This Just In

Compass Medical Closes; Posts Message To Patients On Website

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Quincy-based Compass Medical with locations Braintree, East Bridgewater, Easton, Middleborough, Quincy, and Taunton, announced Wednesday it would be closing all of its practices.

In a statement posted on its website Friday morning, Compass Medical wrote:

“To Our Valued Patients,

It is with our deepest regret and great sadness to inform you of our imminent plan to close our practices. After a steady stream of challenges, we were ultimately forced to make the devastating decision to close all offices of Compass Medical PC. effective immediately. There is no good way to share this news. We are heartbroken and truly sorry as we know the unprecedented impact on our valued patients.

Please be advised that more information will be shared as it becomes available on our website. We will be adding information about how you can continue your care with your primary provider as we receive it. Please check our website regularly.

For immediate medical attention, please access your local Emergency Room or Urgent Care. Local resources and links can be found on our website.

For those of you with emergent need for prescription refills, please check first with your pharmacy. In many cases our providers will be ordering prospective prescriptions when appropriate or allowable. You may also call our main Compass phone line for assistance with emergent prescription refills or test results at 508-350-2000.”

Compass Medical website is: https://compassmedical.net/

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office said it is looking into the matter.

“Our office is aware of reports that Compass Medical Group locations closed suddenly today (Wednesday). We are gathering information and in close communication with our partners in the Healey-Driscoll Administration, particularly the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Affected consumers and patients are encouraged to contact the AG’s office to share their concerns.”

 

Cornhole Tournament June 10 To Benefit Mental Health Education Programs

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Quincy based Matthew’s Crew Inc. will be hosting its 3rd Annual Cornhole Tournament on Saturday June 10, 2023 at Fontbonne in Milton.  Proceeds will go toward funding mental health education programs in local schools.  Matthew’s Crew was established in 2020 following the passing of 17-year-old Mathew Roper by suicide after a valiant battle against depression.

Boston Baggo Co. will once again run the tournament. Participants of all ages and abilities are welcome. The format of the tournament allows for serious competition as well as socializing and fun for the recreational player.   There will be great prizes and a silent auction including a Red Sox basket with a signed ball from #11 Rafael Devers.

In addition to the tournament itself, national organizations NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), the Samaritans, and the Fontbonne Chapter of The Yellow Tulip Project as well as local mental health service provider Aspire Health Alliance will be in attendance to answer questions and share information about what mental health services are available in our own communities.  It will be a great opportunity to talk about mental health in a safe, enjoyable atmosphere which can help us all normalize the discussion around mental health.

To top the day off, Paisani Food truck will be on site for lunch, and ice cream will be provided by Nona’s Homemade.  Participants and spectators are welcome to join on Fontbonne’s beautiful campus to enjoy the day.

To register to play, go to jointhecrew.racewire.com or scan the QR code on the homepage at matthews-crew.org.

 

USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Week Starts June 4: ‘Even Good Dogs Have Bad Days’ Theme

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More than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail last year. Aggressive dog behavior is a common safety concern USPS employees face. To keep its workers safe, the organization is providing important information on how dog owners can be good stewards for safe mail delivery as part of its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week public service campaign.

The campaign runs Sunday, June 4, through Saturday, June 10. This year’s theme is “Even good dogs have bad days.” Spread the news of the campaign with the hashtag #dogbiteawareness.

“When letter carriers deliver mail in our communities, dogs that are not secured or leashed can become a nemesis and unpredictable and attack,” said Leeann Theriault, USPS employee safety and health awareness manager. “Help us deliver your mail safely by keeping your dog secure and out of the way before your carrier arrives.”

Pet Owners Can Help Support Safe Mail Delivery

Mail carriers know all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive. Dogs are generally protective of their turf and dog owners have an important responsibility to control them to ensure safe mail delivery.

Most people know the approximate time their letter carrier arrives every day. Securing your dog before the carrier approaches your property will minimize any potentially dangerous interactions.

When a letter carrier comes to your home, keep dogs:

  • Inside the house or behind a fence;
  • Away from the door or in another room; or
  • On a leash.

Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child.

Inform Yourself, See the Mail Before It Arrives

By using Informed Delivery, a free USPS service, customers can digitally preview incoming mail and packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. More than 52 million customers have enrolled since it was launched in 2017. Sign up is at informeddelivery.usps.com. This service can help dog owners anticipate when their carrier will arrive.

