News

By SCOTT JACKSON

A Quincy man was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing slated for this week after allegedly striking an Asian man with a car and telling the victim to “go back to China.”

John Sullivan, age 77, was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash with personal injury and a civil rights violation. He was arraigned on those charges on Dec. 2 at Quincy District Court where he pleaded not guilty and was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Quincy police said they responded to the area of 40 Washington St. shortly after 10:55 a.m. on Dec. 2 for a reported disorder involving a motor vehicle. When officers arrived they saw an Asian man who was covered and dirt and limping.

Police said the man was walking with family members when he saw Sullivan speeding nearby. The victim and Sullivan exchanged words with one another, at which point Sullivan allegedly made derogatory comments about the victim’s race and told him to “go back to China.”

Sullivan then allegedly drove into the man with his vehicle, causing the victim to land on the hood of his car. Sullivan is alleged to have driven about 50 yards with the man on his hood before stopping suddenly.

After the victim fell off the hood of the car, Sullivan is alleged to have yelled at him to “go back to China” again before driving forward and hitting the man a second time with the vehicle. The force of the impact sent the victim into a construction zone; the victim fell into an open ditch about 10 to 15 feet below.

Sullivan then fled to Braintree, police said, but a witness followed him and relayed his information to authorities. Braintree police stopped and arrested Sullivan, who was brought to Quincy police headquarters for booking.

An ambulance was called to the scene in Quincy Center, but the victim was not transported away.

By SCOTT JACKSON

Quincy’s property tax rate for 2023 will be set during the City Council’s meeting on Monday evening.

During Monday’s meeting, councillors will be asked to determine the percentage of local tax levy to be borne by each class of real property. The residential and commercial property tax rates for the upcoming calendar year are based upon that determination.

Mayor Thomas Koch has proposed several financial measures to help keep the 2023 tax rates in check. They include an appropriation of $3 million from the city’s health care budget to reduce the current fiscal year’s budget; an appropriation of $4 million from the city’s stabilization account, also known as the rainy day fund, to reduce the tax rate; an appropriation of $6.47 million from the same account to reduce the tax rate; and $5.25 million from the pension bond stabilization account to reduce the tax levy and budget.

The public will have a chance to comment on the tax rate during a public hearing that will begin at 6:40 p.m. on Monday. The public hearing and subsequent council meeting will take place inside the council chamber at Quincy City Hall, 1305 Hancock St.

In other business Monday, City Clerk Nicole Crispo has proposed tweaks to the calendar for the upcoming special election to fill the Ward 4 seat on the City Council.

The revised calendar would move the deadline for candidates to file certified nomination papers, including a statement of candidacy, with the city clerk up to Dec. 14, as opposed to Dec. 27. If a preliminary election is necessary, ballot position would be determined by a drawing the following morning.

Other dates on the election calendar will remain unchanged. Those include the Dec. 13 deadline to submit nomination papers, with the signatures of 50 registered Ward 4 voters, to the Board of Registrars for certification; the preliminary election date of Jan. 17; and the final election date of Feb. 7.

A preliminary election will be required if more than two candidates qualify for the ballot. As of Friday morning, four candidates had pulled nomination papers – Joel Buenaventura of Common Street, Sharon Cintolo of Willard Street, James Devine of Cross Street and Matthew Lyons of Centre Street.

The special election is being held following the resignation of long-time councillor Brian Palmucci, who left his seat in October upon his appointment to a judgeship. The winner of the special election would be eligible to serve out the remainder of Palmucci’s term, which expires at the end of 2023. The winning candidate could run for a full two-year term in next November’s municipal election.

City Council President Noel DiBona, one of the council’s three at-large members, will serve as the point of contact for Ward 4 residents until the new councillor is seated next year. Residents can reach DiBona by email at ndibona@quincyma.gov or by phone at 617-834-4081.

The complete agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting can be found here.

By SCOTT JACKSON

At a public forum Monday evening, Police Chief Paul Keenan said his department is there to assist the community and urged residents to contact police if they are in need of assistance or see something suspicious.

Scores of residents were present inside Tobin Towers on Clay Street for the meeting, which was held to discuss public safety after a woman in her 60s was kidnapped outside the Wollaston MBTA station earlier in November and then taken to a home where she was repeatedly raped. Representatives from various organizations, including Quincy Asian Resources Inc. and DOVE, were there to speak with residents after the meeting Monday, and interpretation services were provided in Cantonese, Mandarin and Vietnamese.

City Councillor Nina Liang, who helped organize the meeting, said she was inspired by the number of residents who were present on Monday.

“It’s unfortunate the reason why we are gathered here but I am inspired that we are all coming together as a community to find ways to move forward together safely,” she said.

