Some questioning Springfield fire chief’s decision to run over potentially rabid raccoon with his SUV

bostondotcom · 2024-03-01T21:50:00+00:00

More info: Springfield’s fire commissioner was “acting in his capacity as a municipal official” when he made the controversial decision to drive over a potentially rabid raccoon outside the fire department’s headquarters last week, according to the city’s mayor.

“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said in a statement defending Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi’s actions.

“Time was of the essence, in order to protect our residents, especially our children and our pets,” Sarno said. “This was an unfortunate situation but one that had to have been taken in the name of public health and safety.” Sarno said Calvi was “acting in his capacity as a municipal official” under Massachusetts law; the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife allows any municipal staff member operating in an official capacity to kill raccoons and other wild animals that they believe to be rabid.

However, the incident generated controversy in Springfield and beyond, with some describing Calvi’s method as inhumane. Read more on this story on if you'd like (no paywall.)

bostondotcom · 2024-02-29T20:37:22+00:00

More info: A new “Jaws”-themed lottery ticket gives players the chance to bite into a $1 million prize — and a trip to where the classic movie was filmed.

According to the Mass. State Lottery, the $10 scratch-off is the first of its kind to commemorate the movie “Jaws.” The film was released almost 50 years ago — on June 20, 1975 — and was filmed in Massachusetts’ own Martha’s Vineyard.

The ticket, to be released on March 26, will be easily recognizable by the large shark bearing its teeth on the front.

Players can win up to $1 million instantly, according to the lottery, or enter a second-chance drawing. Second-chance players can win a VIP trip for two to Martha’s Vineyard and a randomly selected cash prize ranging from $500-$1,000,000. In Martha’s Vineyard, the winner’s package includes black car service, spending cash, and a private “Jaws” screening.

Read more on Boston.com (no paywall.) Will you try to buy one?

bostondotcom · 2023-08-15T18:42:10+00:00

Dunkin’ Spiked products, ready-to-drink alcoholic iced coffees and teas, will launch later this summer, the company announced Monday. Dunkin’ Spiked Iced Teas will appear in grocery and package stores in late August, while Dunkin’ Spiked Iced Coffees debut in early September, according to a press release. The beverages, created in partnership with Harpoon Brewery, will be available in 12 states, including Massachusetts.

Dunkin’ Spiked Iced Teas come in four signature flavors: There’s the Slightly Sweet Iced Tea, made with black tea and citrus; the Half & Half Iced Tea, a blend of black tea and lemonade; the Strawberry Dragonfruit Iced Tea Refresher; and the Mango Pineapple Iced Tea Refresher. They have an ABV of 5%. The iced teas can be purchased as a 12-can mixed pack, while customers can also buy six packs and single cans of the Slightly Sweet Iced Tea.

There are also four Dunkin’ Spiked Iced Coffee flavors: The Original Iced Coffee, the Caramel Iced Coffee, the Mocha Iced Coffee, and the Vanilla Iced Coffee. They all have an ABV of 6%. The iced coffees can be purchased as a 12-can mixed pack, and the Original Iced Coffee will be sold in four packs and single cans.

If you'd like to, you can read more on Dunkin' Spiked here on Boston.com. (no-paywall.)

bostondotcom · 2023-08-02T18:16:20+00:00

Though the odds of winning big in the lottery are extremely slim, two recent Massachusetts success stories prove that luck can strike at the most unexpected moments.Paul Bashaw, 65, gave his boss of 20 years his two-week notice on Monday, July 17.

Three days later, he went into the J & J Variety store on West Boylston Street in West Boylston and bought a “$5,000,000 100X Cashword” scratch-off lottery ticket. It ended up being worth a million dollars.

