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TexasTowelie's JournalQuincy man accused of abusing children at unlicensed daycare operated out of his home
QUINCY - A Quincy man is facing child rape charges after being accused of assaulting multiple children at an unlicensed daycare center operated out of his home, according to The Patriot Ledger.
Adalberto H. Freitas, 67, is charged with multiple counts of rape of a child by force and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Quincy District Court on Tuesday.
Authorities say Freitas, who is a Brazilian immigrant, ran an illegal daycare center with his wife out of their apartment at 105 Copeland St., Apt. 105.
He was arrested after two girls--one 12-years-old and the other 10-years-old-- told their parents that he had been molesting them for four years.
Read more: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/02/quincy_man_accused_of_molestin.html#incart_river_home
Massachusetts orders utilities to lower rates after tax cut
BOSTON — State regulators are ordering Massachusetts utilities to lower their rates to reflect the reduction in the federal corporate tax rate approved by Congress.
The Department of Public Utilities on Friday instructed the utilities to account for any revenues associated with the difference between the previous and current federal corporate tax rates.
The agency also ordered the utilities to submit by May 1 their proposals to lower their rates to incorporate the reduction in the federal corporate tax rate.
Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey called the DPU decision "a huge victory for ratepayers" and said the agency had agreed with her office that all utility companies in Massachusetts must use the corporate savings from this federal tax bill to lower rates for customers.
Eversource had already agreed to lower their rates.
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2018/02/massachusetts_orders_utilities_to_lower_rates_after_tax_cut
New England colleges have one big worry: 2025
When she was a high school freshman, Praise Hall lived in a hotel room in Colorado with her parents and six siblings. Even back then she knew she wanted to go to college one day, but it didn’t seem possible.
“I looked at my parents and I was like, how are we going to afford college?” she recalled in an interview last week from Bowdoin College, where she is a sophomore. “My mom looked at me and she was like, it’s all going to work out.”
And it did — in what she calls a miracle, she was awarded a full scholarship to Bowdoin, an elite liberal arts college in Maine. Her life will never be the same.
In college admissions jargon, Hall is a first-generation, low-income student of color, the type of student who used to be an anomaly on the white, middle-class campuses of New England’s many colleges. But increasingly, people like her are becoming a more common presence.
Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/02/03/new-england-colleges-have-one-big-worry/DWUWVTg36Z2Yz9C8QO9sAM/story.html
Kennedy, Moulton in separate orbits, for now
WASHINGTON — The two hottest political stars in Massachusetts often seem to be blazing off in different directions.
One is descended from Democratic royalty, with his family’s unmistakable big smile, thick hair, and Hyannis Port pedigree.
He plays the role of dutiful, loyal team player, groomed for a bright future on the national stage. He is respectful — humble even — and was rewarded by party elders with a national speaking slot after the State of the Union address last week.
The other is a brash former Marine captain and Iraq War combat veteran, a renegade, defiantly leading an insurgency against Washington’s old guard Democrats and wearing his national aspirations on his sleeve.
Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/02/03/mass-political-stars-blaze-different-directions/v8mbHa7yct9wlt1WmNU09H/story.html
Faded Blue:There's A Democratic Wave Sweeping The Country, But Will It Reach The Top Of Beacon Hill?
Last November, rank-and-file liberals picked up a much-needed and long overdue morale boost in the form of sweeping electoral victories for the Democratic Party in New Jersey and Virginia. Phil Murphy (NJ) and Ralph Northam (VA) exceeded expectations in dominant gubernatorial wins while the Dems made gains in each respective lower chamber. (Democrats came just a hat draw away from erasing a 32-seat deficit in the Virginia House of Delegates.)
Pundits were already saying that election was a harbinger of the 2018 midterms when the unthinkable happened — Democrat Doug Jones won the Alabama special election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the US Senate, ending a quarter century of Republican dominance in the state’s upper-chamber delegation.
For the blue team, who fared far better electorally through the first year of President Trump than Republicans managed through 2009 — Obama’s first year in office — the narrative was set: 2018 will yield watershed moments for the motivated opposition.
It’s pointless at this juncture to debate whether a national wave will materialize. What’s more important is to scope the state and local pieces. In Massachusetts , the so-called East Coast liberal epicenter, what’s to come of popular Republican Gov. Charlie Baker?
Read more: https://digboston.com/faded-blue-theres-a-democratic-wave-sweeping-the-country-but-will-it-reach-the-top-of-beacon-hill/
While Baker is popular it is also important to keep in mind that he has power to decide other elections on the ballot by methods such as redistricting where he can approve plans that gerrymander the state. Never trust a Republican about anything political. Vote Democratic.
