State Police Scandal Not Costly For Everyone: 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, August 26. Let's get started.

Eight Massachusetts State Police troopers who were accused of fraudulently collecting overtime pay but were never charged are still collecting their state pensions. A WCVB report found the troopers all agreed to pay restitution under civil settlements with the state Inspector General and Attorney General.

Some troopers are raking in almost twice as much annually as they were ordered to pay in restitution. Trooper Kevin Maple will continue to collect an $80,000 a year pension after paying back $45,000 for overtime he is accused of never working, while Trooper Sean Hoye gets $88,000 annually after paying $37,000 in restitution, WCVB reported.

The State Retirement Board can only strip troopers of their pensions if they were convicted of a crime directly related to their job.

"How can it be that the penalty is just to pay back what you stole and get rewarded with a pension?" Greg Sullivan of the Pioneer Institute, a government watchdog group, asked the network.

Read more from WCVB.

Top stories

Congressman Seth Moulton took more than a bit of flack for his trip to Afghanistan with Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer. The optics weren't great – critics felt they took up valuable real estate on a flight that could've gone to a couple of the thousands of Americans and Afghans struggling to flee the country. "This is boy behavior. This is frat behavior," national security expert Juliette Kayyem said. (GBH)

It's a race to get licensed after a Boston Globe review found that more than a dozen administrators in the Boston Public Schools have been working without the proper credentials. A spokesperson for the district said in many cases BPS had no idea a specific license – or one at all – was needed. (Boston Globe)

A Houston man is the latest victim of escalating violence on Methadone Mile. Ugochukwu McDonald Anaele, 29, was fatally stabbed Wednesday morning near the shelter on Southampton Street. It's the fifth murder this year along the Mile, an area marked by widespread homelessness and open-air drug use. (Universal Hub)

Local voices

Boston is undergoing a "profound transformation," and its next leader needs to match that scope, city councilor and mayoral candidate Michelle Wu writes. In a Globe op-ed, Wu advocates for applying the lessons from the coronavirus pandemic to ongoing challenges like population growth, shifting demographics and climate change.

Is Mac Jones ready for the keys to the Patriot kingdom? The Boston Herald's Karen Guregian says Jones is making the gap between him and Cam Newton that much wider while the latter is sidelined due to a violation of COVID-19 protocols. It's up to Belichick – stick with the acknowledged starter or throw his first-round pick into the deep end.

If you have a minute

From Bruce Mohl, Commonwealth Magazine

"Two Nantucket residents, backed by a network of think tanks and beachfront property owners along the East Coast, set in motion what appears to be a Cape Wind strategy for derailing the nation’s first industrial-size offshore wind farm and others that are lining up behind it.

Vallorie Oliver, a home designer on Nantucket, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block construction of Vineyard Wind until federal regulatory agencies can assure the safety of North Atlantic Right Whales and other endangered species. She and Mary Chalke, a physical therapist and the co-director of Nantucket Residents Against Turbines, said their priority is protecting the right whale, but also indicated they oppose the industrialization of the ocean off of Nantucket with turbines close to 900-feet tall.

'Can you think of a worse place to put the first-in-the-nation, largest-in-the-world wind power plant?' Chalke asked. 'We are playing Russian roulette with our environment.'"

A lighter touch

Dunkin' is taking a page out of St. Nick's playbook, butting into more and more of the calendar. After Dewey Defeats Truman-ing its fall menu, the chain teamed up with Harpoon for a new mix of fall beers.

What I'm reading today: Charlie Watts didn't get the flowers while he could smell them, overshadowed by the personas of Mick and Keith. But what's more rock n' roll than not caring about rock n' roll? These are 14 stories about Charlie Watts – chicken soup for any Stones fan's soul. (Vulture)

Weather: Sunny, with a high near 93. West wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the morning. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 73. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

– 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.