State ponders role in getting people to drive less
'Its purpose is to ensure that our multi-million dollar transportation plans, broadly speaking, get us where we need to go on climate change and reducing vehicle miles. Colorado and Minnesota have adopted similar requirements, which have successfully reoriented their transportation plans toward a responsible balance of investment in highway, public transit and active transportation projects,' Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem said of her legislation. 'We could do the same thing here together.'
The Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee on Wednesday heard the bill (S 2246) Creem filed to require the Department of Transportation to set goals for reducing the number of statewide driving miles, which would then be part of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' consideration of sector-specific emission limits. The legislation would also stand up an interagency coordinating council to come up with 'a whole-of-government plan to reduce vehicle miles traveled and increase access to transportation options other than personal vehicles,' according to Creem's summary.
Transportation is the sector that accounts for the greatest share of Massachusetts' greenhouse gas emissions, and Creem said the state's strategy for reducing those emissions 'has largely, although not exclusively, focused on electric vehicles.' Supporters said the environmental benefits of improved fuel economy and electric vehicle adoptions have largely been offset by a mostly steady rise in vehicle miles traveled; even though cars pollute less per mile, Americans are driving more miles than in previous decades.
Creem said electric vehicles 'are certainly a major piece of the puzzle,' but cautioned against over-reliance on any single decarbonization strategy for the transportation sector.
'With the Trump administration rolling back vehicle emission standards and withholding funds from EV charging programs, and with congressional Republicans looking to repeal EV tax credits and derail state-level EV rules, now is the time to pursue new strategies, additional strategies, for reducing transportation emissions,' the Senate majority leader said.
Two weeks ago, TUE Committee House Chair Rep. Mark Cusack said policymakers are reevaluating all of Massachusetts' climate and emissions mandates, plans and goals in light of changes in federal energy policy.
Massachusetts state government has committed to reducing carbon emissions by at least 50% compared to 1990 baselines by 2030, by at least 75% by 2040 and by at least 85% by 2050, with tag-along policies to get the state to net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. The state also has numerous other mandates on the books, including around things like electric vehicles, and its long-range climate and energy plans acknowledge the need to reduce commuter vehicle miles driven.
Sen. Michael Barrett, the Senate co-chair of the TUE Committee, raised with supporters of Creem's bill the question of 'whether we're layering too many slightly disparate initiatives, one on top of another, in a way that is, in fact, going to complicate rather than clarify steps that need to be taken.'
Barrett pointed to transportation sector emission sublimits that are supposed to ratchet down over the coming decade and requirements for the MBTA to transition its bus fleet to be zero-emitting as examples that 'we do have a lot of provisions right now, enacted in either 2021-2022 or 2024, that correlate transportation spending and climate goals.'
The Lexington Democrat also noted what he called 'an unintended and subtle bias against rural Massachusetts,' where transit options are far more limited and people often live further from their workplaces.
'I understand that one can easily imagine that EVs, over time, will reduce the number of polluting vehicle miles traveled. But why we would want to start to pressure Massachusetts to reduce all miles traveled, polluting and non-polluting alike, does raise the question of what someone is to do in a place where one has to travel a long distance to a construction job or to any other source of employment,' Barrett said.
