Hey, there! Log in / Register

South Boston state senator denounces degenerates, 'vidiots' and East Boston in push against proposed Andrew Square tavern

The entire hearing. See below for Collins's statement.

Update: Collins offers conditional support.

State Sen. Nick Collins (D-1st Suffolk) unleashed a barrage of invective yesterday against plans by the owner of the Quiet Few tavern in East Boston's Jeffries Point to open a similar tavern at 400 Dorchester St. in South Boston's Andrew Square, calling it a potential hellhole catering to the very sort of losers the neighborhood doesn't need - despite testimony from people in Andrew Square they can't wait for it to open.

At a hearing before the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing, Josh Weinstein, who hopes to open Small Victories in early April, said he is planning a convivial place with a photo booth, shuffleboard and a weekly trivia night to replicate what he said was the Quiet Few's role as a neighboring gathering spot, an extension of people's living rooms, where residents could catch up with local happenings and news and just relax and have a bit of fun.

He said he would like to have a DJ for Sunday brunches - imagine soul 45s at 2 p.m. on a Sunday - and that while he was seeking a 2 a.m. closing time, he said he would agree to a 1 a.m. end of any live entertainment; that the 2 a.m. closing time would let him offer the tavern for private events or for occasional other events, such ringing in the New Year.

Through an aide, City Councilor Ed Flynn (South Boston) supported the proposal for an entertainment license - based in large part on the vote of approval the Andrew Square Civic Association gave Weinstein - to go along with the liquor license the Boston Licensing Board agreed in January to let him buy. Through an aide, City Councilor Gina Coletta (East Boston) vouched for Weinstein and the Quiet Few - as did the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association.

But Collins went ballistic, warning that if the Mayor's Office approves the entertainment license, it will be sorry.

"Exhibit A was Sunday," he said, referring to what happened in South Boston during and after the parade. "We have a whole youthful society who does nothing but go on dating apps and play video games. That's the last thing we need. We need people socializing in these establishments, not playing video games and being degenerates."

Even after Weinstein said he would not have a DJ playing late at night, Collins blasted the idea of having a DJ playing late at night, because what South Boston really needs is live music and socialization.

"The last thing we need are more vidiots," he said.

And he continued: The last thing South Boston needs is a bunch of people from East Boston telling it what to do. That's downright "offensive," he said. "I'm taken aback that East Boston thinks it's their obligation to weigh in on behalf of a business owner in East Boston for a proposal in South Boston."

And for somebody who claims to care about South Boston so much, Weinstein never once contacted Collins to arrange to kiss his ring and win his approval, he said.

"I have no idea who this is," he said. "The only person I know is Josh Weinstein is a character from Entourage, which is a show from the 2000s. I never met this individual, I have no idea, as much as I'd like take on faith what people in East Boston have to say, I love the community of East Boston, but the fact they're coming to weigh in on behalf of a project outside of their district speaks volumes. ... I think it's a bad idea, it's a bad precedent that we're having organizations and elected officials from other parts of the city weighing in on what's good for the neighborhood of South Boston."

MOCAL Chairwoman Kathleen Joyce - who also chairs the licensing board that had earlier granted Weinstein the right to buy a liquor license - told Collins that part of her job is to ensure a proposed tavern operator has the "proper character and fitness" and so she welcomes testimony from people who have actually worked with the individual up for a license.

Collins told her to give him a break, said that he's been around for 14 years and has never once met this Weinstein guy and so he remains opposed to creating a new location for all of the "hopped up" degenerates to go when all the other bars close and that the board should, to use a vidiot term, "hit the pause" and require this Weinstein fellow to have meetings in the neighborhood.

But, sure, "go right ahead" and approve a license, he told Joyce. "You're going to own everything in the aftermath."

Lydia Polaski, the South Boston liaison for the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, noted that the Andrew Square Civic Association overwhelmingly voted to approve Weinstein's proposal at a Sept. 25 meeting, in fact, the group called it "a big victory for Andrew Square."

Collins snapped at Polaski, too, grilling her on whether she was on the group's board when that vote was taken, even though, unlike under past mayors, ONS no longer takes a position on licensing or zoning issues before city boards. Polaski denied ever serving on the Andrew Square board, saying that, as a local resident, she had been active in local issues.