Plan would overhaul Vermont school taxes, add new income tax
MONTPELIER - House lawmakers are considering a major change to Vermont's education tax system, including a new education income tax and other changes designed to make a stronger link between voters' school budget decisions and their wallets.
Rep. Janet Ancel, D-Calais, who is leading the effort as chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has said her goal is to make the often-confusing tax formula "more fair, simpler to understand, more direct."
The plan would set up a hybrid school tax system using a lower homestead education property tax rate and a new education income tax. Non-residential property taxes would remain unchanged.
The new income tax rate would increase with adjusted gross income, replacing the current system of an income sensitivity on Vermonters' property tax bills. Lawmakers have yet to settle on tax brackets or rates, but a recent document uses rates from 0 to 1.70 percent as "placeholders."
Read more: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/government/2018/02/02/plan-would-overhaul-vt-school-taxes-including-new-income-tax-erhaul-would-pair-reduced-property-tax/1082429001/
Driscoll Leverages Relationship With Sanders in Campaign Ad
Burlington mayoral candidate Carina Driscoll is touting her relationship with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the campaign trail — in spite of her avowed commitment to separate herself politically from her stepfather.
Driscoll posted paid campaign ads on Facebook and Instagram featuring a black-and-white photo of her with Sanders. The ads refer to her as Sanders' "daughter" rather than "stepdaughter," as she has previously referred to herself.
"I am Bernie's daughter, and am one of the thousands of people across this country inspired by Bernie to lead during this challenging time," the ad reads. It lists Driscoll's political experience on the Burlington School Board, on the city council and in the Vermont legislature. "I am also a candidate in my own right," it says.
Driscoll is running as an independent against Democratic incumbent Miro Weinberger and independent Infinite Culcleasure for the Queen City's top job.
Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2018/01/31/driscoll-leverages-relationship-with-sanders-in-campaign-ad
Bernie Sanders Amasses $6 Million Campaign Account
Vermont's three members of Congress continued to amass multimillion-dollar campaign war chests in 2017, according to new reports submitted this week to the Federal Election Commission.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) accumulated a whopping $6.17 million, his year-end report shows. That's for Sanders' as-yet-undeclared 2018 senatorial campaign, which is where he's been funneling all his political donations. He can, of course, transfer that money to a presidential campaign organization, should he choose to seek the Democratic nomination in 2020.
During the fourth quarter of 2017, Sanders raised almost $693,000 (virtually all from small individual donors) and spent $379,000. Those are fairly astounding figures, but they pale in comparison to the inflow and outflow earlier in the year. During the second quarter, for instance, his campaign raised $1.3 million. The bottom line: Sanders has an unmatched ability to raise seemingly limitless funds without reliance on political action committees or generous oligarchs.
And between his bank account and his home-state popularity, it's hard to imagine a serious Republican challenge to his bid for reelection. Assuming, of course, that there is such a bid. Sanders himself resolutely turns away any question about his 2018 plans, though his former campaign manager and chief of staff hints there will be.
Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2018/02/01/walters-bernie-sanders-amasses-6-million-campaign-account
State reports more progress in Vermont Yankee talks
MONTPELIER — Reporting they have made “significant progress” in confidential talks to resolve the state’s concerns about the proposed sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to a New York City demolition company, state regulators have asked the Public Utility Commission for more time to finalize a deal.
“The parties have continued to engage in productive negotiations with participation from all interested parties,” the parties reported to the PUC in a letter sent Thursday afternoon.
“Although significant progress has been made, those negotiations are ongoing and additional time is required to allow that process to run its course,” the letter from lawyers representing the Department of Public Service, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and the Attorney General’s Office stated.
The Public Utility Commission on Friday agreed with the request, canceling next week’s status conference and ordering all sides in the case to report back next week with an update.
Read more: http://www.rutlandherald.com/articles/state-reports-more-progress-in-yankee-talks/
New York to remove highway signs after feds threaten to pull $14M
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York state will replace hundreds of tourism signs along its highways after officials in Washington said the state would lose $14 million in federal funding if the signs weren't removed.
State officials announced Friday evening that they will install new signs this summer and will consult with the federal government on the signs' designs.
New York spent more than $8 million on the "I Love NY" signs in recent years. Federal officials told Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to remove them because they were unsafe, but he refused. The federal officials warned the state Thursday that it would lose $14 million unless it complies with the sign regulations by June 30.
State officials stopped short of admitting defeat, saying the new signs are needed anyway for a new tourism campaign.
http://www.wcax.com/content/news/NY-to-remove-highway-signs-after-feds-threaten-to-pull-14M-472410493.html
(shprt article)
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