MA Politicians: Justice Failed In Rittenhouse Verdict | Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Friday, Nov. 19. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Ryan Denver, 38, of Boston, the driver and owner of a speedboat that crashed in Boston Harbor in July and killed one woman, pleaded not guilty Friday.
• Amazon is opening Amazon Fresh, a state-of-the-art grocery store, in Saugus. It will be the chain's first location in New England.
• Danvers Superintendent Lisa Dana said students at the Holten Richmond Middle School were to take part in a series of educational meetings on Friday after a swastika was found in a middle school bathroom for the second straight week.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

The Kyle Rittenhouse verdict is reverberating across the country, with elected officials in Massachusetts joining in the very vocal dismay of what they say is a woeful lack of justice.

"Our country aches for accountability," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu wrote on Twitter. "My heart is with those traumatized by Kenosha & the failure of our justice system."

Rittenhouse was found not guilty Friday afternoon on charges relating to the killing of two men during protests and riots in Kenosha, WI, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The verdict, which was expected by many pundits who followed the nearly four-day trial play out on national news, was followed by outcries of injustice and a lack of accountability.

Some of Massachusetts' representatives in Washington bemoaned what they said was racism's stain on the verdict.

Read the full story.

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Friday's Other Top Stories

Not guilty plea in Boston Harbor boat crash death: Ryan Denver, 38, of Boston, the driver and owner of a speedboat that crashed in Boston Harbor in July and killed one woman, pleaded not guilty Friday. In the early hours of July 17, 2021, Denver was driving a speedboat called "Make it Go Away" in Boston Harbor that police say crashed into a navigational buoy with "such destructive force" that the boat sank, and all eight passengers sank into the water. At around 3 a.m., Coast Guard crews began a roughly 7-hour-long search for 27-year-old Jeanica Julce, of Somerville, before finding her dead. Five others were hospitalized with injuries

Amazon Fresh opening first MA location: The ubiquitous commerce behemoth is opening Amazon Fresh, a state-of-the-art grocery store, in Saugus. It will be the chain's first location in New England. There have been rumors for months about Amazon Fresh taking over former Big Y space in the Saugus Plaza Shopping Center — the plaza that has Kohl's — but people related to the project said they had non-disclosure agreements.

Second swastika found in Danvers middle school: Danvers Superintendent Lisa Dana said students at the Holten Richmond Middle School were to take part in a series of educational meetings on Friday after a swastika was found in a middle school bathroom for the second straight week. Dana said in a letter to the school community that Friday's meetings are designed to "educate students about the significance of the swastika and what it symbolizes both from a historical perspective and modern context." She said content from the Anti-Defamation League was to be used in the educational meetings. Also on Patch: Salem Schools To Confront Hazing Amid Danvers Hockey Charges

Standoff "peacefully resolved" in Cambridge: Cambridge police say they peacefully resolved a standoff with a barricaded suspect early Friday morning. The suspect, whom police say they feared was holding someone hostage and had access to a gun, is in custody. Later reports showed that no one else was inside the home. Police said on Twitter that they initially responded to reports of gunshots at Schiarappa Street, between Charles and Spring streets north of Kendall Square, just after 2 a.m. Friday.

Massachusetts: Tell Someone You're Grateful For Them This Holiday Season

Picture This: Endangered Turtles Rescued

Two endangered sea turtles were rescued on a Cape Cod beach after becoming cold-stunned, officials with the Mass Audubon Society said. Both turtles were juvenile Kemp's ridleys, the most endangered species of sea turtles in the world. During the fall and winter months, it's common for sea turtles to suffer hypothermia-like symptoms and become cold-stunned as water temperatures decrease.

In Case You Missed It

COVID-19 surge in MA: Massachusetts expanded eligibility for booster vaccines Thursday amid surging coronavirus cases across the state. The coronavirus positive test rate rose above three percent statewide Thursday for the first time since February, according to the latest data released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The state also reported over 3,000 cases in a single day for the first time in nine months, and public schools reported 3,815 staff and student cases over the last week, the highest weekly total on record.