News - InBrockton http://inbrockton.com Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:07:12 -0400 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb Brockton United? http://inbrockton.com/item/23-brockton-united http://inbrockton.com/item/23-brockton-united

The Brockton United Ordinance that was proposed on January 19th to the city council is a mistake.  You should read it and understand what the words mean.  Thanks to Win Farwell for the text of the ordinance that I will attach to this document.  The problematic language is in Section B:

B.    The Massachusetts General Laws do not authorize the Department to arrest or detain an individual solely on the basis of an immigration detainer.  Consequently, BPD officers or employees will not continue to hold a person beyond the time when he or she is released from local custody on the sole basis of an ICE detainer and will not extend the length of detention by any amount of time before the individual is transferred to court or admitted to bail for the purpose of allowing immigration authorities time to apprehend him or her.

An ICE detainer is only issued on illegal aliens who have already committed a crime.  Also, the ordinance already says that Massachusetts law already says not to arrest someone solely on the basis of an ICE detainer.   People who call in reporting a crime don’t get run for warrants either, so there is no way to know if a person calling has an ICE detainer.  If someone has done something bad enough to be arrested for and there is a detainer that is an indication that someone has already committed a crime, wouldn’t you want that person removed?

Also, there is problematic language in Section C:

C.    The Brockton Police Department will not provide federal immigration authorities information relating to the incarceration status, length of detention, home address, work address, hearing information, or pending release of a person in police custody or who has come to the attention of the police, except for the information that is available through the Massachusetts Public Records Laws, G.L. c. 66, Section 10 and G.L. c. 4, Section 7 (twenty-sixth).

This language is actually a direction to the BPD to stonewall the Federal Government.  If you look at the Massachusetts General Laws stated, the information that the ordinance directs the Brockton Police that they cannot provide is allowed to be provided.  Given that it is in the public record this is a clear contradiction.

When you are arrested or checked for warrants, your immigration status is not listed.  The only way that Brockton Police would know your immigration status is if you were arrested previously and charged with a crime and an ICE detainer exists.  Even if you are an illegal alien, if you haven’t committed any crimes (other than immigrating illegally) then you will not be on ICE’s radar at all.

The only thing this ordinance does is give more advantage to the criminal alien by not allowing ICE to detain and deport them because of other crimes.  Read up on it, read up on similar ordinances, read the actual ordinance.  Be informed.

Brockton United Ordinance

Information on ICE Detainers

]]>
drheidke@comcast.net (David Heidke) Brockton News Wed, 08 May 2019 13:28:54 -0400
SPARK THE COMMUNITY: Teen Challenge Brockton Breaks Addiction and Restores Spirits Through Hard Work and Outreach http://inbrockton.com/item/5-https-www-facebook-com-pages-the-spark-1617541361818507-ref-hl http://inbrockton.com/item/5-https-www-facebook-com-pages-the-spark-1617541361818507-ref-hl SPARK THE COMMUNITY: Teen Challenge Brockton Breaks Addiction and Restores Spirits Through Hard Work and Outreach

 

By: Emily J. Reynolds

 

BROCKTON -- Teen Challenge Brockton has been serving the community for almost 50 years.

         As part of the Teen Challenge New England & New Jersey organization, Teen Challenge Brockton’s mission is rescuing and restoring men -- 18 years and older -- from drug and alcohol addiction through a faith-based recovery program. The 15-month residential program is structured around spiritual, academic, and vocational training. The only qualification for entry is a stated personal desire to change.

    Since opening its doors, Teen Challenge Brockton has never turned a single person away. Staff members have given up their beds and multiple people have shared a single room – whatever it took to ensure that any man who said he wanted to change was accepted into the program.

     Teen Challenge Brockton currently has 63 students and follows a strict schedule of prayer, breakfast, schoolwork, work in the community, dinner, prayer, shower, devotions, and homework. The community work builds on the talents each resident brings to the program and teaches additional life skills: everything from customer service to catering to moving furniture to carpentry. This also provides a range of services to the community and is a way for residents to give back.

 

         “It was good to work – I didn’t want to feel like someone was feeding me and housing me for free,” said Sean Merrill, a recent Teen Challenge Brockton graduate who has stayed on as an intern.

