MassDOT issues guidelines for holiday weekend travel

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is advising Memorial Day holiday travelers to plan ahead, utilize MassDOT’s many travel “real time” tools to plan trips, and use public transportation if possible to travel between destinations. 

On Memorial Day, May 28, Registry of Motor Vehicle customer service locations will be closed, as are all state offices. The High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on I-93 will not be deployed, and all MBTA subway, trolleys, commuter rail, and buses will operate on Sunday schedules.

 “We traditionally see a high number of drivers on roads Memorial Day weekend,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “Many drivers begin to travel the Thursday before Memorial Day, and the actual holiday is when many drivers choose to return home. Anyone planning to drive should try to travel in off-peak hours, should build extra time into their trips, and may want to check the MassDOT Go Time app or other apps to help with decisions on which roads to take.”

MassDOT will be shutting down scheduled roadway construction activities effective at noon, Friday, May 25; scheduled road work will resume after 11 p.m. on Monday, May 28. 

The HOV will be deployed as follows:

• Friday, May 25, the HOV lane opens on I-93 southbound from Boston to Quincy at 1 p.m. and closes at 8 p.m.

• On Monday, May 28, Memorial Day, the HOV lane will not be deployed.

Free coffee will be served at the 18 MassDOT service plazas on Memorial Day, from 10 p.m. Monday night through 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The CapeFLYER will once again run trains from Boston to Cape Cod starting on Memorial Day weekend. Service will begin on Friday, May 25, and operate on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until Labor Day.

During the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the CapeFLYER will provide free service for active service members and veterans, in partnership with the 14th annual Troops in the Spotlight event. The full schedule and more information are available at www.capeflyer.com. 

The MBTA has also released the following information regarding travel on Memorial Day:

• All subway and commuter rail lines, busses, ferries, trackless trolley, and The Ride will operate on a Sunday schedule.

• The CharlieCard store at Downtown Crossing in Boston will be closed.

For full MBTA schedule details, please visit: http://www.mbta.com/holidays/.

Hull High hearing tonight on proposed 12.9% hike to water rates

The state Department of Public Utilities holds a hearing tonight at Hull High School to solicit public comment about Aquarion Water Co.'s request for a 12.9 percent rate hike.

The forum begins at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

Hull Cable will not be able to broadcast the meeting live, but will tape it to air on the local access channel later this week. Consult the cable schedule in Friday's Times for details.

Afternoon classes resumed after morning lockdown at Memorial

The following is a statement from schools Superintendent Michael Devine and Police Chief John Dunn regarding an incident at the Memorial Middle School Tuesday morning:

At approximately 11:30 a.m., Hull Police received a call from administration at Memorial Middle School, 81 Central Ave., after a male eighth-grade student made a concerning remark about a firearm.The student then left the building. 

Out of an abundance of caution, the school was placed on lockdown. Police located the student a few blocks from the school, and he was taken to an area hospital for an evaluation.

No weapons were found in the building and there is no threat to students, faculty, or the community. The student's parents were contacted; no weapons were found in their home during a subsequent search. The lockdown was lifted at noon and classes resumed as is normal.

The incident remains under investigation by the Hull Police Department.

Eversource chopper will survey high voltage towers

Helicopters hovering over high voltage electric equipment this week should not be a cause for concern, according to one of the area's leading utilities.

Eversource Energy announced Monday that a white and blue chopper equipped with heat-sensing, infrared-scanning technology will make the rounds this week to conduct semiannual, aerial inspections on steel utility structures. The goal is to detect potential problems and schedule maintenance and upgrades before reliability issues crop up, the utility said.

Inspections will begin in the Wilmington/Woburn area, before moving to the MetroWest area, the South Shore, Greater New Bedford, and Cape Cod.

The Jet Ranger helicopter with a registration number N37WA plans to fly between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Selectmen vote in support of medical marijuana dispensary in Hull

The selectmen have negotiated about “90 percent” of a host agreement with Boston's Evergreen Farms Group to site a medical marijuana facility at 175 George Washington Boulevard, the current site of Java Jungle and other businesses.
By a 4-1 vote Thursday night, the board voted to approve a Letter of Non-Opposition that the company will soon submit, along with the host agreement, as part of its licensing application to the state Department of Public Health. 
Jennifer Constable cast the sole vote against the motion, saying that she would have preferred that the firm’s principals conducted public outreach to gauge neighborhood support prior to the board’s action.
Town officials said they've been negotiating with the firm's principals since September, when EFG chief executive officer Benjamin Smith and his advisors presented the concept at a public selectmen's meeting. 
Town Manager Philip Lemnios and Town Counsel James Lampke negotiated the basic terms of the host agreement with company representatives over the course of five or six meetings in recent months, Lemnios said last night. 
For complete details of last night’s meeting, including revenue projections that the town could realize from the dispensary operation, see next week’s Hull Times.

Selectmen to meet with medical marijuana CEO

Selectmen will meet tomorrow night [Thursday] with the CEO of a company that wants to site a medical marijuana dispensary in Hull. 

Evergreen Farms is seeking approval of "a Letter of Non-Opposition and Host Agreement," according to the agenda item posted by Town Clerk Lori West today. 

The agenda item is posted for 7:45 p.m. at Hull Town Hall, 253 Atlantic Ave. 

Voters narrowly reject retail marijuana

Voters narrowly rejected retail marijuana in Hull today. The unofficial results were posted less than 10 minutes after the Memorial School polls closed at 8 p.m. 

The tallies posted by Town Clerk Lori West were:
On Question 1: the Yes vote – to prohibit retail pot – was 1,010. The No vote – which would have permitted sales – was 856. There were 4 blanks.

On Question 2, which had the same effect, to be articulated in a zoning bylaw as opposed to a general bylaw, the Yes vote was 1,027. The No vote was 833, blanks 10.

The Times will publish a complete report of today's activity in Thursday's paper. 

Red Cross will open Weymouth shelter in advance of winter storm Toby

The American Red Cross will open a shelter in Weymouth and stage personnel for two more shelters on Wednesday in advance of winter storm Toby, which is expected to impact much of the Commonwealth.

The nor’easter is forecast to bring snow and winds and the potential for coastal flooding to the Cape, Islands, and southeastern Massachusetts tomorrow. Much of the state is under a winter storm warning, with snowfall totals expected to be as deep as 12 inches in some parts of the state.

The shelter will be opened at the Weymouth Senior Center, 182 Green St., at 3 p.m. Wednesday. 

Volunteers also will stage personnel and shelter supplies in Fall River and Mashpee so that they will be ready for storm response, if needed.

Visit redcross.org/get-help for the latest on shelters and other storm response information.