'Reign Of Terror' Over In Waltham: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's a rainy Thursday, March 18. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Catholics across Massachusetts are reacting to Monday's Vatican decree to bar gay unions.
• A day after the Internal Revenue Service announced it was pushing back the tax filing deadline to May 17 from April 15, Massachusetts lawmakers followed suit.
• Massachusetts is about to enter the fourth phase of the coronavirus reopening plan Gov. Charlie Baker outlined last May.

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

Today's Top Story

Authorities said Thursday the man responsible for a series of random attacks across Waltham in November was arrested in December and has been held in custody since then as police linked him to the rest of the cases.

The "reign of terror" is over, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

Clauvens Janiver, 24, of Waltham was charged two months ago connection with a Nov. 11 parking garage attack that involved a machete, said Ryan.

At that time, it wasn't clear he was the same guy that was responsible for the other attacks. But after almost three months of investigation, they've charged him in connection with 10 more attacks, Ryan said.

Read the full story: 'Reign Of Terror' Over

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Focus on Amazon workers' struggles: Read how more workers are turning to government food assistance as Amazon increases its workforce in Massachusetts in the final installment of our three-part series on the working poor. Amazon does not appear on the list of companies employing the most workers on food assistance in 2015-16, which included 62 companies, but steadily moved up over five years. In 2019-20, it employed the third-largest number of workers receiving SNAP benefits. The trend mirrors Amazon's aggressive expansion in Massachusetts.

Read the full story.

Thursday's Other Top Stories

Vatican's gay marriage decree divides MA Catholics: Monday's Vatican decree to bar gay unions has been quietly accepted by dioceses across Massachusetts. But the issue continues to divide parishes. "We are hearing from a lot of people who are really deeply hurt by the Vatican's decision, some of whom are really confused," said Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of the inclusive Catholic organization DignityUSA. Duddy-Burke said Pope Francis' call for civil union laws for same-sex couples last year gave a lot of people false hope.

Older, not necessarily wiser: Worcester police this week arrested an 80-year-old city man on fentanyl distribution charges. Police said they found him outside his home, carrying about 10 bags of what appeared to be fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. Inside the Webster Street home, police said they found drug packaging materials.

Tax day in May: A day after the Internal Revenue Service announced it was pushing back the tax filing deadline to May 17 from April 15, Massachusetts lawmakers followed suit. "This tax flexibility, which was also authorized last year by the Legislature, will provide stability and ensure residents have time to prepare and file as we continue to weather the impacts of the pandemic," Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano said in a joint statement Thursday.

'New Normal' taking shape: Health officials will lift the state's travel order Monday, March 22, the same day Phase 4 of reopening begins. Stadiums, arenas and ballparks will be allowed to operate at 12 percent capacity after submitting plans to the Department of Public Health. Separately, Gov. Charlie Baker said he expects 4 million Massachusetts residents to be fully vaccinated by July 4.

By The Numbers

276: The number of incidents of white supremacist propaganda reported in Massachusetts last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League's Center for Extremism. A hate group founded by a former Malden resident in 2019 was one of three cited in the report for contributing to a nationwide increase of such incidents last year.