 

         Before entering Teen Challenge Brockton, Merrill went to eight rehabilitation programs to try to break his addiction to pills and heroin and had all but given up hope.

 

         “When I walked through the doors at Teen Challenge, Pastor Barry said to me ‘Welcome home,’” Merrill recalled. “I had never heard ‘welcome home’ at any of the other rehabs I had gone to… I surrendered.”

 

         Pastor Barry (Rev. Barron Baugh) is an Outreach Chaplain with Teen Challenge Brockton and, during the group’s weekly outreach trip to bring hot breakfast to Perkins Park on Tuesday, he encouraged those who need help to get it.

 

         “Get it right today,” he said with strong conviction. “Tomorrow’s not promised.”

 

 According to the organization’s website: Teen Challenge is one of the oldest, largest and most successful drug recovery programs of its kind in the world. It serves individuals and families by providing Christian faith-based residential recovery homes for more than 400 adults, and outreach and drug prevention programs to children and youth in area schools and local communities.

 

 *Additional reporting by Rob Terranova

 

]]>
ereynolds@sparkthenews.com (Emily) Brockton News Wed, 19 Aug 2015 11:14:16 -0400
Brockton poised for new business or not? http://inbrockton.com/item/3-brockton-poised-for-new-business-or-not http://inbrockton.com/item/3-brockton-poised-for-new-business-or-not

The climate for new businesses in Brockton has been hard to predict in the past 10 years.  It has not always been clear which businesses have been welcome and which ones are not.  The case in point is the power plant which is being greenlighted for Oak Hill Way.  Both the pro and anti power plant camps claim that they have the majority of the people’s hearts.  Years ago, there was a hope by a North Shore entrepreneur to open a video game entertainment venue called “Good Time Emporium.”  This venture had public hearings, and there were people who frankly hated it.  This man was going to put an empty warehouse with enormous square footage to use, but there were too many delays and he was unable to secure financing.  The warehouse is used, but not to its full potential.  Now we have talk of a Casino at the Brockton Fairgrounds.  The public seems to like it for the most part, but time will tell.  George Carney, who owns the property, favors putting it to a public vote.  This is good, because if anything the city doesn’t really like to have things thrown down their throat.

 

But what of other business?  What exactly is the business climate of our city?  We have a lot to offer businesses who want to be here.   We have highway access.  We have multiple commuter rail stations.  We have the infrastructure that once supported a booming shoe industry.  We should be able to attract business, right?  Well, that’s a tougher nut to crack.  We have our business real estate tax rate a little out of whack for the region.  The only town near us that has a higher business tax rate is Holbrook, and they have very little interest in building that tax base.  Many small businesses go to surrounding towns, like Easton and others who have lower tax rates.  Some towns have the same business and industrial tax rates as residential.

Greater Brockton Area tax rates

Business tax rates tend to supplement residential tax rates in cities and towns that have a robust business community, but Brockton does not have this situation.  In fact of many small cities in Massachusetts, we have one of the highest business/industrial tax rates and also a very high comparable residential tax rate.  In spite of this, we have shortages in the Police department.  Police being one of the best stalwarts of public safety followed closely by the Fire Department.  What is the problem?  Of cities that have high business tax rates, they also have strong business and industrial presence.  They can afford to be picky and have a high rate.  We do not.  We have empty businesses all over the city.  Many are turned into residences and removed from the rolls as business properties.  Is this the way we want to go? 

Small City tax rates

Businesses use less city services.  They use less Police, Fire, water, and others.  They should be a net gain of revenue to the city.  Not to mention the jobs they create.

 

The power plant and the casino are slated to bring in huge amounts of revenue to the city.  I think we need to carefully dispense with this extra revenue, and not just spend all the money when we get it.  Sure we should spend some on public safety improvements, but we should bolster the business climate in the city by lowering the business real estate tax rates to better compete with surrounding communities.  The casino is going to bring businesses to the Belmont Street corridor, but what of the rest of the city.  It would be nice to have business come back to Main Street.  How about lowering the business rate, but leave the industrial rate where it is?  What are your thoughts Brockton?

]]>
Brockton News Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:46:03 -0500