Should Police Enforce Leaf Blower Rules? : Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Tuesday, April 13. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A former Massachusetts biotechnology company exec with ties to Harvard and MIT admitted to making the deadly poison ricin, inspired by the TV show "Breaking Bad."
• An overnight fire destroyed a clubhouse at the Meadow Brook Golf Club in Reading early Tuesday morning.
• The great passport debate

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

Today's Top Story

Police may no longer have to enforce leaf blower rules in Newton, if a proposal making its way toward the city council gets approved this year.

In Newton, and many other municipalities there's an ordinance requiring leaf blowers to be 65 decibles or lower. It also bans all gas-powered leaf blowers between Memorial Day and Labor Day. And those rules won't change.

But one committee voted to take enforcement duties from the police department and place them with the city's Inspectional Services Department.

"Leaf blower violations aren't really an appropriate task for the police to enforce," City Councilor Bill Humphrey who proposed the amendment said in a phone interview. "It's a distraction from actual police work, and the rank and file police have indicated they're not particularly enthusiastic about having this responsibility."

Others say good luck having letting the ordinance have teeth. Read the full story.

Nearby News:

• Rep. Jake Auchincloss On His First 100 Days In Office
• Thousands Pour In For Waltham Officer In Need Of Heart Surgery
• Brookline Select Board Candidate Profile 2021: Bernard Greene
• Waltham To Close Moody Street To Cars To Help Business Again

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Tuesday's Other Top Stories

The great vaccine passport debate: Several states are considering adopting requiring documentation of vaccination in some form or another. The "passports" would presumably allow holders to avoid some of the restrictions that are in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, but they also raise questions about medical privacy and equity. Gov. Charlie Baker opposes vaccine passports, but other lawmakers want to at least consider the idea. Here are some answers to the most common questions about the the subject.

Biotech exec pleads guilty in federal poison case: A former Massachusetts biotechnology company executive with ties to Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to obstruction of justice. Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, 37, of Allentown, PA, was charged with multiple felonies in March and accused of trying to make poison, as well as embezzling $275,000 from his company in 2015 and 2016. After initially lying to investigators, Saaem said he was inspired to make ricin and convallatoxin, a poison found in lily of the valley plants that are native to New England, after watching the television show "Breaking Bad."

CEO's cause of death released: The chief executive of BJ's Wholesale Club died of a heart attack while out for a run last Thursday. Lee Delaney, 49, of Wellesley, was an avid runner who took up the sport in part to fight a family history of heart problems. BJ's said Friday Delaney appeared to have died of "natural causes" without offering more specifics.

Woburn wants to know who is staying at hotels: The City Council fast tracked an ordinance this month without discussion requiring hotels to confirm and record the identities of guests. Council members said that at least one hotel has had recent issues, including guests fighting.

Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.

Picture This

An overnight fire destroyed a clubhouse at the Meadow Brook Golf Club in Reading early Tuesday morning. The clubhouse was being rebuilt after it was damaged in a fire one year ago. Above, Reading firefighters work to put out lingering hot spots around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, four hours after they arrived on the scene.

They Said It

"You can air your grievances about your expectations for law enforcement, but it crosses the line when those words attack an officer's race."

• Malden Police Department, responding to anonymous social media comments about a Black officer. Police believe whoever left the comment used a phony account.

By The Numbers

181,034: The number of doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine that have been administered to Massachusetts residents. The state told health providers to stop using the vaccine Tuesday after reports of women developing blood clots after getting the shot.