Katie Lannan
State House News Service

Current high school sophomores, who missed their first chance to take the grade 10 English and math MCAs exams this spring amid COVID-19 school closures, will instead likely be given the tests this winter, as 11th graders, under a plan set to be discussed at a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting Tuesday afternoon.

In a memo to board members, Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said administering the 10th grade tests to 11th graders next school year would give members of the class of 2022 the ability to earn the competency determination (CD) required for high school graduation and to qualify for scholarships based on their test scores. The test schedule “will be announced shortly,” and officials “will work to balance the need to provide an opportunity to earn the CD with the uncertainties about school schedules and conditions next year,” the memo said.

Students in the class of 2023, who will be sophomores in the fall, will take their 10th grade tests in the spring, as is usual, and next year’s seniors will have two opportunities for English and math re-tests if they have not yet earned their competency determinations, Riley wrote. “We recognize that the situation for next school year may change depending on the evolving nature of the pandemic,” he wrote. “We will reassess as needed and keep the Board and the public informed about any changes.”

The board plans to meet remotely at 2 p.m., and the agenda includes an update on action steps related to COVID-19. Riley has convened a 27-member working group to help develop “a K-12 summer and fall restart and recovery plan” after a spring of remote learning.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced UMass Dartmouth as one of four institutions selected as part of a Southern New England pilot regional fisheries studies project worth $1.1 million.

Scientists at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) have been awarded $278,592 to conduct fisheries surveys as part of the Bureau of Ocean Science Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) Regional Fisheries Studies to Guide Offshore Wind Development.

The Baker-Polito Administration, in partnership with the State of Rhode Island and the BOEM, announced grants worth $1.1 million to four institutions to support regional fisheries studies that will collect data vital to the ongoing development of the offshore wind industry in North America, according to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs press release.

“Collaborating with our state and federal partners to support these studies will help us better manage fisheries and natural habitats while positioning the offshore wind industry to stimulate economic development and deliver clean, affordable energy to Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker.

“The data collected through these regional studies will help inform offshore wind development, protect fisheries and marine wildlife, and ensure our fishing industry continues to thrive,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito.

The first-in-the-nation studies will conduct important research on recreational and commercial fisheries, seabed habitat, and comparable offshore wind policies in Europe. SMAST scientists will conduct towed net surveys for larval lobster and fish neuston (small fish organisms) throughout the wind energy areas. This 18-month study, led by Professor Kevin Stokesbury, will provide baseline information on the spatial and temporal distribution of species at their earliest life stage, during which they are transported by tides and currents.

“This project is an example of how our dedicated School for Marine Science and Technology faculty, staff and students are working hand-in-hand with the fishing industry and federal and state agencies to gather critical data necessary to advance the development of offshore wind in a manner that ensures the sustainability of important fisheries resources,” said SMAST Dean Steven Lohrenz.

INSPIRE Environmental, the University of Rhode Island, and the New Bedford Port Authority have also been awarded contracts as part of the project.

The initiative is sponsored and funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Read full press release here

The Freitas family who opened All Ranks Academy of Gymnastics five years ago have made the tough decision to close their doors for good.

The family-owned operation has exhausted every avenue of possibilities to keep the business open – one that has been a great source of joy for children and their parents alike. Because Governor Baker as closed most businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has meant an end to revenue sources for many. While chain stores like Walmart, Costco, A&P, et al have the financial resources and capital to survive – even receiving government “bail-outs” – that isn’t the case for many “mom & pops”
stores like All Ranks Academy of Gymnastics.

The saddest aspect of it all is that the Freitas’ had fulfilled a dream by opening up the gym – a dream that has been smashed and along with it all the families who took much enjoyment from gymnastics. Perhaps many of whom had dreams and aspirations to pursue the sport to an Olympic level.

In a Facebook post the family made the announcement along with a personal message to their clients’ families:

“To All Our All Ranks Academy Families ,

Coach Dustin and Coach Billie.”

In their 5 years of being open the Freitas’ had a positive impact on hundreds of families in the greater New Bedford area and beyond winning state championships and even competing at the national level.

A sad loss not only for the Freitas’ and the kids involved in their program but the entire community.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles announced it will be implementing further extensions to the renewal timelines for expiring professional credentials, and licenses and permits, including Commercial Driver’s Licenses and Commercial Driver’s License Permits (CDLs / CLPs).

While the RMV had previously announced 60-day extensions for most credentials, passenger plate registrations and inspection stickers expired or expiring in March and April, extensions will be pushed back even further.

These additional extensions under Governor Charlie Baker’s declaration of a State of Emergency the week of March 9th, replicate the ongoing measures the RMV is taking to reduce the need for customers to physically visit an RMV Service Center or one of its business partners’ facilities, allowing for ‘social-distancing’ by decreasing non-essential travel and customer volume.

