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🌂Cloudy with a slight chance of showers and highs in the 70s. Sunset is at 8:25 p.m.

Officially, there’s a pause on the state’s plan to close the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children, a state-run facility for disabled kids and young adults in Canton, according to an announcement Gov. Maura Healey made in February. 

But on the ground, some employees say they’re seeing a different story: more discharged patients and no new admissions, which leads them to think the state is moving forward with plans to shut down after all. They held a protest in Canton yesterday to tell state officials they’re ready to accept new patients.

Ann Macdonald, who was a Pappas patient for four years, said staff there helped her learn new skills. She has cerebral palsy, and said the things she learned there helped her be more independent.

“At Pappas, people completed my heart,” Macdonald said. “I think the place should be kept open forever.” GBH’s Magdiela Matta has the full story here. 

Four Things to Know

1. Massachusetts is looking to fix its shortage of primary care doctors, which leads to long wait times, delayed care, and more people using emergency rooms and urgent cares because they don’t have a primary care doctor or have one but can’t get a timely appointment. A state government task force is looking at what other states have done: should the state try to funnel a higher share of its health care dollars to primary care? Should insurance redistribute spending? A lot of states have tried methods that didn’t really move the needle.

“Looking at 20 states that have done this, aspirational targets do not work,” said Christopher Koller, president of the Milbank Memorial Fund. “None of them resulted in an increase in primary care spending as a result, or even a move to more aggressive policy requirements.”

2. Worcester City Manager Eric Batista got a public performance review this week from members of the city council, and it was overall positive. Batista is appointed to his job running municipal operations for New England’s second-largest city and will soon be paid more than $300,000.

Councilors noted that shootings and youth violence are down and complimented Batista’s efforts in opening new shelters as the city’s homeless population hit a record high. “I think you’re a very strong problem-solver here,” said Mayor Joseph Petty, the council’s chair. “And I buy your willingness to take accountability for any shortcomings.”

3. Today’s economic indicator: year-over-year lottery sales are down in Massachusetts for the fourth month in a row — though Bay Staters are still spending a significant amount of money playing. People in Massachusetts bought $572.7 million worth of Massachusetts Lottery tickets and games in May, down $3.5 million (just 0.6%) from May of last year.

Sales of Powerball, Mega Millions and scratch tickets all fell in the last 11 months compared to last year, Massachusetts Lottery Executive Director Mark William Bracken told the state’s lottery commission, which has been keeping an eye on how much lotto money is expected to flow back to cities and towns. “The overall prize payout is tapering down, but it is still our highest prize payout that we’ve had in the last five fiscal years,” he said.

4. Summer means it’s time for the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital to start releasing some previously hypothermic turtles who spent the fall and winter rehabilitating in the aquarium’s Quincy facility.

Yesterday 17 sea turtles splashed back into the ocean off Cape Cod, from West Dennis Beach. They included a few aquarium staff had named after Greek mythology figures: Aphrodite, Athena, and Hades. Bon voyage.

Manager of Boston’s Suya Joint restaurant detained by ICE

Paul Dama usually spends his days helping his sister, chef Cecelia Lizotte, manage her restaurant Suya Joint, a spot for West African in Roxbury’s Nubian Square (Lizotte was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s best chef award last year). He’s also a personal care attendant in a group home.

Dama, who is from Nigeria, came to the U.S. in 2019. He has authorization to work here and is married to an American citizen. He has a pending asylum case, based in part on his experience being kidnapped and tortured by members of the group Boko Haram in 2018.

But when he was on his way to church June 15, he saw a car following him. When he pulled over, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained him, his sister said.

“Like three to four vans just came and barricaded him,” she said. “I just get very, very emotional. … Paul helps me a lot with the restaurant, both in Boston and Providence location — now it’s just like, it’s almost like I can’t do it.”

ICE officials did not respond to a GBH News request for comment. His immigration attorney, Abeba Attles, called him “hardworking. He’s a good guy. And he hasn’t been ordered removed.”

“He’s not a violent criminal,” Attles said. She noted that he was charged with a DUI last year, and said he’s been following the court’s orders. “He did everything that they asked him to do. He complied — he did the community service, the programs that he needed to attend. So that shouldn’t be a reason to pick him up.”

Right now he’s in the Strafford County Jail in Dover, New Hampshire. His sister was able to deliver his blood pressure medication there, but was not allowed to see him. He has a hearing in immigration court set for today and a bail hearing scheduled for July 3, his family said. Meanwhile, Suya Joint has raised more than $13,000 for his legal fund.

Read Sarah Betancourt’s full story here.