Andrew Square Civic Association President Linda Zablocki, though, strongly supported Weinstein. "We have a lot of faith in this young man," and especially appreciated his willingness to compromise on hours, especially because an earlier proposal for the site was for a 24-hour diner, which she said "would have been absolute mayhem in this area." And she said she appreciated hearing only good things from Jeffries Point about Weinstein's bar there, because it helped convince her and other group members that he had a good record and would be a good neighbor.

"We're trying to clean up the area," she said. "Andrew Square needs this."

John Piekutoski, who lives on Jenkins Street, agreed with Collins, saying nobody on his street belongs to the civic association and that Weinstein should be doing more outreach before going ahead.

But another resident, Mary Moore, said she was so moved to hear Weinstein's description of a true neighborhood watering hole.

"I almost cried when I heard Josh say the things he did about what this tavern will be for our community," she said. "If you have been to Andrew Square, you know there's nowhere, literally nowhere, that needs it more than we do - an extension of our living room, a place we can go and gather as a community, something to lift our spirits. Josh used the word 'fun,' my goodness, Andrew Square needs some fun and life and a place to go. I couldn't be more thrilled. I'm happy East Boston gives me hope it will work similarly for us."

She added, "Goodness knows we need to turn a corner."

As is their custom, Joyce and MOCAL Director Rebecca Phu took no vote on the proposal; Joyce said she would issue a written decision later.

Collins blasts the proposal:


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Judge won't flush suit against Stop & Shop over moistened wipes

A federal judge ruled today that a Beverly man can go to trial in his lawsuit against Stop & Shop for selling flushable wipes that may not actually be flushable.

US District Court Judge Indira Talwani said Mark Schotte had advanced enough evidence that the supermarket chain needs to be held to account to warrant making his case to a jury.

Stop & Shop argued that Schotte's complaint, in which he is seeking to become lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, failed to prove that studies showing many flushable wipes in fact could clog pipes if they were actually flushed did not specifically list their products and that, in any case, any idiot could see from the packaging that their wipes were not, in fact, flushable.

Talwani, however, wiped up those arguments.

[A]though the cited articles do not pertain to the brands of wipes at issue here, on a full factual record, it is plausible that Plaintiff could show the Wipes behave like those referenced in the Complaint.

In other words, a jury can hear the case and make up its own mind.

And, she continued, the tiny "†" that would lead a consumer from the large "flushable" on the front of the Stop & Shop packages to tiny type on the bottom or back of them that says, in considerable detail that the the wipes might not be flushable in all circumstances is hardly the "clear cross-symbol" that would quickly clear up any confusion about the word "flushable" that the chain seems to think it is.

[A] factfinder here could reasonably find that the disclaimer on the back of the Wipes packaging is neither sufficiently prominent nor unambiguous and, instead, that the small-print lists would not be noticed. And a factfinder could also find that even if the lists were noticed, the disclaimers would require consumers to have in-depth knowledge of the sewer or septic system they are using, its plumbing history, as well as "local rules" - not just for a toilet in their residence or office but any toilet they may wish to dispose of the Wipes in. ... A reasonable jury could find the disclaimer so small and vague that it does not relieve Defendant of any potential liability for its deceptive acts. Accordingly, despite Stop & Shop’s disclaimers on the packaging for the wipes, Plaintiff’s Complaint states a plausible deceptive act.

And is there a dispute over just what "flushable" means? If so, she cited a 2021 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston on a similar topic (whether "hazelnut-creme coffee" actually had to have hazelnut in it to deserve the name):

[T]he First Circuit has recognized that whether a term with multiple, contradictory definitions or interpretations has the capacity to mislead is best left to "six jurors, rather than three judges, [to] decide on a full record." (finding that plaintiff plausibly stated a 93A claim where “Hazelnut Crème” and “Freshly Ground 100% Arabica
Coffee” were displayed on the front label of a coffee containing no actual hazelnut). As such, Plaintiff has plausibly alleged that Stop & Shop engaged in deceptive acts or practices for the purpose of bringing a Chapter 93A claim.

Talwani also rejected Stop & Shop's claim that Schotte had not proven any economic harm from the wipes he purchased at his local supermarket. She said he had shown he paid a premium to buy the moistened wipes over boring old dry toilet paper.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Some Newton homes with pro-Israel signs in front have rocks thrown through windows, city says


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Burger rage: Worker at Dorchester Burger King wields knife in confrontation with patron, police say

Boston Police report arresting a worker at the Burger King at Washington Street and Columbia Road in Dorchester for the way he allegedly used a knife to try to have it his way in a dispute with a patron Thursday morning. Read more.

