Northeast
Here's how activists use lobstermen as bait to endanger Maine industry, communities
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Far left activists are exploiting the recent death of an endangered whale to imperil the future of Maine’s iconic lobster fishery.
An endangered right whale recently washed ashore on Martha’s Vineyard entangled with Maine lobstering gear. It’s the first documented right whale fatality associated with our fishery, but so-called environmentalists are seizing the moment to call for consumer boycotts and new regulations that threaten the maritime communities that depend on Maine lobster.
Fishermen are the real stewards of the ocean. But cubicle environmentalists are scapegoating us for whale deaths and demanding that regulators retaliate against us owing to the recent entanglement.
Maine lobstermen haul in their latest catch off the state’s coast. (Maine Lobstermens Association/Marketing Collaborative)
These organizations have poor command of the facts and no knowledge of our industry. Their agitating imperils our fishery and the working communities that depend on it.
LOBSTER FISHERMEN CLAW AT ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ BOAT TRACKING MANDATE
Organizations like the National Resources Defense Council, the Conservation Law Foundation and others are exploiting this event to pressure regulators to impose new rules. These organizations are restless and can claim some success. A self-styled watchdog called Seafood Watch convinced Whole Foods to stop stocking Maine lobster products late in 2022.
Critically, regulators acknowledge that data respecting right whale entanglements and Maine’s lobster fishery are uncertain at best. A biological opinion from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on right whale interactions with our fishery forthrightly acknowledged this point – and that many regulations binding our industry are based on guesswork.
“Data are limited, so we are often forced to make assumptions to overcome the limits in [sic] our knowledge,” the opinion reads.
MAINE GROUP SUES CALIFORNIA AQUARIUM FOR TELLING CUSTOMERS TO AVOID BUYING LOBSTER
This is no surprise. Many whale deaths go undetected. Even when whale deaths are identified, it is often impossible to assign a cause of death owing to decomposition.
When entanglements are documented, they can seldom be traced to particular countries or even particular types of gear. And in those rare instances when a right whale entanglement can be traced, the numbers show Canadian fishermen are disproportionately responsible.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit cited all of these facts when it blocked a regulatory plan for Maine’s lobster fishery in 2023.
Given the uncertainties in the data, as well as the steps lobstermen undertake to protect whales, you would think the environmental NGOs would make more modest claims. But they are so hostile toward fishermen, and so wide of the facts, that many of NEFSA’s members are suspicious of their true motives.
GREEN GROUPS TARGETING BLUE-COLLAR LOBSTERMEN ARE LARGELY FUNDED BY DARK MONEY
These groups know little about the data and even less about lobstering. The industry-side solutions they suggest show the staggering distance between brahmin “environmentalists” and working people.
For example, the Conservation Law Foundation has long touted the benefits of ropeless traps, a catchall term for several kinds of technology.
While ropeless trap technology may one day be safe and commercially viable, as of this writing, I do not know a single lobsterman who could afford to make the transition.
Ropeless traps also have an unacceptably high rate of failure. I am confident in asserting that the overwhelming majority of Maine lobstermen oppose any such transition as a simple matter of dollars and cents.
MAINE LOBSTERMAN HEARS MYSTERIOUS CRIES FROM THE WATER THAT LEAD TO MIRACLE RESCUE
A ropeless trap regime will drive most lobstermen out of the fishery, clearing the water for a corporate takeover. I don’t know if these so-called environmentalists favor corporatizing the lobster fishery, but that is the future they will get.
These entities have no connection to our coastal communities – unless perhaps they own vacation houses up here – and it shows.
For our part, lobstermen have removed over 25,000 miles of line from the water. All of our gear is marked, ensuring any entanglement is attributable to our fishery. And we deploy weaker rope with weak link devices to head-off entanglements.
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Because of these measures, entanglements are rare. Right whale #5120 is just the second documented entanglement associated with our fishery since 2004, and the first fatality.
Maine’s lobster fishery is a model of sustainability. Our data-driven, preservation-minded practices have created an environmental and economic miracle. Wild lobster stocks are healthy and robust, while the lobster supply chain generates $1 billion for the state’s economy and supports thousands of jobs. We know what we’re doing.
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Northeast
Rhode Island teacher accused of sexting, kissing high school boy
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A married high school physical education teacher has been indicted on two counts of third-degree sexual assault after being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a male student.
Alisha Crins is accused of exchanging sexually suggestive messages and engaging in sexual contact with the student while he was enrolled at Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island as a 17-year-old, according to an affidavit cited by WPRI.
The investigation began after the former student filed a formal complaint with Rhode Island State Police in October, the documents obtained by WPRI show.
According to the affidavit, the student told investigators Crins began texting him while he was a sophomore after allegedly finding his cellphone number online.