“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” said USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo. “In 2022, too many aggressive dogs impacted the lives of our employees while delivering the mail. Please help us reduce that number by being a responsible pet owner who secures their dog as we deliver the mail.”

The Victims

 Many attacks reported by letter carriers came from dogs whose owners regularly stated, “My dog won’t bite.” Dog bites are entirely preventable. One bite is one too many.

Being Attentive While Delivering

Letter carriers are trained to observe an area where they know dogs may be present. They are taught to be alert for potentially dangerous conditions and to respect a dog’s territory.

Letter carriers are trained to:

  • Not startle a dog;
  • Keep their eyes on any dog;
  • Never assume a dog will not bite;
  • Make some noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog if entering a yard;
  • Never attempt to pet or feed a dog; and
  • place their foot against an outward swinging door to prevent a dog from escaping.

If a dog attacks, carriers are also trained to stand their ground and protect their body by placing something between them and the dog — such as a mail satchel — and to use dog repellent, if necessary.

Even though postal officials ask customers to control their dogs, bites still happen and  may result in injuries to carriers and costly medical expenses for dog owners. Please heed the above best practices to help stop dog bites and protect your mail carrier.

“Recently, I was delivering to a customer’s mailbox and was nearly bitten by their large aggressive dog,” said Swain Lowe, a letter carrier in Manassas, Virginia. “Despite the dog being behind a fence, it still managed to jump over and charge me. Thankfully, I was aware of it and remembered not to run but to turn and use my satchel as a shield to prevent what could have been a terrible bite.”

Carriers have tools to alert them to dogs on their routes. A dog alert feature on carriers’ handheld scanners can remind them of a possible dog hazard, and dog warning cards may be used during mail sorting to alert carriers to routes where a dog may interfere with delivery.

Lastly, when a carrier feels unsafe, mail service could be halted — not only for the dog owner, but for the entire neighborhood. When mail service is stopped, mail must be picked up at the Post Office. Service will not be restored until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.

Councillors Conclude Budget Hearings

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By SCOTT JACKSON

Quincy city councillors on Wednesday completed their review of Mayor Thomas Koch’s proposed $405.78 million budget for fiscal year 2024, approving the budgets for the city’s Health Department, Department of Public of Works and the city clerk’s office, among others. As part of the budget hearings, city officials announced the hiring of a new community liaison and that funding would be available for new events at the Ruth Gordon Amphitheater.

While they have concluded the departmental hearings, councillors still have to review proposed raises for department heads and other appointees and are slated to do so on June 12.

Koch had proposed increasing the budget for the Health Department from $1.4 million to $1.76 million.

The increase provides an additional $150,000 for rodent control, bringing that line item up to $450,000, as well as funding for a tobacco control officer. Health Commissioner Marli Caslli said his department has already hired the tobacco control officer using funds from a state grant.

“This employee has been in our department for the last few months with a grant from the state. They’ve been terrific in getting programs up and running,” Caslli said.

“We feel adding this to our budget is very important. We have 102 licensed tobacco establishments in the city. In some wards, we do get complaints of the establishments selling to minors or illegal products being sold – flavored tobacco products or vape products.”

Five separate general fund budgets fall under the purview of the Department of Public Works – engineering, public works, snow and ice removal, waste collection and disposal, and the drain department.

The engineering budget, with a proposed increase from $928,669 to $1.04 million, includes the elimination of an engineer in training position and the addition of a new junior civil engineer, bringing the total number of those positions to four.  Public Works Commissioner Al Grazioso said the city tried for over a year to fill the engineer in training post but was unable to do so and upgrading the position should make it easier to hire a qualified candidate.

Councillors made one change to the engineering budget, adding about $2,800 to the line item for education pay to correct an error at Grazioso’s request.

The public works budget has a proposed increase from $5.67 million to $5.73 million. Grazioso said the budget would consolidate some of the masonry positions within the department but would not add any new positions.

The snow and ice budget will decrease from $2.72 million this fiscal year to $2.24 million next year. Grazioso said the city has spent less than the budgeted amount on snow and ice removal in three of the last four fiscal year, finishing with a surplus of $500,000 or more each time. Under state law, communities can deficit spend on snow and ice removal if necessary.

The budget for waste collection and disposal is set to increase, from $8.42 milion this year to $9.39 million next year, as those costs continue to increase.

The budget for the drain department includes a proposed increase from $1.7 million to $1.76 million.

The budget for the city clerk’s office is likewise split between several different categories.

