Haverhill

District Attorney Confirms Body of 61-Year-Old Man Found Outside Haverhill YMCA

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Editor’s note: WHAV cautions listeners and readers to listen and look for the names of official sources when following social media posts and even some other news organizations. Absent attribution, first reports are often no more than rumors or speculation. WHAV takes care to obtain trustworthy information and name official, reputable and reliable sources. Online comments are often erroneous and initial first responder communications are subject to on-scene verification. A 61-year-old man was found dead Thursday night outside the Haverhill YMCA in downtown Haverhill.

Education

Communities to Meet on Whittier Tech’s Future; Former Methuen Mayor DiZoglio to Moderate

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After gaining the state’s blessing last month, officials are taking the first big step toward uniting area communities behind a replacement Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. Whittier Tech Superintendent Maureen Lynch told WHAV this week that representatives of all 11 communities that send students to the school will meet to discuss goals and attempt to bridge differences. The Municipal Working Group, as it is called, includes mayors, town managers, city councilors and town select board members. “We want to make sure that everyone feels like they’re a part of whatever we move forward with. Whether they agree with it or disagree, we just want to make sure everyone feels like they’re a part of what we’re trying to do,” she said.

Haverhill

Haverhill Councilors to Review State Law, Decide Tuesday Whether to Permit Lovers Lane Solar Field

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Haverhill city councilors Tuesday will review past legal decisions on permitting solar array before deciding whether to approve a 6.8-megawatt project on Lovers Lane. Councilors postponed a vote last month on the proposed large, ground-mounted solar system in the rear of two woodland parcels on the northerly side of Lovers Lane, adjacent to Interstate 495. Members expressed concern any decision they make could run afoul of the, so called, Dover Amendment, a state law that exempts educational, agricultural and solar uses among others from certain local zoning restrictions. Councilors delayed their decision last month after hearing from several residents who expressed concerns over altering vistas of Haverhill’s tallest hill. Resident Christine Kwitchoff was one of those who spoke.

Beacon Hill News

Haverhill’s State-Mandated MBTA Housing Plan Wins Approval—Allows Max of About 10,000 Units

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Just days after Massachusetts’ highest court ruled communities with, or near, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service must plan for multifamily housing, the Haverhill City Council will formally receive notice the city’s plan—which allows more than 10,000 housing units—is legal. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett’s notice to councilors will be heard during next Tuesday night’s regular City Council meeting. In her cover letter, the mayor said she is “pleased to inform the Council that the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has issued a determination that the City of Haverhill is in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act under Section 3A of the zoning act.”

In a letter, dated Jan. 2, state Housing Secretary Edward M. Augustus Jr. notified Barrett that zoning within Haverhill’s Downtown Smart Growth and Merrimack Street Gateway Renaissance Overlay Districts are acceptable. The city’s plans, as WHAV has reported, date back to at least the spring of 2022.

Education

Haverhill Reports City Schools Not Affected by Software at the Center of a National Data Breach

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Parents of Haverhill Public School students are receiving assurances they are not impacted by a data breach involving a particular PowerSchool-branded educational product. Haverhill Director of Technology Douglas Russell said in an email Thursday to staff that city schools do not use the product. “First and foremost, we want to assure you that our district does not utilize PowerSchool’s Student Information System, which was the affected product in this incident. Instead, we use PowerSchool’s application system, and PowerSchool has indicated that only their SIS was compromised,” Russell wrote. Schools across the country were notified Wednesday by the Folsom, Calif.

Haverhill

Breezeline Informs Haverhill it is Cancelling Plan for Competitive Internet and Cable TV Service

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Um, scratch that. Those hoping for competitive internet, television and telephone services in Haverhill may have to wait a bit longer. While Canadian-based Breezeline had been wiring the northern part of Haverhill since last August, the company notified the city it is cancelling the buildout. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett told WHAV Monday that while the company had a contractor on Concord Street last week, workers may well have been taking pieces down rather than putting cable up. The mayor said she is “very disappointed” and will try to coax the company back to at least provide internet service.

Haverhill

Auditor Says ‘Direct Correlation’ Between Agency Failures and Near-Closing of Holy Family Hospital

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Failures by a state agency may have prevented regulators from taking steps to avert the crisis surrounding Holy Family Hospital and other Steward Health Care hospitals. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office said Friday there is a “direct correlation” between inaction by the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis and the closing of hospitals. The routine audit of the agency, founded by the legislature in 2012 and known as CHIA, covered the two-year period ending June 30, 2023. The auditor’s office adds, the agency failed to collect financial information or assess up to $1.6 million in fines. “People must have access to the vital health care services they need,” said DiZoglio.

Business Bulletin

Breezeline Readying Haverhill for Internet, TV and Voice; Wiring Underway in Northern Part of City

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Breezeline continues to make progress wiring the city for, what it describes as, its internet, TV and voice fiber optic service. Installers from Brookfield, Vt.-based Eustis Cable Enterprises was placing cable last week along the entire length of Concord Street in Haverhill, part of a $28 to $30 million buildout. In September of 2022, Breezeline Director of Government Affairs Francis Bradley briefed the Haverhill City Council and members of the city’s Cable Television Advisory Committee. Bradley said the company will offer more than 300 television channels and symmetrical fiber connections, meaning upload and download speeds will be equally fast. Low-income cable options are available from the company, called “Internet Assist.” At the time, he estimated it would take 18 months to complete the wiring.