The new changes to expiration extensions are now in effect as follows:

All non-commercial driver’s licenses and ID cards that expired or will expire in March, April, and May 2020, will now expire in September 2020. Driver’s licenses and ID cards that will expire in June have been extended until October 2020. Driver’s licenses and ID cards that will expire in July have been extended until November 2020. Driver’s licenses and ID cards that will expire in August have been extended until December 2020. The specific expiration date typically coincides with an individual’s birth date. Customers holding a license marked “Limited-Term” that has expired or will expire between March 1 and August 31, 2020 should visit Mass.gov/RMV for more information and to check the validity of their credential.

All learner’s permits expiring between March and August 2020 have been extended until December 2020. This extension will allow additional time for permit students and driving schools to complete in-car instruction and a road test when those functions are authorized to re-start safely.

All Massachusetts commercial driver licenses (CDLs) and commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) with an expiration date between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020, have been extended. CDLs and CLPs that expired or will expire in March, April, and May 2020, will now expire in September 2020 and do not need to be renewed at this time. CDLs and CLPs that will expire in June have been extended until October 2020. CDLs and CLPs that will expire in July have been extended until November 2020. CDLs and CLPs that will expire in August have been extended until December 2020. This does not apply to any commercial driver or permit holder whose privileges were suspended or revoked for traffic offenses.

All CDL Medical Certificates (Med Certs) that have expired or will expire after March 1st through May 31st have been extended until June 30th. All CDL Medical Certificates expiring between June 1 and August 31 have been extended until September 30, 2020. This will prevent license downgrades and elective medical visits, as well as alleviate demand on medical providers, during the State of Emergency.

The annual motor vehicle safety and emissions inspection stickers that expire on May 31, 2020 will now expire on July 31, 2020. This extension will also apply to those whose expired March 2020, and April 2020 inspection sticker was already extended by 60 days. Annual motor vehicle inspection stickers typically expire on the last date of the month. While automotive repair and maintenance facilities continue to remain open as “essential services” and inspection stations may operate at their discretion, these annual inspections do not need to occur at this time.

All passenger plate registrations that will expire in May 2020, will now expire in July 2020. This extension will also apply to those whose expired March 2020 and April 2020 passenger plate registration was already extended by 60 days. Registration renewals can continue to be performed online at Mass.Gov/RMV during this time. Customers seeking to do so in-person will not be able to make an appointment and should delay their visit to a Service Center at this time.

“At about 7:10 PM on Sunday May 24, 2020, officers assigned to District A-1 (Downtown) arrested Daniel Lucey, 40, of Boston on multiple charges while on patrol in the area of the Boston Common. Officers were approached by several concerned citizens who stated that they had observed the suspect lighting fire to an American Flag and throwing it onto the roof of an unoccupied Boston Police prisoner transport wagon which was parked near the fountain inside the park.

Officers quickly responded and stopped the suspect who stated that he had burned the flag and thrown it atop the police vehicle as a form of protest. Officers noted that the suspect was in possession of several other flags which appeared to be similar to the ones which are planted in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument over Memorial Day weekend to commemorate the Massachusetts service members who have given their lives in defense of the United States of America. While speaking to the officers, the suspect then proceeded to spit at one of them, with saliva striking the officer’s shoe. The suspect was then placed in custody on scene.

Daniel Lucey will appear in Boston Municipal Court on charges of Disorderly Conduct, Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Malicious Destruction of Property and Malicious Destruction of Historical Monuments.”-Boston Police Department.

Katie Lannan
State House News Service

New state guidance allows for high schools to hold in-person, outdoor graduation ceremonies starting July 19, with certain safety precautions in place and as long as public health data around COVID-19 allows the state to continue along its reopening plan.

Graduation ceremonies held between now and July 18 are to “be held virtually or in extremely limited other circumstances following safety protocols (e.g., car parades),” according to the guidelines. Schools have been physically closed since March and will remain so throughout the rest of the school year, which has resulted in cancellation or postponement of many events associated with high school graduations.

The minimum standards for in-person graduations later in the summer include limiting attendance to graduates and their immediate family members, with pre-registration required, and prohibiting hugging or hand-shaking during a ceremony that “should be kept as brief as possible.” Venues must be cleaned prior to the ceremony, which can only be held in an unconfined outdoor space. All attendees would be required to wear masks, except for children under the age of 2 and people with medical conditions, though speakers could remove their masks during their remarks.

Gov. Charlie Baker’s office on Friday announced plans for a June 9 virtual high school commencement ceremony that will feature remarks from Baker, members of the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox and Celtics, actor Steve Carell and others, plus a Boston Pops Orchestra performance. In a message to school and district leaders, Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley also highlighted additional ways to celebrate the class of 2020, including a rotating display of photos on his department’s website.

“As graduation time approaches, please encourage your high school community, particularly teachers, to share highlights about the graduating class on social media with the hashtag #ThatsMyStudentMA and tag the DESE account at @MASchoolsK12 on Twitter or @MassachusettsDESE on Facebook,” Riley wrote.

Michael P. Norton
State House News Service

Responding to a Columbia University disease model suggesting tens of thousands of lives could have been saved if social distancing had been implemented a week or two earlier, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that data show that “government matters” and ripped the Trump administration’s leadership during the COVID-19 crisis and the weeks leading up to it.