Koch had proposed increasing the budget for the clerk from $486,082 to $527,500, with the increase set aside for pay raises and other personnel line items.

The elections budget has a proposed increase from $973,819 to $1.17 million. City Clerk Nicole Crispo said the budget would pay for three separate elections, a preliminary city election in August, the final city election in November, and the presidential primary in March.

The budget for the licensing commission would increase from $78,636 to $85,026 while the budget for the city census would be level funded at $100,000.

Also approved on Thursday was the budget for the mayor’s office, which has a proposed increase from $931,053 to $1.06 million.

The budget includes proposed raises – which the council still must approve – for each employee in the mayor’s office, though there is no raise for the mayor himself. They include a raise of $30,000 to $153,000 for the mayor’s chief of staff, a raise of $34,000 to $139,000 for his director of operations, and $13,000 to $118,000 for his communications director.

The budget also includes a proposed raise of $12,000, to $87,000, for the community liaison position. That position had been vacant since its creation last year but on Thursday Chris Walker, Koch’s chief of staff, announced the mayor has hired Damion Outar to fill that position.

“We do believe pretty firmly that patience was a virtue in this case,” Walker said. “Damion was a real find. He is immigrant to this country, he’s been living her 20 years, he’s a social worker by trade and has a lot of experience.”

Outar most recently worked as an independent life coach, trainer and consultant. He was formerly a therapeutic coach for Fathers’ Uplift in Boston and previously worked for the state Department of Mental Health.

Also approved on Thursday was the celebrations budget, which will increase by $50,000 to $300,000. Walker said $10,000 of that increase will be used for events on Fridays this summer at the Ruth Gordon Amphitheater, and funding for additional events there may also be available.

The final budget approved on Thursday was the City Council’s budget, which has a proposed increase of about $40,000 to $63,700. The budget includes pay raises for several employees, like the auditor and clerk of committees, but not councillors themselves.

Neponset Day Festival Scheduled For Saturday Postponed

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Due to the unfavorable weather forecast for this Saturday, June 3, the Neponset River Watershed Association has made the difficult decision to postpone the Neponset Day event at DCR Neponset Park in Dorchester.

In a press release, a spokesperson said:

“While we appreciate the much-needed rain for our River, streams, ponds, plants, and wildlife, it is not conducive to outdoor activities such as boating. Additionally, the predicted high winds pose safety concerns for paddling.

‘Please stay tuned for updates regarding the rescheduled Neponset Day. For more information, kindly visit www.neponset.org/NeponsetDay.”

Quincy City Councillors OK Five New Positions

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By SCOTT JACKSON

As they continued their review of Mayor Thomas Koch’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Quincy city councillors on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to five new positions.

They also made a cut of $93,000 to correct an error in the proposed budget.

At their meeting on Tuesday, which lasted nearly four and a half hours, councillors reviewed and gave preliminary to a number of budgets, including the Quincy Police Department, Thomas Crane Public Library, the Traffic, Parking, Alarm and Lighting (TPAL) Department, and the Department of Natural Resources, all of which have new positions. Councillors will review proposed raises for those department heads and other appointees on June 12.

The proposed $40.29 million budget for the Police Department, up from $34.57 million in the current fiscal year, includes a new position for a mental health clinician at a salary of $97,600.

Police Chief Paul Keenan said the department currently has a clinician on staff, who is paid for through a grant from a private organization. The department is looking to add a second clinician and city officials anticipate receiving a grant from the Norfolk District Attorney’s that would cover the salary and benefits for the new hire.

Keenan said having a clinician working within the department has paid dividends.

“I’m pretty pleased with this model,” he said. “There are a bunch of different models that are floating around the country – mental health clinicians would respond first before officers, that would never work. This one does work. They respond with the officers. They are called to different scenes. They work directly with our community police officers on a day-to-day basis.”

The chief, who is retiring in late June, said he believes additional clinicians could be brought on in the future.

“I think it’s an area that could be expanded upon, because it is a valuable asset,” he said. “I see the difference that it makes.”

The proposed budget for the Thomas Crane Public Library would increase from $3.76 million to $4.27 million. The position includes two new archivist positions at a salary of $53,450 each.

Sara Slymon, who is finishing her first year as the director of the library, said she wants to make its archives and special collections more accessible.

“Quincy is such an essential part of our nation’s history and when I arrived we had deeply siloed our archives and special collections services basically with one person, and there was a turnover time of basically a year to get basic genealogy or local history questions answered, and that’s just unacceptable,” she said.

