Connect with us

Massachusetts

Opening South Boston beach now up to the city, Massachusetts wildlife officials say

Published

on

Opening South Boston beach now up to the city, Massachusetts wildlife officials say


If state wildlife officials had the final say, Southie residents could now be cooling off at the L Street Beach behind the renovated Curley Center.

But even with MassWildlife determining last week that beach access would not harm the threatened piping plovers, the city still has to complete its own review.

“They don’t need any extra permissions because we have already issued our determination,” a MassWildlife spokesperson told the Herald on Wednesday. “As long as they follow their beach management plan, there is no other review on our end.”

City officials say the Conservation Commission is scheduled to vote July 19 on the beach management plan, which outlines conditions the city needs to take for access not to have an adverse effect on the piping plover.

Advertisement

Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, head of the city’s Environment Department, which oversees the Conservation Commission, has been out of town. She received an invite from the U.S. Embassy of London to participate in a discussion that took place Wednesday regarding “net-zero economies with a focus on sustainable affordable housing,” according to a spokesperson.

One condition in the beach management plan features “a qualified shorebird monitor” regularly monitoring the presence of the piping plover from April 1 through Aug. 31, with the areas of habitat delineated with fencing and warning signs by April 1, according to the state-approved guidelines.

“These areas shall remain fenced as long as viable eggs, unfledged chicks, or territorial or courting Piping Plovers are present,” the plan states.

Mayor Michelle Wu said the city’s hope is for the beach to partially open next month.

“There are some provisions around when the birds are there and when the birds are not there,” the mayor told the Herald. “My understanding is that we still have to wait for the birds to not be actively nesting. It may be a couple of weeks after that.”

Advertisement

The beach management plan lays out how raking should be done “as infrequently as possible” and “it must be conducted outside of fenced areas,” and all non-emergency vehicles “shall avoid areas of symbolic fencing” and “shall not  travel within 100 yards unfledged Piping Plover chicks.”

Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy said she still had not received a response from the Conservation Commission on her request for an emergency meeting to expedite the opening, as of Wednesday evening.

If the commission held a meeting earlier than next Wednesday, the beach could reopen shortly after, Murphy told the Herald on Tuesday. But a city spokesperson refuted that claim, saying the threatened piping plover bird species continues to stand in the way of access, and wildlife officials still had to say when residents could gain access.

“They may be oversimplifying that process,” the MassWildlife spokesperson said. “At this point, the task is the Conservation Commission reviewing the project under the Wetlands Protections Act. After that, the Conservation Commission might add their own additional things they want to see, but again, the state’s review is done.”

Cape Cod resident David Dudzinski Stayed cool at M Street Beach late Wednesday morning as temperatures soared into the 90s. Learning how to “coexist” with nature is critical, he said, pointing to how migratory fish are coming back with the Boston Harbor being cleaned up.

Advertisement

“I’m always on the side of coexisting and working on a plan that allows for nature to flourish and people to flourish,” he said. “There is plenty of beach.”

A piping plover as seen at Sandy Point State Reservation. The endangered birds, which nest in the early summer, have prompted beach closures up and down the coast, including outside the newly re-opened Curley Center in South Boston. (Herald photo by Todd Prussman)



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Massachusetts

Lucas: Ayotte’s shots at Healey over immigration hit mark

Published

on

Lucas: Ayotte’s shots at Healey over immigration hit mark


Hardly had Kelly Ayotte, the new governor of New Hampshire unloaded on Massachusetts over its immigration policy, than another illegal immigrant was charged with rape in the Bay State.

Subscribe to continue reading this article.

Already subscribed? To login in, click here.

Originally Published:



Source link

Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Disciplinary hearing for suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor continued to 2nd day

Published

on

Disciplinary hearing for suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor continued to 2nd day


Suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor’s Trial Board disciplinary proceedings will go on to a second day.

Proctor’s trouble publicly began when he testified during the murder trial of Karen Read last summer. During a tense examination by the prosecution and even more intense cross examination, Proctor admitted to inappropriate private texts that he made as the case officer investigating Read.