Ward 5 Councillor Charles Phelan Jr. said the city was taking the incident that took place at the T station seriously.

“I have a daughter and wife and we live just a couple blocks away, so it’s something that we really take seriously, everyone in the city,” he said.

Mayor Thomas Koch said public safety is the most important issue for local government and noted that during his tenure as mayor, and with the assistance of the City Council, the Quincy Police Department has increased in size from 144 patrol officers in 2008 to 185 patrol officers today.

“As chair of the School Committee, I frequently say there is nothing more important we do in government [than] educating our children, with one exception, and that is the safety of you and your person and of your property,” Koch said.

“We have an outstanding police department. They do a good job every day. That doesn’t mean things are not going to happen. We live in a troubled world and there are evil people out there, there are ignorant people out there, and there’s mental illness issues that people have out there.”

Quincy is the seventh most populous city in Massachusetts, Koch added, and is the safest of the ten largest cities in the state.

“Quincy is a safe city,” he said, noting that the Quincy Police Department and MBTA Transit Police were able to apprehend the suspect charged with the kidnapping and rape within 16 hours.

Keenan, the city’s police chief, called the kidnapping and rape of the woman on Nov. 12 one of the most horrific events he has experienced while serving with the department.

“I’ve been a police officer now for almost 40 years…and this is one of the most horrific events that I’ve ever experienced as a police officer. This hit right to the core of the city, right to the core of the police department,” Keenan said. “That morning, that woman was doing nothing wrong. She was going to her job to go to work. She cut through an open parking lot in broad daylight, 7 o’clock in the morning, and unfortunately she was abducted by a very sick individual.”

The suspect charged with the kidnapping and rape, Christian Lynch, a 26-year-old Quincy man, pleaded not guilty to those and other charges during his arraignment on Nov. 14 in Quincy District Court. He was ordered held without bail pending a Nov. 23 dangerousness hearing. Keenan said Lynch remains behind bars following that hearing.

Advocates with the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office are working to assist the victim, Keenan added.

“They have a crew of advocates to assist this poor woman in getting her life back together,” he said.

The police chief told those present for the community meeting that is important to call the police if they or anyone else requires assistance.

“We’d like to get the message across, crystal clear, we need you folks to call. If you see anything or if you hear anything or if you don’t feel comfortable or if you have an incident that you’re afraid of or you’re aware of, call us,” Keenan said.

“We don’t care at all about your immigration status or about your language difficulties. We have people in the police department that can interpret, we also have an interpreter line that can also interpret. We’re there for you. Make the phone call. You’re not bothering us. We’re not going to ask your immigration status. Whether you’re here legally, illegally or whatever, we’re just going to assist you. We’re here to help. We want to make sure we keep all of you safe, and we want to help you.”

It is also important, he added, for people to be aware of their surroundings.

“We need you to be aware of your surroundings,” he said. “A lot of people, especially when they’re walking are on their cellphones or on headphones. If you could pay more attention to your surroundings, that would be helpful as well to keep you safe.”

Keenan said that patrols have been added in the area of Wollaston Center.

“We have increased patrols in this area. I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but even prior to this incident, we had extra officers working, so we put them down in the Wollaston Center area,” he said. “So, we’ve done that…and that will continue.”

The department also plans to hold self-defense courses for the city’s Asian population and for its elderly population, Keenan said.

“We’re going to get those up and running,” he said. “We had to stop for a little bit when we had COVID going on. Unfortunately, we couldn’t continue those in person, but it seems like COVID is hopefully on the decrease and we feel comfortable enough to get you folks out and get you into those training seminars.”

The chief said that QARI has offered to let the department use its facility at 550 Hancock St. to hold those seminars, and the department is looking at other venues as well. Information on those sessions will be posted online and within Quincy Housing Authority properties, such as Tobin Towers.

During Monday’s meeting, two residents asked about the Transit Police presence at the Wollaston station. One person said she had visited the station multiple times over the past week and only saw a Transit Police officer there on one occasion. Marsha Lehane, who rides the T every day, said an officer should be present at all times the Red Line is running.

“You need to find a way to get a body, a man or a woman, in uniform dressed as a policeman standing there…every time that train is running from morning ‘til they shut down,” Lehane said. “There has got to be something visual and standing there in uniform to know that nobody is going to get by them.”

A representative from the Transit Police was not at the meeting held on Monday evening but was present for a forum held earlier in the day elsewhere in Wollaston. At that meeting, Keenan said his counterpart with the Transit Police explained that officers are deployed to stations based on call volume, and Wollaston is the safest of the four stations in Quincy and among the safest in the entire system.

