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☂️A chance of rain, with highs in the 70s. Sunset is at 8:08 p.m.
Today we have a story about something good being cooked up in Haverhill. But first, I’d like to introduce you to Makai King, the king of the T. He’s 10 years old and, with help from his mom, Michelle King, makes videos for Instagram and TikTok that share his knowledge of and love for the MBTA.
“Kendall/MIT — my almost-favorite station — opened in 1912 as Kendall Station. The station was renamed three times within seven years,” Makai told GBH Morning Edition guest host Tori Bedford. His current favorite station is the Boston Landing Commuter Rail stop in Brighton, down the street from the GBH newsroom. The station opened in 2017, so it’s younger than he is.
Makai’s mom noticed he was getting excited about public transit when he was a toddler. “I grew up in Boston and I actually did not start driving until my mid-20s. And I had Makai when I was 20. So I would take the T a lot with him,” Michelle King said. “I want to say around 3 years old, I noticed that he really enjoyed it. Like when he seen it, it was like, ‘Oh my God, the bus!’ And, ‘Oh, I hear the train!’”
Makai and Tori also played a game of Name That Chime, where Tori played a sound from an MBTA line and Makai guessed which line it came from. He absolutely aced it — you can see how you do by listening in here.
Four Things to Know
1. Alison Leary, a Newton city councilor who is running for a seat in the state House, said she’s sorry for saying people in the city’s Nonantum neighborhood “don’t want housing, they don’t want immigrants. Many of them are Republicans, they don’t share my values.” She made the comments last week during a debate against her opponent, incumbent state Rep. John Lawn. “You owe the Nonantum people an apology,” Lawn said in response. “I do not,” Leary replied.
This week, Leary said she’s writing a letter of apology. “Reducing any of my neighbors to a label is exactly the kind of politics I’ve said I don’t want to practice. I failed that standard in last week’s forum, and I’m sorry,” Leary said.
2. Massachusetts has a new law that says sex between a minor and a person in a position of authority over them — such as a teacher or coach — is rape. The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16. “My teacher began grooming me when I was 15,” said Hilary Simon, who was among the survivors advocating for the law. “By the time I was 16, the law of Massachusetts treated me as though I could consent to the man who had power over me.”
Joining Simon was survivor Melissa Fares. One of their former teachers at Miss Hall’s School is facing three counts of rape. “I was failed — failed by Massachusetts, failed by the adults who were supposed to protect me. For a long time, the law failed kids like me too,” Fares said. “This law doesn’t give me back my youth. It doesn’t give survivors back what was taken from them. But it closes a loophole that never should have existed.”
3. A teenager in Cohasset launched a program to help people responsibly dispose of the plastic they use to shrink-wrap their boats for the winter. “The plastics that they use are very durable, and what comes with being very durable means that they do not decompose well and are not easily recyclable,” said Declan Bergan, founder of the Cohasset Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling Program. He learned about the issue as a State House intern two years ago.
Now he collects used plastic wrap from boats, cleans it up and brings it to Republic Services, a waste management company. “They’ll be able to break it down into smaller plastics and then repurpose it or sell it to be used in different ways,” Bergan said.
4. A sneak peek at the new Sagamore Bridge: Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials have released new sketches showing what the new $2.1 billion bridge will look like from nearby bike paths during the day and when illuminated at night. You can see them here.
They’re also looking for local artists to help add some flair to the bridge’s concrete elements. “This is not one of our strengths, we will acknowledge. We can design a beautiful bridge, but the art on it is probably best left to others — people who are artists — and we will welcome any input from the artist community,” said Luisa Paiewonsky, executive director of the Megaprojects Delivery Office.
Haverhill culinary program cooks up opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities
There are about 8.56 million people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in the U.S., according to a University of Minnesota study — about 2.5% Americans, or about the same as the population of New York City. And unemployment rates for people with disabilities are consistently about twice those of nondisabled people, often because disabled adults face stigma from employers or challenges with transportation.
“People just want a sense of purpose and a place to come,” Scott Sanderson, director of the culinary program at the nonprofit L’Arche Boston North, told GBH’s Meghan Smith.
L’Arche Boston North’s culinary program teaches adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities how to work in professional kitchens. They make hummus, sell it at farmer’s markets and are working to open a café in Haverhill next year.
“I love the stuff we make,” participant Meghan McCarthy told Smith. “I definitely say the best part of being here [is] just all of us together cooking and having fun together.”
You can see more of what they’re cooking up here.
Dig deeper:
-Disabled and chronically ill people are at high risk during a heat wave. Here’s how you can help.
-‘Much, much better’: Disabled MBTA riders see a new T 20 years after suing for change
-A long journey home: Hundreds of disabled people have new homes thanks to court settlement
GBH Daily
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