AG sues Milton for refusal to abide by zoning laws
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a lawsuit against Milton Feb. 27 after the town voted against accepting a zoning plan that would comply with the MBTA Communities Act.
If the proposal passed, the plan would enable the building of 2,400 new housing units in the community just south of Boston and bring the town into compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, which requires towns either on or adjacent to the MBTA to change zoning laws to allow for increased affordable housing, according to The Boston Globe.
Campbell’s lawsuit asks a judge to affirm the act is mandatory, and require that Milton submit a plan that adheres to the law. If the town refuses or cannot meet the deadline, Campbell asked that the judge either fine the town, appoint a person to draft a plan that meets the requirements or allow multifamily housing by right.
“We have a job to do, which is to enforce the law in Massachusetts,” Campbell said. “We expect our constituents to follow our laws. It’s no different for a municipality when it comes to our housing crisis.”
Advocates against Milton’s zoning plan feel Campbell’s lawsuit to be harsh, citing Massachusetts’s tradition of home-rule when it comes to zoning.
“It is a great disappointment for the citizens of Milton that the attorney general has led with all sticks and no carrots,” Denny Swenson, a Milton resident and leader of the campaign against the zoning plan, said to the Globe. “It is a shame that it may take defending this lawsuit for the citizens of Milton to finally get heard. The town has available strong defenses to this litigation.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey threatened to withhold grant funding from communities who refuse compliance, including Milton.
“I hope we can work with Milton and see a new plan,” Healey said on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio.” “But the message should be clear to every community out there that we meant what we said in terms of compliance and enforcement.”
Georgia nursing student killed
A 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University was killed while out on her morning run on the University of Georgia’s campus Feb. 22.
According to the Associated Press, Laken Riley was dragged by a stranger and killed in a wooded area. Jose Ibarra, 26, was charged with the murder of Riley Feb. 23.
The killing has become a hot-button political topic because Ibarra is an immigrant from Venezuela, according to the New York Times.
Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden’s border control policies for the murder.
Riley went to the University of Georgia for her undergraduate degree, graduating in 2023, and was enrolled in nursing school at Augusta, according to the Times.
Airman self-immolates in support of Palestine
Content Warning: this article contains descriptions of self-immolation.
In an act of protest against the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Feb. 25.
The Massachusetts native was an active member of the U.S. Air Force, stationed at a San Antonio Air Force base. At the time of the act, Bushnell was looking to leave the military.
He set up a livestream on his cell phone and began recording before dousing himself with fluid.
“I will not be complicit in genocide … I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” said Bushnell in the videos of the scene.
He then lit himself on fire while continuously yelling “Free Palestine.”
The flame was extinguished by officials at the scene, but Bushnell succumbed to his injuries about seven hours later at a local hospital.
Prior to the act, Bushnell reached out to several news outlets via email. The Atlanta Community Press Collective shared a copy of the email to BBC. The email shared that he was going to portray an “extreme act of protest” and that it would be “highly disturbing.”
A friend of Bushnell’s, Levi Pierpont, shared with The Washington Post that Bushnell’s faith in the U.S. began to decline following George Floyd’s death in 2020. He became more open about looking to leave the military in 2024. The former senior airman moved to Ohio earlier this year to participate in a course for military members looking to transition out according to The Washington Post.