Thu, 03/21/2024 - 10:21
Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Boston murders, shootings down dramatically

CommonWealth Beacon reports Boston has had just two murders so far this year, compared to at ten for the same period last year - and that the number of gunshot victims is also down, by 64%.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Court orders new review of possible juror bias in Tsarnaev case; says he will spend the rest of his life in prison regardless, but might be spared execution

A federal appeals court in Boston concluded today that a lower-court judge needs to consider whether two jurors in the trial of convicted Marathon murderer Dzhokhar Tsarnaev might have been biased - which could lead to a new sentence in which Tsarnaev spends the rest of his life in prison, rather than being executed for what he and his brother did.

The re-examination of the jurors will only affect the "penalty phase" of his 2015 trial, but not the underling guilty verdicts on more than two dozen counts, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston said in its ruling today. The court had earlier lifted Tsarnaev's death sentence, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that he should die.

In its ruling today, the appeals court said the judge in Tsarnaev's trial should have spent more time probing whether two jurors might have had reasons to deny they had posted anything untoward about Tsarnaev or the trial on social media while jury selection was still going on:

When Tsarnaev presented the district court with plausible claims of juror bias, the court was obliged to investigate those claims. And we conclude that the district court's investigation fell short of what was constitutionally required. This conclusion on its own does not require vacatur of Tsarnaev's death sentence and a new penalty- phase proceeding. Rather, we remand this case to the district court to determine whether either juror should have been stricken for cause on account of bias. If and only if the district court's investigation reveals that either juror should have been stricken for cause on account of bias, Tsarnaev will be entitled to a new penalty-phase proceeding. And even then, we once again emphasize that the only question in any such proceeding will be whether Tsarnaev will face execution; regardless of the outcome, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The court rejected his lawyers' arguments that the trial should never have been held in the city where he and his brother set bombs that killed three and injured scores during the 2013 Boston Marathon and across the river from where the two murdered an MIT police officer in their escape attempt that ultimately ended with one brother running over the other before being discovered hiding in a boat in Watertown, saying pre-trial surveys had shown the Boston area had "several million people" who remained open to not simply demanding death for the remaining brother.

That same data also showed that public awareness of the case and attitudes concerning it in, for example, Western Massachusetts, or even New York City, were not materially different than they were in Boston.

Also:

Tsarnaev's contention that Boston jurors would view the bombings as an attack of Boston qua Boston overlooked the fact that, as he himself wrote, his intended victim was America; i.e., jurors in any venue in the United States could view the bombings as an attack on their polity.

At issue for the appeals court were two specific jurors:

After the district court provisionally qualified Jurors 138 and 286, but before the parties exercised their peremptory strikes, Tsarnaev's counsel discovered postings on those jurors' social media pages regarding the bombings and the district court proceedings. Tsarnaev's counsel moved to strike the jurors for cause. In the alternative, his counsel asked that the district court permit further questioning of the jurors in light of the discovery of their social media postings. The district court denied these requests. In so doing, it did not adequately explore Tsarnaev's claims of juror bias. We therefore remand to the district court to conduct such an investigation.

It turns out that Juror 138 had posted on Facebook he was going in for jury selection in the case, filled out a lengthy questionnaire on his views, was told in very clear terms not to discuss the case with anybody while he was under consideration and then discussed jury selection with his friends in that Facebook discussion. Some 18 days later, the judge questioned him on whether he used Facebook:

THE COURT: Do you comment on public affairs or anything like that?
[JUROR 138]: Yeah, I see what my friends are doing and comment on that.
THE COURT: Anybody commenting about this trial?
[JUROR 138]: No.

The justices concluded the judge should have probed the man's online activity more carefully for possible bias:

It is one thing to have friends who say how to decide a case. It is quite another to engage in communication about the case after being instructed not to do so, and then feel compelled to cover up those communications when asked point-blank by the court.

Juror 286, meanwhile, had tweeted and re-tweeted extensively on the day of the bombings and for several days and months after, posting the sort of things lots of Bostonians were tweeting - the pain and anguish, the joy at Tsarnaev's capture and, later, over Martin Richard's sister singing the national anthem at Fenway.

