Holyoke Soldiers’ Home trustees soldier on under new leadership
Updated Jan 12, 2021;
HOLYOKE Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe led his first Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke board of trustees meeting Tuesday night, as leaders of the state-run care facility struggle to get out from under the dark cloud of the pandemic.
Keefe, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, replaced former Chairman Kevin Jourdain at the request of Gov. Charlie Baker. Jourdain will remain on the board until his term expires in 2025.
Baker told Jourdain he thought Keefe would have more status with federal elected officials to attract federal dollars since Keefe is often in the nation’s capital in his current position, Jourdain said during a previous interview.
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Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, City Council head to court in battle over citizen Police Commission
Updated Jan 06, 2021;
SPRINGFIELD Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council are preparing for a Hampden Superior Court hearing in January to determine if Sarno is legally required to appoint a five-member Police Commission to oversee the Police Department as directed by a council-approved ordinance.
The two sides and their private lawyers filed motions and memorandums in Superior Court during the past two months, defending their stances and asking for summary judgments in their favor. The hearing is scheduled Jan. 19, rather than a more protracted trial process.
Almost a decade after Annie Dookhan and the state drug lab scandal, the fallout is growing
Wronged defendants to receive millions while former prosecutors face discipline
By Andrea Estes Globe Staff,Updated January 1, 2021, 4:41 p.m.
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Annie Dookhan, a former chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory Institute, listened to the judge during her arraignment at Brockton Superior Court in Brockton on Jan. 30, 2013.Reuters
Three former state prosecutors are facing possible disbarment. Thousands of men and women convicted of drug crimes continue to see their convictions overturned. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is on the hook for an estimated $10 million to wrongfully convicted defendants.
‘The building was on fire and they were given a cup of water’: Lawyer for former head nurse at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home defends decisions in thick of COVID-19 outbreak
Updated Dec 23, 2020;
HOLYOKE In March, as coronavirus deaths began to climb and after initial pleas for emergency backup were rebuffed by the state, a clinical team at the Soldier’s Home in Holyoke huddled to come up with a Plan B.
Former Chief Nursing Officer Vanessa Lauziere was in the huddle. According to an attorney for Lauziere one of several employees who lost their jobs over the outbreak at the state-run facility for veterans many were hung out to dry as veterans died by the dozens.