“He kind of explained it today at the earlier meeting, they just don’t have the bodies to be able to cover each station,” Keenan stated. “They do have officers at the Quincy Center station, which is an awful lot busier call-volume wise, but they do go up and down the line.”

Keenan added that he would speak with Transit Police about the matter.

Another resident asked if Lynch would be charged with a hate crime as both the woman he is charged with kidnapping and another woman he is charged with trying to abduct earlier that same morning are both Asian. Keenan said authorities are continuing to investigate the case.

By SCOTT JACKSON

Quincy’s charities need your help this holiday season to provide assistance to the individuals and families they serve, as the rising costs of food, other household items and utilities are impacting many in the community.

Local non-profits report they are serving more clients this year than they have in the past and to help meet the rising demand, those charities need additional assistance from those who can give.

Residents who can help can do so in myriad ways, such as giving food, toys, household supplies, money and gift cards. Charities are also in need of volunteers – not just during the holiday season, but all twelve months of the year.

Below is a list of some of the local organizations making a difference this year and how the public can lend them a hand.

Interfaith Social Services

Interfaith Social Services provided meals to 1,600 households this Thanksgiving and will distribute 4,000 gifts this holiday season, according to executive director Rick Doane.  Rising food costs and anticipated increases in utility rates have brought record numbers of new clients to Interfaith for their services.

Interfaith operates one of the largest emergency food programs in Greater Boston. Each year their food pantry assists more than 30,000 clients in Quincy and across the South Shore. In addition, Interfaith operates a mental health counseling center, homelessness prevention program and the Bureau Drawer Thrift Shop.

The organization’s food pantry serves thousands of local residents each month, said Doane, and Interfaith is always in need of monetary donations to support their emergency food program. Interfaith places a priority on providing clients with healthy, fresh foods and funds are always needed to supplement rescued food and donated nonperishables with fresh produce, meats, eggs and dairy. The organization has greater spending power at places such as the Food Bank. With a $5 donation, they can purchase the equivalent of 25 meals.

Many of Interfaith’s clients also request personal care items, such as pads and tampons, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, unscented soap and deodorant. There are no federal assistance programs to cover these purchases. The agency is always in need of feminine hygiene products, diapers (especially larger sizes), personal care items and incontinence products.

Donations can be dropped off at Interfaith’s building at 105 Adams St. in Quincy Center. Items can also be purchased through Amazon and shipped directly there.

Interfaith relies on volunteers year-round. Doane said the organization is looking for residents who can make a commitment to volunteer for three hours each week for at least several months.

“Interfaith Social Services was founded in 1947,” said Doane. “This is our seventy-fifth anniversary this year. Countless Quincy residents have been served by our programs over the years and it is all possible because of the culture of neighbors helping neighbors that exists in our community. We are incredibly grateful to the city of Quincy and its residents that make our work possible.”

For more information, visit interfaithsocialservices.org or call 617-773-6203.

DOVE

The annual holiday assistance program at DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended) is underway. Please join them in supporting families impacted by domestic violence and poverty.

Keeping the pandemic and the safety of its donors, staff, and clients in mind, DOVE is asking donors to consider purchasing gift cards for their DOVE families. This will allow DOVE to receive and pass on your package directly through the mail. The families will then be able to use those cards to provide themselves and their children holiday gifts. I think we can all agree, 2022 needs a little more cheer!

To participate, email dove.elfteam@gmail.com.

DOVE will provide a list of options where donors can choose to support a specific family, donate general goods to the shelter or help support its much needed general gift-card drive to support families through the holidays and beyond.

Donors who choose to adopt a specific family will receive their family’s holiday gift card wish list no later than Dec. 5. To ensure that each of DOVE’s more than 150 families receive their gifts before the holidays, gift cards should be mailed by Dec. 10.

DOVE will provide you with the address of its drop-off location in Quincy.

If you wish to make a financial contribution to support DOVE’s work, or the holiday assistance program, see DOVE’s website, dovema.org, or email development@dovema.org.

Quincy Community Action Programs

Quincy Community Action Programs is seeing food insecurity among local families remain high for the third holiday season since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As many residents begin to recover from the pandemic’s financial impact, low-income households and communities of color are having the most difficult time bouncing back. As the community need for food has grown, so has QCAP’s need for increased food storage capacity.

In response to this need QCAP purchased a former commercial building in the same neighborhood they have served since 1965. The new South West Community Center is home to a new larger food pantry, in addition to other QCAP services such as financial coaching, and housing, energy and childcare assistance.

More than a food pantry, the South West Community Center is a welcoming place to gather for cooking and nutrition classes, menu-planning workshops, family engagement activities, and more. To support families during the holiday season, the Center will distribute holiday gifts and meals.

