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☀️Sunny and hot, with highs in the 80s. Sunset is at 8:15 p.m.
We’ve seen plenty of national headlines about cyclospora, the parasite that can live on produce and wreak havoc on human guts when ingested. Some of the worry comes from larger uncertainties about public health and food safety: last year, the CDC cut some of the staff working on tracking foodborne illnesses and parasitic outbreaks. It’s important to note that Massachusetts has not seen many cases: the state’s Department of Public Health has recorded 18 cases this year, and there isn’t evidence that they’re tied to a larger outbreak responsible for thousands of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But some people are still changing their habits just in case. “We have been assuring people that local small-scale farming is a safe way to go, because the fields are smaller,” said Skylar Daley, communications director at Wards Berry Farm in Sharon. “A lot of our produce is grown with drip irrigation, which waters from below, which prevents contamination, as well. And generally, with a smaller farm, there are less hands on your food, so it’s as safe as you can be.” GBH’s Marilyn Schairer talked to people turning to local farms across Massachusetts.
Four Things to Know
1. Citizens Bank will stop doing business with two companies that invest in and operate privately run prisons for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — CoreCivic and the GEO Group. Citizens called it a business decision: “The federal government recently purchased several facilities owned by CoreCivic and has indicated its intention to purchase a number of others owned by GEO. This has the effect of reducing the required capital of the companies going forward, as they will largely operate as service companies,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
But activists and local clergy who for months have led protests over Citizens’ business ties with those two companies said they see it as a win for democracy. “When people see a wrong being perpetrated, they can organize,” said the Rev. Ray Hammond, a member of the executive committee of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. “They can build alliances and they can force big institutions and entities to do the right thing.”
2. Every member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts voted to cut $3.3 billion in aid from the U.S. to Israel last week. The amendment ultimately failed, 104-314, with about half of Democrats voting in favor. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark said she voted for it because “the status quo is not tenable.” “We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with U.S. law, interests and values,” she said. “The Netanyahu government has failed to meet that standard.”
The candidates running against Massachusetts incumbents this year told GBH’s Adam Reilly they see the vote as too little, too late. “Blocking $3.3 billion when they know the vote’s not going to pass in the House — there’s a lot of question marks,” said Tarik Samman, who is running against Clark.
3. Members of an organization called the Northeast Native Network of Kinship and Healing are planning a center for domestic violence survivors on Martha’s Vineyard, which Aquinnah Wampanoag women will lead. Aquinnah Headwaters will have three housing units, plus support groups and places for people to exercise and learn Indigenous crafts and cooking. You can see sketches of the proposed center here.
“A lot of people, after going through something like sexual assault, you kind of disconnect from your body,” Executive Director Jennifer Randolph said. “Having that space to reconnect with your body is really important for your overall healing.”
4. An overpass above I-290 in Worcester is now named Bob Cousy Pass, for the Celtics great. “I’ve already got a couple of statues. Now I’ve got a pass. I shouldn’t be this fortunate. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop,” joked Cousy, who is 97.
Cousy was one of the founders of the NBA Player’s Association and spoke out for integration when he forged a close friendship with Chuck Cooper, the first Black player in the NBA.
'Commitments are one thing, action is another’: Grieving advocates press Wu on street safety
It’s been more than a week since a truck driver hit and killed Boston transportation planner Louisa Gag as she rode a bike near Roxbury Crossing. GBH’s Craig LeMoult talked to local advocates about how the city can become a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians, and about what they’d like to see from Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration.
Caitlin Allen-Connelly, executive director of the transportation advocacy group TransitMatters: “I feel deeply for Michelle Wu. It is a lot to shoulder. And when you’re responsible for the city, this type of tragedy is a personal tragedy, because in some ways it’s related to the policies that you made. And she is a mother, and this person worked inside of her City Hall and knew her very well. And so it’s a lot.” Allen-Connelly would like to see more accountability on 17 transportation and street safety projects that have been paused under Wu. “I would say commitments are one thing, action is another,” she said. “And I think we’ll need to see, over the next days and weeks and months, the speed at which things are changed. And change doesn’t happen overnight.”
Galen Mook, executive director of the group MassBike: “At one point, the advocacy community had a very direct line with the mayor. She was meeting with us pretty much monthly, and her team was meeting with us monthly. But that has stopped. And part of the ask that we have on the city is to restart the conversations directly with us to rebuild the trust of transparency.” He added that advocates met with Wu twice in the week following Gag’s death. “It has only been a week, and we feel that that trust is being rebuilt.”
Read LeMoult’s full reporting here.
Dig deeper:
-Biking advocate Louisa Gag’s death is renewing calls for more safety action from Boston officials
-‘We know that these are preventable’: Friends mourn bike advocate Louisa Gag, killed by driver
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