Residents for Alternative Trash Solutions

Southbridge shares a dubious bond with Middleboro since retired Middleboro Town Manager Jack Healey shared his fuzzy math expertise with Southbridge as interim Town Manager.

Just as Jack decided a Tribal Casino was just the thing to resolve Middleboro's fiscal problems, he determined Southbridge needed a Mega Landfill.

Good news, Southbridge!

The DEP has NOT issued the permit to Casella! See below message & attachments.

They have required more information from Casella and proof of approval from the FAA. They responded directly to some of the thoughtful and justified concerns posed by the approximately 150 comments submitted to them.

Enjoy your weekend, knowing that you have had a part in protecting our community and working towards zero waste!

Residents for Alternative Trash Solutions
www.southbridgedump.org



Thank you for your recent comments on the Southbridge Landfill Facility permit modification.

Knowing of your interest, we wanted to advise you of the final permit, as modified and effective June 1, 2010. Attached is the permit and related documents. The permit also contains language governing appeal rights.

Sincerely,

Lynne Welsh
Acting Chief
Solid Waste Program
MassDEP-CERO
508 849-4007

For some background -- RATS:

This website is presented to share information amongst a citizens group of over 300 Southbridge, Sturbridge, and Charlton residents formed to prevent Casella Waste Systems’ proposed extension of the Southbridge Landfill to allow 400,000+ tons of municipal solid waste.



We oppose Casella's plan to make Southbridge a raw garbage dump for the state.


We call on the Southbridge Board of Health to protect the public health from the dangers of contaminated air and water, toxic gases, and overall environmental degradation by denying Casella's application.


Furthermore we call on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town governments of Southbridge, Sturbridge, and Charlton to further safeguard our region by making Zero Waste plans for waste reduction and safe management of discards.




The Southbridge Landfill is about to become the largest raw garbage landfill in Massachusetts! Casella Waste Systems plans to increase the permitted raw garbage to over 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste - raw garbage - there each year, including Boston's and Springfield’s trash. The trash thrown in Boston's garbage cans will travel over an hour west to be piled onto an already 800-foot high mountain of trash located in the center of three western Massachusetts communities - Southbridge, Sturbridge, and Charlton.



The problem in Southbridge is evident of a more profound statewide crisis when it comes to dealing with waste. Massachusetts residents produce almost 2 tons of trash per person each year, and recycling rates have actually fallen in recent years to 33%. Right now the state Department of Environmental Protection is drafting the next Solid Waste Master Plan, its blueprint for managing the Commonwealth’s garbage from 2010-2020. They are considering lifting a 19-year moratorium on building new incinerators, and allowing new trash-burners to be built in the state.



RATS! Residents for Alternative Trash Solutions, is committed to changing the way we deal with waste - on a local and state-wide level. We have grown our organization to include over a thousand people all not only opposed to this regional landfill and the numerous health and environmental problems it brings to our community, but also committed to moving our state forward towards zero waste. RATS has been working with other major environmental groups across the state in a coalition called Don’t Waste Massachusetts to urge the state to stop going down this burn and bury path and instead reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost to get to zero waste.



Our group's volunteers have accomplished so much in the past year. Our pro bono attorney represented us valiantly in the Board of Health site assignment hearings and the appeal to the Superior court following that decision. She is a Harvard grad, now stay at home mom, who works fearlessly against the waste company's slew of highly paid attorneys. We've founded this in-depth informational website that serves as a resource for other groups fighting landfills and moving towards zero waste all over the country. We've made a short film, with the help of a Washington DC-based film maker to show how decisions like this affect small communities and the importance of adopting zero waste solutions. We also created a short professionally-narrated animated segment to explain how a modern landfill works. Our volunteers have met with numerous state officials to educate them on landfilling and zero waste. We've focused on growing our contact list and educating the community about landfills, incineration, and their alternatives - since many resources available are funded or heavily influenced by the waste industry. We've done this at numerous conferences, gave lectures at colleges, and submitted articles to publications.



Our group has grown enormously since it was formed over a year ago and new opportunities are coming before us all the time. We have the opportunity to move forward with many new projects in this coming year. We plan on approaching the target of Zero Waste in our state with expanded legal efforts. We plan on improving and publicizing our short film and on increasing our communications by implementing new methods of public relations. We'd like to improve our community outreach by implementing a new phone call system to contact those who do not have access to email. We are also working on forming a web-based system to collect complaints and observations (odor, traffic, etc.) from households surrounding the landfill. Once perfected in our community, this same system could be used by any other town looking to gather information about any kind of environmental nuisance.