The senator added later, 'One of the questions I'm going to carry with me away from today's hearing is whether we really want to focus on reducing vehicle miles traveled, or whether that's too crude and somewhat off the point, and whether instead we want to reduce internal combustion engine vehicle miles traveled.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
Byron Black executed for triple murder despite concerns of disabilities, heart device
The execution came after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declined requests, including from some Republicans, to intervene because of the inmate's intellectual disabilities and heart device. Tennessee has executed a man for the 1988 murder of his girlfriend and her two young daughters despite arguments he suffered from intellectual disabilities and concerns his heart device would shock him back to life during the lethal injection. The state executed Byron Black on Tuesday, Aug. 5, after Gov. Bill Lee declined requests from attorneys, advocacy groups and even some Republicans to intervene. He was pronounced dead at 10:43 a.m. CT. "This is hurting so bad," Black said during the execution, according to news media witnesses who saw him die. On March 28, 1988, Angela Clay and her eldest daughter, 9-year-old Latoya, were found shot dead in bed. Clay's other daughter, 6-year-old Lakeisha, was found dead on the floor in another bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds. Black became the 28th inmate executed in the U.S. this year, a 10-year high, with at least nine more executions scheduled. He's the second inmate to be put to death in Tennessee this year after a five-year break in executions in the state. Black's case stands out for two reasons. What his legal team said was an "undisputed intellectual disability" had many calling for a reprieve, including some Republicans. And his attorneys raised serious questions about whether Black's implanted heart device would cause "a prolonged and torturous execution" in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told USA TODAY in a statement that expert testimony "refutes the suggestion that Black would suffer severe pain if executed" and that the state was seeking "to hold Black accountable for his horrific crimes." Here's what you need to know about the execution, the crime and the issues surrounding the case. What was Byron Black convicted of? Black was convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two daughters: 9-year-old Latoya and 6-year-old Lakeisha. They were murdered on March 27, 1988. At the time, Black had been on work release from prison for shooting Clay's estranged husband and her daughters' father, Bennie Clay, in 1986. Prosecutors told jurors at trial that Black killed Angela Clay because he was jealous of her ongoing relationship with her ex. Investigators believe that Angela Clay and Latoya were shot as they slept, while Lakeisha appeared to have tried to escape after being wounded in the chest and pelvis. Bennie Clay previously told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, he believes Black killed the girls to spite him. "My kids, they were babies," he told the newspaper. "They were smart, they were gonna be something. They never got the chance." More recently, he told The Tennessean he planned to attend the execution, though he said he has forgiven Black. 'God has a plan for everything,' he told the newspaper. 'He had a plan when he took my girls. He needed them more than I did, I guess.' Judge ordered Byron Black's heart device removed before execution On July 22, a judge ordered that a heart device implanted in Black needed to be removed at a hospital the morning of his execution, a development that appeared to complicate matters as a Nashville hospital declined to participate. But the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the judge's order, and the U.S. Supreme Court backed that up, clearing the way for Black to be executed despite the heart device. His attorneys argued that the device, designed to revive the heart, could lead to "a prolonged and torturous execution." "It's horrifying to think about this frail old man being shocked over and over as the device attempts to restore his heart's rhythm even as the State works to kill him," Henry said in a statement. The state argued that Black's heart device would not cause him pain. Robin, Maher, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, told USA TODAY that an inmate being executed with a defibrillator implant was "a completely unprecedented issue." But, she added, "one I fear we will see again as states move toward executing aging prisoners on death row." A reporter for The Tennessean was among the witnesses to the execution and USA TODAY will update this story with her observations. Tennessee governor declined to intervene With their arguments over Black's heart device at the end of the legal road, his attorneys re-focused their attention on his intellectual disabilities during his final days and hours, calling on Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to stop the execution and prevent "a grotesque spectacle." Citing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and exposure to toxic lead, Black's attorneys said mental impairments meant that he always had to live with and rely on family. More recently on death row, his attorneys said that other inmates had to "do his everyday tasks for him, including cleaning his cell, doing his laundry, and microwaving his food." "If ever a case called for the Governor to grant clemency or, at the very least, a reprieve, it is this one," Henry said in a statement. The director of Tennessee Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty said that she