In addition to banning the Pledge of Allegiance, Brookline's November 15 Town Meeting will consider fingerprinting ice cream truck drivers and banning the sale of tobacco at town drug stores. Should be a fun night. [Boston Globe] Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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Sunday was the 40th anniversary of the elimination of the Green Line's "A" trolley. [Boston Metro]
A fast-growing foreign weed has invaded Massachusetts, and you won't even want to hold less than an ounce of it. [Boston Herald]
A Berklee grad from Winchester won $350k on the "Don't Forget the Lyrics" TV game show. [Boston Globe]
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It's hot! Tomorrow too! [Boston Globe]
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Results tagged “saldimasi”
Former Speaker Sal DiMasi was sentenced to eight years in prison today by federal Judge Mark Wolf following his bribery and corruption conviction. Prosecutors wanted a 12-year term and DiMasi was seeking a three-year sentence. Judge Wolf did say federal guidelines call for 19-24 years for these crimes. On Thursday, he practically begged the court for mercy by saying "I appear before you today a broken man.’’ He wanted the court to focus on his record as a legislator. Judge Wolf did say DiMasi's life was “a great American story" prior to his corruption scandal.
Harvard says women who drink one or two alcoholic beverages a day will likely age without major illnesses, like cancer. [Boston Globe] You won't be seeing a casino near Gillette Stadium any time soon after selectmen voted 5-0 to reject a zoning change to allow gambling in town. Residents spoke out against casinos at a Tuesday meeting. [Attleboro Sun Chronicle] Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Many people in Foxboro without power are wondering how Patriot Place and Gillette Stadium got power turned on before most residents. [Attleboro Sun Chronicle] About 25 western Mass. communities are battling floods caused by Irene, as eastern communities are dealing with linger power outages. [Boston Globe] After Hurricane Irene finished with Pittsfield, Vermont, and the town's 427 residents were isolated by flooding and storm-ravaged roads, the town held a cookout. [WCVB] Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Hurricane Irene has reportedly turned towards western Massachusetts and the result of that could be heavier winds and less severe rainfall Sunday into Monday. Western communities, like Springfield and Monson, are especially concerned about Irene since they're still recovering from tornado damage. ABC Nightly News said Irene would be a tropical form when it reaches Boston. However, FEMA director Craig Fugate said the storm could be "widespread." Cape Cod has a detailed plan to deal with any traffic problems created by Irene. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
The debt ceiling debate rages on in Washington with no apparent resolution in sight. The House of Representatives, specifically 218 Republicans, got around to passing a bill authored by Speaker John Boehner. The Senate rejected the Boehner plan, by a 59-41, about as fast as any piece of legislation has ever been rejected. Locally, a dozen municipalities in Massachusetts might face credit downgrades if an agreement can't be reached to extend the debt ceiling. The towns include Dover, Brookline, Hingham, and Weston. Twenty Bay State Mayors wrote to President Barack Obama and the Massachusetts congressional delegation asking for some kind of settlement. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
The Stanley Cup visited the Floating Hospital for Children in Boston today. [WCVB Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Corporal Matthew R. Gallagher, 22, of North Falmouth was recently killed in Iraq. He was born in Weymouth. [Cape Cod Times] Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Bruins. Duck boats. Saturday. The Stanley Cup visited Boston today. There was a roof-top party in the North End and a visit to Tia's in a baby carriage pushed by Andrew Ference. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Sal DiMasi plans to appeal his conviction. Many low-wage workers in Massachusetts, often immigrants, are employed in unsafe conditions. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Boston.com reports Sal DiMasi is guilty of conspiracy, extortion, and fraud.
The Red Cross reportedly raised $1 million for victims of tornadoes in western and central Massachusetts. Caitria and Morgan O’Neill, two sisters from Monson now living in Cambridge are using Facebook to help tornado victims. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Week three of the Sal DiMasi federal corruption trial rolls on with testimony of a former aide to Governor Deval Patrick and an associate of Joe Lally.
With the summer of 2011 looming, business is picking up on Cape Cod. The supply of rental homes is up, bookings are up 9%, and prices are up 2%. Massachusetts residents are curtailing Memorial Day plans. Hotel bookngs are up, though. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Two significant trials are underway in Massachusetts. Two versions of how Daniel Kerrigan died were presented on Monday in the opening arguments of Mark Kerrigan's manslaughter trial. DiMasi faces a federal corruption probe alleging he took payoffs to award contracts to Canada-based Cognos.