The library has special collections that include handwritten letters from a number of important figures, like John Quincy Adams and Frederick Law Olmstead, which have not been catalogued, Slymon said; the archivists would help catalogue and digitize those items. The archivists could also help with things like docent tours of the historic library buildings and take part in the Quincy 400 initiative.

The budget for the TPAL Department would increase from $3.23 million in the current fiscal year to $3.37 million in the new one.

Ed Grennon, the head of the department, said the budget eliminates a general foreman position, which has been vacant for more than two years, and increases the number of traffic maintenance workers from one to three. Each of the maintenance worker positions has a salary of about $47,600.

Hiring the new maintenance workers will allow the department to add a new maintence crew, Grennon said.

“There is one crew that takes care of all the signage, all the pavement markings, does all the block offs for the parades, for the entire city,” he said. “Adding the two [new workers] will allow us to have two crews, which will be beneficial I think.”

The Department of Natural Resources budget is split between three separate entities – cemetery, parks and recreation.

The recreation budget would increase from $979,000 to $1.27 million. The budget would provide funding for a new recreation operations supervisor position at a salary of $72,800 and would also boost the line item for recreation leaders and other hourly staff from $619,000 to $799,000.

Michelle Hanly, the city’s recreation director, said the new supervisor position would allow the department to expand its offerings.

“There is only three full-time staff in the recreation department. I’m asking for a fourth so I can continue expand and I can actually see my family sometimes,” she said.

Koch had proposed increasing the cemetery budget from $1.16 million to $1.29 million. At the request of Dave Murphy, the city’s commissioner of natural resources, councillors on Tuesday cut $93,000 from the department’s personnel services budget to correct an error in the proposed budget.

The park budget would decrease by about $7,000 to $4.35 million. Koch had proposed moving the employees who maintain the public spaces in Quincy Center – including the Hancock-Adams Common and the Generals Park – to a separate department within the budget. The salaries for those employees had previously been divided between the park budget and the budget for the Department of Public Buildings.

City councillors are scheduled to hold their final series of budget hearings Wednesday evening. They are slated to discuss the budget for the Health Department, Department of Public Works, the city clerk’s office, the mayor’s office and their own budget.

Investigation By Troopers, Postal Inspectors Leads To Two Arrests, Seizure Of Multiple Kilos, After Intercept Of Cocaine Shipment

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A lengthy investigation by the Massachusetts State Police and United States Postal Inspectors led to the interception May 26 of three kilograms of suspected cocaine mailed from Puerto Rico to a large-scale Massachusetts drug trafficking enterprise.  

Troopers and Postal Inspectors found the cocaine when they executed a search warrant on the parcel after it was delivered to Stephen Marsden, 35, a resident at 100 Cove Way, Quincy on Friday morning. Marsden was placed under arrest and transported to the State Police-South Boston Barracks for booking. He was held on $50,000 cash bail pending his arraignment in Quincy District Court this week.  

As part of the investigation, a Trooper from the State Police Detective Unit for Norfolk County also obtained search warrants for Marsden’s apartment and his 2015 Infiniti Q50 sedan, as well as for a residence at 4 Allison Circle, Worcester, the home of Evans Klimavich, 41, a co-conspirator of Maersden’s in the drug organization, authorities said.  

The search of Marsden’s Quincy apartment yielded five firearms, 143 loose rounds of ammunition, dozens of THC edible packages, approximately 80 Xanax pills, a money counting device, and materials used in the packaging of narcotics. A check revealed that one of the guns had been stolen during a housebreak in Oxford, North Carolina. Marsden does not have a license to carry firearms.  

The search of Klimavich’s Worcester residence yielded another kilogram of suspected cocaine, approximately 50 pounds of marijuana, hundreds of vape cartridges, a quantity of psilocybin mushrooms, and approximately $52,000 in US currency. Klimavich was not in the residence when the search warrant was served around 11:30 a.m., but arrived home in his car a short time later while investigators were present. He was placed under arrest and transported to the State Police-Holden Barracks for booking pending bail and expected arraignment in Worcester District Court this week.  

Additionally, information developed during the search warrant on the Quincy apartment led Troopers to obtain another warrant to search office space rented by Marsden at 7 Oregon St., Fall River. The search of that address turned up four ghost guns – firearms without serial numbers, making them untraceable, assembled privately from unfinished and unregulated parts purchased separately or in kits – and large-capacity magazines. Investigators also seized several pounds of THC edibles and an ATM machine from the rented space and observed other apparent uncompleted ghost firearms in the process of being manufactured from unregulated parts. The investigation into the ghost guns is ongoing.  

