A rape allegation at a State Police barracks is now a crisis of oversight, for two agencies at once.

Two Massachusetts State Police troopers, Ryan Costello and Robert Branca, were suspended with pay Thursday in connection with an alleged August rape at the agency's temporary housing in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. Prosecutors say Edward J. Brown, a 27-year-old Boston Public Schools emergency management official, was staying with a trooper friend when he met a woman at a local bar, brought her back to the barracks, and assaulted her. Brown has pleaded not guilty. State Police have not said what role the suspended troopers played, and the Cape and Islands DA's office declined to elaborate. Colonel Geoffrey Noble has banned overnight guests at seasonal trooper housing on both the Vineyard and Nantucket and ordered written approval and escorts for any visitors in nonpublic areas.

The story reaches well past the barracks. According to the Globe's timeline, court records show two of Brown's ex-girlfriends had obtained restraining orders against him in the months before his arrest, including one that runs through August 2027, yet he held a job planning safety drills in a school system of roughly 45,000 students. School officials say they're reviewing what happened. So there are two questions: how did a man with active restraining orders keep that position, and how did a barracks with living quarters end up with such loose visitor controls?

Watch for what the internal affairs review concludes about compliance with existing visitor rules. If troopers broke their own policies, expect pressure for outside oversight. Brown is due back in court in early December.

Full story at Boston Globe →

State Police unveil academy overhaul, days before the next class starts. More than two years after recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia died from injuries in a boxing exercise, the agency is dropping the "drill instructor" title, adding concussion awareness training and on-site medical experts, and building in rest and recovery periods. Former Middlesex prosecutor Andrea Nardone becomes the academy's first civilian director of training. The changes follow an outside review that produced 103 recommendations; 22 priority items are done so far. Boston Globe → | Boston 25 →

Boston City Council subpoenas MBTA chief Phil Eng over Blue Hill Avenue. Eng, who is also the state's interim transportation secretary, skipped an Oct. 14 hearing on the civil rights implications of the $163 million plan for center-running bus lanes in Mattapan and Dorchester. The council voted 8-3 to compel him to appear Nov. 6. The T says it told the council in advance he was unavailable; Councilor Miniard Culpepper says that's not what he heard. WBUR → | Boston.com →

Sharon voters tell the School Committee they've lost confidence. At a packed Special Town Meeting, residents voted 520-327 to express no confidence in five of seven School Committee members. The trigger was July's 5-2 decision to appoint assistant superintendent Joel Jocelyn as the next superintendent with no formal search, on the same night the current superintendent announced he wouldn't seek an extension. The vote is symbolic, but it's a loud signal heading into the next election cycle. Boston Globe →

800,000 Massachusetts utility customers are behind on their bills. CommonWealth Beacon looks at energy arrears across the state's six investor-owned utilities, a stubborn sign of household financial distress in a state with high costs and rising rates. The piece follows an East Boston mother who spent eight years dodging shutoff notices before qualifying for a discount rate and a payment forgiveness plan. CommonWealth Beacon →

Former MBTA inspector pleads guilty in the Cabot Yard case. Andy Vicente, 37, of Bridgewater, admitted to conspiracy to falsify Red Line track inspection records and to commit wire fraud. He is one of five former Cabot Yard workers arrested in May 2025; prosecutors say the facility was used as an auto repair shop on the clock. Sentencing is Jan. 13, and prosecutors will seek a term at the low end of the guidelines. Boston Globe →

New Bedford fires two officers over Flock camera misuse, and the council wants the cameras gone. Sgt. James Marinelli allegedly ran "personal searches" on the license plate readers; Officer Emily Pacheco admitted searching her ex-girlfriend's plate. Mayor Jon Mitchell called it "a breach of public trust." The council voted 8-3 to ban the system entirely, and the measure now awaits his action. Boston.com →

• Saturday, Oct. 24: Deadline to register to vote, online or in person. Early in-person voting runs through Oct. 30, with times and locations set by your town. GBH News →
• Tuesday, Oct. 27, 5 p.m.: Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot. GBH News →
• Friday, Nov. 6: Phil Eng is ordered to appear before the Boston City Council on the Blue Hill Avenue plan and the proposed Orange Line extension. Boston.com →

Still sorting out the ballot? Question 9 is the one that trips people up: it's a referendum, so "Yes" keeps the 2024 gun law on the books and "No" repeals it. GBH News explains →

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