A sign marks the main entrance to Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island. (Google Maps)
He said she initially asked him to do work for her while she was on vacation, but the two continued communicating through text messages and social media after that plan fell through.
The student alleged the relationship escalated during his junior year. He told investigators Crins frequently complimented his appearance and once asked to wear his jersey during a school pep rally.
He further alleged Crins invited him to meet near her Cranston home, where they kissed inside his vehicle. During a later encounter, she allegedly climbed into the back seat and engaged in sexual contact, according to the affidavit. The student denied having sexual intercourse with her.
The alleged assaults took place between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, according to WJAR.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH CHARGED WITH RAPING FOSTER DAUGHTER, SERVING VICTIM TEQUILA SHOTS: REPORT
A Rhode Island State Police cruiser parked near a waterfront with boats visible in the background. (Rhode Island State Police Facebook)
When questioned by investigators, Crins denied “getting physical” beyond a single kiss but admitted to flirting and exchanging text messages that contained “sexual innuendos,” the affidavit states.
She also acknowledged sending photos and videos and told investigators the two discussed plans to have sex once he turned 18, though she said they never acted on those plans.
The Foster-Glocester Regional School District said Crins resigned from her role at the school Oct. 1, 2025, according to WJAR.
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File image of a woman texting. According to an affidavit, the student told investigators Crins began texting him while he was a sophomore after allegedly finding his cellphone number online. (iStock)
In a statement obtained by the outlet, the district said it is cooperating with authorities and referred further inquiries to state police.
Fox News Digital has reached out to state police for comment.
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Boston, MA
When did Southie get richy-rich? – The Boston Globe
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Born and raised in Southie, Heather Foley has seen her neighborhood morph over the past three decades of scrubbing, renovation, and new construction for higher-income new arrivals.
But even Foley was surprised to discover that her South Boston, where kids once went to the corner to buy milk and cigarettes for parents, has emerged with the city’s second-highest average income, even ahead of Charlestown and Beacon Hill.
Her first thought?: “I gotta start being nicer to my neighbors if that’s the kind of money they’re making.”
What’s a household?
Decades ago, when “Good Will Hunting” was filmed in the neighborhood and Southie was known as a working-class area, there were more kids around and maybe just a single breadwinner in some homes.
Since then, Southie saw more two-earner households, fewer kids, and spiffier rental units where three or four roommates could contribute to a “household.” The changes, along with spillover from the adjacent, pricier Seaport, or South Boston waterfront, are factors in Census data showing more than 40 percent of Southie households earn more than $200,000 a year.
Staying put
Foley, 46, a photo shoot producer, considers herself lucky. She didn’t move out to the South Shore like many neighborhood longtimers. She’s living in a family home on a block with residents — oldtimers and newer arrivals — who aren’t flipping properties for big bucks.
Another blessing, particularly valuable this winter? She has a driveway.
As a kid, she went to church and school at Gate of Heaven, St. Brigid, and St. Peter, and jokes that she’s “so sad I didn’t buy a three-decker with my First Communion money, because I probably could have.”
Waves of gentrification
She remembers the earlier waves of newcomers, when glassy sports bars like Stats Bar & Grille muscled in among longtime restaurants like Amrheins.
But now, even the popular Stats is moving out at the end of the month. The property owner is developing a five-story, mixed-use residential building at the site.
A small silver lining
Foley notes that some of the onetime “newcomers” have been here for three decades — and in some ways, have stabilized the place. Many have raised kids, who, like her son, may return to the neighborhood as young adults (albeit splitting a rented apartment with friends). Stats, the sports bar, says it will also return to the neighborhood’s thriving food scene.
“We have a lot of great restaurants now,” Foley says, “and everyone cleans up after their dog.”
Read: These maps show Boston’s wealthiest and most populous neighborhoods — plus other key trends.
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Patriots, strippers, and hookahs: A downtown restaurant’s liquor license is in jeopardy after it allegedly hosted Patriots players and guests after their AFC Championship in January. A decision is expected today.
‘Culture of secrecy’: In a scathing report, R.I. authorities accused the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence of decades of “inaction, concealment, and revictimization” in complaints of clergy sexual abuse of hundreds of children.
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🎥 Quiz: Test yourself with the Globe’s Academy Awards quiz.
⚽ Will $7.8 million stop the World Cup from coming here? Can Foxborough’s insistence on up-front security payments force the world’s soccer governing body to send matches somewhere else this summer?
♯ Teenage dreams: The future rock stars were teenagers when they wrote songs, influenced by David Bowie and Stevie Wonder, about a fictional nightclub. A half-century later, Squeeze has reworked and is releasing those songs.
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Thanks for reading Starting Point.
This newsletter was edited by Heather Ciras and produced by Ryan Orlecki.
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Dave Beard can be reached at dave.beard@gmail.com. Follow him on X @dabeard.
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