On January 5, 2015, Juror 286 showed up at the courthouse and completed her juror questionnaire. She disclosed that she used Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In response to the question asking "[i]f you have commented on this case in a letter to the editor, in an online comment or post, or on a radio talk show, please describe," she answered "don't believe I have."

The court continued:

The posts themselves are not particularly strong indicators of bias. Many of them were not Juror 286's own words but rather retweets of what others have said. And it would be natural for Juror 286 -- like many others whose city had been the location of such a horrific event as the marathon bombings -- to feel scared while the situation was developing, to stay abreast of the activities during the aftermath, and to share in a sense of community pride and resilience in the years following. Again, the critical issue here is not the posts themselves but instead the reason for their nondisclosure. If Juror 286 intentionally answered the question dishonestly, thinking that discovery of her posts referring to Tsarnaev as a "piece of garbage" and repeatedly invoking the "Boston Strong" spirit could disqualify her from serving as a juror, then that would be a powerful indicator of bias.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

One does not simply vaguebook Sam Montaño

The other night, state Rep. Sam Montaño (D-15th Suffolk) hosted a meeting at English High School to talk about how to consider Boston Medical Center's plans to turn Shattuck Hospital into a large recovery center possibly featuring several hundred housing units in addition to a rebuilt hospital building.

And boy was former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson pissed - not just at BMC, which both supporters and opponents agree is doing a terrible job communicating with the community, the Globe reports - but with Montaño, whose name she so loathed she couldn't even mention it in a Facebook rant:

So last night was a 1st on a few fronts. (1) I attended a community meeting at English High School where the topic was Shattuck Hosp Plan in Franklin Park. In my 40+ years of community activism, I've never had to go to another neighborhood to talk about a proposed project around the corner from my house! (2) The State Rep host couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights so the auditorium was nearly dark! (3) Though in a public school, the State Rep said it was a private meeting and asked a Black man to leave. He refused. She threatened to call the cops. Cops were there 5 min later. And this was in the first 10-15 minutes of the meeting. Things didn't go well from there. But WOW! Is this some new jack politics where elected officials have meetings about things happening in their colleague's districts and don't even invite them?

Surprise- The Rep presented Boston Medical Center's plan to build an 851-unit addiction village in Franklin Park. As I said, it didn't go well.

Montaño fired back today:

Hi! I’m the Rep she’s talking about. Last I checked I live closer to the shattuck than she does, unless her adddress with official state files is incorrect. Also I specifically did not say I would call the police on Shawn Nelson who was interrupting the meeting by yelling. I merely sat down and said I would wait. The lights were not off, just dim because we were presenting with a projector and multiple meetings have happened there without the ability to control the lighting. This meeting was not about the project, just to set the working point from which we would advance to discuss community process. This meeting was specifically to talk with constituents I represent about a project where I literally represent the closet abutter to the project but the project sits in land that is not in the boundaries of my district. Land doesn’t vote, people do. Happy to have this convo on the phone but it was started here and when I talk about others it’s not a blind item

Wait, did she say Shawn Nelson? The guy police had to tackle when he ran full-steam at the mayor in Dorchester, who had to be separated from City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune by a phalanx of Boston cops in Hyde Park and who
threw a woman against a wall overlooking a two-story drop at City Hall? Yeah, that guy, who had calmed down enough to come in second to last in the at-large Council race last year (beating out fellow anti-vaxxer screamer Catherine Vitale).


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Pioneering reporter Sarah-Ann Shaw dies, 90

WBZ reports on the life and death of Sarah-Ann Shaw, a Roxbury native who became the city's first Black woman TV reporter.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Aggro tip-jar thieves hurl coffee at cop's face in fracas at South Bay Starbucks, police say

Boston Police report arresting two people they say were busy busting up the Starbucks at 36 District Ave. in the fancy new section of the South Bay mall this morning when a detail cop tried to intervene only to come under attack from fists and a thrown cup of hot coffee. Read more.

Thu, 03/21/2024 - 08:54
Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

South End man who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm - and manslaughter - arrested on charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm

An AARP mailing to a 51-year-old South End man with a criminal record dating to the 1990s helped investigators tie him to the loaded gun and separate box of ammo they found in a Harrison Archway apartment in February while searching for another man believed to be a Heath Street Gang member. Read more.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Mass. General reports first ever transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney into a person

Massachusetts General reports today that on Saturday, its surgeons transplanted a "genetically-edited pig kidney" into a man living with end-stage kidney disease - the first time such a procedure has been done.

