'Humanitarian Crisis' At Mass. And Cass: 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 Tuesday, September 21. Let's get started.

It's anything but business as usual down at Mass. and Cass.

A Boston Globe report published Monday – which described the situation on "Methadone Mile" as a "humanitarian crisis" – said the worsening violence, homelessness and rampant drug use is taking a toll on nearby businesses.

The Globe's Shirley Leung reports:

"Doris Wong stands by a loading dock that has been unusable since June when drug users and homeless people began hanging around outside her wholesale company, Food-Pak Express."

Wong's employees have been accosted, their cars have been broken into, and customers are afraid to come down to the warehouse. Wong estimates the situation has cost her $500,000.

"I'm literally surrounded. You can have empathy, but to ignore the situation, the lawlessness, it’s not a solution," she told the Globe.

Wong's not alone. Janet Colombo, owner of New Market Pizza & Grill, gave up on fixing her windows after the third time they were smashed. Now yellow police tape hangs across the front of the store.

Read more from The Boston Globe.

Top stories

A Massachusetts State Police trooper was kicked off the force amid allegations of harassment, including sending an unwanted sexual photo to a woman and messaging her about her "cleavage" and breast size, according to court documents. Nidu Andrade is among 14 troopers who were dishonorably discharged or quit while under investigation over the last year. (Boston Herald)

The rusted stairwell where a Boston University professor fell to his death has been removed. Investigators are trying to determine how David Jones gained access to the stairs, where he fell from 20 feet while out for a run on Sept. 11. The stairwell, located near the JFK/UMass T stop, was demolished last weekend. (Dorchester Reporter)

The state's largest teachers union is backing legislation that would drop the MCAS requirement and create multiple pathways for students to qualify for graduation. Massachusetts Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy said the status quo disproportionately affects students of color, English learners and special education students. (GBH)

A state police union is suing Gov. Charlie Baker over an order requiring state employees, including troopers, to be vaccinated. The State Police Association of Massachusetts, which has 1,800 members, filed the suit in Suffolk Superior Court Friday. The union is asking a judge to suspend the mandate until workers have a chance to bargain with the state. (WBUR)

In case you missed it

"When you promise hundreds of kids a fun day with their advisories, you make it happen."

That's how students at the Brooke Charter School in Boston ended up on a party bus with stripper poles and neon lights on their way to a field trip. Jim Mayers, an 11th grade AP Language & Composition teacher, said the school had to improvise amid a nationwide bus driver shortage.

Local voices

"The annual release of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test scores has garnered little attention in recent years — not so in 2021. When the results are made public this week, we’ll have our first look at how our students were affected by the continual interruptions in learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic." - Ed Lambert, Boston Herald

"In 2020, with help from young, Twitter-savvy activists known as the 'Markeyverse,' Senator Ed Markey beat back a serious primary challenge from then-Representative Joe Kennedy and won reelection. In the 2021 Boston mayoral race, some of the same young activists are with City Councilor Michelle Wu." - Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe

"The premise for cutting someone off from financial or material support can be a simple equation. Drugs cost money, so if I take away someone’s money, they can’t access drugs. Right? It’s not that simple." - Alex Woodruff, Boston Globe

A lighter touch

Missed last night's harvest moon? Check out a time-lapse video of the lunar event below:

Elsewhere in Massachusetts

Police in Spencer are looking for whoever has been placing trip lines across parts of a popular hiking trail. Police said the lines were found along segments of the Midstate Trail.

One hiker told Boston 25 she tripped over a yellow line tied to two trees, and saw a similar trap set up down the trail. She wasn't injured, but said it was "devastating" that someone would try to hurt people out for a hike.

What I'm reading today: Fifty or so San Franciscans share a bond – one that looks like a boy riding a rocket ship shaped like corn on the cob. That's the logo they got tattooed on them in 1998, in exchange for free tacos for life from the now-defunct Casa Sanchez. So what're they up to now? SFGATE has the answer.

Weather:

The National Weather Service says mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.

Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southeast wind 6 to 8 mph.

– Alex Newman

About me: Alex is a Jersey transplant covering Arlington, Malden, Medford, Reading and Somerville for Patch. A graduate of Northeastern University, Alex has lived in the Boston area since college (though he still hasn't been able to bring himself to root for the Sox). He is an avid football and baseball fan, amateur woodworker and film geek. Alex lives in Chelsea with his fiancée, their dog and a revolving door of foster puppies.