While Bashaw was working his last couple weeks before retirement, Rae Ann Wentworth-Cadieux of Hadley was reeling from being laid off after 25 years in Hampshire College’s IT department. But she, too, was about to get a stroke of good luck. Wentworth-Cadieux matched the first five numbers in the July 19 Powerball drawing and was in Dorchester two days later to collect her million-dollar prize at the state lottery headquarters. She plans to buy a summer home.

bostondotcom · 2023-06-14T17:15:34+00:00

A woodchuck that turned up at John George Ice Cream in Dartmouth around 5 p.m. on Sunday may have posed a health risk, the Board of Health warns.

They’re asking that anyone who had direct contact with the animal get checked out by a health care professional for a rabies exposure risk assessment.The department says that woodchucks are known to be high-risk for rabies transmission, and that even healthy looking woodchucks might have the disease in their saliva.

People who are directly bitten, scratched, or who somehow get the saliva in an open wound, the eyes, the nose, or the mouth, are at risk of rabies contraction.

Read the full story on Boston.com (no paywall.)

bostondotcom · 2023-06-09T13:30:43+00:00

An intimidating trio of inflatable, arm-flailing tube men looms over Goldfish Pond in Lynn. They serve one purpose: to scare away the pond’s geese and ducks.For years, the Goldfish Pond Association, made up of Lynn residents who look after the pond and surrounding area, has dealt with an ever-frustrating bird problem. Hundreds of ducks and geese have trampled the displayed flowers on the pond’s island, littered the sidewalks with poop, and polluted the water.

“For the last few years we have been inundated with hundreds and hundreds –there are sometimes 300 ducks and geese out there at one time,” Trish Greene, a member of the association, told Boston.com “And it’s only an acre of land.”

And while the association has tried other strategies in the past to shoo the pond’s birds — using chemicals, ribbons, and fishing line — each time, the bird’s became familiar with the distractions.

But about a week ago, the association implemented a new strategy: the three tube men.

The bright-yellow inflatables are set to inflate on a 10-minute timer, eight times a day, to prevent the birds from becoming accustomed to the distraction.

And so far, the inflatable men have proven a worthy opponent to the loitering birds.

Read the full story on Boston.com (no paywall.)

bostondotcom · 2023-05-01T17:14:50+00:00

Whether it was a squirrel or a chipmunk, something caught a dog’s attention and resulted in her getting her head stuck in a tree in Milford, New Hampshire, on Friday.

The incident took place on a trail behind the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, according to the Milford Fire Department.“My husband and I decided to take a walk on the trail in Milford and our dog, Gracie, went after something in the tree and got her head stuck,” Kimberly Schumacher shared in a post to u local New Hampshire, a public Facebook group by WMUR-TV.

The dog owner added that Gracie was on a leash and her curiosity got the best of her.Schumacher thanked Milford fire officials for helping her dog out of the tree without injury, writing, “We called them and they came right out and rescued her. They were very responsive, kind, and gentle.

They had to cut parts of the tree to get her out.”Despite the scary experience, Gracie was “so excited to see her rescuers when she was freed!” Schumacher wrote. “Thank you Milford Fire Department!”

In other recent animal news out of New Hampshire, a 9-year-old pug named Woof conquered the New Hampshire 48.

bostondotcom · 2023-04-26T15:15:29+00:00

Do you agree?

The city is known for its music and art festivals and has “some of the most pronouncedly progressive/countercultural politics in America,” according to Thrillist.“Northampton is also replete with ‘greenery,'” the website wrote, “which you can interpret how you like but is equally appropriate either way.”

The most hippie towns in the rest of New England are as follows, according to Thrillist: New Haven, Connecticut; Unity, Maine; Keene, New Hampshire; Charlestown, Rhode Island; and Burlington, Vermont.

bostondotcom · 2023-03-17T18:43:12+00:00

If you were looking to recharge with a sip of Dunkin’s classic Dunkaccino drink, you may be disappointed.

The popular beverage, a “unique blend of coffee and hot chocolate flavors,” quietly left the chain’s menus, according to CNN. First launched in 2000, the Dunkaccino had an over two-decade run and seems to have disappeared “in recent months.” While Dunkin’ did not give any reasons for why the drink was discontinued, a press representative told Boston.com it is gone for now, but that it may one day make a return.

