The Boston Globe - 06.08.2019

B4 Metro The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019

former chief of staff responsi-
ble for New Englandrescue
missionsfromCanadato New
York City.
“She’s gruff and she’s tough
and she backs it up,’’ he said.
“She can do it. She embodies
the idea of: I will risk my life to
save yours. Without a doubt.
She’s done so many rescues,
this is her island.”
Spendsometimewithher
on the water, as I did the other
day undera blindingsummer
sun, or sit down with the young
lifeguards she now leads with a
regimentedvigor, andyou
would have no doubtabout
that.
Or trace her remarkable
personal journey to this island,
home to yachts roughly the size
of Luxembourg, the seaside
playground for people with last
names like Buffett (Jimmy) and
Belichick(Bill),and watch her
cruiseamonglocalworkers
whose collars are decidedly
blue.
Lucey, 54, has foundher is-
land home.
She’s the second-oldest of
seven kids born to a Catholic
school kindergarten teacher.
Lucey never enjoyed her own
schools in Lynnfield and Wake-
field,and never saw CapeCod
until she joinedthe Coast
Guard.
“I had never been on a plane
before I got on that plane to go
to CapeMay,’’ she told me in
her second-floor harbormas-
ter’s office the other day.
What followed— 36 sum-
mers ago — was eight weeks of
boot campand a 24-year career
that stretched out before her
like the Atlantic horizon on a
crystalline summer’s day.
Her first assignmentin the
Coast Guard took her to Woods
Hole.
“I had never been to Cape
Cod before, but I knew it was
close,’’ she said. “Now, I’ve
spentmost of my life on the
Cape and Islands.’’
As a 22-year-old, she was in
charge of a million-dollarboat.
She later patrolledoff Cuba
and Haiti. She set buoys. She
tended lighthouses.
Once, whena lost mariner
sent a distress signal, she tried
to calm him down.
“I’m like, ‘Whereare you?
Geographically where are you?’
“And he’s like, ‘I’m under the
moon.’ ’’
Her response? “Not helpful.
So am I.’’

uFARRAGHER
Continued fromPageB

WhenJohn F. Kennedy Jr.’s

single-engineplane crashed 20

yearsago in the waters west of

Martha’s Vineyard,Lucey was

part of the teamthat recovered

his bodyalongwiththe bodies

of his wife,CarolynBessette-

Kennedy, and her older sister,

Lauren Bessette.

“We wanted to treat them

withdignity,’’ she said.“And

that’s what we did.’’

Her decisionto leave the

Coast Guard in 2007 after near-

ly a quarter-century was a diffi-

cult one. But staying meant a

transfer off Nantucket, where

she beganher Coast Guard du-

ties in 2002.And by then,she

had fallen in love with this

place.

The feeling has been mutu-

al.

“She’s very downto earth.

She’s not an alarmist,’’ said

Nantucket’s town manager, C.

Elizabeth Gibson. “She’s one of

these people who you can tell

whatever you wantto, but she

needs to lookat it herself. As

townmanager, I have a lot of

worries. But the harbor is not

one of them.’’

Her transition fromthe

Coast Guard to the helmof the

harbor carried with it the rigor-

ous regime to which she had

grownaccustomed.Simply

put: She does not mess around.

“There’s still a lot of people

who need education on boating

and how to be safe,’’ she said.

“This isn’t a place whereyou

can make a mistake. It’s not

forgiving. You get south of this

island and you’re going to be

south of this island for a long

time.’’

Whenshe becameharbor-

master in 2012,after a five-

year stint as assistant harbor-

master, she began to polish her

maritimedomain,whichin-

cludes 50 lifeguardson nine

beaches,2,200 moorings,a

100-slipmarina,a 12-person

dock staff, and responsibility

for young menand women

whose day job is saving lives.

“There’s no alcohol because

it’s town property, and that’s a

big thingwhenyou’re dealing

with 18- to 20-year-olds,’’ she

said. “They are required to take

a urinalysis because they’re in

the life-saving business, and I

can’t have themunder the in-

fluence whenthey’re doing it.’’

In otherwords, the stakes

are high.

Katherine Pittman,19,

found that out two summers

ago whena mandrowned at

Nobadeer Beach on a day of

highsurf and strongrip cur-

rents.

