UMass-Lowell Can't Suspend Student With Neo-Nazi Ties: Patch PM

WOBURN, MA — It's Tuesday, June 22. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Eastern Equine Encephalitis, the rare but deadly mosquito-borne disease, is still a threat Massachusetts this summer.
• The Woburn man who was shot in the neck is still unable to breathe on his own, his cousin said.
• A Peabody High and University of Massachusetts-Amherst alumna earned Team USA's final spot in the 1,500 meters for the 2021 Summer Olympic Games.
• Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

University of Massachusetts at Lowell officials are frustrated they "cannot legally ban all messages of hate from our lives" but promised to investigate "threats to members of the campus community," according to a letter sent to students and faculty last week.

"Colleges and universities for decades, and especially in recent years, have seen an increase in hate messaging both from their campus communities as well as from organizations and individuals who visit campus expressly to promote hatred and division knowing the law and the First Amendment limits universities' legal ability to prevent it," the letter from the university's executive cabinet said. "Indeed, for many of the members of these hate groups, the attention from attempted bans or efforts to sanction or punish them is what they most crave."

Thursday's letter was sent nine days after Patch reported on an online broadcast by members of NSC-131, a Massachusetts-based hate group, that included Liam McNeil, a UMass-Lowell student who graduated from Waltham High School in 2018. NSC-131 members suggested college students should bully "kids who race mix" and McNeil said NSC-131 was "pretty much a frat, just racist."

Read the full story.

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Tuesday's Other Top Stories

Woburn gunshot victim still can't breathe on own: The Woburn teen who was shot in the neck remains unable to breathe on his own, his cousin said. Jemil Evans, 19 of Woburn, was shot June 12 in what police and his family have both called an accident. He is still in critical condition in surgical intensive care and will likely be there for multiple weeks, his cousin Rebecca Evans Andrade said. He is expected to be permanently paralyzed from the neck down.

EEE still a threat in Massachusetts: Just a few months before coronavirus hit, Massachusetts was in the grips of another epidemic: Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). The rare but deadly mosquito-borne disease typically comes in three-year cycles, which means there's still an EEE threat this summer. This week, the Wayland Health Department issued a warning to residents to be on the lookout for mosquito breeding areas due to recent rain and warm weather.

Opening of Green Line extension delayed: The opening of both branches of the Green Line Extension into Somerville and Medford has been delayed as project managers grapple with supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised schedule now puts the opening of the one-stop branch to Somerville's Union Square – originally slated for October – in December. The longer branch, which runs through Somerville into Medford, is now expected to open in May 2022, five months behind the original schedule.

Quincy Mayor rips pro-abortion officials: Thomas Koch called out Massachusetts politicians who support abortion rights during a pro-life rally last Thursday. Koch became a registered Independent and left the Democratic party in 2018 after Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez urged all Democrats to support abortion rights. During the rally, Koch criticized state lawmakers who voted to override Gov. Charlie Baker's veto of the ROE Act, a bill that expanded legal abortion access.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Picture This

North Shore woman one step closer to Olympic dream: Heather MacLean (above, in a February file photo) stamped her ticket to Tokyo with less than a tenth of a second to spare. The Peabody High and University of Massachusetts-Amherst alumna finished third in Monday night's Olympic Trials in the 1,500 meters from Eugene, Oregon to earn Team USA's final spot in the event for the 2021 Summer Olympic Games. MacLean held off the fourth-place runner — Shannon Osika — by just nine-hundredths of a second for the final qualifying spot. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

In Case You Missed It

Court upholds chief's right to deny gun license: A Supreme Judicial Court judge recently affirmed a decision that the former police chief could consider past incidents in determining a local man's suitability to carry a gun despite no convictions, ending a back-and-forth legal battle. In 2019, then-Wakefield Police Chief Richard Smith denied Adam DeSisto's application for a license to carry. The chief said DeSisto was "unsuitable" following his alleged involvement in two 2011 drug deals and being charged with heroin possession in 2012.

By The Numbers

$4.5 million: The asking price for the Wellesley home of Danny Ainge, the former Celtics champion player and executive. The six-bedroom home hit the market this week and boasts 8,309 square feet of space, a renovated kitchen and a media room complete with golf simulator.