The Boston Globe - 08.08.2019

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Metro

THEBOSTONGLOBETHURSDAY, AUGUST8, 2019 | BOSTONGLOBE.COM/METRO

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developing theshuttered

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Families ofcrash victims demandfull Boeinginquiry

Falsifieddata allegationsentangle NovartisCEO

Pfizer spinoff tomoveintoCambridge Crossing

It’s hard to imagine Vicar
Edgar Gutiérrez-Duarte
and the parishioners at his
Chelseachurchfeeling
more afraid, giventhe mis-
eries of the last few years.
Yet, here they are.
Stung by President
Trump’s dehumanizing
rhetoric aboutblackand brown people, ter-
rified of arrest by immigration officers that
mightrip themfromtheir families, mem-
bers of the Episcopal Church of San Lucas
are now reckoning with another fear that is
suddenly more immediate after last week-
end’s carnage in El Paso: that some white
supremacist,emboldenedbythepresident
and his enablers, might take it uponhim-
self to attack their community, too.
“It is a weird feeling, whenyou know
that you are the target of that hate,” Gutiérr-
ez-Duarte said. “You feel like a sitting duck.
The people of El Paso couldhave beenus.”
About 90 percent of the congregation is
Hispanic, he estimates, and many are prob-
ably undocumented immigrants. On Sun-
day, the pastor said, they were asking the
samequestions as the rest of us: Why did
this happen? Why doesn’t anybody do
something about the guns?
But they knew one answer already.
“They said, ‘It’s no surprise, because
Donald Trump hates us,’ ” Gutiérrez-Duarte
recalled.
He sure does.How could anybody out-
side Trump’s distressingly wide circle of fel-
low racists and enablersdoubt that, at this
late stage? Why do we waste time and
breath ruminating on whether this presi-
dent was sincere whenhe read a speech-
writer’s condemnation of white supremacy
off a teleprompter on Monday?
The tell is in Trump’s every unscripted
moment: the comparisons of black and
brown people to vermin, their homes“in-
fested”; his constant talk of an “invasion”
by Central Americans crossingthe border;
his obvious enjoyment at a Florida rally
whenone of his devotees shouted that
those immigrants should be shot;his call
for four congresswomen, three of them US-
born, to go back to the “totally broken and
crime-infested places fromwhich they
came”; his infamous “very fine people on
both sides” comment after the deadly may-
hem at a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville,
Va. If you’re still reading this, you’ve seen
this list, and longer ones, eleventy times
since Saturday, so let’s moveon.
Actually, let’s not, since the long list is
part of the problemhere. Repeat a lie often
enough and it becomes the truth, the say-
ing goes. Obviously, plenty of Americans —
gulled by the sycophants at Fox News — be-
lieve the president’s lies, about immigrants
and everything else. Other Republicans
don’t, but they play along because it serves
themto.
But when you repeat lies endlessly, they
also become part of the wallpaper, and that
is arguablyeven moredangerous. Trump
violates the standards of the presidency —
of humandecency — so often, that many
who mightcall him out barely register most
of his deceptions and transgressions any
more. After more than 10,000 provably
false or misleading claims, muchof the out-
rage that animated the first massive march-
es after his inauguration has drained away.
Trump is utterly indefatigable, and many of
us are exhausted. Those who can, tune him
out, as an act of self-preservation. There is
just too muchof him.
It takes a horrorlike the terror attack at
El Paso, where a white supremacist mur-
dered 22 people because,echoing Trump’s
rhetoric, he was angry about a “Hispanic
invasion” of Texas, to shock us back to full
attention.
At San Lucas, they don’t have the luxury
of tuning out, ever.
“There is always that element of fear,”
Gutiérrez-Duarte said. “As a public figure in
a public place, it is always in the back of my
mind.... We couldeasily be a target. You
have to go into some form of denial, be-
cause we cannotstop living.”
Even before El Paso, someparishioners
wereafraid to cometo church, or use the
food pantry, for fear of arrest by immigra-
tion authorities.
Withone eye on the door, Gutiérrez-Du-
arte tends to thosewho remain.


GlobecolumnistYvonneAbrahamcanbe
reachedat [email protected].
Followheron Twitter @GlobeAbraham.


In Chelsea,

a growing fear

YvonneAbraham

Business


PAGESB6-9
For breakingnews, goto
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business


By Michael Levenson
GLOBESTAFF

R

ecord funding for public schools. More than $1 billion in local aid for
cities and towns. A controversial plan to cut prescription drugcosts.
These are the big-ticket items that generated headlines when Gov-
ernor Charlie Baker signed the state’s $43.3 billion budget on July 31.
But burieddeepwithinthe documentare dozens of pet projects,
someof themobscure and each one the result of intense behind-the-
scenes lobbying by state lawmakers. Derided as pork-barrel projects,
the earmarksfundeverything fromfireworks to fuel tanks. Givenlim-
ited resources, critics say such projects should be chosen according to
needand merit, not political influence. Here’s a sampling of a few that madeit throughthe
gantlet on Beacon Hill.