RATS! is unique in that we are using a grassroots approach to addressing a widespread problem that is severely under-represented in our culture. Our group can serve as a template for many other small groups. Already, we have been contacted from other groups as far as Nevada and Florida for resources and information. When groups like ours become interconnected, share information, and resources, the power of the environmental movement can grow exponentially.

RATS Not Forgotten!

Although the Southbridge Dump might seem forgotten, the RATS (Residents for Alternatives to Trashing Southbridge, that is!) are active, thriving and as opposed to being trashed as ever!

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Speak Out Southbridge is informative and worth the review.
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Massachusetts might choose to maintain its false image of pristine environmental policies, but this Administration seems hell bent on destroying the last vestiges of the myth, concealed behind green propaganda. Remember that an incinerator to your west rains down its pollution to the east or you get to inhale it. This shouldn't be an issue solely restricted to its immediate vicinity. Scientists are beginning to recognize the import of nano particles and their synergy with other environmental chemicals with which we are bombarded.

A co-mingling of interests intertwined when retired Middleboro Town Manager, Jack Healey, Crusader for the Middleboro Mega Monster Bingo Parlor became Southbridge's Interim Crusader for the Southbridge Mega Monster Casella Landfill.

Coincidentally, this same area of the state is confronting the identical threat posed by Predatory Gambling due to the Fools Gold of a proposed casino.

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Jack Healey does seem to spawn an eruption of grassroots activism and participation in his wake! Thanks, Jack, for waking up voters however unintentionally.


Southbridge: Not Forgotten

Southbridge and Mr. Healey

Mr. Healey and Those Ever Changing Laws

Talking Trash with Mr. Healey

Mr. Healey Inflicts Slap-Dash on Southbridge!

Thanks, Jack!

Middleboro's Gain is Southbridge's Loss

Middleboro's Gain is Southbridge's Loss

For the first time, the Middleboro Town Meeting Warrant Articles and the Town Budget were actually available for town residents 3 WEEKS BEFORE TOWN MEETING!

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Historically, town meeting voters have picked up their copy of the Warrant AT Town Meeting.

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The budget appears balanced and budget projections, never previously done, appear within reach.

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This accomplishment was under the tutelage of the interim Town Manager, Steve Lombard.
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Mr. Lombard has a low key style and got the job done without a fuss, and by working to make the information available on time, voters have circulated the warrant and discussed it and investigated it PRIOR to the public hearings. It seems that Mr. Lombard focused on working with Department Heads, working with the Finance Committee and presenting the budget in a timely fashion to the Board of Selectmen, and it was accomplished.

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The Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen are working together toward a common goal, instead of the previous hostile relationship created by Mr. Lombard's predecessor.

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In short, greater transparency has been created. We're not where we need to be as a Town with the current condition of the pathetic Town Web Site, but the availability of the budget information has been a good start.

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And Middleboro's future appears brighter with a new Town Manager arriving who can proudly advertise a triple A bond rating from his current employers. Not so Middleboro with our current A2 bond rating that costs a premium for historical poor choices.

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While Middleboro's future seems bright after a legacy of FUZZY MATH, courtesy of the creator of the method of municipal finance, pity poor Southbridge that seems to have taken on our problems.

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It seems Middleboro's Retired Town Manager, from whom no one ever asked for the Town Hall keys, has pursued his great love of spreading the FUZZY MATH model to other towns, as well as spreading comparable loosing landfill deals.

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Rumor has it that the same attorney who negotiated Middleboro's Waste Management Whopper recommended Mr. Healey for the Southbridge Landfill Fiasco. And Mr. Healey's FUZZY MATH prevails! Anyone remember how the numbers changed?

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Mr. Healey's revenue figures are a source of wonderment like a Chia Pet he waters at night.

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Middleboro has much to be thankful for during Mr. Healey's reign. One major accomplishment might be a casino agreement that should have netted the Town of Middleboro + $20 MILLION for a percentage of slot revenues that Mr. Healey successfully reduced to $7 MILLION.

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Great job, Jack! We're forever thankful!

