Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE - Friday, March 22, 2019 Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Splashes in the Snow to Support Public Beaches O n March 10, over 200 beach lovers braved not only the chilly winter waters but also snowy weather and plunged into Boston Harbor at the BCYF Curley Community Center in South Boston as part of the 9th annual Harpoon Shamrock Splash to benefit Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Better Beaches Program. This year, the “pledge and plunge” fundraiser raised more than $50,000 for the Better Beaches Program, which provides grants to community organizations that host free events and programs on the region's public beaches. Participants could direct their fundraising to their favorite local beach and teams raised $1,765 for events on Revere Beach. Each year the program supports free concerts and beach festivals, sand-sculpting competitions, and youth programs on public beaches in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull. “Thirty years ago nobody wanted to go swimming at the region's beaches and today, they are some of the cleanest urban beaches in the country,” said Save the Harbor President Tani Marinovich. “It’s amazing to see the community that supports this event and supports our beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.” Before the sprint into the ocean, Boston 25 Meteorologist Vicki Graf was on hand to deliver a real-time weather report -- although the air temperature was 34 degrees, the water itself was a balmy 40 degrees! Even though everyone was already wet from the snow and rain before splashing into the Harbor, 2019’s Harpoon Shamrock Splash was the best one yet with splashers enjoying delicious brunch burritos from Baja Taco Truck and fresh, hot chowder from Daily Catch while Mix 104.1 played music on the beach. Harpoon beers invigorated participants after their plunge. "I love when it snows on Splash day," said Bruce Berman, Director of Strategy and Communications for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, who has splashed every year since the event began. "We're hearty here in New England and the only thing we love more than snow is the beach." “All of us at Harpoon look forward to a relaxing beach day after our Harpoon St. Patrick’s festival to support a great cause and warm up with a refreshing Harpoon, brunch burrito, and clam chowder on the beach with our friends from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay,” said Harpoon Brewery President Charlie Storey. “The water might be cold, and the beach might be covered in snow, but the warm feeling you get from giving back to your community stays with you for a long time.” Participants won JetBlue flights and great Harpoon swag for reaching fundraising goals. Mary Cole from East Boston, who raised $1,530 and received the most donations to her splash, and Trevor Etheridge from Jamaica Plain, who raised $1,65,5 were the top two fundraisers. They each won round trip JetBlue fl ights for their eff orts. The two costume contest winners, Elaine Howley of Waltham, as the Banana Minion, and Joe Skahan from Lynn, as Beaker from the Muppets, won JetBlue flights as well for their creativity and enthusiasm. Second place costumed splashers were Jane Kepros of East Boston who dressed as a goldfi sh and Nick Russo of South Boston who dressed as Aladdin. They won swag from The Harvey Traveler Collection. The costume contest was once again judged by Kennedy Elsey of Mix 104.1. Every splasher and contributor also had the opportunity to win prizes in two post-splash JetBlue fl ight raffl es. "At JetBlue, we are committed to our community and fun is one of our core values,” said Donnie Todd, Corporate Responsibility Liaison for JetBlue, who led a team of 30 participants. "More than 3,500 JetBlue crewmembers call Boston home, we cherish our harbor and proudly support Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the work they do on the region's public beaches." Members of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s leadership team were also key fundraisers, but were ineligible to win JetBlue fl ights. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Chair of the Board, Joe Newman from Arlington, raised $3,401. Bruce Berman, Director of Strategy and Communications from Brighton, raised $3,115. Save the Harbor’s Vice President of Programs and Operations, Chris Mancini from Somerville, raised $2,577. The top five teams also raised significant funds at this year’s Harpoon Shamrock Splash. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay topped the list with $15,964, followed by JetBlue with $10,990 and the Piers Park Sub-Aqua Warriors with $4,950. Team YES raised $3,162 and Team Harpoon! raised $2,720. “Save the Harbor would like to thank event sponsors at Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue, Mix 104.1, Baja Taco, The Daily Catch, The Harvey Traveler Collection, Unreal Candy, Stony Brook WholeHeartedFoods, and the Blue Sky Collaborative,” said Marinovich, “As well as our Better Beaches Program Funding Partners at The Boston Foundation, Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, P&G Gillette, National Grid, Comcast, Beacon Capital Partners, and New England Picture. “We would also like to thank the Massachusetts Legislature, the Baker-Polito Administration and the Metropolitan Beaches Commission for their support for our beaches,” Marinovich continued, “And, our program partners at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Centers for Youth and Families and the Greater Boston YMCA for their support.” DEA warns of alarming increase of scam calls W ASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration urges its DEA-registered practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls from criminals posing as DEA or other law enforcement personnel threatening arrest and prosecution for supposed violations of federal drug laws or involvement in drug-traffi cking activities. DEA continues to receive reports from practitioners and the general public, alike, indicating that they have received calls threatening legal action if an exorbitant fi ne is not paid immediately over the phone. The callers typically identify themselves as DEA personnel and instruct their victims to pay the "fi ne" via wire transfer to avoid arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. The reported scam tactics are continually changing, but often share many of the following characteristics: • Callers use fake names and badge numbers or, alternatively, names of well-known DEA senior offi cials. ~ Home of the Week ~ SAUGUS....Nicely located 6 room, 3 bedroom Colonial, featuring spacious eat-in kitchen with porch, located on desirable dead-end street just $425,000 View the interior of this home right on your smartphone. • The tone of calls is urgent and aggressive; callers refuse to speak or leave a message with anyone other than the person for whom they are calling. • Callers threaten arrest, prosecution and imprisonment, and in the case of medical practitioners, revocation of their DEA numbers. • Callers demand thousands of dollars via wire transfer or, in some instances, in the form of untraceable gift cards taken over the phone. • Callers falsify the number on caller ID to appear as a legitimate DEA phone number. • Callers will often ask for personal information, such as social security number or date of birth. • When calling a medical practitioner, callers often reference National Provider Identifi er numbers and/or state license numbers. They also might claim that patients are making accusations against the practitioner. It’s important to underscore that DEA personnel will never contact practitioners or members of the public by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment. DEA will not request any personal or sensitive information over the phone. Notifi cation of a legitimate investigation or legal action is made via offi cial letter or in person. Impersonating a federal agent is a violation of federal law. Anyone receiving a telephone call from a person purporting to be a DEA special agent or other law enforcement offi cial seeking money should refuse the demand and report the threat using the online form or by calling 877-7922873. Reporting scam calls will greatly assist DEA in investigating and stopping this criminal activity. Any urgent concerns or questions, including inquiring about legitimate investigations, should be directed to the local DEA fi eld division. To report scam activity online, visit https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/esor/ spring/main?execution=e1s1. For contact information for DEA field divisions, visit https://www.dea.gov/domestic-divisions.
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