The Vaccine Passport Debate Comes To Massachusetts: Patch PM

TEWKSBURY, MA — It's Tuesday, April 13. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A former executive with a Massachusetts biotechnology company who has ties to Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be sentenced Aug. 18 after pleading guilty in a case accusing him of trying to make the deadly poison ricin.
• The chief executive of Westborough-based BJ's Wholesale Club died of a heart attack while out for a run last Thursday.
• An overnight fire destroyed a clubhouse at the Meadow Brook Golf Club in Reading early Tuesday morning.

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

Today's Top Story

The next, great coronavirus pandemic debate is underway, and it centers on vaccine passports.

The passports are documents that can be used as proof of vaccination and several states are considering adopting them in some form or another. The passports would presumably allow holders to avoid some of the restrictions that are in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, but they are also raising questions about medical privacy and equity.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker opposes vaccine passports, but other lawmakers want to at least consider the idea. Here we try to answer some of the most common questions about vaccine passports.

Read the full story.

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Tuesday's Other Top Stories

Biotech exec pleads guilty in federal poison case: A former executive with a Massachusetts biotechnology company who has ties to Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be sentenced Aug. 18 after pleading guilty in federal court in Boston Monday to one charge of obstruction of justice. Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, 37, of Allentown, PA, was charged with multiple felonies in March and accused of trying to make poison, as well as embezzling $275,000 from the company he worked for in 2015 and 2016. After initially lying to investigators, Saaem said he became interested in making ricin and convallatoxin, a poison found in lily of the valley plants that are native to New England, after watching the television show "Breaking Bad."

CEO's cause of death released: The chief executive of BJ's Wholesale Club died of a heart attack while out for a run last Thursday. Lee Delaney, 49, of Wellesley, was an avid runner who took up the sport in part to fight a family history of heart problems. BJ's said Friday Delaney appeared to have died of "natural causes" without offering more specifics.

Woburn wants to know who is staying at hotels: City Council approved an ordinance this month without discussion requiring hotels to confirm and record the identities of guests. Council members said at their March 16 meeting that at least one hotel has had recent issues including guests fighting. The ordinance was fast-tracked, skipping the committee process and proceeding directly to a vote on its second appearance before the council.

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

Picture This

An overnight fire destroyed a clubhouse at the Meadow Brook Golf Club in Reading early Tuesday morning. The clubhouse was being rebuilt after it was damaged in a fire one year ago. Above, Reading firefighters work to put out lingering hot spots around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, four hours after they arrived on the scene.

They Said It

"You can air your grievances about your expectations for law enforcement, but it crosses the line when those words attack an officer's race."

• Malden Police Department, responding to anonymous social media comments about a Black officer. Police believe whoever left the comment used a phony account.

By The Numbers

181,034: The number of doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine that have been administered to Massachusetts residents. The state told health providers to stop using the vaccine Tuesday after reports of women developing blood clots after getting the shot.