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To Southbridge residents: Jack won't overstay his welcome. He'll run out of assets to sell to fund expenses, but could you return the Town Hall keys?

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You might want to check what the carefully worded Department of Revenue Report had to say about Middleboro funding expenses with one time revenue sources and other things or what the Auditors reported. Sorry! You won't find it on the Town Web Site! But you'll find it HERE.

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If you have any doubts about the Waste Management deal in Middleboro, you might want to check out the Southbridge site. At least the residents appear better informed and more concerned about their environment, like those nasty things that get dumped in rivers: RATS

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Gee, do you think the stuff dumped in the Nemasket River could have anything to do with the decline of the herring? Does anyone know? And what do you suppose will happen if the mega monster comes?

Southbridge, Landfills and Mr. Healey

The following was published in response to Retired Middleboro Town Manager Jack Healey's involvement with the proposed Southbridge Mega Landfill:

To the Editor:

Our Board of Health doesn't need any more of Healy's relentless
pressure, which has been deemed inappropriate by both the landfill
Hearing Officer and by Marcia Benes, the director of the Massachusetts
Association of Health Boards. Perhaps Mr. Healy should give the MAHB
lawyer a call before continuing with his fear mongering to intimidate
these five volunteers who are doing their best to do their job: to
make their decision based on health and environmental facts—not fear.

Healey decried fear-mongering then threatened to cut every aspect of
the Southbridge budget. Sadly, Healey does have a poor reputation
financially; he left Middleboro a mess that auditors are still working
to sort out. The Middleboro Gazette coined the phrase "fuzzy math"
when talking about his tactics of trying to use short term revenue to
fund the current budget. His character was "assassinated" by his
hometown, not us, though his history is repeating itself here. Notice
he can't deny any of the facts.

As for recycling, the problem with the "single stream" recycling is
that much of it ends up in the landfill. Check out Recycle Bank
financials. Casella owns 20% of it and it's losing money. Not that
there is any evidence that Casella is interested in recycling. In New
York Casella was fined $90,000 for dumping carefully washed but
less-than-lucrative recyclables in their landfills. The fines were
used to pay back 2000 customers for recycling service they didn't get.

In the landfill hearings the words of public health research David
Carpenter were devastating, especially given that many of us who live
in a three mile radius of the dump have children. Statistics signify
regions surrounding landfills have increased hospitalizations for
asthma, infectious respiratory disease, diabetes, Cardiovascular
disease, hypothyroid syndrome and genital disease in women. Dr.
Carpenter clearly explained how the inhalation of toxins in the air
and known carcinogens leaching into the water were his primary
concerns. He was especially concerned about children because of their
sensitivity to toxins during development. He cited research results of
higher rates of birth defects and hormonal disruption of babies born
of women living in areas surrounding landfills.

None of us are going anywhere, we will continue to fight the landfill
expansion and the bigger fight for state legislation so this doesn't
happen to any community. The Massachusetts DEP needs to join the 21st
century and adopt policies that are truly protective of health and the
environment. If this modification goes through and we have 405,000
tons of unsorted raw garbage coming into Southbridge every year, it
will harm the air and water in the entire tri-community area. It's an
undeniable fact that eventually two layers of plastic and the
imperfect technology of gas collection will not contain the toxins in
that mountain of garbage and then we'll have a Superfund site
here—but
will there be a Superfund to clean it up?
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For Mr. Healey, getting a "free lunch" from Casella seems like the
easy path. However, as a pregnant woman with two small children, well
water and a home no more than a mile from the dump, I can tell you
that in this instance the easy path is not the right one.

Sincerely,

Lara DeRose

DEP asked to nullify hearings LINK

CarverChick raised the issue of the impacts of effluent on the Nemasket River, a treasured resource that Mr. Healey dismissed in his haste to cram a casino onto a Town, while the Middleboro Board of Selectmen behaved like Bobble Heads and blindly followed:

Of Special Concern
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The Middleboro Board of Selectmen authorized Mr. Healey to investigate the interest of the Mashpee Wamppanoags to locate a casino in Middleboro, but specifically instructed Mr. Healey NOT to negotiate the terms.

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Mr. Healey auctioned the proposed casino land to investors at a bargain basement price of $14,000 per acre, at a time house lot were selling for $200,000 per acre, in a poorly advertised auction as was his custom in ALL other Town auctions.

