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☆ After wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars, one Massachusetts school finally turns off its lights — left on for over a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Massachusetts school finally can turn off its lights, which have been on since August 2021 due to a technical glitch. "We are very much aware this is costing taxpayers a significant amount of money," a school official told NBC. Reflex Lighting, the company contracted to fix the lights, arrived at the school this week to reprogram the faulty system and begin turning off the lights, NBC Boston reported. Part of the issue was that ownership of the software company changed several times after the initial installation, according to NBC. "And yes, there will be a remote override switch so this won't happen again," Paul Mustone, president of Reflex Lighting, told NBC.

☆ The top doctor at a $2.7 billion pharma company developing a new depression drug says we may be 'on the cusp' of a new wave of mental-health treatments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Most depression treatments don't work quickly and are meant to be taken for long periods of time. Sage Therapeutics is developing a fast-acting drug that patients take for two weeks. That's according to Laura Gault, the chief medical officer at Sage Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based company working to develop a new antidepressant drug, called zuranolone. Sage's stock has climbed 7.9% in the past 12 months, giving the company a market value of about $2.7 billion. Unlike most other antidepressants, zuranolone is designed to be taken for a short period of timeIn trials, zuranolone has improved symptoms of major depressive disorder and postpartum depression.

☆ The US promised the Cherokee Nation a seat in Congress in a treaty that fueled the Trail of Tears. 188 years later, the Cherokee say lawmakers may finally fulfill that promise.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Cherokee Nation was promised a seat in Congress in the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. The Cherokee Nation appears closer than ever to finally seating a delegate. She said lawmakers asked tough questions, but she felt "very optimistic" the Cherokee delegate was something the committee ultimately supported. The Cherokee Nation is continuing to galvanize support and encourages US citizens to reach out to their representatives in Congress and tell them to fulfill the treaty promise. "I think the stars are aligned for a Cherokee Nation delegate to be seated," she said.

☆ Patients got used to emailing their doctors with health questions during the pandemic. Now hospitals are charging them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hospitals are charging patients for their emails and other correspondence with doctors. Some hospital officials say the strategy increases healthcare access, but advocates worry charges could deter patients who need care. Hospitals nationwide have begun to charge for emails and other correspondence with their doctors, the Associated Press reported. After Covid led patients to avoid crowded hospitals and waiting rooms, and condense what used to be in-person visits to emails and video calls, hospitals say doctors spent more time responding to health question emails and messages, the Associated Press reported. But advocates worry the strategy will lead patients to avoid seeking care when they need it, for fear of being charged.

☆ A Massachusetts Couple Traded Their Historic Farmhouse for Something Much More Modern
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Nancy Keates | Photographs Bob O Connor For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Donna Morgan calls the ladies’ dresses she used to design for her eponymous clothing line “conservative”—the kind of reasonably priced, colorful garments you might see at a dinner party in the South or on a bevy of bridesmaids. But Ms. Morgan has always dressed herself in modern, minimalist, Japanese-inspired, mostly black clothes. “I never wore any of my own dresses,” she says.

☆ A consulting firm is suing Twitter, saying it is owed over $2 million for work it did trying to force through Elon Musk's acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The firm claims it is owed over $2 million for work it did related to forcing through Elon Musk's acquisition. Charles River Associates brought the suit against Twitter in a Massachusetts state court on Thursday, which was first reported by Bloomberg. The companies entered into an agreement in August 2022, and CRA began preliminary work on the materials, court documents say. In the lawsuit, CRA says it sent four invoices to Twitter between September and November 2022 for work totalling $2.19 million, but the social-media company stopped replying to its emails. The companies' contract says the invoices gain 1.5% interest each month, and Twitter hasn't objected to any of the invoices, per the lawsuit.

Minnechaug is the only high school in its district and serves 1,200 students from the towns of Wilbraham and Hampden. The original high school building, which dates back to 1959, was replaced with the current 248,000-square foot structure in 2012. One of the cost-saving measures the school board insisted on was a “green lighting system” run on software installed by a company called 5th Light to control the lights in the building. But in August 2021, staffers at the school noticed that the lights were not dimming in the daytime and burning brightly through the night. “The lights that are being referred to are the classroom lights, not the outdoor lights.

☆ A Massachusetts high school hasn't been able to turn off the lights for more than a year and a half, costing taxpayers thousands
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"We are very much aware this is costing taxpayers a significant amount of money," a school official told NBC. Approximately 7,000 lights inside Minnechaug Regional High School have remained on since August 24, 2021, when the software operating the lighting system failed, NBC News reported. Part of the issue was that ownership of the software company changed several times after the initial installation, according to NBC. But the new owner, Reflex Lighting, said it couldn't send contractors until the following year due to the pandemic. "And yes, there will be a remote override switch so this won't happen again," Paul Mustone, president of Reflex Lighting, told NBC.