“The new South West Community Center, located at 18 Copeland Street, is here to help, by providing holiday assistance through the distribution of monthly food orders, holiday meals and gifts for children during the holiday season,” said Kristen Schlapp, QCAP’s chief operating officer.

QCAP provided over 600 full Thanksgiving dinners this year and expects to distribute an additional 600 holiday food orders, including hams, during December.

Suggested holiday donations include frozen turkeys and other holiday meal essentials, including cranberry jelly, turkey gravy, canned pie ingredients, and cooking oil and spices. Food donations to QCAP’s food center help to fill gaps caused by an increased need over the last eighteen months, and they help supply the pantry with items that are more difficult to find.

In addition to holiday meals, QCAP will also be providing at least 800 children with gifts this holiday season. These children include those enrolled at the South West Community Center’s Food & Nutrition Program and children who attend QCAP’s Head Start Program.

The South West Community Center is accepting gift donations through an Amazon registry that can be found at qcap.org/food.

In addition, there is an ongoing need at the Center for donations of non-food items such as cleaning supplies, toilet paper, feminine products, soap, and toothpaste and toothbrushes.

“While the pandemic is easing for some, recovery has been slow for many in the low-income community. Families continue to make hard decisions about whether to pay their rent, their heating costs, or put food on their tables. A donation to QCAP helps us ensure that households get healthy, nutritious food that keeps their families going.”

The pantry at the Center is accessible to clients and donors five days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on Wednesdays when it is open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to accommodate working families. For more information on the services the food center provides or donations needed, please call 617-471-0796.

QCAP also provides heating assistance to residents in Quincy, Braintree, Milton, and Weymouth. Heating assistance can help significantly reduce monthly bills, even if heat is included in the rent. For more information on this, please call 617-657-5301 or visit qcap.org/energy.

Rental assistance is also available through QCAP’s housing program. QCAP has helped families avoid eviction through rental assistance funding and advocacy.  For more information on eligibility, please call 617-657-5376 or visit qcap.org/housing.

“We would not be able to do the work we do during these challenging times without the support of a caring community, we are grateful for the ongoing support of our community, volunteers, and donors,” reflected Schlapp.

Father Bill’s & MainSpring

Residents looking to help out Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) this year can visit helpfbms.org/holidays to find out the various ways to assist your neighbors experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

The organization’s top need is monetary donations to assist the growing number of people struggling amid the rise in costs for housing, energy, gas, food, and other essential items.

To assist families in need, FBMS is requesting gift cards in lieu of presents. Gift cards provide families with the most flexibility, plus they help FBMS preserve space. Gift cards can be provided in any denomination from any large stores, such as CVS, Shaw’s, Stop & Shop, Target and Walmart.

To donate high-need items to FBMS, visit tinyurl.com/amazonfbms for a full list of items and to ship them directly to FBMS. This winter, shelter guests are in need of winter boots, hand and feet warmers, gloves, thermals, hooded sweatshirts and sweatpants (men’s & women’s brands, all sizes), and underwear.

Donations can be dropped off or mailed to: Father Bill’s & MainSpring, 430 Belmont St., Brockton, MA 02301. Donations are processed in Brockton, then distributed to our Quincy shelter.

FBMS is in need of prepared meals for guests of Father Bill’s Place in Quincy. For more info, contact Mary Ann Mendes at 508-427-6448 ext. 2283 or email volunteer@helpfbms.org.

Father Bill’s & MainSpring serves more than 5,000 households annually, including more than 900 individuals at Father Bill’s Place in Quincy. The agency also operates more than 700 permanent supportive housing units across Southern Massachusetts, including more than 300 units in the Quincy area alone.

The Salvation Army

For more than 125 years, the Salvation Army of Quincy has provided Christmas assistance to families, providing them with toys, gifts, clothing, and food, said Capt. Adam Boynton. With more people in need, they are asking for your help.

There are several ways you can make change happen, said Boynton.

The Salvation Army’s biggest fundraiser of the year is the Red Kettle Campaign. Boynton said the goal is to raise $130,000 during the campaign, which runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 24. Money collected from the Red Kettle Campaign supports the Salvation Army year-round.

“With the economic struggles of this past year, and the looming utility price increases, we’ll need even more funds to help meet the need,” Boynton said.

“Please consider donating as you pass a Red Kettle located a Walmart, Star Market, Shaw’s, Hobby Lobby, South Shore Plaza, and Stop & Shop. Think about it, if even half of the residents of Quincy gave $5, we would exceed our goal!”

The Salvation Army also needs individuals, families, businesses, or service groups who can sponsor children to purchase clothing and toy items for its clients. Children’s names, ages, gender, clothing sizes, and toy wishes are placed on an angel tag, which is given to the sponsor. You would shop for the child and then return the gifts to the Salvation Army, located on Baxter Street.