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Mr. Healey (along with Attorney Whitten, who lacked ANY experience in the area of law) instead negotiated an Agreement that set the bar at $7 MILLION AND WAS GROSSLY FLAWED.

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Twin Rivers, the Rhode Island casino, will net the host community + $20 MILLION because it provides for a percentage of slots.

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Check out the recent articles about casino profits:

Truth to Power

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Mr. Healey cheated the Town of Middleborough out of + $20 MILLION per year because he picked a number out of the ethers.

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There are other linked blogs on the right side of this screen that provide greater detail of the casino fiasco that Jack Healey created.

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Fortunately, the Commonwealth House of Representatives has defeated Class III Gaming this year and the Secretary of the Interior Kempthorne has correctly viewed this process as 'Casino Shopping,' in which the newly recognized Tribe has no historical ties to the host community. Mr. Healey's grandiose scheme has been successfully thwarted by others.

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Businesses love to see Mr. Healey coming because he fails to gather his facts or research the details.

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How is $7 MILLION close to + $20 MILLION?

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Please don't allow Mr. Healey's FUZZY MATH to prevail in Southbridge.

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Jack Healey and the Casino Investors

Excerpts of an article that appeared in the Cape Cod Times on December 18, 2007 (excerpts below, emphasis mine):

Casino investors engineered secret deal

In a secret deal, casino investors for the Mashpee Wampanoag secured an option on 200 acres in Middleboro two days before they purchased 125 adjacent acres from the town.

The deal, and the secrecy surrounding it, may have resulted in the town garnering less money than it could have had the deal last April been more widely advertised.

Former Middleboro Town Manager Jack Healey, who first proposed the auction to raise money for the cash-strapped town, has since retired and could not be reached for comment. Town and tribe officials first met in March to begin talking about a proposed casino, according to Times archives.

Middleboro selectmen approved the auction April 9 and it was held April 27. The auction was advertised only in the local weekly newspaper, town Treasurer Judy MacDonald said.

But if the town wanted to get top dollar for the property, it should have done more advertising, Stevens said.

By comparison, Sandwich officials recently hired a professional auctioneer to advertise and accept bids on property sold by the town this month. The auctioneer advertised the properties in real estate publications in Massachusetts and New York, as well as regional newspapers, attracting 60 registered bidders.

A 34-acre parcel, the Sandwich auction's premier property, fetched $900,000 — about $26,470 an acre, or $12,000 more per acre than the Middleboro land generated.

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Speeded up for budget

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The Middleboro auction was held so quickly to make the funds available for this year's town budget, MacDonald said.

As for hiring an auctioneer, MacDonald said, the town's been doing its own auctions for several years. "Why pay someone when we can do it ourselves?" she said.

Auctioneers, like the one hired in Sandwich, are paid through a premium charged to the buyer over and above the purchase price — usually 9 or 10 percent. CapeCodTimes

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Southbridge, Landfills and Mr. Healey

Jack Healey and the Casino

Southbridge and Mr. Healey

Perry Property and Jack Healey

Talking Trash with Mr. Healey #2

Mr. Healey: Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

Mr. Healey and Those Ever Changing Laws

Mr. Healey's Legacy Continues to Haunt

Talking Trash with Mr. Healey

Mr. Healey Inflicts Slap-Dash on Southbridge!

Thanks, Jack!

Middleboro's Gain is Southbridge's Loss

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Middleboro slows 'frantic' casino pace

Betting the farm

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The DOR Report and the Financial audit for Middleboro appear on the nemasket site.

Mr. Healey Inflicts Slap-Dash on Southbridge!

Retired Middleboro Town Manager, Mr. Jack Healey is known for his Slap-Dash Management style in which he auctioned land at a poorly publicized town auction to casino investors for a pittance of its value (~ $14,000 Per Acre), leaving the town to negotiate a flawed Intergovernmental Municipal Agreement with no bargaining chip left.

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(Of course, the money earned at that auction, one-time revenue, was used at the Fall Town Meeting to fund budget shortfalls, euphemistically called the Structural Deficit, a customary Middleboro practice.)

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Mr. Healey has taken his ill-considered management style to Southbridge to inflict a Mega Landfill on the region.

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With his vast scientific comprehension, he assures the leachate involved is essentially “dirty water." Telegram

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It looks like Southbridge needs more accurate reporting.

