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OCTOBER 5, 2019
METRO
PHOTOS BY NIC ANTAYA FOR THE BOSTON GLOBEAlex Noel (above), 28, of Pomfret, Conn.,
raised his arms in victory after his
pumpkin (right) weighed in at 2,294.
pounds, which won him the New England
Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off at the Topsfield
Fair Friday night. Faith Liimatainen (left),
18, of Salem, celebrated with her father,
Ray, after she won a prize playing balloon
darts. The Topsfield Fair is open daily
through Monday, Oct. 14.GREAT PUMPKIN
By Felicia Gans
GLOBE STAFF
Governor Charlie Baker’s
four-month ban on all vaping
product sales survived its first
major legal challenge after a
federal judge in Boston rejected
arguments for temporarily halt-
ing the ban.
In seeking a restraining or-
der, attorneys for several local
vape companies and a national
vaping trade association said
businesses face “irreparable
damage.” The ban has forced
them to stop selling the majori-
ty of their inventory to in-state
customers and made it nearly
impossible to stay afloat.
“This has very real conse-
quences because most people
live week-to-week, and there
are employees who have been
laid off,” attorney Craig Rourke,
representing the companies,
said during the hearing in US
District Court. “That’s why the
temporary restraining order
would give them a little bit of
relief, and so we can have time
to have a full evidentiary hear-
ing.”
But US District Court Judge
Indira Talwani did not see it
that way. She denied the mo-
tion for a temporary restraining
order Friday, saying that the
plaintiffs “have not demonstrat-
ed a substantial likelihood of
success on the merits or that
the balance of hardships be-
tween the parties weighs in
Plaintiffs’ favor.” According to
her order, granting the restrain-
ing order “would conflict with
the public interest.”
RourkeandJosephM.Terry,
who represented the Vapor
Technology Association, said
the ban is exacting a toll on
small businesses. Their law-
suits, which have been filed
separately, were discussed to-
gether during Friday’s hearing.
“It’s not just a matter of, ‘We
can make it up next week,’ ” Ter-
ry said of the companies. “It is
the end of the small businesses,and the vaping industry in Mas-
sachusetts and around the
country is built on the backs of
small businesses.”
Talwani didn’t seem to
agree, indicating that issuing a
two-week restraining order felt
premature. She said consider-
ing whether the companies can
survive for the full four-month
ban is a different issue that can
be addressed in a later injunc-
tion hearing.
“Are you suggesting, both of
you frankly, that I should con-
sider how well capitalized a
company is in determining
whether they’re bound to suffer
irreparable harm?” Talwani
asked the attorneys. “Isn’t — if
you’re going to be engaged in
business — isn’t it part of our
whole notion of a corporation
and corporate businesses that
you’re adequately capitalized?”
An injunctive hearing is
scheduled for Oct. 15 in the
case.
More than 1,000 vaping-re-lated illnesses have been report-
ed across the country, accord-
ing to numbers released Thurs-
day by the US Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion. As of Friday, at least 20
deaths have been reported. No
deaths have been reported in
Massachusetts.
Baker’s ban, which he an-
nounced alongside state health
officials on Sept. 24, is consid-
ered one of the strictest vaping
regulations nationwide. Other
states that have taken action,
such as Michigan, New York,
and Rhode Island, have banned
only the sale of flavored e-ciga-
rette products.
But Baker has stood by his
ban, which is in effect until Jan.
25 and could be extended. He
said last week that it is neces-
sary to allow health profession-
als to figure out exactly what is
making people sick.
It’s a position that was re-
peated at Friday’s hearing by
Assistant Attorney General Ju-lia Kobick, who spoke on the
state’s behalf. She said state
health officials are now investi-
gating at least 118 cases of vap-
ing-related illnesses, 10 of
which have been reported to
the CDC.
Kobick rebutted Terry’s
claims that nicotine vaporizers
are safer than marijuana vapes.