☆ Ana Walshe's husband searched for ‘10 ways to dispose of a dead body’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Brian Walshe entered the courtroom just before 9:20 a.m., wearing a grey shirt and handcuffs and standing behind a glass partition. Throughout the preceding, Brian Walshe looked around the room but showed little to no emotion. Greg Derr / Pool via APIn a lengthy statement, Brian Walshe's lawyer, Tracy Miner, claimed the media "has already tried and convicted Mr. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or go to www.thehotline.org for anonymous, confidential online chats, available in English and Spanish. Advocates at the National Domestic Violence Hotline field calls from both survivors of domestic violence as well as individuals who are concerned that they may be abusive toward their partners.

Jan 18 (Reuters) - A Massachusetts man charged with murdering his wife searched online for "dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body" after she was last seen on New Year's Day, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. Not guilty pleas were entered in Quincy District Court on behalf of Brian Walshe, 47, as a prosecutor revealed a search of a trash facility uncovered items with Ana Walshe's DNA on it along with a hacksaw and cutting shears. He was ordered held without bail after prosecutors on Tuesday charged Walshe with his wife's murder. The investigation began after her employer in Washington, the real estate company Tishman Speyer, reported her missing on Jan. 4. At the time, Brian Walshe was on house arrest awaiting sentencing in Boston federal court after admitting in 2021 he sold forgeries of Andy Warhol art based on paintings he took from a one-time friend and never returned.

BOSTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The husband of a Massachusetts woman who has been missing since New Year's Day was charged on Tuesday with her murder after authorities earlier said they had found a knife and blood in the basement of their home, a prosecutor said on Tuesday. Walshe will be arraigned Wednesday in Quincy District Court. Ana Walshe, who worked in real estate company Tishman Speyer's Washington office, was reported missing on Jan. 4 by her employer and husband. Brian Walshe initially said had taken a ride-hailing service to the airport for a flight to Washington for work, authorities have said. Beland said investigators later discovered that Brian Walshe on Jan. 2 bought $450 of cleaning supplies at a Home Depot.

☆ Inside the 'doomsday' layoffs at Goldman Sachs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider reporters were in attendance — here's the inside scoop …If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Now, on to this week's top stories …David Solomon is the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Michael Kovac/Getty ImagesGoldman Sachs conducted its worst layoffs in over a decade this week. One laid-off associate called it the "doomsday," adding: "Every 10 minutes, I just kept hearing that someone was being let go." We talked to Goldman Sachs employees who were fired — here's what they told us.

☆ A Massachusetts college student died after falling from her Airbnb balcony in Cancun
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A college student from Massachusetts died in Cancun, Mexico after falling from an Airbnb balcony. Leah Pearse, 20, had climbed to the third-floor balcony to gain access to the locked property. Pearse's boyfriend, Augustine Aufderheide, was initially arrested by Cancun police after her death, Mexican news site NotiCaribe reported. Aufderheide had told police that he and the deceased had been arguing before her death, according to Southern Maryland News Network. "She was extremely unpredictable, extremely quirky, extremely funny," her sister Anna Pearse said.

☆ Husband of missing Massachusetts mother allegedly threatened to kill her in 2014, police report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Yasmeen Persaud | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Massachusetts man accused of misleading authorities during an investigation into his wife's disappearance was alleged to have threatened to kill her and her friends eight years ago, according to a police report obtained Thursday. The 2014 Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department report, obtained by NBC Washington, doesn't identify Brian Walshe, but an agency spokesperson confirmed Walshe was the person accused of threatening Ana Walshe over the phone. The spokesperson said no charges were filed against Walshe because the victim refused to cooperate. Ana Walshe. Walshe was later charged with misleading authorities about his whereabouts on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2.

Reuters GraphicsThe U.S. central bank is already adjusting to one unanticipated set of changes - an outbreak of inflation coupled with stalled growth in the U.S. labor force. "You have to identify the regime change ... Then you have to understand the transition dynamics ... and have a clear vision and insight into all of those ... "Markets calibrated to ... Chinese growth and low interest rates may prove fragile." Like recessions, which are typically identified only well after they have started, other economic turning points aren't always apparent in the moment. But as evidence of that accumulated following the 2007-2009 recession, it was only embodied into Fed policy in 2020 under a new approach that leaned against premature interest rate increases.

Actor Ezra Miller is expected to plea guilty to a lesser charge of trespassing in Vermont after being accused of stealing several bottles of alcohol from someone's home. They were later charged with unlawful trespassing, two charges for burglary into an unoccupied dwelling and petit larceny. A clerk for Vermont Superior Court confirmed to NBC News Wednesday that the parties have come to an agreement to drop the burglary and larceny charges. Miller is expected to enter his guilty plea at a hearing Friday in Bennington County Superior Criminal Court. In another case from Hawaii, Miller allegedly threw a chair at a 26-year-old woman during a private get-together in Pāhoa.