“Shecamedownright after

and sat withus on the beach

for the rest of the day and al-

lowed us to be sad about it,’’

said Pittman,thena lifeguard,

who this year begins her soph-

omore year at the Coast Guard

Academy in New London,

Conn. “Sheilataughtus how to

work as a team. That’s some-

thing that I will take withme

intomy career in the Coast

Guard.’’

PaulineProch, executivedi-

rector at Egan MaritimeInsti-

tute, a nonprofitthat cele-

brates Nantucket’s rich mari-

time history, said Lucey has

transformedthe docksof her

harbor into an outdoor class-

room of sorts for kids for whom

a more conventional education

has been a struggle.

“Sheila gets it,’’ said Proch.

“I’ve watchedher take kids

whohave struggled, who

would be consideredslipping

through the cracks, and she un-

derstandsthere isn’t one route

to get from A to B. So she takes

her time. And she has their re-

spect. She has their trust.’’

EganMaritimewill honor

Lucey at a luncheonon

Wednesday for “her immeasur-

able contributions to the island

and its youth.’’ There will be

plenty of high-fives, plenty of

toasts, and lots of sea stories

about the girl from Boston who

had never seen Cape Cod and

the Islands until she adopted

Nantucket, the place where she

still stands watch.

“How lucky I am,’’ she said

as the harbor bustled outside

her window. “I feel blessed. I

wouldnever have never

dreamedaboutlivingon Nan-

tucket, having such a great job,

and being able to serve a com-

munity that’s been nothingbut

great to me.’’

Those are the carefully plot-

ted coordinates of a voyage of a

lifetime.

ThomasFarragher is a Globe

columnist.

Guardian

angel

prowls the

harbor

ition increasesmodest and be-

low other public universities in

New England.Many students

also receive financial aid, which

reduces the final bill.

“We remain affordable,”

Meehan said. “Given the bud-

get, giventhe situation,we are

pleased to be able to move on.”

Last Friday’s vote on the tu-

ition increase comesafter

months of contentious debate

with the Legislature over public

highereducation fundingand

growing frustration, among

lawmakers, students, and their

families aboutthe rising costs

ofattendingastateuniversity.

The vote to increasetuition

has comeparticularlylate this

year, withbillsgoing out to

families just a few weeksbefore

students arrive on campuses.

On July 21, the Massachusetts

Legislature became the last in

the country to approve a final

spending bill among states with

a fiscal year that begins July 1.

The $43.3 billion state bud-

get included $558 million in

funds for UMass, a $29 million

increaseoverlast year, with

most of the additionalmoney

going toward collective bar-

gaining contracts withfaculty

and staff. But the increasefell

$10 million short of what Mee-

han had requested to institute a

tuitionfreezethis upcoming

school year. Meehan had

warned for months that with-

out his full funding request, a

tuition increase was likely.

UMass raised tuitionby 2.

percentlast year and 3 percent

the previous year.

Even with the tuition in-

crease,some campusesin the

UMass system are cutting costs.

UMass Boston is facing a $

million budget deficit and has

offeredemployees voluntary

buyouts as it deals with lower

than expected enrollment and

increased depreciation costs.

Like many of the private col-

leges in New England,the

state’s public universities are

strugglingto enrollstudents,

particularly international stu-

dentsand those fromout-of-

state who pay more to attend.

UMass Lowell, for example,

only increased out-of-state tu-

ition by 2 percent to ensure that

it remains an attractive option

to price-sensitivefamiliesbe-

yondthe Massachusetts border.

Overall, UMass expects to

enroll 65,816 full-time students

this upcomingacademicyear, a

0.7 percent increaseoverlast

year and the lowest level of

growth in four years.

Fewer studentsultimately

meansless revenue for the uni-

versities, and morepressureto

cut costs or increase the price.

James Cordero, 20, a rising

junior at UMass Amherst, said

the risingcost of attending a

public university is shutting out

many Massachusetts families.

Going to UMass Amherst for

example,is increasingly only

accessible for families who have

significant savings,thosewho

can affordto take out large

loans,and students whocan

workmultiplejobs to pay for

the degree.

Cordero works in the sum-

mer helping low-incomeand

first-generation high school stu-

dents in the Springfieldarea

prepare for and apply to col-

lege. Many of the students have

discountedUMass from their

choices, he said.“They don’t

wantto even applyto UMass

Amherst becausethey see the

college costs go up,” Cordero

said. “They don’t want to be

burdensto theirfamily.” Corde-

ro said the state needs to invest

morein publichighereduca-

tion to help bring costs down.

