Even in Princeton
By 
Judging from the news coverage, murders are not supposed to happen in places like Princeton.
It’s one thing for a woman and her friend, sitting inside their Worcester home, to be wounded in gunfire from a nearby intersection. But that sort of violence is not supposed to happen in nearby Princeton, which is described as a quiet, wooded community, a bucolic place where people come to hike or ski at Mount Wachusett. One story quoted a resident as saying reports of the slaying were “unimaginable.”
Yet 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte, a Google account executive from New York City who was in Princeton visiting her mother, went for a jog or a walk at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon and never came back. A police dog found her dead, naked body at 8:20 p.m. with burns on the face, hands, and feet. Police are still searching for clues.
Residents of Princeton couldn’t believe it. “Not only is this an offense to the community that someone thinks they can do something so horrific to another human being, but on a personal level, it is an offense to my family and sense of safety,” said Cynthia Hanson. “Now we have to restrict our lives and be cognizant of locking our doors, putting our security system on, and be more alert. Restricting our freedom to that degree is not something we expected we would have to do moving to a town like Princeton that is in the woods, more private, and a place to raise kids in the countryside.”
As unimaginable as it may seem, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said he didn’t know whether the murder was a random act. He asked the public to be careful and vigilant. “We have a horrible set of facts, a horrible circumstance here right now,” he said.
No place is immune from the violence that plagues our society.
BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
Republican Rep. Shaunna O’Connell says Kimberly Budd is unfit to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court because of her view that unauthorized immigrants should be allowed to obtain driver’s licenses. Budd’s opinion runs counter to the views of Gov. Charlie Baker, who nominated her for the judgeship. (State House News)
Attorney General Maura Healey defends her crackdown on copycat assault rifles, and makes clear that pistols are not covered by her directive. (Masslive) Sen. Elizabeth Warren backs Healey. (Masslive)
Believe it or not, the cash-strapped MBTA helped the Baker administration balance the FY16 budget. (CommonWealth)
Sen. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester is pushing for Baker to sign a $25 million bond authorization to provide funding for port cities outside Boston that are dependent on the fishing industry. (Gloucester Times)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
A filing by defense lawyers for two Boston City Hall aides facing corruption charges seeks information from federal prosecutors on any history of substance abuse on the part of witnesses against their clients and details of grudges those individuals may have against the defendants. (Boston Herald)
Balise Motor Sales purchases $2.1 million worth of property in Springfield’s South End. (Masslive)
Hanover officials have shut down a kennel pending an investigation after a dog that was boarding there died after being mauled by another dog at the facility. (Patriot Ledger)
Westport residents — some carrying signs that read “Animal Lives Matter” — protested outside Town Hall demanding members of the Board of Health resign after officials discovered dead and emaciated animals on a local farm. (Standard-Times)
ELECTIONS
Donald Trump proposes what he calls a “tax revolution.” (Time) Politico calls it a more of an incoherent hodgepodge of ideas from the left, a “Frankenstein’s monster” of an economic plan.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine explains why she won’t be voting for Trump. (Washington Post) Charles Fried, who served as solicitor general in the Reagan administration, says Trump must be stopped and the only way to do it is by voting for Hillary Clinton, calling a vote for the Green or Libertarian ticket a “silly and self-defeating gesture.” (Boston Globe) Fifty former Republican national security officials signed a letter warning Trump would be “a dangerous president and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.” (U.S. News & World Report)
Former governor Bill Weld, the Libertarian Party candidate for vice president, says he and the party’s presidential hopeful, Gary Johnson, see a path to victory in the unorthodox 2016 race, and you almost think he believes it. (CommonWealth)
Quite the starting pitch: Curt Schilling goes on an expletive-laden rant to let people know that he intends to soon run for public office. (Boston Globe)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
A controversial condo project at the edge of Quincy Center is on hold after a neighbor filed suit to block the project claiming city officials should never have allowed the 32-unit development in the neighborhood of one- and two-family homes. (Patriot Ledger)
A developer unveils plans for two new hotels in Boston’s Seaport district. (Boston Globe)
Some merchants on Main Street in Hyannis want to dissolve the state-sanctioned business district, saying the quasi-public organization is not doing enough to clean and maintain the downtown area to justify its mandatory dues assessment. (Cape Cod Times)
EDUCATION
The headmaster of long-troubled Madison Park Vocational and Technical High School in Boston is sanctioned for repeatedly putting in for sick days at the beginning of long weekends, while warning staff at the school against the practice. (Boston Globe)
Former Suffolk University president David Sargent expresses dismay at the turmoil that has engulfed the school — and sympathy for ousted president Margaret McKenna. (Boston Globe)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Obamacare appears to be making people healthier, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (New York Times)
TRANSPORTATION
With no set route and costs unclear, how far does the state’s commitment to South Coast Rail go? (CommonWealth)
The MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Board approves more money for the Green Line extension as the federal government prepares to say whether it will stand by its earlier $1 billion commitment to the project. (CommonWealth)
The Metrowest Regional Transportation Authority has reached an agreement with the MBTA to take over and manage a neglected downtown commuter rail parking lot and add 200 spaces. (MetroWest Daily News)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
New York state is preparing to subsidize nuclear power plants to meet its clean energy goals. (Masslive)
Residents who live near a landfill in Southbridge operated by Casella Waste Systems say the facility is operating illegally. (Telegram & Gazette)
CASINOS
Plainridge Park Casino is fined $10,000 for liquor violations. (Masslive)
Mashpee officials will continue the public safety pact with the Mashpee Wampanoag until the federal suit trying to block the tribe’s Taunton casino, which will have an effect on the land in Mashpee, is resolved. (Cape Cod Times)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
On Sunday, Globe columnist Kevin Cullen channelled the viewpoint of Boston police unions who ripped Mayor Marty Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans in a letter demanding that they be equipped with new body armor and assault rifles. Today, Herald columnist Peter Gelzinis offers the other side to the argument, laying out the downsides of the department arming up. A Herald editorial expresses sympathy for the unions’ arguments, but not for the scare tactics and incendiary language they used to advance them.
State Trooper Michael Cutone sues the Massachusetts State Police for not allowing him to market, while off-duty, a patented program to combat crime in high-crime areas. (Masslive)
A Connecticut man admitted he shot and killed his estranged teenaged daughter in New Bedford last month, saying he did it because she was dating an older man, according to court documents submitted at his arraignment. (Standard-Times)
MEDIA
The New York Times begins to revamp its local coverage, focusing more on high-impact stories and less on incremental news. “What exactly does this mean for readers? Fewer stories about individual murders, assaults, or routine crimes. Fewer stories about lawsuits and criminal cases, or about legislation wending through Albany. And it will mean fewer stories about fires in the Bronx.” (New York Times)