The pig kidney was provided by eGenesis of Cambridge from a pig donor that was genetically-edited using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans. Additionally, scientists inactivated porcine endogenous retroviruses in the pig donor to eliminate any risk of infection in humans. Over the past five years, MGH and eGenesis have conducted extensive collaborative research, with the findings published in Nature in 2023.

The surgery was done under a federal "compassionate use" for experimental procedures; Mass General and eGenesis say that if the process does work well, it could eventually lead to a supply of organs for patients who now sometimes endure long waits for human transplants.

The hospital reports the recipient, Richard ‘Rick’ Slayman of Weymouth, is doing well and is expected to be discharged soon. In addition to the new kidney, he is also getting new immune-suppressing drugs.

“The real hero today is the patient, Mr. Slayman, as the success of this pioneering surgery, once deemed unimaginable, would not have been possible without his courage and willingness to embark on a journey into uncharted medical territory. As the global medical community celebrates this monumental achievement, Mr. Slayman becomes a beacon of hope for countless individuals suffering from end-stage renal disease and opens a new frontier in organ transplantation,” said Joren C. Madsen, MD, DPhil, Director of the MGH Transplant Center.

Slayman had received a more traditional human kidney transplant from a cadaver in 2018, but it started to fail last year, forcing him back onto dialysis - which caused complications that required twice-weekly visits to the hospital for "de-clotting and surgical revisions:"

My nephrologist, Dr. Winfred Williams, MD and the Transplant Center team suggested a pig kidney transplant, carefully explaining the pros and cons of this procedure. I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Citizen complaint of the day: Not Art really not art now

A concerned citizen filed a 311 complaint about the graffiti on the remains of a light pole at Rutherford Avenue and Essex Street in Charlestown, thoughtfully circling the offending graffiti to make it easier to find, although without any indication whether the objection is to the original "NOT ART" stencil, the additions that make it somehow even worse, if possibly funnier, or both.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Dead trains at stations that begin with A leave Red Line commuters going oy vey

The Red Line was all bollixed up this morning due to a train that died at Andrew at the start of the morning commute and then another train that died at Alewife about a half hour later, unless it was the same train that the T somehow revived at Andrew and the train made it to Alewife then died again, the T did not specify.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Codman Square group remains fed up with fast food

The Dorchester Reporter reports the Codman Square Neighborhood Council voted to oppose plans to turn the Oriental House Chinese place into a Boston Fried Chicken place in part because the square already has enough fast food, in the form of a McDonald's and a KFC. The group had earlier worked to keep a Popeyes out. The proposed operator objected to being thrown in with the Popeyes, though, because he planned to also offer "gyros, hamburgers, and salads."


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Man sought as swastika scrawler at Central Square T stop

Surveillance photo by TPD.

Transit Police report they are looking for a guy they say took time out of his no doubt busy day to scrawl swastikas inside the Central Square Red Line station, around 5 a.m. on March 11.

If he looks familiar, contact detectives at 617-222-1050, anonymously if you prefer.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Massachusetts investigating insurer for possible Medicare overcharging

The state Attorney General's office is looking at whether United Healthcare, which offers senior care option plans to Medicare-eligible Massachusetts seniors, has been billing the state for a level of care some of its subscribers don't need.

Disclosure of the investigation comes in a suit filed today in Suffolk Superior Court, in which the Attorney General's office is asking a judge to order the insurer to hand over documentation the office says it needs for its probe under the Massachusetts False Claims Act.

The company is also under investigation for possible anti-trust issues by federal regulators.

According to the state's complaint, at issue is how much of a set monthly fee the state pays the insurer for a certain level of basic care, depending on which of three levels a patient is placed at: Able to live completely independently, needs some help with daily tasks or needs so much help they might be better off in a nursing home. The state pays a higher amount per patient in the last category than the second, and more per patient in the second than in the first.

For subscribers in the Boston area, a Level 1 rating means the state will reimburse the insurer $328.36 a month, while a Level 3 rating means a monthly stipend of $2371.40 a month, according to the Attorney General's complaint.

The Attorney General has reviewed audit reports prepared by the Office of Long Term Services and Supports regarding United. The OLTTS audit found that, in a significant portion of the records reviews, United's documentation failed to support its assertion that the MassHealth member required Level 3 care.