Marsden is charged with trafficking in cocaine; possession of a Class C narcotic (THC edibles) with intent to distribute; possession of a Class E narcotic (Xanax) with intent to distribute; unlawful possession of a firearm (5 counts); possession of a firearm in commission of a felony; unlawful possession of ammunition; and improper storage of a firearm.

Klimavich is charged trafficking in cocaine; trafficking in marijuana; and trafficking in Class C narcotics (vape cartridges and mushrooms).  

The investigation was conducted by the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, the State Police Narcotics Section, and the US Postal Service. The State Police Detective Units for Worcester County and Bristol County, as well as the State Police Gang Unit, assisted in execution of the search warrants.  

Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office Warns Residents of Dating App Scam

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The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents to be vigilant against a new scam targeting users of online dating apps, with scammers impersonating law enforcement investigators in an attempt to extort money from app users.

In a recent attempted extortion scheme, an area resident user of the dating app “Coffee Meets Bagel” exchanged numbers with a person he assumed was a Norfolk County resident. He then received a call from a person who identified himself as an investigator with the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office and stated that the woman on the dating app was a minor who attempted to harm herself after her parents discovered the relationship. The scammer then told the man that the matter could be resolved if he agreed to pay for medical bills totaling over $11,000. The man also reported that he had been receiving text messages from numbers purporting to be the woman’s family members asking him to cover these medical expenses.

Suspicious of the interactions, the man contacted the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office to report the scam and confirm that the Sheriff’s Office does not ask for payments from residents or facilitate payments between parties.

“Scammers are skilled at preying on our emotional vulnerabilities in order to separate us from our money. Sometimes this is by preying on our relationships with others, our fears about the future, or threatening us with seemingly intense consequences,” said Sheriff McDermott. “If you are ever asked to give out personal information, money, or access to someone who you do not know or have not met, you should always cut off contact and immediately contact your local law enforcement.”

In addition to the “Coffee Meets Bagel” scam, the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office reports that a similar scam has been reported on the dating site Bumble. The Sheriff’s Office warns residents to be careful about giving out personal information or contact information on these sites. In addition to the dangers of scammers, revealing personal information such as your address can also put users at danger of being harmed. Before meeting with someone you met through an online app or website, be sure to tell someone where you are going and, if possible, share your location with them.

The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office reminds everyone that the Sheriff’s Office does not contact residents demanding payment or asking for payment on behalf of others. If you are ever contacted by someone claiming to be law enforcement who is demanding payment or threatening legal action, the Sheriff’s Office recommends hanging up and calling the agency that the person claimed to be from directly to confirm.

MBTA Announces Summer 2023 Bus Service Schedules Update, Key Change to Bus Operator Hiring Policy

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The MBTA announced Thursday (May 25) it is revising Summer 2023 bus service schedules to better reflect the service which will be run, as well as making a key change to the bus operator hiring policy that will bolster recruitment efforts.

The summer schedules go into effect on July 2, 2023. The MBTA will hold a public meeting next month to update the public on these upcoming changes, and information about the bus schedule changes will be posted in June at mbta.com/servicechanges.

Previously, bus operators could only begin their tenure on a part-time basis at the MBTA. Through conversations with Local 589, the MBTA and the union reached an agreement allowing the T to begin advertising for full-time operators now. The MBTA will also connect with current part-time operators to offer them the opportunity to transition to full-time status, including operators currently in training.

“MBTA riders deserve better bus service and the agreement with the Boston Carmen’s Union moves the T in the right direction to offer more reliable service, as it will increase the number of operators,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Gina Fiandaca. “I thank and congratulate MBTA managers and officials with Local 589 on this agreement, which will make jobs at the MBTA more attractive.”

“The agreement we’ve reached with Local 589 that allows us to hire bus operators into full-time positions is a tremendous step in strengthening and revitalizing the MBTA’s workforce by making the role more attractive to prospective candidates,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “Other recent hiring activities such as HR on the GO!, increased marketing campaigns, the $7,500 sign-on bonus, and free CDL classes for bus operators yielded a 112% increase in average monthly applications. Hiring more operators is imperative to providing the levels of bus service that our riders expect and deserve, and I thank Boston Carmen’s Union for their partnership.”