Terry repeatedly said cannabis
vaporizers have been largely to
blame for the spate of vaping
illnesses, not the nicotine vapes
that are the focus of the lawsuit
he filed.
Although data from the CDC
has shown that the majority of
patients with vaping illnesses
have reported using THC-con-
taining products, about 17 per-
cent of patients have reported
using nicotine products exclu-
sively.
“We don’t know what is
causing these Americans to
have to be hospitalized,” Kobick
said Friday. “The CDC, the FDA,
and officials at the Departmentof Public Health have empha-
sized repeatedly that... if it is a
substance that is causing this
crisis, it is not yet known.”
Talwani also seemed cool to
Terry’s assertion that nicotine
vaporizers are significantly
healthier than combustible cig-
arettes. She smiled as she re-
sponded to him, saying that his
assertions about the safety of
vapes are eerily similar to those
made by tobacco companies
when evidence of cigarettes be-
ing harmful first came to light.
“It has a ring of past history,
no?” she said, adding later,
“You’re suggesting that I need
to be more concerned about the
economic harm to the business-
es for this two-week period
than the potential people who
will end in the hospital during
this two-week period.”Danny McDonald of Globe staff
contributed to this report.
Felicia Gans can be reached at
[email protected].By Danny McDonald
GLOBE STAFF
Just months after three for-
mer employees were charged
with stealing $1.7 million, the
Boston Center for Adult Educa-
tion will halt all educational
and special event programs at
the end of the year and reevalu-
ate its future.
The 86-year-old organiza-
tion in recent years has had an
increase in operating deficits
due to declining enrollment
and cancellations, board chair-
man Dean T. Hara wrote
Thursday in a letter posted to
the group’s website.
“The Board takes seriously
its fiduciary responsibility to be
prudent stewards of BCAE as-
sets and it has become clear
that we have reached a point
that is not sustainable,” Hara
said. “Given these develop-
ments and after much careful
thought, we know this is the
right time to re-envision our
organization.”
The group, located in Bay
Village, offers an array of class-
es, ranging from baking to
computers, to meet the social
and educational needs of local
residents.
All classes in the currentterm, as well as those in the
November-December catalog
will continue as scheduled, ac-
cording to his letter.
“We did not reach this deci-
sion lightly and know that it
may be difficult for the many
who have helped to make the
BCAE a venerable Boston insti-
tution,” said Hara.
The letter does not refer-
ence the theft charges an-
nounced in July against two
former top executives and a
part-time employee.
Former executive director
Susan Brown and comptroller
Mark Mitchell, a Saugus select-man, were arraigned in Suffolk
Superior Court on larceny
charges. Brown’s business part-
ner, Karen Kalfian, who briefly
worked for the center in 2005,
faces a similar charge.
All three pleaded not guilty
and were released on personal
recognizance.
Brown and Mitchell are al-
leged to have falsified financial
entries and lied to the board of
directors, leaving them in the
dark. Prosecutors said $1.
million vanished from the cen-
ter over eight years.
By the time the center real-
ized something was amiss, ithad been stripped of its tax-ex-
empt status, a humbling blow
for the institution that was
founded in 1933.
The center offers classes
and programs “responsive to
adults’ emerging needs,” ac-
cording to the group’s website.
Its mission includes fostering
cross-cultural understanding
and providing access to infor-
mation that helps “create an
enlightened and involved citi-
zenry.” Most of its classes and
administrative offices are
housed at 122 Arlington St., lo-
cated just blocks from the Pub-
lic Garden.The center’s planning pro-
cess, according to Hara, will
now be facilitated by TDC, a
Boston-based nonprofit man-
agement consulting firm.
“We look forward to trans-
forming the BCAE into a mod-
ern Boston resource that en-
hances adult learning for
many,” he said.Gal Tziperman Lotan of Globe
staff contributed to this report.
Danny McDonald can be
reached at
[email protected].
Follow him on Twitter
@Danny__McDonald.Center for Adult Education programs to halt at year’s end
Judge denies attempt to lift ban on vape sales