To sponsor a child and obtain angel tags, you can contact the Salvation Army office at 617-472-2345.

“Each year, our community has risen to the challenge and met the needs of its neighbors,” Boynton said. “We look to our community again with anticipation and know that with your help, together we can rise to meet any need.”

For more information, visit the Salvation Army of Quincy’s website.

YMCA

The South Shore YMCA’s Holiday Assistance Program provides toys, meals and clothing to hundreds of families each year. The program gives much more than just material possessions for a holiday celebration – it brings a sense of belonging that creates an inner-springboard of self-confidence and a desire to give back.

If you are looking to help, the Y has three options to do so.

Residents can make the holidays brighter for neighbors by adopting a local family and donating the items on their holiday list. To adopt a family this holiday season, contact Josh Esquivel by email at jesquivel@ssymca.org.

Residents can also purchase an item or two from the YMCA’s general wish list. To do so, visit ssymca.org/holidayhelp for a list of needed items or grab an ornament from the Giving Tree in either the Quincy or Emilson (Hanover) YMCAs and drop off unwrapped presents by December 16. Donations may be dropped off at the Germantown Neighborhood Center, 366 Palmer St. in Quincy; the Quincy YMCA at 79 Coddington St.; and the Emilson YMCA, 75 Mill St., Hanover.

Residents may also make monetary donations directly to the YMCA online at ssymca.org/give.

For more information, please contact the YMCA at holiday@ssymca.org.

Quincy Animal Shelter

Those looking to help out our four-legged friends can do so this holiday season by supporting the Quincy Animal Shelter.

Sandra Sines, president of the Quincy Animal Shelter’s board of directors, said there are several items the shelter is most in need of this year. They include gift cards to any grocery store or pet store; paper towels and bleach; Dawn Original Blue dish detergent; Purina Pro Plan canned dog food; and Fancy Feast or Friskies canned cat food.

For more information, you can visit quincyanimalshelter.org or call 617-376-1349.

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds is holding its annual food drive between now and Dec. 13.

“There is no doubt Norfolk County is a desirable place to live and to work,” said Register of Deeds William O’Donnell. “However, there are people throughout the county that are truly hurting. This year we, as a community, have seen an unprecedented rise in inflation rates, especially in the cost of food. Some Norfolk County families are hit harder by these increased costs and worry about putting food on the table this holiday season.”

To participate in the food drive, you can bring non-perishable food items to the Registry of Deeds office, located at 649 High St. in Dedham. A donation bin is available in the lobby and food can be dropped off on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Suggested donations include canned goods, breakfast cereals, pasta and sauces as well as paper goods and toiletries.

If you cannot get to the Dedham location, the Registry website, norfolkdeeds.org, includes a list of other local food pantries.

“Working together, we can truly make a huge difference this holiday season,” O’Donnell said.

The Registry of Deeds is also sponsoring a Toys for Tots donation drive for the 15th straight year. A bin for donating new, unwrapped toys is available in the registry’s lobby during business hours through noon on Dec. 7.

Toys For Tots

The US Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is celebrating its 75th year this holiday season. Marines and volunteers will be conducting over 830 local toy collection and distribution centers nationwide.

Donations of new, unwrapped toys can be brought to one of the many participating locations, the list of which can be found online at toysfortots.org. While the organization does not publish a list of acceptable toys, realistic-looking weapons and items with food should not be donated and will not be distributed.

Participating locations in Quincy include ATCK Fitness at 100 Walter Hannon Parkway; Breezeline at 3 Batterymarch Park; Marina Bay Association at 534 Victory Rd.; Quincy Credit Union at 100 Quincy Ave.; Quincy Yacht Club at 1310 Hancock St.; and the Staybridge Suites Hotel at 1 Richard Stratton Way. (The times for those locations, as well as information on locations in other communities, is available on the Toys for Tots website.)

In 2021, 79,015 toys were distributed to 66,939 children in the Boston area.

By SCOTT JACKSON

The Quincy City Council on Monday approved borrowing an additional $23 million to pay for the construction of a new public safety headquarters, which could open as soon as the spring of 2025.

The $23 million bond was approved in a 7-1 vote, with Councillor Anne Mahoney opposed. Councillors had previously authorized $152 million in borrowing for the project. A $120 million bond for construction and infrastructure costs was approved in April 2021 and a $32 million bond for land acquisition and building design passed in December 2019.

City Council President Noel DiBona said work had already begun in the vicinity of the planned new building, which will be located near where the city’s police station sits today, including the reconstruction of Broad Street and the extension of Field Street to meet Broad Street. DiBona said he wanted to see the whole project move forward.

