Police: Woman Pulls Machete On Cabbie Over $22 Fare | Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Tuesday, Nov. 18. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The Danvers School Committee met for about 90 minutes in an executive session on the district's response to accusations of racist behavior and hazing within the high school hockey program but took no action on the status of Superintendent Lisa Dana Monday night.
• The Marblehead transfer station is the latest spot on the North Shore to be hit with racist and antisemitic graffiti.
• A Worcester woman has been charged after she accidentally fired a 9mm handgun inside a Northborough Walmart on Monday.

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

Today's Top Story

Police arrested a woman after a taxi driver accused her of pulling a machete on him in Arlington Saturday night, police said.

Britany Goldberg, 29, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon on a person over 65 and fare evasion.

The driver told police he picked Goldberg up in the Harvard Square area, and she gave him a destination on Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington. While he was driving, Goldberg told him to stop, and he told her she owed him $22, according to the police report.

Goldberg unsheathed a machete and pointed it at him, police said. She told the driver she was not going to pay him, and he was going to drive her the rest of the way, according to the police report.
The driver jumped out of the taxi, and Goldberg got out, dropped the machete and ran west on Massachusetts Avenue toward Lexington, police said.

Read the full story.

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Tuesday's Other Top Stories

School board delays decision on superintendent: The Danvers School Committee met for about 90 minutes in an executive session on the district's response to accusations of racist behavior and hazing within the high school hockey program but took no action on the status of Superintendent Lisa Dana Monday night. School Committee member Robin Doherty had made a motion — which was seconded — at last week's School Committee meeting that Dana be placed on administrative leave "while the School Committee can ascertain the best path moving forward." But School Committee Chair Eric Crane told reporters no motion of that nature was made Monday night and that the School Committee would release a statement about the meeting on Tuesday.

Also on Patch: Sen. Lovely Supports AG Probe Into Danvers Hockey Abuse Charges

Woman fires gun in Wal-Mart: A Worcester woman has been charged after she accidentally fired a 9mm handgun inside a Northborough Walmart on Monday. According to reports, the woman digging through her purse in the checkout line when she bumped the handgun, causing it to fire a single shot. The bullet went into the floor and there were no injuries reported.

Puppy scam in Waltham: The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers of ongoing puppy scams, with recent complaints about "Divine Franchise Home," located in Waltham, MA and Spartanburg, SC. According to BBB, the website of the supposed French bulldog breeder, divinefrenchieshome.com, includes pictures of puppies claiming to be American Kennel Club registered and boasts popular reviews. However, one consumer reported losing $4,300 and another lost $1,350 after sending money to the business.

Racist graffiti in Marblehead: The Marblehead transfer station is the latest spot on the North Shore to be hit with racist and antisemitic graffiti. Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King said on Monday that the town's health agent found the graffiti on a shipping container at the station. King said it is believed the graffiti was recently spray-painted but an exact time has not been determined. King said police were called to begin an investigation and the graffiti was covered up.

Developing Story: Wu Makes, History, Sworn In As Boston Mayor

They Said It

"A year ago, we were heading into a Thanksgiving where public health were — experts were advising against traveling or gathering with family and friends. Last Thanksgiving, for the first time, it was just four of us — my wife and I, our daughter and her — and my son-in-law. Later this month, our tables and our hearts are going to be filled, thanks to the vaccines."

• President Joseph Biden, who plans to spend Thanksgiving with his family on Nantucket this year.

In Case You Missed It

Are you smarter than a 10th grader? Public school students are taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System Exam this month, which was first developed in 1993 as part of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act. While students have been known to refer to MCAS as the "Massachusetts Child Abuse System," the annual exams carry high stakes. The exams are mandated by state and federal law, can impact state funding to school districts, and students who fail the 10th grade exams cannot graduate high school. Check out some sample questions released earlier this fall by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Suspect dead in Salem double shooting: One person is dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and another was Medflighted to a Boston hospital following a double shooting on Technology Way in Salem early Monday night. Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said Monday night that a 55-year-old man suspect was found dead outside of a manufacturing business on 3 Technology Way, while a 33-year-old victim was rushed to Salem Hospital and then flown to a Boston Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

By The Numbers

$3,665: The amount raised as of Tuesday morning in a fundraiser for Woburn school bus driver Mike Morse, who was injured in a severe car accident earlier this year. The fundraiser is being run by the mother of a student who rides on Morse's bus.