Despite Court Ruling, Mass. And Cass Still Complicated: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me at alex.newman@patch.com.

Today is Thursday, November 18. Let's get started.

A judge has denied the ACLU's request for a temporary stay on the removal of encampments from Mass. and Cass, but the effort may not pick up again anytime soon.

Mayor Michelle Wu paused the removal of tents on Wednesday, citing the pending legal case, but has remained mum on whether it will resume now that the court has sided with the city of Boston. Wu's office told the Boston Herald the city will take a "holistic approach" to improving the situation and focus on creating more supportive housing.

Meanwhile, an executive order from former acting Mayor Kim Janey, designed to clear tents from the area and put people into treatment or alternate housing, remains in effect.

Suffolk Superior Judge Janet Sanders didn't buy the ACLU's argument that there is a so-called "constitutional right to a certain kind of housing," adding that if the city's sweep is hindered, "the problems at Mass. and Cass will continue and almost certainly grow."

Read more from the Boston Herald.

Top stories

More than 100 workers at the Museum of Fine Arts went on strike Wednesday over what they feel is low pay coupled with an unfair workload. The employees, who voted to unionize last year, have been negotiating with the museum since March over pay, safety and diversity in the workplace. They voted for a one-day strike after negotiations stalled. (WBUR)

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took the first steps in making good on her promise of a free T, requesting $8 million in federal funding from the city council to make three bus routes fare-free for two years. The initiative would build on former acting Mayor Kim Janey's pilot program allowing free ridership on the Route 28 bus for four months. (Boston Patch)

State lawmakers couldn't reach a deal on a $3.8 billion spending bill before breaking for the rest of the year. A compromise could still get done – Wednesday only marked the end of formal sessions – but it will have to come through closed-door talks and thinly attended informal sessions. (Boston Globe)

If you have a minute

From Ted Daniel and Patricia Alulema, 25 Investigates:

"Too many patients and not enough staff or beds. That’s the scenario across many Massachusetts hospitals.

25 Investigates collected data from 16 hospitals across the Commonwealth and found a surge of patients seeking treatment and static staffing levels are adding pressure to already strained emergency rooms.

Several of the hospitals we contacted admit wait times are historically longer due to the pandemic.
Our team began looking into ER wait times after a viewer called our newsroom frustrated about her more than 12-hour experience at Good Samaritan’s ER."

In case you missed it

Malden Patch: Malden City Councillor Jadeane Sica came under fire for what advocacy groups called a "racist" Halloween costume that referenced the Robert Kraft prostitution case.

A photo of the costume shows Sica wearing a bamboo rice hat and an Orchids of Asia T-shirt, with her husband apparently dressed as Kraft in a Patriots hoodie and hat and holding a Super Bowl trophy.

In a statement Wednesday, Sica said she wore the costume two years ago, when the sting was a current news story.

Salem Patch: A 33-year-old shooting victim remained in intensive care on Wednesday after she was shot in an apparent murder-suicide attempt on Technology Way in Salem on Monday night.

CBS Boston's Kristina Rex spoke to the victim's mother, who identified her as Lindsay Smith, and said that while she remained in the ICU she was improving after she was shot in the head in the parking lot of Doyle Sailmakers, where she worked, Monday night.

The Essex County District Attorney's Office said Richard Lorman, 55, of Wilton, New Hampshire, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday night. CBS reported that Lorman was Smith's ex-boyfriend, and she had been denied a restraining order in New Hampshire after he had begun acting threatening toward her.

Elsewhere in Massachusetts

A proposal to make all of Nantucket's beaches topless will go before Town Meeting next year. Resident Dorothy Stover filed the petition, which seeks "equality for all genders on all island beaches" by allowing women to go topless at any public or private beach within the town of Nantucket. (Nantucket Current)

End on a high note

Transit police reunited a high school student with her $3,000 saxophone, which was stolen at Fields Corner last month. A 59-year-old Dorchester man has been charged in the theft.

Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Southwest wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Showers, mainly after 1am. Low around 41. Southwest wind 11 to 14 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.