Tovia Smith

1 Month Since The Bombings, Signs Of Progress In Boston

Tovia Smith — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:19:00 +0000

Explosions rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon one month ago. Four Boston-area families continue to mourn their loved ones and dozens of the 250 injured push on with their rehab. In the area of the bombing, only one business has not reopened.

Markey, Gomez Vie For John Kerry's Senate Seat

Tovia Smith — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:06:00 +0000

Veteran Democratic Rep. Ed Markey, who has been in office for 36 years, and novice Republican Gabriel Gomez will face off in the race to become the next U.S. senator from Massachusetts. They won their party primaries Tuesday in the special election to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Officials say voter turnout was light.

Boston Business Owners Allowed To Return To Bombing Site

Tovia Smith — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The massive swath of Boston that has been closed for more than a week is getting closer to reopening. City officials yesterday brought victims of the marathon bombings and their relatives in for a private visit and allowed neighborhood residents back home for the first time in over a week. Businesses also began the process of cleaning up and preparing to reopen.

The hardest-hit shops and restaurants remain boarded up.

Deadly Blasts Punctuate Boston Marathon's Finish Line

Tovia Smith — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:29:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

The lead agency in yesterday's Boston Marathon explosions is the FBI. Federal investigators say this morning they are doing all they can to get answers, but there is still much they do not know.

INSKEEP: Here's some of what we do know. Three people were killed, and the number of injured is now topped 150. That's according to Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick.

As Support For Gay Marriage Grows, An Opponent Looks Ahead

Tovia Smith — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:07:00 +0000

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on gay marriage, Maggie Gallagher, one of the nation's leading voices in opposition to same-sex marriage, is also preparing for what might come next.

Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, likes to call herself an "accidental activist." After graduating from Yale in 1982, she thought she'd become a writer and focus on what she called "important things," like money and war.

Crime Lab Scandal Leaves Mass. Legal System In Turmoil

Tovia Smith — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:34:00 +0000

A scandal in a Massachusetts crime lab continues to reverberate throughout the state's legal system. Several months ago, Annie Dookhan, a former chemist in a state crime lab, told police that she messed up big time. Dookhan now stands accused of falsifying test results in as many as 34,000 cases.

As a result, lawyers, prosecutors and judges used to operating in a world of "beyond a reasonable doubt" now have nothing but doubt.

Already, hundreds of convicts and defendants have been released because of the scandal.

As Pope Resigns, Clergy Abuse Survivors Remember 2008 Meeting

Tovia Smith — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:01:42 +0000

Among those watching the papal transition closely are survivors of clergy sexual abuse, including a handful who were selected to meet with Pope Benedict XVI five years ago as the crisis raged.

The group left the meeting hopeful that that Benedict would make significant changes in how the church handled both past and current cases.

Judge Rules Texas' School-Funding Method Unconstitutional

Tovia Smith — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:27:15 +0000

A state district court in Texas has ruled that the way the state funds its public schools is unconstitutional, both because the money is insufficient and because it is not distributed fairly.

After a 12-week trial, Judge John Dietz took only moments to agree with schools that the current funding mechanism violates the state Constitution.

"It was a great relief," said Wayne Pierce, executive director of the Equity Center, an organization of some 675 of the school districts arguing that the system is "hopelessly broken."

Texas does not have a state income tax and relies on local property t

Colleges Try To Curtail Flu Risk For Students

Tovia Smith — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:47:00 +0000

As college students return to class from winter break this week, campuses around the nation are bracing for the possibility of a flu outbreak.

Colleges in Boston are especially worried after the mayor's declaration last week of a public health emergency in the city. The city's student population is large — around 150,000.

'Whitey' Bulger's Lawyers Want Judge Off The Case

Tovia Smith — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:50:27 +0000

It's unusual for a federal appeals court to force a judge off a case, but the trial for alleged gangster James "Whitey" Bulger is nothing if not unusual.

Bulger is expected in court this June to face charges in 19 murders committed in the '70s and '80s, but his lawyer argued Tuesday that the judge on the case could not be impartial. Now the federal appeals court in Boston will decide whether the trial will continue with the judge, who used to be a top federal prosecutor.

Oversight And Infamy

Bulger's lawyer, J.W. Carney, says the case cannot be handled by U.S.