“This latest agreement to give bus drivers the option for full-time work is a very important step in the right direction toward improving working conditions and retention of frontline employees at the MBTA,”said Jim Evers, President of Carmen’s Local 589. “We applaud the new General Manager and the Healey administration for working with us to make this change that will contribute to their larger efforts to improve service availability and to retain a workforce. It’s a great way to get more workers in the door, and it does reflect a new approach from a new administration that is showing it values frontline workers and the interests of riders.”

Currently, MBTA bus service schedules do not always reflect bus arrival times due to operator shortages and not enough drivers to run routes daily. The new schedules will be in keeping with the MBTA Service Delivery Policy standards and will reduce the number of dropped trips. On a daily basis currently, one in 25-30 bus trips is dropped, resulting in uneven and unreliable service. Dropped trips are bus trips that do not operate, which occurs when there are not enough bus operators to run the stated bus schedules. Service disruptions, disabled vehicles, and other factors also contribute to dropped trips, but the availability of bus operators is the main driver.

With the goal of reducing the concentration of dropped trips on high ridership bus routes and scheduling impacts across a broad cross-section of routes in a planned way, the MBTA will publish schedules this summer that riders can rely on more by matching its bus schedules to the availability of bus operators.

Overall actual daily bus service will not change this summer, but reliability should improve and crowding on buses should lessen. Key Bus Routes, which serve the highest passenger volume corridors, will include about 2% more actual bus trips.

Published schedules have been revised to ensure that posted bus trips can be delivered. Under this revised schedule, the MBTA will provide, on average, 86% of pre-pandemic bus service. The previous schedule had service levels closer to 89%, but it was not attainable, resulting in many canceled trips. Scheduled service will be less frequent on 62 routes, mostly on weekdays especially during AM and PM peak hours.

Bus operator availability is a challenge currently experienced by transit agencies across the country. At the T, operator availability is driven by a number of factors, including hiring, separations and promotions, and absence rates. Since 2023, the MBTA is down approximately 200 bus operators versus pre-COVID operator availability. In the last 12 months, the MBTA has hired more than 200 operators, though not all have completed training and the MBTA continues to experience increased attrition.

Bus operator-focused recruitment and retention initiatives are already underway by the MBTA, including the recently implemented hiring of bus operators into full-time positions. Additional initiatives also include expanding the pool of potential hires, improving the utilization of the workforce, and improving job desirability through referral bonuses, training wage increases, sign-on bonuses (which were increased to $7,500), and relaunching the Safe Driver Award Program. New bus operator hiring initiatives are also underway to reshape the attractiveness of the role, including the launch of the MBTA’s HR on the GO! mobile hiring events and increasing publicity and communication around the benefits of working at the T.

For more information, visit mbta.com, or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, Instagram @theMBTA, or TikTok @thembta.

SJC Upholds Conviction In Quincy Murder

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By SCOTT JACKSON

The state’s highest court on Thursday upheld a Quincy man’s first-degree murder conviction for the 2009 killing of his girlfriend, Mary Beaton.

The defendant, Joseph Beatty, was convicted in 2019 of one count of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, and felony murder in connection with the 2009 killing of Beaton in her Quincy apartment. Beatty was sentenced to life without parole in state prison, plus a concurrent sentence of 25 to 30 years on a charge of aggravated rape.

In his appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court, Beatty argued the trial judge, Thomas Connors, abused his discretion in finding Beatty competent to stand trial and that the jury instructions were prejudicial. He also asked the court to use its authority under state law to reduce the degree of guilt or order a new trial.

The court rejected those arguments in a unanimous decision.

“We recognize that the defendant presented substantial evidence that he lacked criminal responsibility at the time he killed the victim. However, the Commonwealth presented substantial evidence to the contrary,” Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote in the 28-page decision.

“The jury were entitled to reject the testimony and opinions of the defendant and his expert and instead to credit the contrary evidence, including the opinion of the Commonwealth’s expert.  In short, the jury were entitled to conclude that the defendant was criminally responsible.”

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey applauded the high court ruling.

“We felt very strongly that Judge Connors did not abuse his discretion or commit error in his rulings and that Mr. Beatty’s conviction served justice,” Morrissey said in a statement.

The case was tried by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Blair and Assistant District Attorney Pamela Alford, with Victim/Witness Advocate Maureen Russell serving at trial and Victim/Witness Advocate Kristen Collins working on appeal.