“I do see progress going on. I don’t want to see a situation where construction costs get even more escalated here. I want to keep the ball rolling,” DiBona said. “This is an important project for the city, to move it forward, and I’m in full support of it tonight.”

Ward 1 Councillor David McCarthy, in whose ward the building will be located, said inflation and rising construction costs that led to the request for additional funding are not unique to Quincy, and should not stop the city from moving forward with this or other projects.

“It’s what everybody is going through with small projects or big projects…maybe it will get better, maybe it will get worse, but we’re not getting any help out of Washington right now. It’s going the other way,” McCarthy said.

“We’ve got to move forward. That police station, and I know it well, is awful. It’s terrible. That whole area is going to be improved. When we get to the Squantum Elementary School, the new fire station, the Richard DeCristofaro special ed. center, we’ve got to continue to move forward, figure it out, maybe sharpen the pencils a little bit.”

Mahoney, who had voted in favor of the $120 million bond, said she might have voted in favor of additional funding for the project had the Koch administration done more to cut construction costs. She suggested that the city could have chosen an alternative to the copper and slate roof that is planned for the new building, for example.

“If we changed some of the things in the architectural design, it may have come in lower, and if you had done that…you showed me it came in at $23 million but we changed a few things, we took the copper off and that saved us $3.5 million or $5 million so it’s probably going to be $15 million more, I might have been able to get there,” Mahoney said. “I would like nothing more than to get to a yes, but it wasn’t shown to me.”

The new 120,000-square-foot building will house the Quincy Police Department, the Quincy Emergency Department, and the administrative staff for the Quincy Fire Department. The fire apparatus – Engine 1, Ladder 1 and Rescue 1 – now located at departmental headquarters will remain on Quincy Avenue, where the city plans to construct a new firehouse.

Construction of the new public safety building is expected to begin in the spring, the building should be ready for occupancy in the spring of 2025, and the current police station will be razed that fall.

The project costs also include funding for infrastructure improvements in the area of the new building. Those include the changes to Broad Street, the extension of Field Street, and a new median, with a fence, that will be constructed along Southern Artery to stop pedestrians from running out into the middle of the road and vehicles from taking left-hand turns across two or three lanes of traffic. The Field Street extension will facilitate those vehicle movements.

Mayor Thomas Koch was seeking the $23 million bond o fund a guaranteed maximum price contract between the city and the general contractor for the project, Suffolk Construction. Officials who spoke during an October hearing on the proposal said costs had risen across the board since April 2021.

At the October meeting, Stephen Chrusciel, one of the city’s project managers for the new building, said the city has taken several steps to bring the project costs down. By delaying the demolition of Father Bill’s Place, which is within the project footprint, he said the city saved $5.5 million because it did not have to provide the organization with a temporary location as the non-profit constructs a new housing resource center. The city will also save $3 million by employing a method to use the existing fill on site rather than shipping in new fill and $1.5 million by constructing the garage with pre-cast concrete instead of having it poured in place.

At Monday’s meeting, Joseph Shea also a project manager for the building, said Suffolk was able to find additional savings by changing the sequencing that will be used for construction.

Quincy Access Television congratulates the winners of this year’s Christmas Poster Contest.  Elementary school students from the Quincy Public Schools and the Quincy Catholic Academy participated in the annual contest sponsored by Quincy Access Television.

There were 828 poster entries judged by Tony and Phyllis Andrade of the Quincy Art Association. The two categories were Grades 1-3 and Grades 4 & 5. The following students were judged best in the city and the prizes they will receive are: First Place $100, Second Place $75 and Third Place $50.

Grades 1-3: First Place: Reyansh Kadri, Grade 3, Montclair Elementary

Second Place: Lexine Zou, Grade 2, Beechwood Knoll Elementary

Third Place: Kevin Liu, Grade 3, Quincy Catholic Academy

Grades 4 & 5   First Place: Hebe Chen, Grade 5, Quincy Catholic Academy

Second Place: Jocelyn Wu, Grade 5, Beechwood Knoll Elementary                                   Third Place: Anna Maloney, Grade 5, South West Middle

The winning students will be invited by the Christmas Festival Committee to ride in the Christmas Parade on Sunday, Nov. 27, and the winning posters are on display in the windows of the Quincy Sun throughout the holiday season. Parents can pick up their child’s posters at The Quincy Sun after Jan. 1, 2023.

