— “Surreptitious simulation,” by Dan Atkinson, BINJ: “Earlier this year, the Massachusetts State Police announced that it was looking to pay up to $1 million to covertly intercept cell phone information and track locations through a controversial device that civil liberties advocates say can suppress free speech and lead to questionable prosecutions. Months later, the department purchased one such cell-site simulator. … [S]tate Sen. Jamie Eldridge, chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, agreed with [concerns from] civil liberties advocates and said he planned to investigate and take action to create government oversight.” — “Facing delays, MBTA says Worcester’s Union Station’s new platform opens this spring,” by Adam Bass, MassLive. — “Plan to turn former Cape Cod nursing home into family shelter sparks concern amid migrant crisis,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald.
A plan to convert a former Cape Cod nursing home into a “family transitional shelter” is sparking concerns from officials and residents around safety, transparency and whether the facility will be turned over to migrants. Housing Assistance Corp., a regional-based nonprofit, is looking to morph its three family shelters in Hyannis, Bourne and Falmouth into one central space at a former nursing home in Dennis. The shelter would provide living space for up to 79 homeless families, mostly single mothers with infants and young children, and lessons on “life skills,” with the goal of getting them permanent housing, project leaders have said. But as the migrant crisis continues to slam the Bay State, Dennis residents are looking for assurances from leaders that the planned shelter would be solely for Cape Cod residents most in need. So far, however, they say they’re not confident. “They are not being clear at all about who these people are,” Dennis resident Tom Rennell told the Herald on Tuesday. “We can’t ask them where they come from. We are concerned that these aren’t citizens of Cape Cod, these aren’t legal immigrants. … It’s certainly taking on the appearance of that.” Rennell’s comments came after the Dennis Planning Board blocked residents from speaking during a Monday meeting in which leaders explained the project and how they believe it fits the criteria of the Dover Amendment – a state statute that exempts agricultural, religious, and educational uses from certain zoning restrictions. Rennell is part of a group dubbed ‘Cape Cod Concerned Citizens’ that holds protests against how the state is handling the migrant crisis. Tenants would be required to take lessons on financial management, family planning, MassHealth enrollment, housing search, parenting, cooking and other educational interventions, said Peter Freeman, an attorney for Housing Assistance Corp. “Those are the types of things that all of the residents have to participate in,” Freeman told the Planning Board. “In fact, they sign an agreement to that effect, that they’re not just there for living purposes, they’re there for educational training purposes.” “The whole point is to learn life skills,” he added. Leaders in February highlighted how the 79 Cape and Islands families residing at the existing sites in Hyannis, Bourne and Falmouth would be relocated to the 57,000-square-foot facility in Dennis, which they anticipate happening later this year. Families would also learn how to set up a savings account, how to restore credit and “how to be a good client,” Housing Assistance CEO Alisa Magnotta said during Monday’s meeting. “They have been productive members of society,” she said of the families who’d be moving in before she showed images of previous clients. “This isn’t ‘Those people.’ This is ‘Us.’ These are Cape Codders. These are our friends, these are our families.” In a “Frequently Asked Questions” section on the organization’s website, officials say the endeavor is part of a “long term strategic planning that predates the immigration crisis.” “Once it is open, this new family shelter will serve as a stable, supportive home for families, many with deep roots on Cape Cod, who need our help on the path to permanent housing,” the section states. “There is already the possibility of migrant families staying in our shelter if they qualify based on current state housing laws and admission standards, which we are required to follow.” A nearby motel, Harborside Suites in Yarmouth, has been thrust into the spotlight of the Massachusetts migrant crisis as it’s provided shelter for more than 20 migrant families since last September, violating a local bylaw that limits temporary stays to less than 30 days. In a letter to U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Bill Keating last September, Magnotta shared concerns around how the migrant crisis pushed her agency’s operations to a “breaking point.” Magnotta, in the Sept. 18 letter, called on the lawmakers to “secure the resources needed to assist the arriving migrants,” “fast-track work visas for new arrivals,” and to “dedicate funds for housing creation.” The Cape Cod Times reported last October that One Love Lane South Dennis LLC sold the nursing home, South Dennis Healthcare, to Housing Assistance Corp. for $4.3 million, according to a deed recorded with the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds on Sept. 28. Magnotta, in a statement posted on the agency’s website in February, explained how “The nursing home operator was challenged by a workforce shortage exacerbated by the lack of attainable housing on the Cape – the same housing crisis that is forcing many families to turn to shelters.” Nursing home staff relocated 82 residents in just over a month after the sale and before it closed last fall. If the Dennis facility comes to fruition, families would live in 272-square-foot rooms featuring a half-bathroom, refrigerator and microwave, and they’d share a communal kitchen and shower. The rooms, with a maximum capacity of family members, would lack televisions and chairs, officials have said. Average stays are about nine months to a year, they’ve added. “The rooms are too small, the communal kitchens are cumbersome,” Planning Board member Rich Hamlin told the project proponents. “As far as I can see, there’s just way too many unanswered questions in this project, and I don’t even believe it should be in front of this board.” | 
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