“She’s a whack job (expletive),” Proctor read from compilations of text messages he sent to friends as he looked at Read’s phone. The last word was a derogatory term for women that he at first tried to spell out before Judge Beverly Cannone told him to read it the way he wrote it.

“Yes she’s a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No (butt),” he continued under oath on June 10, 2024.

Advertisement

He also texted them “no nudes so far” as an update on the search through her phone. He also testified that he told his sister that he hoped that Read would kill herself.

On Wednesday, Proctor sat through a full day of trial board proceedings at MSP general headquarters in Framingham. When that concluded in the late afternoon, the board decided to continue for a second day on Feb. 10. Neither Wednesday’s proceeding nor the second day is open to the public.

Proctor was relieved of duty on July 1 of last year, which was the day the Read trial concluded in mistrial. He was suspended without pay a week later. The State Police finished its internal affairs investigation last week and convened the trial board to determine the next step in the disciplinary process.

The trial board makes disciplinary recommendations to the superintendent, who determines the final outcome.

“A State Police Trial Board shall hear cases regarding violations of Rules, Regulations, Policies, Procedures, Orders, or Directives,” states the Department’s Rules and Regulations.

Advertisement

“In the event that the Trial Board finds guilt by a preponderance of the evidence on one or more of the charges, the Trial Board shall consider the evidence presented by the Department prosecutor pertaining to the accused member’s prior offenses/disciplinary history, and shall make recommendations for administrative action,” the rules and regulations state.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and leaving the scene of a collision causing the death of O’Keefe, a 16-year Boston Police officer when he died at age 46 on Jan. 29, 2022. Read’s second trial is scheduled to begin April 16.

Originally Published:



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Local startups recovering from the burst tech funding bubble – The Boston Globe

Published

on

Local startups recovering from the burst tech funding bubble – The Boston Globe


Tech startups based in Massachusetts finished 2024 with a buzz of activity in venture capital fundraising.

In the fourth quarter, 191 startups raised a total of $4.1 billion, 20 percent more than startups raised in the same period a year earlier, according to a report from research firm Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. For the full year, local startups raised $15.7 billion, about the same as in 2023.

The stability ended two years of sharp declines from the peak of startup fundraising in 2021. Slowing e-commerce sales, volatility in tech stock prices, and higher interest rates combined to slam the brakes on startup VC activity over the past three years. The 2024 total is less half the $34.7 billion Massachusetts startups raised in 2021.

Advertisement

But local startup investors have expressed optimism that VC backing will continue to pick up in 2025.

The fourth quarter’s activity was led by battery maker Form Energy’s $455 million deal and biotech obesity drugmaker Kailera Therapeutics’ $400 million deal, both in October, and MIT spinoff Liquid AI’s $250 million deal last month. Two more biotech VC deals in October rounded out the top five. Seaport Therapeutics, working on new antidepressants, raised $226 million and Alpha-9 Oncology, developing new treatments for cancer patients, raised $175 million.

Massachusetts ranked third in the country in VC activity in the quarter. Startups based in California raised $49.9 billion and New York-based companies raised $5.3 billion.

Advertisement

Venture capital firms, however, had an even harder time raising money in 2024 compared to earlier years. Massachusetts firms raised $5.9 billion, down 7 percent from 2023 and the lowest total since 2018. That mirrored the national trend, as VC firms across the country raised $76.1 billion, down 22 percent from 2023 and the lowest since 2019.

Only one Massachusetts-based VC firm raised more than $1 billion in 2024, a more common occurrence in prior years, according to the report: Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge raised $2.6 billion in July for its eighth investment fund plus another $1 billion for smaller funds. The firm, founded by biotech entrepreneur Noubar Afeyan, helps develop scientific research for startups in addition to providing funding.

The next largest deals were Cambridge-based Atlas Ventures’ $450 million biotech-focused fund announced last month and Engine Ventures $400 million fund investing in climate tech startups announced in June.

The decline comes as VC firms have had trouble getting a return on their investments, because so few startups have been able to go public. Just six biotech companies based in Massachusetts and no tech companies went public last year.


Advertisement

Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending