Northeast
Woman who is 'allergic to everything' can only eat these 2 things
A Massachusetts woman says she is “allergic to everything” and lives on a diet of oatmeal and hypoallergenic infant formula but is still able to make the best of it and have a happy holiday season.
Caroline Cray, 24, first had an allergic reaction to ice cream in Sept. 2017, going into anaphylactic shock, she told the news agency SWNS.
Soon after, she had similar reactions to bread and pizza, then had a serious reaction after eating rice and beans and spent 12 days in an intensive care unit.
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Initially, doctors were hopeful it would go away.
“In the fall [of 2017], when I was having the repeated shocks, my allergist and ER doctors were under the assumption that my reactions would only last a few months,” she told SWNS.
Caroline Cray of Massachusetts spent 12 days in intensive care after an intense allergic reaction to eating beans and rice. (SWNS)
The doctors put her on antihistamine drugs and referred her to a specialist, she said.
The reactions did not go away, something she said was “really discouraging.”
“Every day I was wondering if I was going to end up in the hospital. I had a really tight throat and I was itchy and wheezing,” she said.
“This is a chronic illness, and we need to treat it as one.”
After nearly a year of tests, Cray was diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), a rare chronic illness, in May 2018. MCAS causes repeated severe allergic reaction symptoms, she told SWNS.
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Getting a diagnosis was emotional, she said, but also “validating.”
“I am a very cut-and-dry person, but me and my mom, Julie, 59, were both crying,” she said.
“It was validating that someone was finally like, ‘This is a chronic illness, and we need to treat it as one.’”
Cray has a rare condition and can only safely eat two different foods. (SWNS)
She felt a mixture of relief that her condition had a name, while grappling with the thought of, “Oh God, I will live with this the rest of my life.”
Six years after her diagnosis, she still can only eat two things: oatmeal and specialized infant formula.
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“I am at the point where my diet is only EleCare and oatmeal,” she said, referring to a specific brand of hypoallergenic infant formula.
“I will have that for three meals a day, and I only eat three times a day as I have to self-medicate beforehand,” she said. It is “really tough.”
It took doctors 10 months to diagnose Cray with MCAS, a condition that gives her severe allergic reactions to foods. (iStock)
Additionally, Cray takes a host of medications, including some taken daily, weekly and semi-monthly.
Despite her food limitations and limited diet, Cray tries to act as normally as possible, and that includes the holidays, she said.
“I don’t rule myself out of things, though,” she told SWNS. She said she joins her family for dinner at night.
“I will go out for meals, but I bring my own food. And I will go for nights out and take a water bottle,” she said.
She is “always the designated driver,” she said, and is able to “fill people in on what has happened the night before. I have turned that into one of my favorite things,” Cray added to SWNS. “I tell my friends I get secondhand drunk from them.”
“I will go out for meals, but I bring my own food. And I will go for nights out and take a water bottle.”
To better accommodate her condition, Cray hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas at her own home.
“In the first couple of years of my diagnosis, I didn’t want to eat in front of anyone else,” she said.
“It is certainly hard because food is central to the holiday season, but there are a lot of factors that make me feel included in the ritual of Christmas.”
Cray, second from left, with her siblings. She told news agency SWNS she feels more included at Christmas because it’s less about food than Thanksgiving. (SWNS)
Now, Cray is hopeful she will be able to expand her diet beyond oatmeal and infant formula.
“This is my fifth year of being on the oatmeal diet, and it is hard,” she told SWNS. “I would be lying if I said I don’t struggle because I do.”
She added, “I am currently meeting with my MCAS therapist to try (trying) different foods.”
But, so far, nothing has worked, noting she has attempted to eat chicken, lamb, sweet potato and broccoli.
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“I will try single foods one by one so if I have a reaction we know exactly what it is to,” she said.
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NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) — Hundreds of employees will be laid off from Stanley Black & Decker’s New Britain manufacturing plant on Monday.
