction Officers Academy, which is slated to start in January 2021. Anyone interested can visit http://www.bcso-ma.us/employment.htm for a job description and a downloadable application. For more information about joining the BCSO team, please contact Human Resources Director Caitlin DeMelo at caitlindemelo@bcso-ma.org or 508-995-6400 ext. 2344.

By Chris Van Buskirk
State House News Service

Rahimah Rahim, the mother of Usaamah Rahim, said her son was a good man and cared about other people.

“He cared about the people that were homeless, the people who didn’t have shelter, the people who didn’t have food, and he reached in his pockets many times to dole out money for people who didn’t have what he had,” she said Wednesday at a rally in front of the State House.

Usaamah Rahim was shot and killed by a Boston police officer and an FBI agent in 2015 after police officials say he approached officers with a knife. Rahimah Rahim attended the rally organized by Mass. Action Against Police Brutality to call on Gov. Charlie Baker to assign a special prosecutor to reopen all past cases of police brutality in the state.

Among the cases the group wants a special prosecutor to investigate are the deaths of Massachusetts residents Terrence Coleman, Eurie Stamps, Usaamah Rahim, Burrell Ramsey-White, and Juston Root.

The protest comes just over three weeks after police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake, whose severe injuries furthered nationwide protests calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality. The protest on the State House steps Wednesday was held in solidarity with Blake’s shooting.

Rahimah Rahim said she raised her five children to be respectful citizens and to look out for other people who didn’t have the privileges they had.

“How many other mothers have to lose their children to this brutality? How many more of us have to lose our relatives, our families? It’s genocide,” Rahimah Rahim said. “We cry out as Americans about what’s going on in other countries. We cry for the people who are being persecuted there. What about us? Cry out for us. Cry out for us.”

At a press conference earlier in the day, Baker said he didn’t know if he had the authority to reopen closed cases.

“It’s always been my impression that the state official who has the most latitude with respect to reopening cases is the attorney general,” he said. “And I do know the attorney general can choose to take cases that DAs either don’t take or aren’t interested in. I don’t know if the attorney general has the authority under existing law to reopen a case that’s been closed. And as I stand here, I don’t if I do either.”

Organizers of the rally said their effort had the support of nine families of men shot by police in the state, some of whom showed up to share their stories. Among them was Hope Coleman, the mother of Terrence Coleman.

Terrence Coleman, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot in 2016 by Boston police after his mother called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. Prosecutors allege he attacked personnel responding to the call with a knife.

“All I heard was two shots,” Hope Coleman said Wednesday. “I didn’t hear him holler.”

Brock Satter, co-founder of Mass. Action Against Police Brutality, started off the evening with a chant, “Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell.” As he called on Baker to appoint a special prosecutor, Satter responded to the governor’s comments from earlier in the day.

“He was under some question about whether he had the power to reopen the cases. So who knows? Who knows in government how to run it?” he said. “But what you and I know is what needs to happen is that when police commit crimes, they need to be held accountable for the crimes they commit. So they need to figure it out … whoever has the power, they need to figure it out.”

Jennifer Root Bannon, whose brother Juston Root was killed by police in February, filed a wrongful death suit in U.S. District Court in Boston on Aug. 10. Police shot at Root 31 times after he led them on a chase from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston into Brookline with a replica gun. The six Boston and State Police officers involved in the shooting were cleared by prosecutors.

On Wednesday, Root Bannon called for an end to police brutality and for officials to hold accountable officers who break the law. She said the departments need mandatory independent investigations by an impartial department for incidents involving deadly and excessive force.

“Not only here in Massachusetts but across this country. Today, the message I want to make very clear: law enforcement cannot, I say cannot, be investigating themselves. Continuing on this current path will never bring about justice,” she said. “Gov. Baker, I’m going to ask you again, reopen my brother’s case for an independent investigation. Reveal the truth.”

Two pieces of legislation to reform police accountability and curb use of force tactics remain in conference committee, where lawmakers negotiate differences between bills behind closed doors. The Senate first passed its version on July 14 and the House followed suit with similar legislation on July 24.

The bills largely do the same thing — set up an independent body to certify and decertify police officers in the state. The bills also limit the use of chokeholds and tear gas, and restrict qualified immunity from civil lawsuits for police officers accused of alleged misconduct.

New Bedford, Massachusetts– The New Bedford Health Department has issued fines to Iglesia Pentecostal Levantate y Anda totaling $1,800 after an isolated outbreak of COVID-19 caused by the independent storefront church’s failure to comply with the City’s COVID-19 regulations and protections for its residents.

According to the New Bedford Mayor’s office, the 1710 Acushnet Avenue church has been fined $1,800 for failure to comply with workplace safety standards under the state’s guidelines for places of worship, exceeding its occupancy limit, failure to notify the Health Department of an employee testing positive for COVID-19, failure to communicate with employees regarding symptomatic employees, and failure to report COVID-19 at the location to the Health Department.

Violation orders were issued Wednesday, September 9, to Jose Martinez, the pastor of the Iglesia Pentecostal Levantate y Anda in the amount of $1,800.

Earlier this year, Mayor Jon Mitchell and the Board of Health announced emergency orders to keep employees safe at their place of work, and to outline reporting requirements of COVID-19 in the workplace. The orders include strong measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces.

Businesses will be subject to fines for failure to comply with the City’s orders, including failure to protect employees and failure to notify the Health Department of an outbreaks. The orders can be found on New Bedford’s COVID-19 webpage: https://www.newbedford-ma.gov/health-department/covid-19-news-2/.

Governor Charlie Baker announced yesterday that the communities in Massachusetts that are at high risk for COVID-19 jumped from 7 to 13 in just one week. The common theme among most of these cities where the virus is persisting is that they are poorer, smaller cities that have struggled to contain the virus.

“In a handful of cities we’ve been focusing on our efforts with local officials to deal with dangerously high levels of transmission there,” Baker said.

Prior to yesterday’s announcement, the 7 towns and cities listed as high-risk were Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere, and Winthrop. New Bedford was elevated to high-risk joining the other new communities added to the list, Chatham, Dedham, Lynnfield, Methuen, and Monson.

High-risk for COVID-19 is classified as having a daily average of eight or more COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the two-week period ending Saturday.

Illustrating that fluidity of these risk evaluations, Gov. Baker added that 47 municipalities have successfully reduced their cases and improved their assessments.

The only positive news to come out of the press conference was that the weekly average positive test rate for the state dropped back to a record low of 0.8%.

Currently, the state records the total number of confirmed and probable cases to 123,143 and the number of fatalities to 9,146.

Massachusetts DPH photo.

New Bedford High School Evening Extension Program is now conducting registration by appointment for the fall 2020 trimester. Call 508-997-4511, ext. 33550 Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. or, 508-997-4511, ext. 2304 Monday and Wednesday between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to schedule an appointment or for additional information. Class seating is limited. Late registrations accepted through September 23, 2020.

If you are new to the program and want to earn a New Bedford High School Evening Extension credential, please bring an official high school transcript and your MCAS scores to your appointment.

For more information, visit the NBHS Evening Extension webpage: http://adulted.newbedfordschools.org/