Stories
The company 3M, which manufactures everything from Post-It notes to dental implants, has announced it will stop making PFAS — a group of man-made chemicals linked to a variety of health issues. The move comes as federal regulators are preparing to place limits on the chemicals in drinking water. 3M cited that plan as a factor in…
Read More
Environmental hazards in Chinatown’s only recreational park are at the center of a yearslong battle for open space in the neighborhood. Reggie Wong Memorial Park is a paved lot near South Station that community groups have been trying to lease from the state for years. Neighborhood advocates say they need the lease to ensure the…
Read More
Erin Wolf of Falmouth loves being a mom. She and her husband already had two boys when she found out she was expecting a third in 2016. “Which was a very much wanted and planned for pregnancy,” she says. They decided to name him Dylan. Wolf was 35 and considered advanced maternal age, which meant…
Read More
Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in America. In 2020, federal data show more farmers died from fatal occupational injuries than did police officers, logging workers, or roofers. But in the agriculture industry, access to affordable health care is challenging – particularly for new farmers. Mary Claire Whelan has farmed for five seasons in Connecticut.…
Read More
For Josephin Yen of Concord, N.H., gardening is a way to clear her head and get out of the house. “I will go out there,” she said, and “I feel better.” But gardening isn’t an easy hobby for her these days. After resettling in New Hampshire with her family from Sudan, she worked long hours…
Read More
Netia McCray likes to start her day with a cup of coffee. But sometimes, making that cup can be too much. McCray became sick with COVID more than two years ago and never fully recovered. Since then, simple tasks deplete her energy. She still has trouble breathing, moving and thinking clearly. It takes her hours…
Read More
The state of New Hampshire is suing the nation’s largest pharmacy chains — including CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens — alleging the companies failed to stop “a flood of prescription opioids” that fueled the addiction epidemic of the past decade. The suit, filed in Merrimack County Superior Court Tuesday, says the pharmacies failed to create…
Read More
Earlier this month at a city park in Augusta, Maine, Chrysanthemum Gates got a chance to speak at her first ever in-person Disability Pride event. Gates, a social media disability advocate with Tourette Syndrome, said she wished more people knew about events like this in New England. “I really feel like if more people knew…
Read More
Just off the bike path in Somerville, Mass., Michael Collins waded through the bushes and picked up a metal box. Collins popped open the lid — and immediately noticed a rancid smell. A dead rat was decomposing inside. “I’d say it’s a juvenile,” said Michael Collins, of Modern Pest Services, as he slid the rodent…
Read More
As Massachusetts heads into a weekend of sweltering temperatures, prison advocates worry that the more than 13,000 people incarcerated in the state’s prisons and county jails are especially in danger of heat-related illnesses. Massachusetts’ jails and prisons often don’t have air conditioning. Many incarcerated people are medically vulnerable, and advocates say they are particularly at…
Read More