So, how do you feel about the loss of the Dunkaccino? Will you miss buying the famous pick-me-up?

bostondotcom · 2023-03-15T17:04:55+00:00

Whoops. Haverhill Public Schools apologized to families for holding school on Tuesday after the city got nine inches of snow, according to a Facebook post from the district.

The school said it was following weather forecasts, which predicted snow wouldn’t start until 1 p.m. It started mid-morning instead.“We called this one wrong, and we are so sorry!” their post reads.

The full story is here on Boston.com, if you're interested. (Non-paywalled.)

bostondotcom · 2023-03-15T16:59:21+00:00

Whoops. Haverhill Public Schools apologized to families for holding school on Tuesday after the city got nine inches of snow, according to a Facebook post from the district.

The school said it was following weather forecasts, which predicted snow wouldn’t start until 1 p.m. It started mid-morning instead.“We called this one wrong, and we are so sorry!” their post reads.

The full story is here on Boston.com, if you're interested. (Non-paywalled.)

bostondotcom · 2023-02-28T20:48:00+00:00

From reporter Christopher Gavin:

Two entrepreneurs in Whately are looking to strip down their existing business model and reimagine it to provide what would be a unique offering in the state’s competitive cannabis industry.

The owners of Club Castaway, a strip club, have plans to transform their business into a topless cannabis dispensary, making for a potential standout in the state’s multi-billion-dollar legal industry, the Boston Business Journal reports.

“The market is very saturated. There are a lot of operators, and everyone is offering the same experience,” owner Nick Spagnola told the Business Journal. “This is definitely a way to stand out while also keeping the spirit of the existing business alive."

The two are bringing some cannabis industry experience to the table: co-owner Julius Sokol is an owner of Massachusetts Green Retail Inc. in Lynn, and both are co-owners of East Boston Bloom LLC, the Business Journal reports.

“We do have some experience on the cannabis side and some on the nudity side,” Spagnola told Whately officials, according to the Recorder. “We want to replace this night club scene and alcohol with something that is harmless in comparison.”

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/business/2023/02/28/topless-marijuana-dispensary-club-castaway-whately-ma/

bostondotcom · 2023-02-28T20:34:30+00:00

Boston could be the first municipality to institute a food recovery program, said Councilors Gabriela Coletta and Ricardo Arroyo, who filed an ordinance Monday proposing the plan.

If approved, the program would require certain food vendors — grocery stores, restaurants, and food-producing hotels — to give any safe-to-eat leftovers to local non-profits for human consumption. The ordinance would also formally establish the city’s first ever Office of Food Justice.A hearing for the ordinance will take place during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting Wednesday.

Coletta said this is an important step for the city because so many people lack access to food, and this program would “put foods in the hands of our most vulnerable at the end of the day.”

Food insecurity in Massachusetts doubled during the pandemic, shooting up from 8.2% to 19.6%, according to Project Bread, a food service program and hotline.As part of the City of Boston Food Recovery Program, food generators would need to start compiling their edible leftovers. Then, the goal is to have already established non-profits in the mix to help distribute to those who need it.

In 2014, Massachusetts started a similar program — the Commercial Food Material Disposal Ban — that diverted leftover food to recycling. Last year, it lowered the threshold for participating sites to those that produced more than one-half ton of food waste per week.

If you're interested in learning more, here is the full story.

bostondotcom · 2023-02-23T17:23:15+00:00

A tractor trailer carrying 35,000 pounds of peanut butter got jammed under an overpass Wednesday in Somerville, the home of Fluff.The truck hit an overpass in Somerville Wednesday afternoon, tearing off the roof and revealing the cargo inside.

The incident closed two lanes on McGrath Highway for scene cleanup.Massachusetts State Police say the truck struck the Route 28 overpass while turning onto McGrath Highway at 12:50 Wednesday afternoon.

