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Mayor Wu: 'No evidence' of Boston police leaking information to ICE
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Market Basket's CEO and board of directors are set to meet today in Delaware to find a resolution to the latest family dispute that has festered all summer at the grocery chain. (The Boston Globe reports the likely outcomes range from allowing CEO Arthur T. Demoulas to return with limits to forcing the 70-year-old into early retirement.)
But first, the news:
Breach of Trust (Act): Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is warning that any city police officer who leaks information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be punished. In a new interview on WBUR's Morning Edition, the mayor responded to recent comments from the leader of ICE suggesting he gets secret tips from local police, amid reports of another federal immigration enforcement surge coming here.
- Last month, acting ICE Director (and Boston native) Todd Lyons appeared on The Howie Carr Show and boasted about his connections to local law enforcement. "I have so many friends — Boston police officers, Massachusetts state troopers — who are ecstatic about what we're doing, who give us intel," Lyons said.
- Boston's Trust Act limits local police cooperation with ICE solely to cases involving certain serious criminal allegations. Wu acknowledged some Boston police officers may hold political views favoring tougher immigration enforcement, but said she's seen "no evidence" of anyone violating the Trust Act. "Any violation of those rules would result in discipline, and that is known widely," Wu said. She also gave the Trust Act credit for Boston's low crime rates, because she says it makes residents — especially those in immigrant communities — more willing to talk to and cooperate with police. "Any assertion that we're protecting or shielding criminal behavior is absolutely false," Wu said.
- Wu also said her administration is preparing for an ICE surge in Boston, after Politico reported over the weekend that such a blitz could happen in the "coming weeks." White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said last week they plan to target cities that limit cooperation with ICE "as a matter of public safety and national security." Wu also spoke to Morning Edition about how cities across the country are preparing for a potential deployment of National Guard troops, “just in case.” She said she thinks these moves are more about "retaliation" for standing up to the administration. "It is about complete obedience," she said. "And when that is not there ... that is something that seems to be a target in their eyes."
Heads up: The D branch of the MBTA's Green Line is down for maintenance. Starting today through next Wednesday (Sept. 3 to 11), shuttles will replace train service all the way between Riverside and Kenmore. The nine-day diversion is freeing up the tracks so crews can install new (and overdue) collision prevention technology.
- Shuttle buses will stop at nearly every closed station. There's also an express bus for those commuting in from Newton that will stop at all stations between Riverside and Newton Highlands, and then run express to Copley. Still, T officials say riders traveling downtown from Riverside should plan for their trips to take 30 to 45 minutes longer than usual.
- Bluebikes is also offering a new $20 credit to help locals get through this month's MBTA disruptions (courtesy of the bikeshare system's sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield). Use the code "BLUECROSSMAMBTA3" to redeem the credit on their app.
The latest CCC twist: Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg is planning to appeal a local judge's decision yesterday to reinstate Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O'Brien. Goldberg fired O'Brien a year ago for what she called "gross misconduct," which allegedly included racially insensitive and bullying comments.
- However, Suffolk County Superior Judge Robert B. Gordon ruled yesterday O'Brien's comments fell short of gross misconduct, and that she should be reinstated with back pay. O'Brien's spokesperson said she plans to return to her role as CCC chair. Her term is currently set to run through August 2027.
This year's first known human case of West Nile virus has hit Massachusetts. The Department of Public Health reported yesterday that a woman in her 70s tested positive after being exposed in Middlesex County. They declined to release any other information about her condition; West Nile can cause problems ranging from mild fever to severe illness, though most people will have no symptoms.
- The risk level for West Nile remains "high" in 10 communities across Massachusetts — including Boston, Brookline and Lowell.
P.S.— Despite all the new signs, Massachusetts State Police report there was one Storrowing over the Labor Day/moving weekend. Around 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, a box truck hit the bridge by the westbound exit ramp to Kenmore Square and rolled onto its side, police said. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and the road reopened at 6:15 a.m.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify Wu's comments about retaliation and "complete obedience" were in reference to threats to deploy the National Guard in Boston.
