Push To Investigate Teen's Death Continues: The HUB

Boston MA

16 June, 2021

9:49 PM

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The HUB is an effort to get you caught up on whatever you need to know each weekday in Boston and around Massachusetts. Today is Thursday, June 17. Let's get started. 3 Things To Know Today Ayanna Pressley, other elected officials of color push for independent investigation into death of Mikayla Miller Two months after a Black teenager was found dead in the woods near her Hopkinton home, Representative Ayanna Pressley and some of Massachusetts' most prominent elected officials of color are pressing for a "thorough, transparent, and independent" investigation into her death. A medical examiner ruled last month that 16-year-old Mikayla Miller died by suicide, a finding that brought little closure to Miller's family, distrustful of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and local police, who waited weeks before providing information about the tragedy to the public. Miller's death has been a lightning rod in mostly-white Hopkinton. Critics say Ryan and local police have been insufficiently transparent and haven't paid enough attention to a physical altercation involving Miller and five teenagers that occurred the day before she was found dead, a fight Miller's mother said was fallout from a dispute between Miller and her girlfriend. (Emma Platoff, Boston Globe) Out of Town Cash Adds Fuel To Boston's Mayoral Race More than half of the money raised by Boston mayoral candidates so far comes from outside of the city, according to a GBH News review of data from the state campaign and political finance office from September 2020 to June 14, 2021. Approximately 57 percent of the $5.1 million collective total raised by the six major candidates thus far comes from somewhere other than the city they are seeking to lead. When counted together, the six candidates average about $487,000 dollars from beyond Boston. The bulk of the money comes from neighboring municipalities rather than out of state. (Saraya Wintersmith, GBH) Boston Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy released from hospital, NESN says Longtime Boston Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy was released by Massachusetts General Hospital Wednesday and is now resting at home after he left the booth early last Friday, according to a statement released by Remy and New England Sports Network. "He is thankful for the moral support from family, friends, and fans and is looking forward to being back in the broadcast booth soon," the statement said. Remy and NESN said that he experienced shortness of breath during the third inning of last Friday night's Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. (WCVB) Take 'em to school It was not a great day in the local papers for Boston Public Schools: From The Boston Globe's Editorial Board: "The next time the City of Boston says that it has complied with a public records request and leveled with the public, will anyone believe them? The city's credibility is now in doubt, after the way it handled the fallout from a now-infamous Oct. 21, 2020, school committee meeting. Three school committee members have now resigned as a direct result of their behavior at that meeting, after making insulting and inappropriate statements." From Alexi Cohan at The Boston Herald: "A staff member with nonprofit organization Youth On Board, from which Boston Public Schools has recently cut ties, said he was repeatedly told by senior district staff to "tone down" student voices, a concern BPS denies." What I'm reading today: I spent some of the pandemic seriously considering a move up to South Portland. When I took the temperature of the locals on community Facebook pages, there were a lot of complaints about potentially toxic emissions from all the giant oil tanks. Kathryn Miles has a frankly unsettling piece in Globe Magazine on the community concerns. Weather The National Weather Service says: During the day — Sunny, with a high near 78. West wind around 6 mph. At night — Clear, with a low around 56. West wind around 6 mph. Have a swell Thursday. You can email me at [email protected] and follow me @PatchCarraggi.