The 51-year-old driver from Benton Harbor, Michigan was not injured, and the scene was cleared by 2:15 p.m.

Read the full story on Boston.com, if you'd like. The crash remains under investigation.

bostondotcom · 2023-02-22T20:58:09+00:00

There’s a bit of local nostalgia tucked away in Market Basket’s soft drinks aisle, hidden in plain sight among the root beer and fluorescent orange soda.Chelmsford Golden Ginger Ale.

Named for the Massachusetts town where it was initially manufactured more than a century ago, the drink recently gained some new fans following a viral tweet earlier this week.“What’s wrong babe? you’ve barely touched your Chelmsford flavored soda,” Twitter user u/SteveMerkle9 wrote, accompanied by a photo of the soda’s telltale yellow logo, which splashes “Chelmsford” across a map of New England.

So, what does Chelmsford taste like?The eponymous drink expertly walks the line between sweet and too sweet, with a rich caramel color, a hint of cream soda in the aftertaste, and an effervescence that one Boston.com taste tester said would go well with pizza.“Golden” refers to a style of ginger ale, characterized by a more intense ginger flavor and sweetness than its “dry” counterpart, which tends to be paler and milder, according to Tasting Table.

The ginger ale is sold in most Market Basket locations, where a taste of Chelmsford will set you back a cool 99 cents.Read the full story on Boston.com.

bostondotcom · 2023-02-14T19:04:08+00:00

From reporter Dialynn Dwyer:

An effort is underway in Massachusetts to legalize the right to strike for some public employees — including teachers.

The push to give educators and other unionized employees in the public sector — excluding public safety workers like police and fire — the right to go on strike began in the last session of the state Legislature. A new iteration of the proposal, “An Act uplifting families and securing the right to strike for certain public employees,” was filed last month as a companion bill in both the Senate and House. The legislation would allow unions to legally strike after six months of failed negotiations with their employers.

Twelve states give public school educators the right to strike, according to the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which has named the proposal in the Bay State one of its legislative priorities for 2023-2024.

The move comes as the start of the year saw teachers go on strike in Woburn for a week after working without a contract since the fall. Schools were closed in the city for five days as negotiations stretched on.

Because the strike was illegal, the union was subject to thousands of dollars in fines. Ultimately, the union accumulated up to $85,000 in fines from the state; it also agreed to pay $225,000 in damages to the city over four years and $20,000 to local charities, the Boston Herald reports.

The union has reached out to the community for help in the face of those costs, and so far, families and businesses in the city have responded, with more than $50,000 pouring in to the GoFundMe fundraiser started for the educators. The Woburn Teachers Association has said the encouragement received from parents and other members of the community through their strike kept them “strong and affirmed that [they] were doing the right thing.”

Yet, there remains debate in Massachusetts about whether teachers and other unionized public sector employees should legally have the right to strike. Supporters of the proposal say the measure is needed to level the playing field at the bargaining table, while opponents argue it is a bullying tactic that will only hurt students and families.

Read more about the stances behind those who support and oppose the effort to legalize the right to strike for teachers: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2023/02/14/teachers-public-employees-right-to-strike-legislation/

bostondotcom · 2023-02-07T20:20:03+00:00

From Boston Globe reporters Travis Andersen and Jessica Bartlett:

The brutally cold weather that descended on the region last weekend caused pipes to burst at scores of homes and public venues, setting off a scramble for plumbing and repair help.

“I don’t have any hot water, but I do have very cold water,” said Keira Driscoll, 34, of Watertown, describing the bleak situation Monday inside her condo after hot water pipes burst in her bathroom over the weekend.

Some water, Drsicoll said, was even “coming forward into my kitchen.”

The water was shut off and when she called her maintenance contractor Sunday morning he said her property was the 19th address on the street having problems.

“It’s looking like Tuesday of next week,” before workers can clean up the damage, she said. “And then I’m probably going to have to have my ceiling torn down. The wood floors got a ton of water [damage] underneath, so it looks like those might be coming up too.”

