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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)

Tags: Beach, massachusetts



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Massachusetts

After Massachusetts gets some snow, could there be a White Christmas?

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After Massachusetts gets some snow, could there be a White Christmas?


Are you dreaming of a White Christmas?

You could be in luck if you live in certain spots of the Bay State.

A few rounds of snow showers in the days leading up to Dec. 25 means there’s a “decent chance” for a White Christmas in parts of Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service’s Boston office.

The first round of snow is expected to come late Friday night into Saturday from an offshore coastal storm. Meteorologists are forecasting about 1 to 3 inches of snow, with the highest amounts across interior eastern Massachusetts.

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“… Not expecting much in the way of impacts from this wintry system, more of a festive pre-Christmas snowfall that will drop anywhere from a coating to an inch or two from Friday into Saturday afternoon,” reads the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion.

Following the snow, get ready to bundle up. It will get downright frigid over the weekend.

“It will be one of the coldest air masses we’ve seen so far in the early portion of these winter months,” Andrew Loconto,a  meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald.

High temps on Saturday will be around freezing, and then the coldest air will be on Sunday when high temps will be in the low 20s — with wind chills around 10 to 15. The wind chills Sunday night could drop to five below zero.

Temps Monday should rebound into the upper 20s before ticking up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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But as far as precipitation goes for Christmas Eve and Day, there could be rain or snow depending on where you live. It’s looking more likely for rain in southeastern Massachusetts, and snowfall across the interior.

A White Christmas is defined as one inch of snow depth measured on Christmas morning.

“The areas with the best shot for an inch of snow is probably interior New England,” Loconto said. “There’s a decent chance (for a White Christmas) for those interior areas, and for northeastern Massachusetts.”



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What’s open and closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Massachusetts – The Boston Globe

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What’s open and closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Massachusetts – The Boston Globe


Convenience stores: Open at owners’ discretion on both days.

Taverns, bars: Open at owners’ discretion on both days.

Movie theaters: Open both days.

Drug stores: Open both days.

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Coffee Shops: Open at owners’ discretion both days.

Banks: Most are closed or open for limited hours both days.

Stock market: Closes at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.

Municipal, state, federal offices: Open on Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.

Libraries: Open with varying hours on Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.

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Schools: Closed both days.

Mail: Post offices open with varying hours on Christmas Eve. Post offices closed Christmas Day; express delivery only.

MBTA: Subways, buses, commuter rail, the RIDE, and ferry routes will operate on regular weekday schedule on Christmas Eve. Silver Line service to and from Logan Airport will be increased.

On Christmas Day, subways, buses and the RIDE will operate on a Sunday schedule. Commuter rail will operate on a weekend schedule. There will be no ferry service. For more information, visit https://www.mbta.com/holidays.

Trash/recycling collection: Collections on Christmas Eve and no collections on Christmas Day in Boston. To monitor your neighborhood’s trash and recycling schedule, download the Trash Day App at: https://www.boston.gov/trash-day-schedule.

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Sources: boston.gov and mass.gov.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the time the stock market closes on Christmas Eve.


Sabrina Lam can be reached at sabrina.lam@globe.com.





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Massachusetts

Changes Coming to Mega Millions in 2025

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Changes Coming to Mega Millions in 2025


Mega Millions lottery tickets will more than double in 2025, but the Massachusetts Lottery says you’ll have a better chance of winning.

The Lottery says, “Mega Millions, the multi-state lottery game that has produced a record six jackpot wins exceeding $1 billion, is getting ready for a ‘mega’ overhaul with plans to be bigger and better than ever when the new and improved game launches in April of 2025.”

The Massachusetts Lottery promises “improved odds to win the jackpot, bigger jackpots more frequently, larger starting jackpots, faster-growing jackpots, a built-in multiplier on every play, automatically improving every non-jackpot win by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, or 10X – up to $10 million for matching the five white balls, and no breakeven prizes, meaning when a player wins they’ll always win more than the cost of the ticket.”

Five jackpot prizes have been paid out in Massachusetts since the Mega Millions game began in 2022.

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Forty-five states and two U.S. territories participate in the Mega Millions game.

Massachusetts Gamers To Pay More To Play Mega Millions in 2025

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The Associated Press quotes Christian Teja, the Massachusetts Lottery Director of Communications, as saying that “They’re constantly looking at ways to enhance the games, maybe make them a little bit different than Powerball.”

“You have probably heard about jackpot fatigue, it used to be $100 million and everybody was playing. Then it became $300 million,” Teja said. “Then it was $500 million. Now, it’s really approaching a billion dollars before you see the sales kick up.”

It currently costs $2 to play Mega Millions but the ticket price will increase to $5 in April 2025. Perhaps the lure of bigger prizes and better chances to win will overshadow the higher ticket cost.

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25 Times SouthCoasters Won $1 Million or More in the Massachusetts Lottery

Since 2006, the Massachusetts State Lottery has kept a record of every winning ticket of $1 million or more. Here are 25 sold on the SouthCoast.

Gallery Credit: Gazelle

America’s Top 10 States With The Most Lottery Wins

Just how lucky is your state? A new list has determined which states have won the most money from either the Powerball or MegaMillions in the last 10 years.

Gallery Credit: Jahna Michal





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