supports accountability for people who commit heinous crimes, but "the law is clear that we do not execute people with intellectual disability." "Governor Lee can insist on accountability while ensuring that the law is also followed. A situation such as this is exactly why governors have clemency power," Jasmine Woodson said in a statement. "Mr. Black has spent over three decades in prison for this crime and will never be released. As a conservative, I believe that he should remain behind bars, but he should not be executed." Lee's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from USA TODAY. In his statement to USA TODAY, Attorney General Skrmetti pushed back at findings that Black was intellectually disabled and said that "over the decades, courts have uniformly denied Black's eleven distinct attempts to overturn his murder convictions and death sentence." Angela Clay's family long sought justice Earlier this year, Angela Clay's sister, Linette Bell, told The Tennessean she and her family were frustrated with years of delays, court hearings, and uncertainty: "He needs to pay for what he did." Angela Clay's mother, Marie Bell, told The Tennessean she had been waiting far too long. "I'm 88 years old and I just want to see it before I leave this Earth," she said. Outside the prison ahead of the execution on Tuesday, Angela Clay's niece, Nicoule Davis, told The Tennessean "it's time for a celebration." "It's time for a celebration," Davis said. "We've been waiting for years and years." Family members, some of whom witnessed the execution, were expected to address reporters afterward, and this story will be updated with their comments. What was Byron Black's last meal? Black's last meal was pizza with mushrooms and sausage, donuts, and butter pecan ice cream. Byron Black's execution is second in the state this year Black is the second inmate to be executed in Tennessee this year following a five-year break in the death penalty in the state. The break followed an independent review that found the Tennessee Department of Corrections was not consistently testing execution drugs for potency and purity. Nationwide, nine more executions are scheduled for this year, with more expected to be carried out as governors sign more death warrants. The next execution is Kayle Barrington Bates in Florida on Aug. 19 for the 1982 stabbing death of a 24-year-old woman named Janet White, who was kidnapped from her office and taken to the woods before Bates beat her, tried to rape her and ultimately killed her. Contributing: Kelly Puente, The Tennessean Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
Major hotel chain faces backlash for allegedly outsourcing check-ins — to India
A Miami hotel is facing backlash over a viral video that claims the front desk was staffed by an outsourced worker to welcome new guests during the check-in process. In the video, a guest who booked a stay at a La Quinta by Wyndham was welcomed by a tall screen displaying a virtual front-desk employee — who allegedly was in India. 'Do you need one room key or two room key?' the worker can be heard asking in the video, which has more than 2 million views since being posted on Saturday. The guest replies: 'Two, just in case I lose one.' The hotel customer then signs a form on the screen using their finger. 3 A traveler staying at a La Quinta by Wyndham hotel was allegedly checked in by an outsourced, virtual worker. @languageguy1/Instagram The interaction led social media users to slam the hotel chain for outsourcing jobs to overseas workers. 'More American jobs outsourced overseas. At some point this should just become illegal. If you make money in America, you should hire Americans,' one user wrote in a post on X. Another sniped: 'What hotel, so I can be sure to avoid it?' Some frustrated users even called on President Trump to target the practice by slapping tariffs on US-based companies that outsource jobs to overseas staffers. A spokesperson for La Quinta Inn, which is owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, told the Daily Mail that it is actively investigating the matter. 3 'Do you need one room key or two room key?' the worker can be heard asking. @languageguy1/Instagram 'All La Quinta hotels are independently owned and operated under franchise agreements and required to have a team member at the front desk at all times.' Representatives for Wyndham did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. The chain has several La Quinta locations in the Miami area. It's unclear how widespread the practice of outsourced virtual front-desk employees is at La Quinta hotels and other chains. Wyndham does offer mobile check-in for some guests, according to its website. A video posted to YouTube in February appears to show the same large tablet screen being used by an outsourced worker in a Wyndham hotel in Bonita Springs, Fla. 3 Outraged social media users were quick to slam the hotel chain on social media. @languageguy1/Instagram 'I checked into a hotel by talking to a man on a screen in the entryway. I scanned my ID, swiped my credit card, and the machine provided me a key,' the user who posted the video wrote in the caption. Another social media user said they had a similar experience with a virtual front-desk employee at a hotel in Dublin. 'Honestly, it was a lot quicker than dealing with front desk staff, and it prints out your keycard,' the hotel guest wrote in a post online. Meanwhile, a hotel in Amsterdam allegedly used a fully-automated check-in process, where guests fill out a form on an iPad, take a key card from a pile and tap it on a reader to activate it, according to another user on X. 'There's really no reason for these jobs at all in today's age,' they added.