The Senate had initially also

proposed a freeze to tuition and

fees for in-state students,but

the measure failed during bud-

get talks. A proposed amend-

mentto the state budget which

would have cut the pay and

benefits of UMass administra-

tors also was defeated earlier

this year.

Deirdre Fernandes canbe

reached at

[email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@fernandesglobe.

uUMASS

ContinuedfromPageB

UMass to

raise

tuition

by 2.5%

cense and imposed morere-
strictionsas part of a plan to
pressure Snowand Appel.
Evans was one of two wit-
nessesthe defensecalledMon-
day to make their case that the
policedepartment’s concerns
were completely independent
of the conversations city offi-
cialswerehavingaboutthe
union.
Evans said Appelwantedto
serve alcohol for 11 hours with-
out beer pens, which force con-
certgoersto stay undertents
whilethey’re drinking. Evans
said he wantedthe beerpens
and the hourscurbedsignifi-
cantly, but Appel was intracta-
ble.
“This kid wasn’t beingflexi-
ble,” Evans said. “He sort of felt
entitled: ‘I’m going to get this
one way or the other.’ ”
Evans’s testimony was
shownon monitors to the jury.

uTRIAL
ContinuedfromPageB

He was recorded July 31 at

SpauldingRehabilitation Hos-

pital, where he is recovering

froma hip injury that he sus-

tained when he fell during a re-

cent run in Toronto.

Evans, who was appointed

commissionerby Mayor Thom-

as M. Menino in 2013, is known

as an avid runner. He left the

departmentin 2018to take

over security at Boston College.

Evans said he had never met

Sullivan, the city’s headof inter-

governmental affairs, but spoke

regularlywithBrissette in the

summer of 2014in Brissette’s

capacity as director of tourism.

Brissette had nothingto do

with the concert’s liquorli-

cense, Evans said.

“Were you part of any agree-

mentto try and slowdownor

hinder or [stop] the issuanceof

the liquor license?” Brissette’s

lawyer, WilliamKettlewell,

asked.

“Absolutely not,” Evans said.

Evans saidhe called the

meeting withCrash Lineafter

one of his captainstold him

about excessive drinkingand

drinkingby minorsat the May

2014 event. Defense attorneys

had said duringtheir openings

that a sexual assault took place.

Police have refusedto confirm

whether a sexualassault oc-

curred at the festival, citing the

confidentiality of the alleged

victim.

On Aug 4, 2014,Boston Po-

lice CaptainKenneth Fong,

whose district covered City Hall

Plaza, sentEvans an e-mail

abouta 22-year-oldwoman

who reported a sexual assault

duringthe event, accordingto

internal e-mailsthe Globe re-

ceived followinga public docu-

ments request.

Evans testified after Patricia

Malone, a lawyerwho was head

of the consumeraffairsand li-

censing office in 2014. Malone

testified that neither Brissette

nor Sullivan had any control

over the entertainment license

Crash Line eventuallyreceived.

Prosecutors tried to under-

mineher testimony by citinga

statement she madeto federal

investigators in 2016when

they werelooking into the al-

leged actions of Brissette and

Sullivan.

Assistant US Attorney Laura

Kaplan asked if Malonere-

calledtelling agents that Bris-

sette had a lot of political power

and that he, along with other

departmentheads, couldslow

downpermits if they wanted.

“No, I do not,” Malone re-

plied.

“Didyou ever tell an appli-

cant they neededto hire city la-

bor?” Kaplan asked.

“Never,” she said.“That

wasn’t my job.”

The jury is expected to begin

its deliberations on Tuesday af-

ter closing argumentsby prose-

cutors and defense lawyers.

MariaCramercanbe reached

at [email protected]. Follow

heron Twitter @globem

cramer.

Ex-commissioner Evans testifies in Boston Calling case

PHOTOS BY NIC ANTAYAFORTHEBOSTONGLOBE

PATGREENHOUSE/GLOBESTAFF

DefendantsKenneth Brissette (left) and Timothy Sullivan wereoutsideJohn Joseph

Moakley United States CourthouseMonday afternoonpriorto a hearingduringtheirtrial.

Lucey

became

harbor-

master in

2012,

overseeing

50 lifeguards

on nine

beaches,

2,

moorings,a

100-slip

marina,a 12-

persondock

staff, and

youngmen

and women

whoseday

job is saving

lives.

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