GBH Daily: Penguin acupuncture

🌤️Mostly sunny and autumnal, with highs in the 60s. Sunset is at 6:37 p.m.

Today we needle an older penguin. But first: A company that does administrative work for the state’s personal care attendants is having technical problems that are leaving attendants unpaid and people with disabilities without the help they depend on. These attendants work for 50,000 people across the state, helping them do things like get dressed, eat and go about their daily lives.

The company responsible for making sure these attendants get paid is Tempus Unlimited of Stoughton. And they’re having some issues with a new MassHealth requirement that people who rely on attendants’ services obtain authorization from their doctors.

“It has never been this bad,” said Tiffany Rasmussen of Westwood, whose attendants help her get in and out of bed, make food and use the bathroom. “My current status is jumping from extension to extension, waiting for MassHealth to approve my prior authorization for the year. Meanwhile, I run the risk of losing PCAs because if PCAs are not getting paid, they’re not going to want to work.” GBH reporter Meghan Smith has more on this story here.

Four Things to Know

1. Heating oil boiling point: Like gas and diesel, the price of heating oil has risen significantly this year. A gallon of heating oil costs $6.15, up from $3.52 last year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. A typical home’s heating oil tank holds about 275 gallons, and buying the fuel to fill it up will run you about $1,691.

Charlie Uglietto, president of Cubby Oil and Energy in Wilmington, said he’s seen a lot of volatility in prices. But he encouraged anyone having a hard time paying to call their provider’s office and try to come up with a payment plan. “We’ll work with them to make sure that we keep them with fuel for the winter. And we’re working with them in a payment plan that works for them and keeps us, you know, getting paid by the end of next season,” he said.

2. Wicked rainy: A Nor’easter is headed our way this weekend. This time of year that means strong winds and heavy rain, not snow. We will likely see some power outages across the region as the wind knocks down trees and branches.

GBH Meteorologist Dave Epstein said it’s a bit too soon to know exactly where the storm will hit hardest. But you can expect rain to start tomorrow night and strengthen from there, with the heaviest rains coming Saturday night and early Sunday.

3. No fines for the homeless in Worcester: Worcester’s city councilors decided not to fine people experiencing homelessness $25 every time they sleep outside or park their cars in a public lot for more than 24 hours. The proposal came from City Manager Eric Batista.

Councilors said they wanted to see a kinder approach. “We invested over $150 million to build Polar Park,” said Councilor Rob Bilotta. “We should be investing more on this problem.”

4. Climate change wonks unite: The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem hosted Preservation in a Changing Climate yesterday. People working in research, urban planning and climate-related industries talked about their work and ways to address challenges such as flooding.

Simmons student Emily Lerner said she wanted to learn more about things like retrofitting — converting old buildings for new uses instead of replacing them. “I wish more people understood that we have solutions, if people were willing to implement them,” Lerner said.

Penguins get creaky in their old age, too. Acupuncture helps.

Meet Pip, a 29-year-old African penguin who lives at the New England Aquarium. All told, he’s in pretty good health — he lives with the 2- and 3-year-old penguin youngsters, not on the aquarium’s retirement island for older penguins. But Pip has lived long past his wild counterparts’ average lifespans of 10 to 15 years, and his caregivers diagnosed him with osteoarthritis after he developed a limp.

So when he feels the aches and pains that come with being nearly 30 years old, he can turn to Dr. Claire McManus for some penguin acupuncture.

“He’s very strong, very territorial,” Penguin trainer Mia Luzietti told GBH’s Craig LeMoult. “But it’s like acupuncture’s brought out this soft side to him sometimes, and he relaxes into it. You can almost see in real time those muscles relaxing.”

The image of a flightless bird relaxing during acupuncture is cute, and aquarium officials said they hope to use Pip’s story to draw more attention to critically endangered African penguins.

You can read more about Pip and his acupuncture regimen here. 

Dig deeper:

-Aquarium creates senior sanctuary for aging penguins

-Massachusetts is home to just one living elephant. Activists want to send her to a sanctuary.

-Kids have questions about jellyfish. This ‘jelly lab’ has answers.