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Groups ring in 2024 with New Year’s Day guided hikes on Massachusetts trails

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Groups ring in 2024 with New Year’s Day guided hikes on Massachusetts trails


MILTON – A decades old tradition continues across Massachusetts as people kick off the New Year with a hike through local state parks. It’s called the First Day Hike.

“Blue Hills is the sight of the original First Day Hike about 33-years-ago, and that phenomenon has taken on a life of it’s own. Now most states have their own First Day Hikes, and it’s even gone international,” said Simon Schreier, a Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) interpreter.

Hundreds of people came to a handful of state parks for guided walks with interpreters like Schreier. 

His job is to connect people with the deeper stories and history of the areas that they are hiking, and to foster an understanding of how to keep these areas clean and healthy. 

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He said their job is also to bring equity and inclusion to the outdoors.

“The outdoors is a space for everyone, but historically it hasn’t always felt that way,” explained Schreier.

“It’s always incumbent on us to be thinking about who doesn’t feel invited? Who doesn’t feel this is their space, and what can we do to say, ‘Hey, we would love to have you here. This is your space.’ That’s not something you do in one day, or one week.”

These walks go a long way to getting new people into enjoying the outdoors. 

Some hikers have been taking part in the tradition for decades, but some are doing it for the first time. 

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Hikers may be taking part in the day for personal or physical reasons.

“It’s kind of my way of saying I am still young enough,” laughed hiker Martine Carroll, “I always try to be hopeful and promising that it will be a good year.”

“I said why not get out of the bed, and bring in the New Year!” smiled Kanoi Hicks, another hiker on the trail.

“It’s a really easy, great way to get physical activity,” said Karen White as she walks along the trail, “I am out here by myself today, taking it all in, and hopefully walking away with a couple of new hiker friends to hike together with on hikes.”

“Every day is about Stanley,” joked Erin Cummings, looking down at her dog as they walk the trails of Blue Hills, “He has already been to Widow’s Walk in Scituate, and hung out with his dog friends. He went for the dog polar plunge, and now we are here. He did fabulous. You can’t keep a lab out of water.”

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Schreier suggest new hikers have proper footwear, and that they tell people where they are going if they head out alone.

“Take it small chunks at a time. You don’t have to climb a huge peak right off the bat, and take into account elevation,” urged Schreier.

“Wear appropriate clothing, which means layers, because I bet you feel yourself getting toasty even on a day like today,” Schreier fniished.



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Massachusetts

Blue Hills brush fire sends smoke into surrounding Massachusetts towns

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Blue Hills brush fire sends smoke into surrounding Massachusetts towns


Next Weather: WBZ morning forecast for November 19, 2024

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Next Weather: WBZ morning forecast for November 19, 2024

01:42

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MILTON – A new brush fire has developed in the Blue Hills State Reservation, sending smoke into surrounding Massachusetts communities.

The fire near Houghton’s Pond in Milton has burned 41 acres of the popular hiking area, and was only 10% contained as of Monday evening, according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. A smoky smell was reported in towns to the southeast, including Braintree, Brockton and Randolph. 

Fire departments from several nearby towns are helping to fight the flames. Canton firefighters in a social media video showed crews performing a controlled “back burn” to keep the main fire from spreading further.

FINAL UPDATE: Units are being released from the brush fire. Tomorrow, Two Brush Fire Task Forces are being sent to Milton. One from Norfolk County, the other from Plymouth County. Here is footage of the “Back Burn” performed at the Blue Hills brush fire. This performed under controlled conditions. It burns back towards where the fire is spreading to and burns the area in between.

Posted by Canton Firefighters IAFF Local 1580 on Monday, November 18, 2024

Red flag warning for Massachusetts

A red flag warning is in effect for all of Massachusetts Tuesday, as the dry weather continues and winds could gust up to 25 mph.

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“Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly,” the National Weather Service said. “Outdoor burning is not recommended.”

Some relief is expected Thursday, as the first rain storm to hit the area in weeks could put a dent in the state’s severe drought.

Fires in Massachusetts

In addition to the Blue Hills incident, state fire officials said a new fire in the Boxford State Forest has grown significantly. That fire along Thomas Road in North Andover had spread to 220 acres and was just 10% contained. At this time, no homes are at risk.

The largest brush fire in the state is burning in the Lynn Woods Reservation. The 440-acre fire is 50% contained.

Firefighters are also continuing to patrol the Middleton Pond fire that has burned 242 acres and is 60% contained.

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How Mass. leaders are responding to Trump's mass deportation promises

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How Mass. leaders are responding to Trump's mass deportation promises


Elected officials in Massachusetts are reacting to President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants by declaring a national emergency and using military assets.

Trump campaigned on a promise of the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, and he says he intends to deliver on it.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who declared a state of emergency around migrant arrivals last year, says something needs to be done, but she expressed concern about communities being uprooted.

“I think it’s absolutely appropriate that there be enforcement and deportation of individuals who commit crime, including violent crime. That’s very, very important,” Healey said. “We recognize it would be devastating if there were mass raids, here and across the country, that took out people who’ve been working in this country for a long time, who have families and kids here.”

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While Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state, it has eight sanctuary cities.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called attention to the Trust Act, passed in 2014. It distinguishes the difference in roles between Boston police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

“We know that the fear of someone who might be living, coming from an immigrant family, not then reporting crimes or not speaking out about different issues, actually then makes the entire community less safe,” Wu said.

Cambridge is also a sanctuary city — it has been since 1985.

“Cambridge affirms the basic human rights and dignity of every human being and provides education, health and other critical services to all residents of Cambridge, regardless of their immigration status,” a city spokesperson told NBC10 Boston in a statement.

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Leaders in Worcester, the state’s second-largest city, say it will always remain inclusive and will never target individuals based on their immigration status.

At the former ICE detention center in Dartmouth, there are no plans for the sheriff to reimplement any future detention programs.

“This organization has been there and done that,” said Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux.

ICE closed the detention center in 2021 after President Joe Biden took office.

Heroux’s predecessor, former Sheriff Tom Hodgson — a strong ally of Trump who served as the president-elect’s campaign chairman in Massachusetts — blasted the Biden administration and called the center’s closing “a political hit job” orchestrated by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Mass. says some police officers have been bypassing required training

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Mass. says some police officers have been bypassing required training


Massachusetts officials have notified police chiefs that some officers have been getting around parts of their online training.

In a letter last week, Municipal Police Training Committee Executive Director Jeff Fanrsworth said officials had learned that some police officers have been “bypassing their TY25 online training by using technologies that override controls meant to prevent fast-forwarding through the training.”

Farnsworth noted that the committee had found “instances where trainings that should take hours to complete are finished in a matter of minutes.”

The committee is working with Acadis, the company that operates the training system, to look into the issue and determine what needs to be done to address it.

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Police chiefs whose departments have members who finished online courses in less than the minimum expected runtime are being notified, Farnsworth said. Those officers will be required to do all their training for this year in person.

“Any officer that has failed to complete any required training in its entirety will be required to attend in-person training and their names will be forwarded to [the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission] for failure to successfully complete in-service training,” Farnsworth wrote in the letter.

The POST Commission, established by a criminal justice reform law in 2020, maintains lists of disciplinary records, suspensions and decertifications for Massachusetts police officers, handling claims of misconduct.



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