The judges were so impressed by the young artists they also chose ‘Honorable Mentions’, which will also hang in the windows of the Quincy Sun. The honorable mentions were: Jack Bligh, Grade 3, Squantum Elementary, Nina Lin, Grade 1, Beechwood Knoll Elementary, Callie Fernandez , Grade 1, Quincy Catholic Academy, Alexander Lee, Grade 3, Lincoln Hancock Elementary, Conan Ng, Grade 4, Lincoln Hancock Elementary, Jack Meyers, Grade 4, Bernazzani Elementary, Aiden Wu, Grade 4, Quincy Catholic Academy, Eason Chen, Grade 5, Atherton Hough Elementary.

Congratulations to all of the prizewinners, honorable mentions and the entire poster contest participants for their great work!  Nicely done!

The winning and honorable mention posters appear below with comments from the judges. This story and images of the posters will also appear in the print edition of The Quincy Sun Nov. 23, 2022.

By SCOTT JACKSON

Filming for a commercial production will take place Friday night on the Fore River Bridge, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Filming will take place between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Actors will be filmed on the sidewalks along the Fore River Bridge, MassDOT said. This scheduled event is weather dependent and may be impacted because of an emergency.

The state agency added it “has no information about the taping to provide and no information to provide regarding the cast which may or not be involved in this event.”

By SCOTT JACKSON

A Quincy man has been charged with kidnapping a woman outside the Wollaston MBTA station and then repeatedly raping her.

Christian M. Lynch, age 26, of Quincy, was arraigned Monday in Quincy District Court on several charges, including rape, kidnapping, strangulation and assault and battery on a person over the age of 60, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. Lynch pleaded not guilty at the arraignment and was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing slated for Nov. 23.

Investigators said the victim, a woman in her 60s, was headed to work Saturday morning when she was kidnapped outside the Wollaston station. Investigators said surveillance video showed a man placing both of his arms around victim’s torso and forcefully putting her inside a vehicle. The woman was seen kicking her feet as she was being forced inside in an apparent attempt to escape.

The victim was then taken to the kidnapper’s apartment and held there for 11 hours, during which time she was raped, strangled and sexually assaulted, investigators said.

The victim was dropped off at parking lot at Brockton’s Westgate Mall around 6 p.m. on Saturday, and was able to get help from a bystander.

Lynch was also arraigned on a charge of attempted kidnapping, related to the unsuccessful abduction of another woman earlier that same morning.

By SCOTT JACKSON

Maura Healey carried Quincy in the recent state election en route to becoming Massachusetts’ governor-elect, and the city’s local legislators easily turned aside challengers to win new terms.

Quincy voters also backed the winners in the remaining statewide contests in the Nov. 8 election and the binding referendums on the ballot.

Healey, a Democrat and the state’s attorney general for the past eight years, received 19,400 votes in Quincy. Her Republican opponent, former state representative Geoff Diehl, polled 9,868 votes in Quincy. Libertarian candidate Kevin Reed received 460 votes in the city.

Statewide, Healey bested Diehl 63.5 percent to 34.9 percent, according to the Associated Press.

“The people of Massachusetts have given us an historic opportunity tonight, and a mandate to act,” Healey said shortly after the race was called the night of Nov. 8.

“We’ll ignore the noise and focus every day on making a difference in their lives. Our job from day one will be to make our state more affordable… It is time for us to model the kind of leadership and collaboration and, yes, the respect that we want to see elsewhere. Because in Massachusetts we lift people up. We come together. And we lead. That’s who we are.”

The governor-elect met with outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who opted not to seek a third term, the day after the election. Both sides said there would be a smooth transition over the coming months.

The victory makes Healey the first woman elected governor of the Bay State, and Healey and Oregon’s Tina Kotek the first openly gay women elected governor in the country. Healey and her running mate, Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll, are also one of the first all-women tickets to be elected governor and lieutenant governor nationwide.

In the race to replace Healey as attorney general, Democrat Andrea Campbell polled 18,859 votes in Quincy while Republican James McMahon III received 10,418 votes in the city. Statewide, Campbell outpolled McMahon 62.6 percent to 37.4 percent. A former Boston city councillor, Campbell is the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts.

In the race for the open auditor’s seat, Democrat Diana DiZoglio, a state senator from Methuen, received 16,056 votes in Quincy. Her Republican opponent, Anthony Amore, received 9,957 votes. Workers Party candidate Dominic Giannone III finished with 1,244 votes, Green-Rainbow candidate Gloria Caballero-Roca with 702, and Libertarian Daniel Riek with 539. In the statewide contest, DiZoglio bested Amore 54.9 percent to 38 percent.

In the race for secretary of state, Democratic incumbent William Galvin polled 20,817 votes in Quincy. His Republican opponent, Rayla Campbell, received 7,593 votes in Quincy and Green-Rainbow Party candidate Juan Sanchez finished with 941. Statewide, Galvin received 67.5 percent of the vote to Campbell’s 29.6 percent.

