Governor Nominates Two to District Court

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BOSTON — Governor Maura T. Healey nominated Sarah Kennedy and Edward Krippendorf to the District Court. 
 
The nominees will now continue forward to the Governor's Council for confirmation.  
 
"Sarah and Edward are two distinguished attorneys who will make excellent additions to the District Court," said Governor Healey. "They have dedicated their careers to the law and I look forward to working with the Governor's Council to confirm their nominations." 
 
The District Court Department hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases. District Court criminal jurisdiction extends to all felonies punishable by a sentence up to five years, and many other specific felonies with greater potential penalties, all misdemeanors, and all violations of city and town ordinances and by-laws. In civil matters, the District Court hears cases in which the damages are not likely to be more than $50,000 and small claims cases up to $7,000. The District Court is located in 62 courts across the state. 
 
About Sarah Kennedy 
Sarah Kennedy currently serves as an Assistant Clerk Magistrate in the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court, a position she has held since 2021. Attorney Kennedy is responsible for conducting hearings for criminal complaints, assisting judges with courtroom sessions, and helping staff, litigants and members of the public with navigating the court system. Prior to that, she served as both a prosecutor for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office and a defense attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services. She has a bachelor's from Boston College and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and she lives in Waltham with her wife and children. 
 
 
About Edward (Ed) Krippendorf, Jr.
Ed Krippendorf is an accomplished and well-respected trial attorney with broad civil and criminal experience. Attorney Krippendorf began his career as a criminal investigator in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office before attending New England School of Law. After graduating cum laude, Attorney Krippendorf worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County for eight years, prosecuting cases in District, Boston Municipal, and Superior Courts. For the last three years in the DA's Office, he tried complicated Superior Court cases while assigned to the Senior Trial and Homicide Units. Attorney Krippendorf now serves as a partner at Eisenstadt Krippendorf Group in Westwood, MA representing private and indigent criminal defendants as well as handling a broad array of civil and administrative matters in a variety of courts. He also volunteers as a Court Conciliator for the Norfolk County Probate and Family Court. He has a B.S. from Salem State College and a J.D. from New England School of Law. He lives in Braintree with his wife and children. 
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ServiceNet Cuts Ribbon on Vocational Farm to 'Sow Seeds of Hope'

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Lori Carnute plants flowers at the farm and enjoys seeing her friends. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Smiles were all around as farmers, human service workers, and officials cut the ribbon Friday on ServiceNet's new vocational farm on Crane Avenue.

Whether it is planting flowers or growing fresh produce, the program is for "sowing seeds of hope" for those with developmental disabilities.

"What Prospect Meadow Farm is about is changing lives," Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson said.

"Giving people something meaningful to do, a community to belong to, a place to go every day and to make a paycheck, and again, I am seeing that every day from our first 17 farmhands the smiles on their faces. They're glad to be here. They're glad to be making money."

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires held a launch event on Friday with tours, music, snacks, and a ribbon cutting in front of its tomato greenhouse. The nonprofit human service agency closed on the former Jodi's Seasonal on Crane Avenue earlier this year.  

It is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011.

Eventually, the farm will employ 50 individuals with developmental disabilities year-round and another 20 to 25 local folks supporting their work.

The pay is a great aspect for Billy Baker, who is learning valuable skills for future employment doing various tasks around the farm. He has known some of the ServiceNet community for over a decade.

"I just go wherever they need me to help," he said. "I'm more of a hands-on person."

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