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Massachusetts shuts down its beaches due to high bacteria levels in the water: Here’s the latest updates – Travel And Tour World

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Massachusetts shuts down its beaches due to high bacteria levels in the water: Here’s the latest updates – Travel And Tour World


Monday, August 12, 2024

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, has deemed more than 60 beaches and water locations throughout the state closed due to high bacteria levels.

It is working in conjunction with the Department of Recreation and Conservation.

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High bacteria levels close beaches

“No, I didn’t know that and I think it’s pretty gross and I won’t get in the water,” said Dorchester resident Caitlin Couture at Savin Hill Beach.

DCR calls it excessive bacteria. They conduct weekly water quality tests to count bacteria levels.

The Department of Public Health has posted signs warning people not to swim to avoid risk of illness.

Michael Campbell has lived near Savin Hill Beach for 18 years and is not surprised, which is why he’s keeping his family at the water’s edge.

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“We just were telling him we’re going to wash our hands if we’re playing before we eat anything and keep our head out of the water,” said Campbell.

Trevor Hawkins is being extra careful with his dog Scout.

“Knowing that there’s high levels of bacteria in the water is definitely keeping us out and being cautious with her going in.

She doesn’t really go up past knee level and we usually rinse her off over at the showers.”

Morgan Ronzca said she wishes the no swimming signs were more noticeable.

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“The only reason I know is because I work at a Boys and Girls Club,” said Ronzca.

Meanwhile, folks at the beach spent Sunday making the most of the incredible weather.

“It’s just a little frustrating when it’s really hot outside and you want to cool off but it’s still nice to get out and enjoy the breeze,” said Campbell.

The Department of Public Health said they will continue to publish and update daily a list of beach closure so the public is well aware of which locations are closed and which are safe to swim in.

What beaches were closed Sunday?

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Amherst – Puffers Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Amherst – Stanley Street Swimming Hole (Bacterial Exceedance)
Ashby – Damon Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Ashland – Ashland Reservoir-Main Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Athol – Ellis Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Beverly – Dane Street (Bacterial Exceedance)
Beverly – Mingo (Bacterial Exceedance)
Boston – Constitution (Bacterial Exceedance)
Boston – Malibu (Bacterial Exceedance)
Boston – Savin Hill (Bacterial Exceedance)
Boston – Tenean (Bacterial Exceedance)
Braintree – Smith Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Brewster – Upper Mill Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Concord – Walden Pond – Red Cross (Other)
Danvers – Sandy Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Dartmouth – Hidden Bay (CSO/SSO Event)
Dartmouth – Jones Town Beach North and South (CSO/SSO Event)
Dartmouth – Moses Smith Creek (Bacterial Exceedance)
Framingham – Learned Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Grafton – Silver Lake Beach (Other)
Harwich – Sand Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Haverhill – Plugs Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Hingham – Hingham Town Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Holland – Collette Drive Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Hubbardston – Asnacomet Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Lowell – Merrimac River – Bath House (Bacterial Exceedance)
Lynn – Kings (Bacterial Exceedance)
Lynn – Lynn Shore Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Nahant – Nahant Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Nantucket – Sesachacha Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Natick – Cochituate State Park Beach (Bacterial Exceedance and Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
North Andover – Stevens Pond – Center (Bacterial Exceedance)
Northampton – Musante Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Oxford – Carbuncle Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Salem – Camp Naumkeag (Other)
Salem – Children’s Island – Back, Dock and Wally (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salem – Collins Cove (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salem – Juniper Point (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salem – Ocean Avenue (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salem – Osgood (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salem – Willow Avenue (Bacterial Exceedance)
Saugus – Pearce Lake at Breakheart Reservation (Bacterial Exceedance)
Shutesbury – Lake Wyola (Bacterial Exceedance)
Springfield – Bass Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Swampscott – Fisherman’s (Bacterial Exceedance)
Swampscott – Kings (Bacterial Exceedance)
Taunton – Watsons Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Templeton – Beamans Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Townsend – Pearl Hill Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Truro – Longnook (Other)
Wayland – Wayland Town Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
West Stockbridge – Card Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
West Tisbury – Seth’s Pond (BActerial Exceedance)
Westboro – Lake Chauncey Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Williamstown – Margaret Lindley Park (Bacterial Exceedance)
Winchendon – Lake Dennison State Park (Bacterial Exceedance)
Winchester – Shannon Beach at Upper Mystic (Bacterial Exceedance)
Winthrop – Halford (Bacterial Exceedance)
Winthrop – Winthrop Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Worcester – Indian Lake Public Beach (Sherburne Avenue) (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Worcester – Lake Quinsigamond – Lake Park Beach and Regatta Point Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Worcester – Shore Park (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

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Massachusetts

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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Deadly E. Coli Outbreak Sickens MA Residents, Prompts Carrot Recall

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Deadly E. Coli Outbreak Sickens MA Residents, Prompts Carrot Recall


MASSACHUSETTS — Public health officials are investigating a multi-state E. coli outbreak that has been tied to multiple brands of recalled organic carrots, and has sickened people in Massachusetts and nearly two dozen other states.

Grimmway Farms recalled multiple sizes and brands of bagged organic whole and baby carrots on Nov. 16 because they may be contaminated with a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. The carrots were sold at a number of retailers including Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Wegmans, and Whole Foods.

A total of 39 people have gotten sick nationwide after contracting E. coli from this outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One person from California died, and 15 had to be hospitalized.

“The recalled carrots should no longer be available for purchase but may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers,” the Food and Drug Administration added.

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For bags of organic baby carrots, the best-if-used-by date ranged from Sept. 11 to Nov. 12.

Brands selling these carrots included 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Wholesome Pantry.

Packages of whole organic carrots were available for purchase in stores from Aug. 14 to Oct. 23, according to the CDC. The brands distributing these carrots included 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Simple Truth, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, and Wholesome Pantry.

There was no best-if-used-by dates on the bags of organic whole carrots, the recall states.

Consumers are asked not to eat these carrots if they still have some in their refrigerator or freezer, and either throw them out or return them to the store. Also, the CDC advises that consumers wash any items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled carrots, using hot soapy water or the dishwasher.

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E. coli can cause serious symptoms, including high fever, diarrhea, consistent vomiting, and dehydration. Anyone who experiences any of these symptoms is advised to call their healthcare provider.

The CDC also said that the true number of sick people in the outbreak is likely much higher than reported, and that it takes three to four weeks to determine if an ill person is part of an outbreak.

Illnesses have also been reported in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, California, Oregon, and Washington.



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