In the race for treasurer, Democratic incumbent Deborah Goldberg received 21,022 votes in Quincy while her opponent, Libertarian Cristina Crawford, polled 6,005. Statewide, Goldberg received 76.6 percent of the vote to Crawford’s 23.4 percent.

Two of Quincy’s four state legislators, all Democrats, faced opponents in the Nov. 8 election.

In the race for the Norfolk & Plymouth State Senate seat, incumbent John Keenan of Quincy received 20,760 votes in his hometown. His Republican opponent, Gary Innes of Hanover, received 8,031 votes in Quincy. Keenan collected 63.1 percent of the vote districtwide to Innes’ 36.9 percent en route to winning a seventh two-year term.

In the race for the Second Norfolk House District, which wholly located within Quincy, Tackey Chan outpolled Republican Sharon Cintolo 9,828 to 4,094. Chan was elected to his seventh two-year term.

“Thank you to the voters of the 2nd Norfolk district for the opportunity to continue serving you in the House of Representatives,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to championing the issues most important to my district and constituents.”

Bruce Ayers was unopposed in the First Norfolk District and polled 8,485 votes in Quincy. Ronald Mariano, the House speaker, was unopposed in the Third Norfolk District and received 3,863 votes in Quincy. Ayers won his 13th term and Mariano his 17th.

US Rep. Stephen Lynch, a South Boston Democrat, also bested his Republican opponent, Robert Burke of Milton, in the election. Lynch received 20,686 votes in Quincy to Burke’s 8,213, and finished with 69.5 percent of the vote districtwide to win his twelfth two-year term on Capitol Hill.

In the race for the District Four seat on the Governor’s Council, Democratic incumbent Christopher Iannella Jr. received 19,610 votes in Quincy to Republican Helene MacNeal’s 8,725 votes. Iannella won 71.3 percent of the vote districtwide.

In the race for county commissioner, Democrat incumbent Peter Collins polled 18,315 votes in Quincy while independent candidate Matthew Sheehan finished with 8,592. Collins was projected to win with 65.6 percent of the vote countywide.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott, both Quincy Democrats, were unopposed this year in their bids for reelection. Morrissey received 23,828 votes in Quincy and McDermott 23,217.

There were four binding ballot questions put to voters this year.

Voters approved Question 1, a proposed constitutional amendment to impose an additional 4 percent tax on income over $1 million; 52 percent of voters supported the amendment statewide.  In Quincy, 15,945 voters voted yes on the question and 12,775 voted against it. The funds raised through the additional 4 percent tax are to be spent on education and transportation, subject to appropriation by lawmakers.

Voters likewise approved Question 2, which establishes a medical loss ratio for dental insurance; the proposal passed statewide with 71.4 percent of voters in favor. In Quincy, 21,007 voters voted yes while 7,760 were opposed.

Question 3, which would have made changes to the regulations for retail liquor licenses, was rejected, with 55.3 percent of voters statewide opposed. In Quincy, the no vote on Question 3 prevailed 15,958 to 13,140.

Question 4 was a referendum to repeal an existing law allowing people who cannot prove they are living in the US legally to receive state driver’s licenses by showing proof of their identity and birth date. Statewide, 53.7 percent of voters voted yes, meaning they favored retaining the law. In Quincy, 15,083 voters voted to keep the law, and 13,324 voted against it.

Voters in the Third Norfolk District – all of Ward 2, Precinct 5 in Ward 4 and Precinct 1A in Ward 5 in Quincy, plus parts of Weymouth and Holbrook – were asked to weigh in on two non-binding questions.

Quincy voters in the district backed Question 5 – which concerns single-payer healthcare – by a margin of 2,701 to 1,315. Supporters of the measure said 61 percent of voters in the entire district voted yes on Question 5.

Quincy voters in the district also backed Question 6 – which concerns transparency of legislative committees on Beacon Hill – by a margin of 3,107 to 785. Districtwide figures were not immediately available.

The figures for Quincy include additional ballots that were not included in the preliminary election results published on the night of Nov. 8. The new numbers include ballots returned to City Hall on Election Day and mail-in ballots received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12, provided they were postmarked on or before Nov. 8. All of those ballots were tabulated Monday.

A turnout percentage for the election was not available. City Clerk Nicole Crispo on Monday night said the turnout percentage would be available after provisional ballots are processed.

The results published Monday said they were a total of 60,154 ballots cast. The ballot was two pages long, so that would mean 30,077 of the city’s approximately 66,000 voters cast ballots, a turnout of 45.5 percent, though it is possible that not all voters who voted by mail returned both pages of the ballot.