In a series of four formal "civil investigative demands" dating to 2022, the state has asked United to produce data and text messages related to how it assigned subscribers needing the most intensive home care, but the company has failed to produce most of the requested information and has not even filed motions seeking to block the state demands, according to the complaint.

As one example, the state says that last November, it asked the insurer for 42 months of internal chat messages related to the company's decisions to place specific subscribers into the most intensive group, but that the company handed over just two months of messages.

The documents not produced by United contain information that is crucial to the MFCA investigation.

The state says it offered United the ability to provide data on a rolling basis rather than all at once, but that at this point, it's no longer willing to negotiate:

United, a national health insurer operating private and public health plans across the country, has not advanced any practical or legal reason for its delay, such that the only plausible reason remaining for its refusal to provide responsive delays is strategic delays.

The state asks a judge to order the company to provide all the requested data and documents within 21 days.

Complete complaint (2.3M PDF).
Legal memorandum to support complaint (770k PDF)


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Hyde Park man admits he threatened to carve up interracial couple for the crime of existing

A man who lives in Hyde Park on the Dedham line pleaded guilty today to charges he used Facebook Messenger to hurl racial insults at an interracial couple - and to threaten to murder and dismember them should they go to authorities, the US Attorney's office reports.

Stephen DeBerardinis, 46, formally pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting in interstate commerce threats to injure a person, one count of tampering with a witness and victim by intimidation, threats, and corrupt persuasion and one count of tampering with a witness and victim by harassment, the US Attorney's office says.

US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs scheduled sentencing for June 10.

DeBerardinis, who tried to run an online knife and brass-knuckle shop, has been behind bars since his arrest in September, 2021 as a possible threat to society, following his indictment by a federal grand jury.

According to the indictment, DeBerardinis used Facebook Messenger on Jan. 6, 2021 to send racial epithets to a White woman who had posted photos on Facebook of her and her newly engaged Black fiance. The indictment says that DeBerardinis did not know either the woman or the man, but saw the photos because he was Facebook friends with some of the woman's friends.

The woman showed the messages to her fiance, who used her Facebook Messenger account to try to call DeBerardinis. He did not answer the call, but replied a minute later in text: "DON'T FUCKING CALL ME!!!!! YOUR WHITE TRASH AND A DIRTY COCK SUCKER."

Not long after, he sent the woman another obscenity-laden message, to which she replied, "Don't worry, I'm reporting you to the cops." According to the indictment, he replied with a graphic reading "SNITCHES GET STITCHES" emblazoned with an image of brass knuckles. When the couple told him to leave them alone - and that they were reporting him to police, he answered:

Read up more on me lol ... you will see how me and my crew burn niggers alive. ... And white whores like you well.... get rape and killed THAN we cut off body parts and mail them to your family lol.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Council votes to prevent future inaugurations on Jan. 1, but not unanimously

The City Council voted 11-2 today to seek permission from the state legislature to change the date on which councilors and the mayor are inaugurated following an election from "the first Monday" in January to "the first weekday after the second day in January."

Councilor Brian Worrell (Dorchester) proposed the change after this year's inauguration of councilors fell on Jan. 1, which he argued presented an unfair burden on city employees who had to work on a national holiday, in particular, public-safety officers getting off First Night duty. The measure, if approved by the legislature and signed by the governor, would take effect in January, 2026

Councilors Ed Flynn (South Boston, South End, Chinatown, Downtown) and Erin Murphy (at large) voted against. They did not break into a rendition of Tradition or otherwise explain their opposition.

The proposal needs state approval because the first-Monday requirement, in effect since 1948, is part of the city charter, which is effectively a state law that applies only to the city of Boston.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Former T cop gets 4 to 6 for raping two women while on duty

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall today sentenced former Transit Police officer Shawn McCarthy to 4 to 6 years in state prison following his conviction last week on charges he concluded a joy ride he gave two women in his cruiser in 2012 by raping them.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Dueling citizen complaints of the day: Rat holes in North End dog park

Death to rats - and any dogs that eat the things (from second complaint).

At 8:41 a.m., a concerned citizen filed a 311 complaint asking the city to do something about the rats digging holes along a wall of the dog park on Snow Hill Street in the North End.

At 9:13 a.m, another concerned citizen filed a 311 complaint about the city's apparent solution: Filling the holes with poisoned rat pellets:

Also POISON for dogs!!!! Please come and remove these green poison pellets asap!


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Pages

Subscribe to Universal Hub RSS