☆ Hiking has become a nationwide New Year's Day tradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Just 380 people participated in the initial First Day Hike in 1992 at the nearly 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation just south of Boston. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in First Day Hikes at hundreds of parks in all 50 states. The late Patrick Flynn, the former supervisor at Blue Hills, came up with the original plan. In 2012, First Day Hikes went nationwide when the National Association of State Park Directors endorsed the idea. Elijah Bristow State Park near Eugene is even offering a first day horseback ride.

☆ A Massachusetts doctor accused of punching a police officer on January 6 was arrested and charged after a tipster contacted the FBI
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A practicing Massachusetts doctor was arrested and charged in the January 6 Capitol riot this week. Starer's Tuesday arrest came two days before the January 6 congressional committee released its final, 845-page report detailing the Capitol riot and former President Donald Trump's role in it. Starer proceeded to punch an officer on the left side of the head, according to investigators. The unnamed officer said the blonde woman came at her a second time before the officer struck her in response. The officer later identified Starer in photos as her attacker, according to court documents.

☆ Ex-academic forges a new career denying Trump's 2020 election loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

“The war is just getting started,” Clements told his 100,000 Telegram followers on Nov. 16. His rise in the movement began in January 2021, when a dispute with his employer, New Mexico State University, over the U.S. Capitol riot went public. ‘I will not take the jab’Clements’ swift rise in election-denier circles caused a stir at New Mexico State, where he continued to teach. Flynn co-founded the America Project, a well-capitalized right-wing group that has financed lawsuits and campaigns challenging the 2020 election results and the integrity of U.S. voting systems. One of their roles is to certify election results, which until the Trump era was typically a rubber-stamp formality.

WASHINGTON — The $1.7 trillion government funding bill released Tuesday includes extra money for the Justice Department to prosecute Jan. 6 cases. One source involved in the Jan. 6 criminal investigation said Tuesday they were “sincerely grateful” for the boost in funding under the omnibus bill. Proponents of fulfilling DOJ's request have long seen this funding bill as their last opportunity to secure the money, fearing that a Republican-controlled House would block the request early in the new year. Last week, the FBI re-arrested Jan. 6 defendant Edward Kelley for allegedly plotting to kill FBI special agents involved in his investigation. “The Senate should pass this bill,” he said.

☆ An FTX exec bought $6 million of real estate and restaurants in a small Massachusetts town. The crypto giant's collapse has local officials worried about its future.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ryan Salame, a co-CEO at FTX, bought $6 million of restaurants and real estate in Lenox, Massachusetts. A local newspaper reported last year that Salame owned almost half the town's restaurants. As first reported by local news outlet The Berkshire Eagle, Ryan Salame, who was co-CEO at FTX Digital Markets, invested $6 million in restaurants and real estate in Lenox. Bankman-Fried has been accused of funneling customer funds into his trading firm, Alameda, and using some customer money to buy luxury real estate and fund political donations. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Salame vomited upon hearing about FTX's impending collapse.

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☆ U.S. Intelligence Agencies Unprepared for Next Global Health Crisis, House Panel Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Warren P. Strobel | Michael R. Gordon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A House report criticizes former President Donald Trump’s response to the pandemic as it spread from China around the globe in early 2020; a Massachusetts Covid-19 ward. WASHINGTON—Three years after Covid-19 began, U.S. intelligence agencies still haven’t made changes needed to provide better warnings of global health crises and support U.S. leaders when the next pandemic hits, a House Intelligence Committee report released on Thursday concludes. “The intelligence community has not recognized that health security is national security–and has not made organizational changes to make that realization manifest,” says the report on spy agencies’ response to the Covid pandemic, which has killed nearly 1.1 million Americans.

☆ Ukrainians push for US to support
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ukrainian officials traveled to the United States last week to push for support for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute top-level Russian officials for the crime of aggression. “We have a loophole, a gap in accountability, when we talk about accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” Korynevych told CNN in Washington, DC, last week. It has faced pushback from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is carrying out its own investigation into reported war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out in Ukraine. “The crime of aggression is a leadership crime,” Korynevych said. “We are carefully reviewing proposals for a special tribunal dedicated to the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said.

Car buyers are watching the clock tick down for the Inflation Reduction Act’s updated electric vehicle tax incentives to kick in. If you shop right nowState and federal EV incentives already exist. Their car was built in Tennessee and qualified for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, which they were able to combine with a Massachusetts EV tax exemption of $2,500, effectively knocking $10,000 off the price. Plus, caps on how many vehicles can qualify for existing tax incentives have kept some buyers on the sidelines. If you shop in 2024After next year, the IRA makes an important change to how consumers apply their tax credit.

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