Reporter’s Notebook: Keep an eye out for Grafton grads in the NFL; high court rules on marijuana agreements

If you’re lucky enough to have to tickets to the August 12 New England Patriots pre-season game, keep an eye on the Washington Football Team for #66.

That would be 2013 Grafton High School graduate David Steinmetz, who was signed as an offensive tackle a year ago. Steinmetz, 26, previously spent time with the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.

This NFL season has three Grafton High alum — 2012 graduate Obi Melifonwu was signed last week by the Philadelphia Eagles after stints with the San Francisco 49ers, the Patriots and Oakland Raiders. His brother, Ifeatu Melifonwu, GHS 2017, was drafted in the third round by the Detroit Lions this year.

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A recent ruling by the state’s highest court may give the town a bit of wiggle room when it comes to the marijuana businesses that have sat on their Host Community Agreements for the past few years.

The Supreme Judicial Court on Friday ruled against Mederi, a marijuana retailer that sued Salem after city officials declined to approve the company’s proposed cannabis store.

The court agreed that not every applicant is necessarily entitled to local approval and that communities can choose which companies receive HCAs.

The Select Board has repeatedly expressed frustration with the companies that entered into HCAs as far back as 2017 but have yet to open a Grafton facility. Projected marijuana revenue, included in past town budgets, did not materialize.

Among the delayed businesses is Nature’s Remedy, which appears before the board Tuesday seeking an HCA transfer to new owner Jushi Holdings Inc., a publicly traded multi-state cannabis company. For the fourth year in a row, it is also seeking an extension of its permit for a cultivation facility at 8 Millennium Drive.

Other companies that are pending:

• Discern’d Cannabis Purveyors, 130 and 134 Worcester Street, which is under construction; 
• Resinate, which would be located at 135 Westboro Road inside the building that hosts Pecorino;
• MJ’s Market, 13 Centennial Drive, a cultivator and retailer.

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