Boston Globe
13 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
What's the deal with all the redistricting talk? A simple guide.
Advertisement It's a lot to untangle, but we'll attempt to do so. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Let's start with the basics. What is redistricting and what's happening in Texas? Per the US Constitution, every 10 years after the census, states must redraw congressional districts to reflect population changes. These districts must be proportional, contiguous, and under federal law, must not be drawn to dilute the voting power of racial groups, but otherwise how they're drawn is up to each state. (Fun fact: Before 1840 some states including Massachusetts didn't have Congressional districts but had every House candidate run at-large.) What's less settled is whether states can redraw districts mid-decade. Some states allow it. Others don't. Texas, which has the second-largest congressional delegation in the country with 38 representatives, is one of the states that does. With Republicans controlling state government, Trump recently urged Texas to redraw its congressional map to give the GOP more right-leaning seats heading into the midterms. Advertisement Texas already had a special legislative session scheduled for August. Republicans used the opportunity to add redistricting to the agenda with a proposed map that would likely net them five additional seats on top of the 25 they currently hold. In response, Texas Democrats did the only thing they could to block the move: They fled the state to blue states—including some The special session ends in two weeks. For now, Texas is at a standstill. So what's going on in California? Once it became clear Texas Republicans were moving forward, California Governor Gavin Newsom and state Democrats responded in kind. If Texas draws five new Republican seats, Newsom said, California would aim to draw five new Democratic ones. But doing this in California is far more complicated. The state currently uses an independent redistricting commission. To override it, lawmakers would need to eliminate the commission through a special session, and then place the measure on a statewide ballot. Newsom said he's open to doing both, including holding a special election in November to let voters decide. Is this just a Texas–California battle? Far from it. Fifteen states are now considering mid-decade redistricting—some inspired by the Texas–California showdown, others acting under court orders. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul declared, 'This is war. We're at war,' and promised aggressive action on redistricting. But the state constitution limits what Democrats can do. A redistricting change would require passage in two consecutive legislative sessions, followed by voter approval on the ballot. So it's impossible to do ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Advertisement Ohio, meanwhile, is redrawing its map due to a court order, which could lead to Republican gains. Other states considering changes include Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. There is also a report that Vice President JD Vance may What about New England? Every US House member from New England is a Democrat. The only state where redistricting has surfaced is New Hampshire, where Republicans control the Legislature. They could redraw the line between the state's two House districts to make one more favorable for the GOP. But Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte said in December that the So what does this mean for the midterms? It all hinges on whether Texas acts. If it does, a domino effect could follow. If it doesn't, most other changes will be limited to court-ordered redistricting. Historically, the party out of power makes big gains in the first midterm election of a new president's term. Democrats currently need to flip four seats to regain the House majority in 2026. Under various discussed maps, they could instead need to flip seven—or in Democrats' worst-case scenario—twelve. Republicans flipped nine seats in the last midterms, giving them a margin so slim it doomed their speaker. In 2018, Democrats gained 40 seats. Advertisement Wait… what does Massachusetts have to do with this? In a CNBC interview on Tuesday morning, Trump denied that he initiated the current redistricting push. 'They did it to us, the blue states you were talking about,' Trump said, after the host referenced California's plans. 'Somebody gave a good example. In Massachusetts, I got, I think, 41 percent of the vote, a very blue state, and yet [Democrats] got 100 percent of Congress. One hundred percent. I got 40, 41 percent or something, and yet 100 percent of Congress in Massachusetts? No, it shouldn't be that way.' (For the record: Trump received 36% of the vote in Massachusetts in 2024.) James Pindell is a Globe political reporter who reports and analyzes American politics, especially in New England.