The world’s largest tool company confirmed the closure of the New Britain plant in February with a wave of layoffs.
About 300 employees are expected to be laid off in five different waves. According to a company notice, the brunt of the layoffs is expected to occur between Monday and May 18. Approximately 287 employees are expected to have their positions terminated.
The plant on Stanley Drive produced “single-sided tape measures,” and Stanley Black & Decker said those aren’t in demand like they used to be.
Company officials said they’re supporting impacted employees by offering employment at other facilities, severance, and job placement support services.
The closure of the facility has sparked disappointment among state lawmakers, including State Rep. Dave DeFronzo (D-Conn.), New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez (D-Conn.) and former mayor Erin Stewart (R-Conn.).
They were built decades ago in some of the most picturesque spots across Maine — manmade mountains of granite and brick, concrete and steel, rising beside rivers that powered the state’s booming textile industry through the 1800s and 1900s.
Now, these old mills are increasingly being converted to housing and other purposes. In Biddeford’s sprawling mill district, a variety of housing projects have been completed or are underway, including 154 apartments in the former Pepperell Mill that are being leased or sold as condominiums.
Two of the most recent conversions are Picker House Lofts, a mixed-income rental property in Lewiston, and The Spinning Mill, a housing and commercial project in Skowhegan. Both opened last year.
The Spinning Mill, including 41 apartments, a boutique hotel and a restaurant, received a 2026 Honor Award from Maine Preservation for excellence in historic preservation and rehabilitation.
Here’s a look at those three mill conversions.
The Spinning Mill
Location: Skowhegan, Somerset County
Waterfront: Kennebec River
Year built: 1922
Year renovated: 2025
Number of units: 41
Monthly rent: $1,510-2,750, utility and amenity fees vary
In its peak years, the Maine Spinning Co. employed 300 people and produced 2 million pounds of wool yarn annually in the heart of the downtown district, closing in 2005. High Tide Capital of Bangor purchased the site in 2019 and began a $20 million residential and commercial redevelopment project.
The conversion suffered a major setback in December 2023, when the storm-churned Kennebec fooded the first floor, causing more than $3 million in damage. An economic recovery grant from the state helped the developers clean up and continue.
The adaptive reuse respected the building’s history, preserving wooden floors and high ceilings, oversized windows and exposed brick walls. Modern plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling systems were installed, along with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.
The four-story building includes studio through three-bedroom units, ranging from 630 to 1,300 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, mini movie theater, coworking space, resident lounge and art studio. The property also includes The Skowhegan, a 20-room boutique hotel, and the Biergarten, a German-themed restaurant and event space with riverside patio.
Contact: Yates Murphy, The Spinning Mill, 207-951-6475
Picker House Lofts
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Location: Lewiston, Androscoggin County
Waterfront: Androscoggin River
Year built: 1855
Year renovated: 2025
Number of units: 72
Monthly rent: $1,495-2,000 (26 market-rate units); $801-1,332 (46 subsidized); heat, hot water and basic Wi-Fi included
Part of the 7-acre Continental Mill complex, Picker House Lofts is a 79,000-square-foot, mixed-income rental property developed by The Szanton Co. of Portland. The remaining 481,000 square feet of former factory space is being developed to include more than 300 additional apartments along with office, retail and light industrial uses by Chinburg Properties of Newmarket, New Hampshire.
Named for its original function, the five-story building is where workers called “pickers” removed seeds, twigs and other debris from raw cotton before it was woven into cloth.
It includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with 46 reserved for households with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income, which ranges from $35,880 for a single person to $51,240 for four people, according to MaineHousing.
The developers preserved historic features where possible, including wood floors, huge operable windows and 13-foot ceilings with exposed overhead carrying beams, while adding modern fixtures, utilities and appliances.