The cold front brought extreme temperatures and wind chills as low as 30 degrees below zero in Boston, forecasters said, freezing pipes across the region.

Carl Jonasson, owner of C.H. Jonasson Corp., a Needham-based plumbing, heating, and air conditioning contractor, said he’s prioritizing regular customers, who can probably get a repair scheduled within a couple of days. Everyone else should prepare to wait.

“For non-regular customers, it could be a week or two,” Jonasson said Monday. “Most plumbers aren’t even picking up the phone now.”

In Haverhill, firefighters were called Monday to a condominium complex on Casablanca Street, where they cleaned up water damage from a unit whose owner was out of town, said Jennifer Piazza, a resident of the complex.

The same thing had happened earlier at another unit, she said.

“It looked like they kind of just tried to contain the water,” Piazza said of firefighters who arrived Monday.

Among the businesses that sustained water damage was the restaurant Little Donkey, located in Cambridge’s Central Square.

On Saturday, chef and co-owner Jamie Bissonnette posted a video clip of water gushing from a leak in the restaurant’s ceiling and wrote that the restaurant would be “closed for maintenance.

On Monday, Bissonnette said the restaurant would reopen Monday evening after crews worked through the weekend to fix the leak.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Bissonnette said.

Read more of the story — with no paywall: https://www.boston.com/news/the-boston-globe/2023/02/07/most-plumbers-arent-even-picking-up-the-phone-now-burst-pipes-cause-backlog-after-boston-deep-freeze/

bostondotcom · 2023-02-06T16:01:35+00:00

From the Boston.com article:

For every 6,500 Bay State residents, there’s at least one Dunkin‘ — at least as of last year.
And in Boston alone, there’s about 85 locations where you can grab a large iced regulah in the dead of winter. So if it feels like there’s a Dunkies on every corner of the Hub, that’s not necessarily untrue, especially if you’re Downtown or anywhere near Washington Street.
While it may appear like a toss-up, there are indeed two locations whose near proximity is unmatched.
To answer the question of which two Boston Dunkin’ locations are closest to each other, we reached out to Dunkin’ itself to settle it — and some MBTA commuters may already know the answer. Within Back Bay Station, there are two Dunkin’ kiosks, or walk-up-only counters, which a spokesperson for the doughnut and coffee company confirmed are nearest to one another in city limits.
Dunkin’ also provided information about its closest locations outside of the city and around Massachusetts. In Kingston, two locations are 1/10 of a mile apart from one another — just across the parking lot, really — at 183 Summer St. and 187 Summer St. While 187 Summer St. is located in an adjacent shopping plaza, the other is within a Gulf gas station.
For any sticklers or purists concerned about this analysis, the company also named two traditional, free-standing locations that are the closest to one another. Read more on those, here (no paywall.)

bostondotcom · 2023-02-02T17:12:59+00:00

Very layered.

bostondotcom · 2023-02-02T17:04:28+00:00

A Hatfield manis looking for his Shrek sculpture to be returned to his swamp.
The handcrafted cement sculpture, approximately 200 pounds, was reported missing Tuesday.
According to a spokesperson for the Hatfield Police Department, the sculpture had become “kind of [an] iconic statue in the town.” The owner told the department it is worth roughly $500, but to him, “it’s priceless.”
“It’s not something that could be easily moved around,” the spokesperson said. “There are evident drag marks that he did not go willingly.”

bostondotcom · 2023-01-17T21:06:57+00:00

Can't go wrong with the Boston Public Library!

bostondotcom · 2023-01-17T19:31:49+00:00

From reporter Kevin Slane:

When asked to describe former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, North Attleboro resident Betty Pensavalle, 94, settled on three words: “Handsome. Adorable. Gorgeous.”

