Mother Rejects Suicide As Cause Of MA Teen's Death: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Wednesday, May 19. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A budget battle on Beacon Hill could alter — or even end — a tax credit that set off a boom of film and television production in Massachusetts after it went into effect in 2006.
• A Billerica man accused of lobbing racial slurs and then a beer bottle and a chair at a Black man this week has been charged in connection with the May 15 assault.
• The Andover Select Board faced two hours of questions and criticisms Monday night regarding the firing of Youth Services Director Bill Fahey earlier this month.

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

Today's Top Story

The mother of a Hopkinton 16-year-old found dead in a wooded area last month is rejecting a state medical examiner's ruling that the girl died by suicide.

Calvina Strothers appeared at a press event along with activists and civil rights attorney Ben Crump to call for a continued investigation into Mikayla Miller's death. During the Wednesday event, Strothers and Crump reiterated pieces of the case they still find suspicious: that Miller fought with a group of teenagers the night before she died, and that her body was found under questionable circumstances.

"My stance is: Suicide is not an option, I do not believe my daughter committed suicide," Strothers said. "That's not something I'm entertaining at all."

Read the full story.

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Wednesday's Other Top Stories

Budget battle could determine fate of MA film industry: A budget battle on Beacon Hill could alter — or even end — a tax credit that set off a boom of film and television production in Massachusetts after it went into effect in 2006. House lawmakers approved permanently extending the lucrative incentive, which expires at the end of this year, in April. But earlier this month the Senate Ways and Means Committee submitted a budget filing that only extended the tax credit through the end of 2026 and put new wrinkles into the incentive to encourage more spending in Massachusetts.

MA man accused of civil rights crimes: A Billerica man accused of lobbing racial slurs and then a beer bottle and a chair at a Black man this week has been charged in connection with the May 15 assault, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Billerica Chief of Police Daniel Rosa. Jacey Bonaiuto, 44 of Billerica, was arraigned on May 17, in Lowell District Court of charges of civil rights violation causing injury, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct. Bonaiuto was released on $200 bail with the conditions that he have no contact with the victim.

Popular youth services director fired, residents want answers: The Andover Select Board faced two hours of questions and criticisms Monday night regarding the firing of Youth Services Director Bill Fahey earlier this month. "The basis for my decision relating to Mr. Fahey's employment was the findings by an independent investigator of conduct that could compromise the best interests of some program participants," Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said in a statement. Residents and former residents spoke during the board's public comment period, calling for more information from the town, describing their positive experiences with Fahey and accusing Flanagan of having ulterior motives for firing Fahey.

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

They Said It

"I am the biggest of all time, and they said, 'Shut Up Matt, stop talking.' Well I hope you're happy, because I just stopped talking. Matty out."

• Matt Siegel, who quit "Matty In The Morning," his long-running show on KISS-108, after an on-air rant Wednesday morning. Siegel said he had been told to stop making jokes about Demi Lovato's new non-binary status.

Only In Massachusetts

Only In Massachusetts is an occasional series where Patch tries to find answers to questions about life in Massachusetts. Have a question about the Bay State that needs answering? Send it to dave.copeland@patch.com.

I grew up thinking ghost towns were something only found out West —the abandoned mining villages and camps pioneers established until the gold ran dry or the caravan continued westward.

So I was surprised to learn there are at least 10 ghost towns in Massachusetts, many of which you can visit and where you can still see the foundations of the abandoned buildings. Ghost towns in Massachusetts met their demise for various reasons: collapse of the town's main employer, a hurricane, over fishing and, for four towns, the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir in 1938.

Read more about the ten best-known ghost towns in Massachusetts.