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One must wonder if Southbridge town leaders have the sense to recognize that more time is required to consider the ramifications of the project since Middleboro's leaders were easily lead down their primrose path.

Thanks, Jack!

As a consequence of Middleboro's RETIRED Town Manager being immersed in trash in Southbridge, he has unwittingly provided some interesting contacts and information and resources.

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Thanks, Jack!

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During one of those conversations, it was revealed that Southbridge takes those CABLE FEES that are paid to the town and funds their own Local Access Programming Department as a non-profit. They actually have someone who is paid to air a wide array of local meetings for educational purposes, to Jack's dismay.

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Gee, that sounds like a prescription for transparency!

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Some say that transparency piqued Jack mightily and caused him to want to rid the town of such a dastardly varmint who aired public hearings better left private.

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Does anyone seem to know what's done with those fees in Middleboro? Wonder why Jack never thought of doing that. Ooops! I think I know.

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It seems to fulfill my MUSHROOM FARMING THEORY -- you know, raised in the dark and fed a diet of manure.

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For a town the size of Southbridge, 4,000 homes, the annual total is ~ $160,000.

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With the direction in which newspapers are headed, sounds like a win-win for local coverage.

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Middleboro's Gain is Southbridge's Loss

Southbridge: Not Forgotten

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Middleboro's Retired Town Manager left a legacy to Middleboro that consisted of Fuzzy Math, Management by Crisis, a Mega Casino Deal worth +$20 Million that he negotiated for $7 Million, Million Dollar Land Locked Swampland and much else. (LINK)

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For the sake of accuracy, some might have noticed that Milford is being primed for $50 Million as my fellow blogger, Bellicose Bumpkin noted. Ever one who knows the value of the dollar and is a ducky negotiator, Mr. Healey did a bang up job in Middleboro!

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On discovering that his Fuzzy Math legacy had followed him to Southbridge, it is rumored that he sputtered about lawsuits and much else.

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Unfortunately, Mr. Healey's Mega Casino Deal, conducted mostly behind closed doors, created internet monsters that followed him!

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In Mr. Healey's retirement, he created a Mega Monster of a landfill deal based on much the same flawed Management Style on which his previous employment was based and with many of the same characters:

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Sign on the dotted line or the town will self-destruct

This is the best deal you're going to get

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and the rest of the tired rhetoric Middleboro heard for + 20 years.

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Speak Out Southbridge is offered as a reminder of the consequences of poor decisions and voters tolerating poor management.

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And while you're at it, check out RATS.

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Thanks, Dennis for the update.

MASSterList:Summit scratch | School laundromats? | Family-leave feud

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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan 06/01/2017 Summit scratch | School laundromats? | Family-leave feud

Happening Today

Alcohol Task Force The Alcohol Task Force that Treasurer Deborah Goldberg convened to review the state’s alcohol laws and regulations holds another meeting, Leominster Public Library, 30 West St., 11 a.m.

Narcan lock-boxes Dr. Scott Goldberg, director of emergency medical services at Brigham and Women's Hospital, talks ‘Radio Boston’ about his push for publicly accessible Narcan lock-boxes in Cambridge, WBUR-FM 90.9, 3 p.m.

Blackstone Park groundbreaking U.S Rep. James McGovern, Sen. Michael Moore, Rep. Daniel Donahue, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and others speak at a groundbreaking for the new Blackstone Gateway Park, McKeon Road and Blackstone River Road; adjacent to 115 McKeon Road, Worcester, 3 p.m.

Boston innovation festival Boston Mayor Martin Walsh hosts the ‘Courtyard Festival,’ a one-night speaker event on the theme ‘cementing innovation,’ City Hall Plaza, 5 p.m.

Markey town hall U.S. Sen. Ed Markey will hold a town hall meeting to talk about the impact of President Donald Trump's administration on Massachusetts, Paramount Theater, 559 Washington St., Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Today's News

Rosenberg: Family leave may head to referendum if lawmakers don’t act Senate President Stan Rosenberg is raising the stakes in the Beacon Hill battle over paid family leave, saying the issue could end up before voters as a ballot question if lawmakers balk at approving the measure this session, reports SHNS’s Katie Lannan at the Recorder. "I am hopeful that the legislature will take this question up during this term and get it to the Governor's desk," Rosenberg wrote during a Facebook Q&A yesterday. "If we fail to do so, I expect there will be a ballot question putting this matter into the hands of voters. It would be far better to do it in the legislature than the ballot.” Recorder

