Massachusetts
Connecticut jumps ahead of Massachusetts, as 4 of 6 New England states boost their minimum wages
Minimum wages go up in four of the six New England states on January 1.
For years, Massachusetts has led the minimum wage race in New England. That ends in 2024, when Connecticut’s rate — now tied to inflation — goes from $15 an hour to $15.69.
At a September press conference, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, estimated the increase will mean a direct raise for 10% of Connecticut workers.
And it’ll put upward pressure on wages for others, Gov. Ned Lamont said, as many businesses have to go well over the minimum to attract employees.
“You’re going to have to pay a little more to make it worth it,” Lamont said.
The minimum wage in Massachusetts is holding steady at $15 an hour, with no scheduled increases on the books.
Rates in Maine ($14.15), Rhode Island ($14) and Vermont ($13.67) all increase on Jan. 1.
New Hampshire’s rate has long been stuck at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, last raised in 2009.
While proposals to increase Massachusetts’ minimum wage have not advanced in the past year, a coalition of groups is pushing for a ballot question to get rid of the state’s lower minimum wage for tipped workers.
Employers are supposed to make up the difference between the $6.75 rate and the state’s $15 minimum wage, but studies have found confusion and logistical hurdles to this happening.
Another proposal would boost the state’s lower rate for some farm workers.
At a Massachusetts legislative hearing this fall, advocates pointed out what many in the state don’t know about minimum wage rules.
“Fifteen dollars an hour for virtually everybody except farm workers, who get $8 an hour,” said Bill Newman, a lawyer with the Massachusetts ACLU. “That’s the law.”
There are another set of farm workers, those in the United State with federal visas, who are entitled to a federal prevailing wage topping $16 an hour, attorney and Western New England University law professor Claudia Quintero told lawmakers.
But those protections do not apply to farm workers who are year-round residents of Massachusetts, she said.
“Many of the workers are seasonal,” Quintero said. “And many struggle with basic necessities during the winter months.”
Quintero, who leads the Fairness for Farmworkers Coalition, noted these workers also have no overtime protections.
Both issues are addressed in pending legislation.
The state Farm Bureau opposes the bill because of the overtime changes, but is open to doing away with lower minimum wage, saying most farms pay much more.
A sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Adam Gomez, of Springfield, said the proposal does not currently have momentum on Beacon Hill.
“The conversation is still ongoing and moving. There’s no dead-set kind of moving forward that we’re going to see any kind of traction with the Legislature on this bill,” Gomez said in an interview. “But we want to make sure that were still advocating for the … voices of the voiceless.”
Gomez acknowledged these are not easy times for farm owners given this year’s flooding. But he noted the state has provided millions of dollars in relief, and wants to make sure that aid also reaches agriculture’s lowest-paid workers.
NEPM’s Elizabeth Román contributed to this report.
Massachusetts
A magical holiday village is tucked inside Massachusetts’ most famous candle store
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
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Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
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But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Massachusetts
Two stranded dolphins rescued from Massachusetts marsh
It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
Massachusetts
Man seriously injured after being thrown from moving vehicle during domestic dispute
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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