A Boston man was held without bail this week after he was accused of exposing himself to an underage girl who was visiting the city’s historic Granary Burying Ground with her family last July.

Wayne MacDonald, 65, was charged in Boston Municipal Court Wednesday with one count of open and gross lewdness, subsequent offense, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said. MacDonald has pleaded not guilty. 

The teen and her mother told police they were visiting the Granary Burying Ground shortly before 1 p.m. on July 25 when a man exposed himself to the girl, the DA’s office said. The mother confronted the man across the street from the cemetery, but he allegedly denied any wrongdoing and walked away.

The mother provided officers a description of the man, and Boston police tracked down video surveillance footage from nearby buildings and found him on tape, according to the DA’s office. Detectives circulated a bulletin, and officers in the Boston Police Sexual Offender Registry Unit allegedly identified the man as MacDonald. 

He was arrested earlier this week, the DA’s office said. 

In setting MacDonald’s bail, the court noted his “long history of similar offenses,” records show. According to the DA’s office, MacDonald is on probation until 2029 after serving a jail sentence for a 2023 open and gross lewdness conviction. He also has “numerous” similar charges on his record stretching back to 1992, the office said. 

Judge Joseph Griffin set MacDonald’s bail at $500 for the new charge and ordered him held without bail pending a Dec. 5 probation violation hearing, the DA’s office said. Boston.com has reached out to MacDonald’s lawyer for comment. 

“It’s unfortunate for any young person to have an experience like this, but I praise her and her mother for acting so responsibly in providing police with a description of the incident and the person responsible,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “That information, combined with solid detective work, helped bring this defendant forward to answer to the charges.”

Built in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground is the final resting place of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, the five Boston Massacre victims, and several other notable figures from Boston’s earliest history.

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Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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On Friday, EJ Phair Brewing Company announced it was closing its Pittsburg location. Its last day will be Sunday, November 3.

They took to social media with the announcement:

“It is with heavy heart that we announce our last day of business will be this Sunday, November 3rd. Please join us as we say our goodbyes! Thank you for all these wonderful years, Pittsburg”

“It is with great sadness that this post comes to light. E.J. Phair brewing will be ceasing all operations on Sunday, November 3 of November. We thank the Pittsburg community for all of their support over the years and for welcoming us to the neighborhood. We will miss you all so much!

Please join us the next few days as we say our goodbyes – have one las Parksider Pizza and one last cheers at the round table! The staff, Becky, and I hope to see you all this weekend and in the future at our Alamo location, which remains open. Thanks again from all of us at E.J. Phair, its been a great run! And don’t forget – support your local businesses! #PittsburgProud – J.J., Becky, and all our wonderful and loyal staff.

E.J. Phair will keep its Alamo location open. It is located at 225 B Alamo Plaza, Alamo. You can order online at www.ejphair.com

Editors Note — although EJ Phair announced it would be closing, its been long rumored, a worst kept secret, that Headlands Brewing will be opening up at the location in the next few months. Headlands Brewing has locations in Berkeley, Lafayette and coming soon to Walnut Creek. Pittsburg would be its fourth location.

With less than a week until Election Day and 10 days into early voting, hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents have already cast their ballots.

For the first time, Connecticut residents can vote early. Early voting started on Oct. 21, and as of Tuesday night, more than 430,000 ballots have been cast, according to the Secretary of the State’s office. West Hartford has the most people voting early with 10,207 ballots cast, followed by Norwalk with 9,690 and Stamford with 9,511. Fairfield and Milford also have strong participation in early voting, with 9,453 and 8,766 votes.

Most early voters are registered Democrats, with 112 towns showing Democratic majorities among early voters. In comparison, 57 towns have the most early voters as unaffiliated, and 14 towns lean Republican. 

Voter registration in Connecticut is concentrated in the state’s biggest cities. Stamford leads with 76,418 registered voters, followed by Bridgeport with 71,382 and Hartford with 64,244. Norwalk and New Haven complete the top five, with 58,085 and 57,551 registered voters, respectively. 

Certain towns stand out for their high turnout relative to registered voters. Sharon leads with 37.8% of registered voters casting ballots early, followed by Salisbury at 37.1% and Woodbury at 34.9%. Madison, Clinton and several others show over 30% early voting participation.

Other cities show low early voting turnout relative to their registered voters. Hartford leads in low participation, with only 5.8% of registered voters casting ballots early. Waterbury follows with 6.9%, and New Haven with 7.9%. Bridgeport and New Britain have 8% and 10.1% early voting rates, respectively.

Check the Connecticut Voter Guide 2024 for more information on the elections.