The jury for former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's federal corruption trial has been picked, paving the way for his trial to begin this week, possibly on Thursday, in US District Court in Boston. Sixteen total jurors were selected from a pool of 250 people. Those 16 jurors include eight men and eight women. Twelve jurors will participate in the deliberations and four are serving as alternates. Judge Mark L. Wolf hopes to settle any lingering legal issues before opening statements begin in the trial, which focuses on DiMasi's involvement in a scheme to be paid to solicit state contracts for a software company. The process began last week.
The federal corruption trial of former Massachusetts House speaker Sal DiMasi begins today with jury selection in U.S. District Court. The Herald reports the trial will take eight weeks and is quite complicated.
Red Sox fans everywhere enjoyed Friday's resounding win over the bad guys. Fans who parked in Brookline along Beacon Street possibly didn't like paying $22 to park. The federal government is open! A last minute deal cut $38.5 billion in spending and stopped a government shutdown. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Sal DiMasi convinced a judge he can't pay his legal bills. We get to pay them for him. Chuck Turner begins his prison term today at the Hazelton Federal Prison in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
State Police arrested William J. Halpin III, 25, of Melrose, on Friday after he crashed into two vehicles in the breakdown lane on Route 1 and he killed one man and injured a six-year old boy. He pleaded not guilty today to charge of motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of drugs. When asked if he had alcohol on him, Halpin said "No. But I might have some weed on me." Halpin was held on $25,000 cash bail despite a 2007 drunk driving conviction. Vargas was married and had two children. [Globe]
What do you do when someone (allegedly) takes bribes and resigns a position as a result of accusations? In Boston, you give that person a pension. Three cheers—wait, let's make it five cheers, one for each of the thousands an accused criminal gets from our pocketbook each month—for the Commonwealth. [Globe]
- The arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. has sparked a media frenzy. The Cambridge police union defended the officer involved in the incident, while Herald columnist Peter Gelzinis accused Gates of "exploiting" this incident for a vague reason about a PBS special. Yvonne Abraham criticized Cambridge police in the Globe by actually using the word "dunderheaded," which may be accurate but is rarely used in public discourse. Gates is considering legal action and wants an apology. WCVB's Liz Brunner interviewed Gates on Tuesday and he explained his perspective on what happened, said the police report was fabricated and reiterated his call for an apology.
What's a guy gotta do to get in the State House these days? Apparently have about as many friends as you have Twitter followers. The official results of today's election to replace DiMasi show that 2190 of Aaron Michlewitz's pals elected him to the third district seat. Just 2747 people out of 28,646 registered voters cast ballots in the special election. If that kind of turnout keeps up, we kind of feel like we might have enough friends to give this politics stuff a go.
Yes, it's true. Deborah DiMasi, the wife of ex-House Speaker Sal DiMasi, actually had a TV show that was canceled by NECN to avoid any conflict of interest as the network covers the ongoing criminal case against her husband. DiMasi was indicted on Tuesday on several corruption charges. Other people apparently knew about the show, which apparently began in May of 2008 and was called "Open Book Club". In June of 2008, the Globe raised the potential ethical ramifications of the show, cohosted by DiMasi and Christy Scott Cashman.
- Harvard will endow a LGBT chair, possibly the first of its kind. [Globe]
- Beth Israel will honor Rep. Barney Frank and Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons at the 16th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Achievement Awards. [Cambridge Chronicle]
- Sal might get up to 20 years in prison. [Herald]
His allegedly creepy ways have caught up to him! Sal DiMasi, former Speaker of the House in Massachusetts, was indicted today for his role in landing a lucrative state contract for Cognos software. He was charged with conspiracy, honest services mail fraud, aiding and abetting, and honest services wire fraud. If the charges hold up in court, we'll be happy to see justice served, proving politicans aren't beyond the reach of the laws they help create.
Former Sal DiMasi adviser Daniel Toscano will receive immunity in exchange for his testimony on activities connected to DiMasi. Toscano is expected to testify about the actions of Richard Vitale, DiMasi's former accountant, and lobbyist Richard McDonough, among others. Anonymous sources suggest that Toscano wasn't squeaky clean himself, freely giving out raises and jobs and helping promote legislature while assisting the former speaker, but at least now he has immunity. DiMasi resigned from the house this January amid speculation that he received payments from lobbyists.
