MA Keeps House Seats As Census Releases 2020 Count: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, April 26. Here's what you should know before you take off for the weekend:

• Police would be able to pull over drivers not wearing seatbelts and towns would face less hurdles in installing red-light cameras under a sweeping traffic safety bill proposed Monday by the Baker administration.
• Hotel, restaurant and retail store owners on Cape Cod and other summer destinations warn that staffing shortages exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic could force them to limit occupancy, curtail hours and services or shut down facilities entirely just as they're starting to bounce back from a grim year.
• A Weymouth man is being held on multiple charges, including three counts of attempted murder, following a fight outside a Quincy bar early Sunday morning.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Massachusetts will keep all nine of its seats in the U.S. House of Representatives until the next national census in 2030.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2020 population count Monday afternoon. That's the count held every 10 years that determines how the 50 states will split up the 435 seats in the lower chamber of Congress. That number also determines how many electoral votes each state gets in presidential elections.

In Massachusetts, the population in the 2020 Census was 7,029,917, up from 6,547,629 in 2010. The state will begin holding public hearings on redistricting the current Congressional districts beginning May 4.

The number of seats in all six New England states remained the same. While northeastern states saw 4.1 percent growth between 2010 and 2020, the Sun Belt and western states added residents at the expense of northern Rust Belt states. That sets up a shift in the balance of power in the House as states like Colorado and Florida, which were among the six states to gain a seat.

The total U.S. population rose 7.4 percent to 331,449,281. It was the second-slowest U.S. population increase ever recorded by the census. Utah was the fastest growing state at 18.4 percent, while West Virginia's 3.2 percent population loss was the biggest decline.

Read the full story.

Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekday. It's free!

Monday's Other Top Stories

Talks resume in hospital strike: For the first time since a strike began in March, St. Vincent Hospital managers and nurses will negotiate over labor issues on Monday. St. Vincent nurses walked off the job on March 8 after months of back-and-forth with the hospital over a host of issues, but mainly over staffing levels inside the hospital. The nurses want increased staffing ratios across most departments. The two sides have been at odds over the past seven weeks, with the hospital accusing nurses of bullying colleagues who crossed the strike line.

Summer worker shortage: As vaccinated Americans start to get comfortable traveling again, popular summer destinations are anticipating a busy season. But hotel, restaurant and retail store owners on Cape Cod and other summer destinations warn that staffing shortages exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic could force them to limit occupancy, curtail hours and services or shut down facilities entirely just as they're starting to bounce back from a grim year.

Triple stabbing in Quincy: A Weymouth man is being held on multiple charges, including three counts of attempted murder, following a fight outside a Quincy bar early Sunday morning. Tyler Maclean, 24, is accused of stabbing three, 21-year-old men outside of Rags Tavern on Washington Street around 1 a.m. One of the victims was taken to Boston medical Center with serious injuries, while the other two victims were taken to South Shore Hospital.

Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.

They Said It

"How unsuitable does a piece of land have to be in Melrose for this Planning Board to say no?"

• Lea Fasano, who opposes plans to build a two-story house on a rock ledge that had been described as "unbuildable" in real estate listings when it was purchased for $17,500 last year. People who live above and below the slope — like Fasano — say the proposal would alter the natural landscape to the point of being unrecognizable and adversely impact their quality of life, both during and after construction.

On Beacon Hill

Police would be able to pull over drivers not wearing seatbelts and towns would face less hurdles in installing red-light cameras under a sweeping traffic safety bill proposed Monday by the Baker administration.

The bill includes both new proposals, such as additional enforcement options to help enhance 2015 legislation known as "Haley's Law," and refiled sections that Gov. Charlie Baker unsuccessfully sought in previous lawmaking sessions, such as permitting police to enforce seatbelt use without first identifying another offense.

Massachusetts has implemented several road safety reforms in recent years, including a new distracted driving ban that took effect last year. Baker and his deputies said Monday that much more work still needs to be done.

Read the full story.