Amenities include a fitness center, indoor bike storage, landscaped courtyard with picnic tables and a communal lounge with adjoining roof deck that overlooks the Androscoggin River. It’s located downtown near a farmers market, museums and a park with a fitness court.
Contact: Saco Falls Management, 207-228-8800
Pepperell Mill
Location: Biddeford, York County
Waterfront: Saco River
Year built: 1845
Year renovated: 2008
Number of units: 154
Monthly rent: $1,695-2,995, utilities and wifi included
Originally converted by local developer Doug Sanford, apartments in the Pepperell Mill Campus retain many historic features from its textile-weaving past, including 10- to 18-foot ceilings, exposed brick walls and beams, and honey-colored maple floors.
Now owned and managed by Texas-based Presidium, the property is available to lease or purchase residential units as they come on the market, providing what the company calls a “try before you buy” opportunity. It’s part of a 17-acre complex in the heart of a downtown that includes a variety of small businesses, artists, restaurants, breweries and coffee shops.
Apartments range from economical studios to luxury two-bedroom, two-bathroom units that include washer-dryer hookups. Available condos are priced from $325,000 to $1.5 million, according to Portside Real Estate Group.
Units feature modern finishes and oversized, industrial-style windows, many with views of the Saco River. Amenities include smart laundry facilities, green spaces with seating areas and gas grills, riverside picnic areas and a dog-washing station.
Contact: Pepperell Mill Campus, 207-282-5577, Ext. 201
Massachusetts
Thousands join Walk for Hunger in Boston: ‘Critical response to rising food insecurity’
Thousands joined Project Bread’s 58th annual Walk for Hunger on Sunday to combat what organizers called a critical and rising problem of food insecurity in Massachusetts.
“There is no reason any person in Massachusetts should not be able to put food on the table,” said Project Bread President and CEO Erin McAleer. “And yet, more people are struggling now than ever. Every one of us has a role to play in making a difference, and the Walk for Hunger is the perfect opportunity to do just that.”
The walk — representing the nation’s oldest continually running pledge walk, according to Project Bread — raised the targeted $1 million in funds to fight hunger in the state as participants made their way around the family-friendly and accessible 3-mile loop around Boston Common.
Project Bread, which organizes the fundraiser along with over 600-member Make Hunger History Coalition, noted that the walk is an “immediate opportunity” for people to take action as food insecurity rises in Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, 40% of households are experiencing food insecurity, the organization said, and “rising food prices and potential changes to federal nutrition programs, including SNAP, threaten to deepen the challenge.” Local organizations in Greater Boston are continuing to prepare for additional strain, they added.
Project Bread joined food aid organizations and public officials to meet an “impossible task” as the government shutdown temporarily cut off SNAP benefits last November, at the same time as an estimated 3.5 million have lost SNAP benefits nationwide due to policy changes under the Trump administration last July.
The 3,500 participants Sunday represented 216 towns across Massachusetts, while additional walkers from 23 states and five countries participated virtually, organizers said. The event featured live music, food vendors, games, a cooking demonstration, and remarks from local leaders on the Common.
The funds raised support Project Bread’s “comprehensive approach to food security,” tackling areas like policy advocacy, prevention strategies and more, as well as supporting the work of 68 anti-hunger organizations who participate in the event and keep 60% of the funds they generate.
The walk highlights “how families across the Commonwealth—particularly in Black, Brown, and immigrant communities—continue to face difficult tradeoffs between food and other basic needs,” Project Bread said. At the same time, the organization called the state “uniquely positioned to lead the nation in ending hunger through coordinated policy, healthcare integration, and community-led solutions.”
“It’s a great day and more importantly, a powerful one because the strength of our community coming together can drive real change for those who need it most,” McAleer said.
Project Bread offers a toll-free Food Source Hotline at 1-800-645-8333 for those experiencing food insecurity, providing confidential assistance to connect with food resources in 180 languages and for the hearing impaired, as well as more information on projectbread.org/get-help.
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