Walsh: That’s it, no climate-change summit Another day, another major Boston event down the drain. Fed up with Trump administration foot dragging and faced with the likelihood of a U.S. pullout from the Paris climate accord, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says that plans to hold a major international climate summit in Boston this summer have been scrapped, reports the Globe’s David Abel. . ... Let's see: No climate summit. No Summer Olympics. No IndyCar.  Are you starting to notice a pattern here? Boston Globe

Local pols and activists blast Trump over U.S. pullout from Paris accords Benjamin Swasey at WBUR has a good round-up of local reactions to reports that President Trump later today plans to announce the U.S. is pulling out of the Paris climate accord. Some samples: Mayor Walsh is calling the move “foolish,” Gov. Baker is describing it as “disappointing and counterproductive,” and U.S. Ed Markey is labeling it “an economic, security and moral failure.” SHNS’s Michael Norton at the MetroWest Daily News and Chris Villani at the Boston Herald have more reactions from conservationists, U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III and others. WBUR

To keep kids in school, Worcester offers laundry machines School officials in Worcester plan to install laundry washers and dryers in four schools, saying an experiment at one middle school this year showed offering students clean clothes can help curb absenteeism, Scott O’Connell of the Telegram reports. At least part of the funding for the project will come from UMass Medical School.  Telegram

State receiver for Southbridge schools put on leave This is somewhat of a mystery – and the last thing Southbridge schools need at this point. From Brian Lee at the Telegram: “A school district that was taken over by the state, in part because of its record of high administrative turnover, has been hit with another disruption in its top leadership. State education officials confirm that Jessica L. Huizenga, the state-appointed receiver for Southbridge public schools, is on a leave of absence.” Officials aren’t explaining why she’s taking the paid leave, other than saying it’s a “personnel matter.” Telegram

Reverend who blessed Gov. Baker’s election caught soliciting prostitute From the pulpit to the hoosegow, A. Livingston Foxworth, a Dorchester pastor, was among a group of would-be johns allegedly caught soliciting a prostitute during an undercover police sting, the Herald is reporting. Foxworth notably gave Baker and his wife a blessing in November 2014 after Baker’s election as governor. “Gov. Baker is saddened by this news and is confident the courts will examine the facts and reach an appropriate decision,” said a Baker spokesman. “The Baker-Polito Administration has made combating human trafficking a priority by working across state government to enact anti-trafficking policies.” Boston Herald

Former Treasurer Cahill lands Quincy chamber gig Tim Cahill, the former state treasurer who got into legal problems over his office’s airing of Lottery commercials that looked suspiciously more like political ads, has landed a key job as president and CEO of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce, according to a report at Wicked Local. Say what you will about Cahill, he knows politics and finance – and he’s probably a good fit at the chamber as Quincy undergoes major development changes. Wicked Local

Harvard Square Theater may be revived – after nearly an entire block is demolished File under ‘They had to destroy it in order to save it’: The Globe’s Dan Adams reports that the former Harvard Square Theater would be demolished and replaced with a five-story, 50,000-square-foot office and retail complex under a plan being floated by owner Gerald Chan. Let’s put it this way: The design rendering accompanying the story sure doesn’t look like Harvard Square-style architecture – and yet many leaders in the normally argumentative Cambridge are praising the plan. Go figure. Boston Globe

The Eye Team: Warren establishes ‘DeVos Watch’ U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced that she’s launching a new “DeVos Watch” project to keep track of U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, reports Shannon Young at MassLive. "We'll raise questions and concerns and when we get reasonable answers everybody will benefit from hearing them,” Warren said in a video. “And, when we don't? Everybody's going to see that too.” MassLive

Ethics Commission would gain more regulatory power under task force plan From SHNS’s Colin Young at the Globe: “The task force set up by the Legislature to review state ethics laws is expected to throw its support behind granting the State Ethics Commission full regulatory authority, and will hand its work off to legislative committees to consider further changes to the ethics laws.”