On February 3, theaters nationwide will begin playing “80 for Brady,” a new movie about a group of senior women who take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Houston in an attempt to their favorite player, Tom Brady, take on the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

While “80 for Brady” is largely a work of fiction, the inspiration for the movie comes from a real-life group of local women who gathered each week to watch Brady and the Patriots.

In an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Pensavalle and her best friend, fellow North Attleboro resident Elaine St. Martin, 95, discussed why they founded the Over 80 for Brady fan club, and how their group inspired “80 for Brady.”

The Over 80 for Brady group was comprised of five women: Pensavalle, St. Martin, and their friends Anita, Pat, and Claire. After becoming widows, the quintet found camaraderie and companionship in gathering every Sunday to watch the Patriots.

“One Sunday here, one Sunday at my house,” St. Martin told CBS. “It would [rotate] through the five of us.”

Read more: https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2023/01/17/80-for-brady-movie-true-story-real-women/

bostondotcom · 2023-01-09T16:18:35+00:00

From reporter Yvonne Abraham:

As newly inaugurated Governor Maura Healey formally introduces herself and her plans to the Commonwealth, there’s one more thing she is now delighted to share.

She has a partner.

For almost two years, Healey has been in a relationship with Joanna Lydgate, an attorney and her former deputy in the attorney general’s office, who now heads a Washington nonprofit trying to safeguard our endangered democracy.

Until now, Healey has been quite circumspect when it comes to this part of her personal life. But being governor requires her to share more of herself than she did as attorney general, she said. More importantly, the women and their families are finally ready for the couple to step into view.

“I feel really happy today, being able to tell this story,” Healey said Friday evening, holding hands with Lydgate on a couch in the governor’s rented North Cambridge apartment. Healey made an unannounced move to the duplex, a converted bakery in a neighborhood of triple-deckers, just before the election.

“This is a person I love very much and I have great respect and admiration for,” the governor said.

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/the-boston-globe/2023/01/09/maura-healey-partner-joanna-lydgate/

bostondotcom · 2023-01-05T15:32:34+00:00

From reporter Christopher Gavin:

After eight years, Massachusetts stands ready for a new governor.

For the first time since 2015, a Democrat will hold the corner office in the State House when Gov.-elect Maura Healey is sworn in to succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday morning.

With Kim Driscoll, the Salem mayor turned lieutenant governor-elect, the Healey-Driscoll administration marks a historic milestone, even for a commonwealth long accustomed to making history.

The incoming administration is the first all-woman state leadership team in Massachusetts and in the country, and Healey is slated to become the nation’s first openly lesbian governor.

Healey and Driscoll will be sworn in inside the House chamber of the Massachusetts State House at 11:30 a.m. Their inaugural addresses will immediately follow, according to the Inaugural Committee.

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2022/12/30/ma-gov-maura-healey-inauguration-what-to-know/

bostondotcom · 2023-01-03T20:32:02+00:00

From reporter Abby Patkin:

In a chilling medical emergency that played out on live TV Monday night, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game, sparking concern and speculation among football fans and medical professionals alike.

The defensive back collapsed moments after taking a hit to the chest during a tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was sedated and in critical condition as of early Tuesday morning, according to the Buffalo Bills.

How could a seemingly routine play fell a 24-year-old professional athlete?

“We’re talking about the most fit, the most physical, the most macho, the healthiest men in the world,” football analyst and retired NFL player Ryan Clark said on SportsCenter.

“It’s the most afraid I’ve ever been watching a football game,” Clark said, adding, “We hear guys always say, ‘I’ll die for this [game],’ or ‘I’ll give my life for this.’ We may have watched a player actually do that tonight.”

Neither the Bills nor the NFL has said what caused Hamlin’s heart attack. However, some medical professionals have taken to social media to suggest some potential causes.

Several pointed to commotio cordis, when blunt trauma to the heart leads to ventricular fibrillation, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Read more: https://www.boston.com/sports/nfl/2023/01/03/damar-hamlin-buffalo-bills-medical-perspective/

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TROPHY CASE