BOSTON — Massachusetts is launching a program to give homeless college students a place to live.
The Boston Globe reports that under the initiative, students under the age of 25 who are enrolled full time in a public college or university and are in good academic standing will be guaranteed year round room and board in a campus residence hall.
So far 20 homeless students have taken up the offer.
The $120,000 pilot program announced Thursday by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker initially includes state universities in Bridgewater, Framingham and Worcester, and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. It could expand with additional funding in the future.
While state officials say they don’t know the full extent of the problem, they cite cases of college students being forced to commute to classes from homeless shelters.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — A Connecticut man serving a life sentence in Massachusetts for the murder of his wife has rejected a plea deal in connection with the death of his daughter.
Robert Honsch is charged with the murder of 17-year-old Elizabeth Honsch in 1995. The New Britain Herald reports the 74-year-old Honsch on Thursday rejected a plea deal from Connecticut prosecutors that offered a 25-year prison sentence and said he wanted to go on trial instead. He could receive up to 60 years if found guilty.
Honsch was convicted of first-degree murder in 2017 and is serving a life sentence.
Honsch’s wife, Marcia, was found dead in Tolland, Mass., about 10 days after police found Elizabeth Honsch’s body wrapped in sleeping bags behind a New Britain shopping plaza. Both women had been shot.
MILFORD — State public health officials say two children have died from flu-related illnesses in Massachusetts in the past week.
A 12-year-old Milford boy, identified by town officials as Aaron Zenus, died Wednesday after being treated at a hospital.
The state Department of Public Health says a girl who lives in Middlesex County also died this week. No other information was released about the girl’s case.
Officials say they are the first two pediatric flu-related deaths in the state this season.
One child death in Massachusetts was associated with the flu a year ago.
Public health experts say they consider the current flu season to be widespread and severe, but note preliminary indications show this year’s vaccine to be highly effective.
WELLESLEY — A man will get to keep a banner reading “Impeach Trump” on his home.
The roughly 12-foot by 2-foot red, white and blue sign has been hanging from the second floor of Dan Chiasson’s home for months but recently Wellesley officials told him the banner violated town bylaws regarding size.
Chiasson, a writer who teaches at Wellesley College, was warned he could face $300 daily fines.
After he questioned whether the rules violated his rights to political expression, The Boston Globe reports town officials backed off Thursday and said the banner could stay while they reviewed the legality of the sign ordinance.
President Trump lost the Boston suburb to Hillary Clinton, a Wellesley College graduate, by a more than a 3-to-1 margin.
MIDDLETON — Authorities say a man facing charges in the death of his 11-year-old grand-niece who died after potential fentanyl exposure was attacked by other inmates in jail.
The Essex County Sheriff’s Department says 58-year-old Miguel Rivera was beaten by four other inmates at the Middleton House of Corrections around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Sheriff Kevin Coppinger says Rivera sustained bumps, bruises and a small cut, and he has been placed in protective custody.
Rivera was arraigned that day on a charge of rape of a child by force. His attorney says he denies the rape allegation.
Rivera previously pleaded not guilty to permitting substantial bodily injury to a child and misleading a police investigation in the death of the Haverhill girl last month who was staying at his apartment.
PORTLAND, Maine — Recreational cod fishing will remain off limits in one of New England’s most significant bodies of water for at least the first several months of this year.
Possession of cod in the Gulf of Maine was prohibited during 2018. The New England Fishery Management Council met this week to consider recreational fishing rules for species such as cod and haddock.
The fishery council says the long federal shutdown has left recreational fishermen wondering what will happen on May 1, which is the start of the 2019 fishing year. The council says rules for Gulf of Maine cod and other species will remain in effect unless they are replaced with new measures. That means Gulf of Maine cod are still off limits.
From Associated Press