Warren, who is under consideration as Joe Biden’s running mate, said the Trump administration had done a poor job of stockpiling personal protective equipment.

“If the Trump administration had started planning for this crisis back in January, we wouldn’t be in this mess today, and lives would have been saved and our economy would be in better shape,” Warren, who lost her brother to the coronavirus, told Jon Keller of WBZ-TV on Sunday morning. “But it takes planning, and it takes a smart, thoughtful, science-informed, aggressive response. Back in January, the Trump administration was ordering masks for themselves, but not for anybody else around the country … When people were calling and saying, ‘This crisis is coming. Can we help?’ The answer was no. And that has been the position of the Trump administration all along. It has been to deny the problem, and not have effective leadership, and I think every time we go back and analyze where we’ve come from to this point, we see that what the Trump administration has done has cost people lives, and has cost our economy – a lot of, a lot of, a lot of harm to people.”

Trump has defended his administration’s virus response and called for economic reopenings to bring back jobs. Warren declined to weigh in on whether Gov. Charlie Baker was moving too quickly to reopen the state’s economy. Reopening, she said, is going to be “totally based” on COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and personal protective equipment availability. “And then every step we take, you just have to keep collecting the numbers,” she said. “And we’re going to, you know, going have to learn as we go along in this. But the point is to make an informed decision.”

“Last Thursday we reported on our Air Wing’s assistance, by making numerous water drops, in suppressing a forest fire that was encroaching on some houses in the town of Deerfield. But for two of our flight crews, the work wasn’t done after that.

Around 5:25 p.m. Thursday, as MSP helicopters Air 1 and Air 2 were en route from western Massachusetts to their Plymouth base after assuring in the Bambi bucket operations in Deerfield, the crews observed another forest fire in Norton, close to the Mansfield Municipal Airport. Thick smoke and flames were visible.

The MSP Air Wing established communications with Norton Police and Fire. By that time firefighters had been working at the scene for more than an hour.

Air Wing Troopers offered assistance and began procedures for aerial firefighting operations (seen the accompanying photos). By 6:40 p.m. the MSP flight crews began dropping water on the fire. The water drops continued for approximately one hour, at which point the fire was under control and nearly extinguished. Both crews returned safely to Plymouth following the day’s second successful cooperative firefighting effort between multiple agencies.”

It’s a State Trooper’s most fundamental mission: to help others in a time of crisis and danger. Sometimes those in danger can not speak for themselves. And sometimes they are a different species.

So when Massachusetts State Trooper Jim Maloney came across some baby ducks who had fallen through the grate of a storm drain in the parking lot at Nahant Beach Saturday morning, he fulfilled that mission to help others with some assistance from our state and local partners.

It was about 9:20 a.m. when Trooper Maloney, who was on a dedicated patrol, observed eight ducklings trapped in the water under the heavy grate. The ducklings’ mother and one of their siblings – the only baby who had not fallen through the grate – were standing off at a short distance, because Momma would not leave her trapped babies.

Trooper Maloney called the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which runs the beach, and asked them to send someone with a crowbar. Eventually workers from DCR, Nahant’s Department of Public Works, and Lynn Animal Control arrived on scene. Trooper Tim Benedetto also arrived on scene.

Nahant DPW pried open the grate, and the Lynn Animal Control Officer fished the ducklings out the drain with a net. By this time their mother had moved into a grassy area near the drain to wait. The ducklings were placed in a cardboard box and Trooper Maloney put the box in his cruiser, with the heat on, to wait for the mother duck to come out of the brush to take her babies back.

At 10 a.m. Momma and the other baby emerged from the grass and brush and the babies were taken from the box and placed at the edge of the grass. The mother immediately went to them, and together she and her nine babies — the family fully reunited — walked back into the grass.

A small act amid the enormity of the ongoing health crisis, perhaps, but for one mother duck and her tiny babies, it made all the difference in the world.

A Dominican national previously residing in Haverhill pleaded guilty today to fentanyl distribution and illegal firearm possession, among other charges.

Domingo Garcia Suero, 55, pleaded guilty during a videoconference to five counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance, specifically fentanyl, unlawful possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, two counts of Social Security fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled sentencing for Sept. 22, 2020. Garcia Suero was arrested and charged in December 2017.

Garcia Suero filed applications with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to renew his driver’s license and with MassHealth to receive benefits. In both applications, Garcia Suero provided a name and Social Security number belonging to a United States citizen from Puerto Rico. On five occasions in 2017, Garcia Suero sold and possessed fentanyl for sale. During a search of Garcia Suero’s apartment following his arrest, law enforcement recovered a Colt, model Police Positive .38 caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number and six rounds of .38 caliber ammunition. Garcia Suero has two prior drug trafficking convictions and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl in excess of 40 grams provides for a minimum sentence of eight years and up to life in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of $8 million. The charge of felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of Social Security fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of two years to run consecutive to any other imposed sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; Brian Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Office; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Hemani of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.