STATE HOUSEELEVATORS:$227,610 to main-
tain the State House’s 16 newly installed eleva-
tors. The elevators, relied upon to ferry tourists
and politicians escaping the press, were recently
in the spotlight when WCVB-TV reported that
they feature bronzefixtures,dark cherry lami-
nate, marble-tiled floors, and state seals, and cost
$10,299,000 to install — $483,160 more than an-
ticipated. The latest round of state funding will
pay for an elevator mechanic, ongoing mainte-
nance,and emergency repairs, state officials
said.

STONEBARNROOF REPAIRS:$50,000 to repair
the roof of a 19th-century stone building in Hem-
lock Gorge in Wellesley, believed to be one of the
last remaining industrial structures on the
Charles River. The Stone Barn might have origi-
nallybeenpart of NewtonIron Works. Recently,
it’s beenmaintained by the Friends of Hemlock
Gorge, which hosts twice-annualvolunteer lun-
cheons. John Mordes, group’s president, said if
the roof is not fixed, the building could be ruined,
destroying a rich bit of history. “I was certainly
someone who opposed the Bridge to Nowhere in
PETPROJECTS, PageB4

From the common till,

a big barrel of richness

Embeddedin the state’s$43.3 billionbudgetis

pork-barrel money, earmarks that fundspecial

projectsfromfireworkstofueltanks.

PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF
The Muddy RiverInitiative gets $12,000for a “Watergoat” device to strain trash fromthe brook.

JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF

JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF

By Emily Sweeney
and John Ellement
GLOBE STAFF
The Riverside trolley that
jumpedits tracks earlyWednes-
day morningwas the fourth de-
railmenton the MBTA’s Green
Line alone this year, adding to the
woesof an agency alreadyunder
fire for its safety recordand condi-
tion of its aging equipment.
Massachusetts Bay Transporta-
tion Authority officialssaid an er-
ror by a recentlyhiredtrolley driv-
er caused the car to derail at the
RiversideStation in Newton
around 6
a.m., dis-
rupting
the morn-
ing com-
mute for D
linepas-
sengers for
several
hours. At
the time,
there was
only one
passenger
onthe
train and
no injuries
were re-
ported,according to MBTA
spokesmanJosephPesaturo.
“The preliminary investigation
shows the train’s operator did not
have the signal system’s authori-
zation to proceed,’’ the T said in a
statement. “By not allowing the
track switch to be properly
aligned, the second car of the
DERAILMENT,PageB5

Green

Line

trolley

derails

Error by new driver

blamed for latest of

MBTA’s problems

By Felice J. Freyer
and Danny McDonald
GLOBE STAFF

Police conducting a sweep
Tuesday in the SouthEnd over-
saw the destruction of several
wheelchairs belonging to home-
less people, accordingto witness-
es — resulting in a flurry of con-
demnation on Twitter, including
strongwordsfroma city council-
or.
Less than 24 hours later, city
officials faced heated criticism for
their actions duringa South End
community meeting Wednesday
nightregardingdrug use and
homelessness in the area
“You are targeting the disabled
whocannotsurviveon the
streets!” one person shouted.
“It’s structural violence
against homeless people!” said
another.
So many people turned out for
the meeting at the South End
Branch Library the meeting had
to be held outside the building on
Tremont Street.
City officialsorganizedthe
meeting to brief residents and
businesses aboutthe city’s effort
to combat homelessness and drug
addiction in the area.
MaureoFernandezy Mora, a
24-year-old from Jamaica Plain,
attendedthe meeting lookingfor
an explanation.
“I thought it was unaccept-
WHEELCHAIR,PageB5

Sweep of

homeless

district

draws fire

By Naomi Martin
GLOBESTAFF
The embattled Fall River mayor came under new fire
Wednesday for granting a key city approval to his girlfriend’s
brother to open two marijuana stores.
City councilors and a government watchdog group said
Mayor Jasiel CorreiaII should have recusedhimself to avoid
the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“I don’t think it’s quite proper,” said City Councilor Ste-
phenLong. “It’s a little strange, but hey, it’s not illegal. He
didn’t do anything illegal, at least on this.”
It was the latest controversy for Correia, 27, who also faces
federal fraud and tax evasioncharges. He was bothrecalled
and reelected in the sameelection in March.
The incidentalso highlightsthe powerlocal officials have
in choosing winners in the state’s booming new pot industry.
Last month, Correia awarded New Leaf Enterprises, which
is owned by his live-in girlfriend’s brother, Pedro “Peter” Fer-
nandes, a contract. The so-called host-community agreement
is required to apply for a state cannabislicense. The decision
was first reported Tuesday by the Fall River Herald News.
Correia said that he acted appropriately, and that his
CORREIA,PageB4

A new controversy for Fall River mayor

Critics call pot shop approval

for girlfriend’s brother improper

BARRY CHIN/GLOBESTAFF

‘The optics are poor by those

that are detractors, but the

reality is there’s nothing

wrong withwhat we did.’

MAYOR JASIELCORREIA II

‘The train’s

operator did

nothave the

signal

system’s

authorization

to proceed.’

MBTAstatement
Free download pdf