Bills seek to limit ‘wild west’ of drone use Two bills before the state legislature would place limits on how law enforcement uses drones, including requiring warrants for their use in surveillance, Andy Metzger of State House News Service reports. Both Republican Sen. Patrick O’Connor and Democrat Sen. Michael Moore have filed bills to regulate what O’Connor calls a “‘wild west” situation with no restrictions on the aircrafts’ use.  SHNS (pay wall)

Hitting the beach ... on buses The MBTA has unveiled its plan to get commuters and beach-goers to and from the North Shore this summer when it shut downs the Newburyport and Rockport lines for repairs and, much to the chagrin of some riders, the alternative is buses, Dustin Luca of the Gloucester Times reports. But lawmakers from the region lauded the T for coming up with any kind of plan at all.   Gloucester Times

One word: Fabrics One would think that textile manufacturing is largely a thing of the past in Massachusetts. But it’s not – and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, armed with a $11.3 million grant from the state, is planning to open a new Fabric Discovery Center to help with the development, testing and manufacturing of consumer and commercial fabrics that are increasingly being blended with flexible electronics, reports the Globe’s Deirdre Fernandes. Boston Globe

Box office flops, state subsidy hits Even though they bombed at the box office, three made-in-Massachusetts flicks received more than $42 million in state tax credits last year, reports the Herald’s Matt Stout. It’s almost as if Hollywood producers, knowing they may have a lemon on their hands, film here to hedge their financial bets, a sort of pre-emptive damage control move. Boston Herald

Undocumented immigrant seeks refuge in Cambridge church A woman facing deportation back to her native Ecuador and her two children are seeking refuge from immigration authorities inside a Cambridge church, the first case of its type to emerge in the state, Lisa Wangsness of the Globe reports. Boston Globe

Arrests of non-criminal immigrants up three-fold Meanwhile, Shannon Dooling at WBUR reports that the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record has tripled so far this year. As of April, 335 non-criminals have been arrested by federal immigration officials, up from 104 during the same period last year.  WBUR

‘Buffoonery abroad’ We were worried that we drifted too far off the local political path the other day when we posted on President Trump’s disastrous summit meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders. But it seems the Globe’s Joan Vennochi and Scot Lehigh, both of whom normally cover all things local, were also shocked at the president’s boorish behavior overseas. Joan is now referring to Merkel as the ‘new leader of the free world’ – and she’s probably right.

The ghost of Aaron Hernandez: Bill would ban wiping away convictions if inmates commit suicide From the Herald’s Matt Stout: “Convicts who commit suicide would forfeit their right to an appeal — thus keeping their conviction intact — under a new bill a Boston lawmaker said would change the antiquated law that wiped away Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction. ‘This highlighted a problem in our system,’ said state Rep. Evandro Carvalho, a Dorchester Democrat. ‘I think this is beyond symbolism adding ... We’re trying to say, in the future it shouldn’t happen.” Boston Herald

Rate-hike relief eyed for Western Mass. customers Eversource wants to reduce the rate increase it planned for its customers in Western Massachusetts, saying it was responding to public feedback on its draft plan for $96 million in rate hikes, Larry Parnass of the Berkshire Eagle reports. But the details of the new rate structure are not yet in place, which could complicate a review by Attorney General Maura Healey before the Department of Public Utilities begins its hearings on them later this month. Berkshire Eagle

Today's Headlines Metro Developer says Dudley Square’s first skyscraper would spur additional development - Universal Hub JetBlue will test facial-recognition boarding technology in Boston - Boston Business Journal Boston scraps summit on climate with China - Boston Globe

Massachusetts Mass. politicians blast Trump after reports say he’ll withdraw U.S.from Paris climate deal - WBUR Number of immigrants without criminal records arrested by ICE triples in New England - WBUR DeLeo: Options exist to close budget gap - Lowell Sun $10 million state grant could trigger a second industrial revolution in Lowell - Lowell Sun SouthCoast suppliers vie for piece of the offshore wind pie - Standard-Times Seven suburbs blast Eversource solar proposal - CommonWealth Magazine Worcester’s mounted police begin with a slow gait - Telegram & Gazette Mass.-made box-office bombs got $42 million in tax write-offs last year - Boston Herald Berkshire County reacts to hint that Trump wants to leave Paris climate accord - Berkshire Eagle A USA versus Japan baseball series is coming to Worcester - Worcester Magazine Nation The economic cost of leaving the Paris agreement - NPR How Jared Kushner built a skyscraper using loans meant for job-starved areas - Washington Post Comey is expected to testify, if he isn’t blocked by Trump - New York Times New York Times eliminates its public editor - Politico