MASSACHUSETTS — It’s Friday, June 4. Here’s what you should know this afternoon:
- A suspect is in custody after at least two police officers were shot in Braintree.
- The high-schoolers involved in a massive brawl at New Hampshire’s Hampton Beach Thursday were mostly from Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, and taking a senior “skip day.”
- You might want to avoid a large swath of the Mass Pike this weekend — and possibly until mid-August.
- Thursday was the first time no Massachusetts communities received the “high risk” for COVID-19 designation since the state began issuing weekly reports last summer.
Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.
Today’s Top Story
Massachusetts will become the 15th state to allow home delivery of marijuana when a Taunton company fills its first order next week.
Freshly Baked Company will be the first to legally deliver recreational cannabis and will serve customers in greater Taunton. But other companies will soon follow, with the state’s regulatory arm expected to approve more licenses this summer.
Also on Patch: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opening On Cape Cod
While Massachusetts voters approved recreational cannabis sales in a 2016 ballot referendum and stores began opening in November 2018, the state Cannabis Control Commission held off on granting delivery licenses until the retail market was established. The rollout could be slow: Freshly Baked’s license only allows it to deliver products it produces and limits how much cannabis it can produce.
DEVELOPING STORY: Two police officers shot in Braintree, suspect in custody
Person at Braintree Village apartments says they “heard a lot of gunfire”
— Mike Saccone (@mikesacconetv) June 4, 2021
Friday’s Other Top Stories
Patrols stepped up at NH beach after MA teens brawl: New Hampshire State Police as well as county and local police will be stepping up patrols on Hampton Beach after a melee on Thursday. According to scanner chatter and news reports, Hampton police requested backup from Rockingham County sheriffs and New Hampshire State Police after a fight occurred on the beach and spilled over into Ocean Boulevard. The high-schoolers were mostly from Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, and took a senior “skip day.”
Weekend squeeze on Mass Pike: You might want to avoid a large swath of the Mass Pike this weekend — and possibly until mid-August. Beginning Friday night, MassDOT will reduce the eastbound and westbound lanes from three to two between Framingham and I-495. The squeeze will be a trial run for a larger project to replace eight bridges over I-90 later this summer. MassDOT is warning of potential slowdowns during the test this weekend, which will also see the westbound lanes shifted onto the east side of the interstate.
Voters may get say on ‘millionaires’ tax:’ State lawmakers are expected to approve a measure when they vote Wednesday that would put the so-called “millionaires’ tax” on the ballot in the 2022 general election. If approved, the measure would let the state levy a 4 percent income tax increase on all household income over $1 million.
Mark Wahlberg at Medford gym: The Hollywood star and Boston native stopped by F45 Training in Medford Thursday, working out with a group that included Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. “Had a blast working out with Mark Wahlberg at F45 Training today on my lunch break and telling him about how our local businesses are opening stronger than ever!” the mayor wrote in a Facebook post. (Photo: Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn/Facebook).
Eat fresh: Patch’s 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide
Picture This
Awwwww: The Tewksbury Police Department is about to welcome a different kind of canine cop to the force — an adorable labradoodle who will help officers with community outreach. Monadnock Labradoodles is donating a puppy to be used as a comfort dog, according to the police department. Chief Ryan Columbus said the pup will be used to help break down barriers between the police and people of all ages who may be in need of help. (Photo: Monadnock Labradoodles LLC).
They Said It
“Sad, but not surprising.”
In Case You Missed It
Person Of Interest In MA Cold Case: A convicted rapist who died in 2016 was identified Thursday by the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office as a person of interest in the nearly 20-year-old killing of Warren teen Molly Bish. Worcester DA Joseph Early Jr. identified Francis “Frank” Sumner Sr. as the new person of interest, and said Sumner came to the DA’s office through a tip. The possible new break in the unresolved case comes three weeks before the 21st anniversary of Bish’s disappearance.
F. Lee Bailey, Attorney For O.J. Simpson, Patty Hearst And Boston Strangler, Dead At 87: Bailey, whose clients included O.J. Simpson, the murderer known as the Boston Strangler and the innocent man who inspired “The Fugitive,” died Thursday in Georgia. He was 87. Bailey’s high-profile career made him a local and national celebrity beginning in the 1960s, but in more recent years he was accused of financial fraud, filed for personal bankruptcy, and disbarred.
By The Numbers
0: The number of Massachusetts communities designated as “high risk” for COVID-19 transmission by the state Department of Public Health Thursday. It was the first time no Massachusetts communities received the designation since the state began issuing weekly reports last summer.
Introducing Eat Mass: Food News In Massachusetts
The coronavirus pandemic changed the way we eat: it knocked some of our favorite restaurants out of business and forced many of us to cook and eat more meals at home. It’s too soon to see what long-lasting changes COVID-19 will have on food news in Massachusetts, but Patch wants to document it.
Today we’re launching Eat Mass, a weekly roundup of food news in Massachusetts to help readers navigate dinner time in the post-COVID world. We’ll have weekly updates on restaurant openings and closings, industry news, trends, local food events and even the occasional recipe. And we’ll also try to mix in lots of food porn culled from the social media feeds of local chefs and restaurants.
Eat Mass will be published every Thursday and included in the Saturday edition of Patch’s local newsletters in the Bay State. In this week’s edition, we look at how Massachusetts residents cooked during the pandemic, Krispy Kreme’s decision to re-enter the Dunkin’-dominated greater Boston market and more.
