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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, July 24, 2020 Page 15 Over 200 community, labor and religious groups call for Emergency Housing Stability Bill W ith the Massachusetts eviction and foreclosure moratorium currently set to expire on August 18 and the legislative session expected to end July 31, over 200 community, labor and religious organizations have signed a letter to House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate President Karen Spilka and Governor Charlie Baker urging them to pass An Act to guarantee housing stability during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery. The bill is sponsored by 89 members of the state legislature, which is nearly half of its members. Proponents say it is the only way to head off an enormous wave of evictions when the current moratorium ends. The state’s eviction/foreclosure moratorium was enacted in April in response to the COVID-19 crisis; State Housing Court officials and landResidents at risk of eviction rally for housing stability in Boston on June 27. (Photo Courtesy of City Life/Vida Urbana) lord advocates predict up to 20,000 eviction cases as soon as it ends. The expiration of increased unemployment payments under the federal CARES Act on July 31 will put even more tenants at risk. With new data showing the disproportionate impact of evictions on Black people and communities of color in Massachusetts, and one million state residents still unemployed, the bill’s advocates warn that failure to pass it will exacerbate existing inequities, further entrench systemic racism, harm public health and do tremendous harm to the very areas that have been hardest hit by COVID-19. An Act to guarantee housing stability during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery was fi led by Representative Kevin Honan, who is the chairperson of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Housing, and Representative Mike Connolly in the House (HD.5166), and by Senator Pat Jehlen in the Senate (SD.2992). The bill includes provisions to protect renters from eviction for nonpayment related to COVID-19, to halt arbitrary “no fault” evictions and rent increases for 12 months, to prevent foreclosures and provide mortgage deferment options for homeowners and to stabilize landlords with particular emphasis on owner-occupant and small-scale property owners. The letter was organized by Homes For All Massachusetts, a statewide coalition of community and housing justice groups, and it was signed by over 220 organizations from across the state, including the Massachusetts AFLCIO, Massachusetts Communities Action Network, Western Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, Cambridge Health Alliance, Massachusetts Senior Action Council, SEIU State Council and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay releases Water Quality Report Card On Wednesday, July 22, the environmental advocacy organization Save the Harbor/Save the Bay released its annual Metropolitan Beaches Water Quality Report Card, using data from the 2019 beach season. In 2019 weekly water quality testing at Boston’s regional beaches began on May 23. Supplemental daily testing of Constitution Beach, King’s Beach, Malibu Beach, Tenean Beach and Wollaston Beach began on June 13. Testing concluded on September 1. The scores refl ect the percent of samples that complied with the single sample limit for bacteria of the state Department of Public Health (DPH) – the most straightforward way of evaluating beach water quality and potential impacts on human health. In 2019 the overall water quality safety rating for Boston Harbor’s regional beaches owned by the Commonwealth and managed by the state Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) was 88 percent, a decline from the previous year’s score of 94 percent. Changes in the intensity and frequency of summer storms often explain the variations seen on our beaches from year to year. These seasonal variations are why Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is reluctant to draw conclusions from a single year’s sampling results, preferring to rely on the multiyear average that is included in this report. Last year was one of the wettest years on record for Massachusetts, part of the wettest 12-month stretch in the state’s 124 years of record keeping. Some summer storms dropped The latest Water Quality Report Card from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay shows a safety rating of 88 percent for the state’s metropolitan beaches. (Photo Courtesy of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay) a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours. It was a summer of extremes, with July also being the hottest one on record, making beach accessibility even more critical to the region’s residents. In 2019 four of the region’s 15 public beaches (Carson Beach, M Street Beach, City Point Beach and Pleasure Bay, all in South Boston) achieved a perfect score of 100 percent, making them the cleanest urban beaches in the nation. Three area beaches (Nahant Beach, Constitution Beach in East Boston and Nantasket Beach in Hull) scored between 90 percent and 97 percent. Four area beaches (Short Beach in Revere and Winthrop, Revere Beach in Revere, Wollaston Beach in Quincy and Malibu Beach in Dorchester) scored between 83 percent and 88 percent, while four area beaches (Savin Hill Beach in Dorchester, Winthrop Beach in Winthrop, King’s Beach in Lynn and Swampscott and Tenean Beach in Dorchester) scored less than 80 percent in 2019. One critical weakness of the area beach posting and flagging program, in which bacteria testing triggers advisories, is that postings are always a day late because beach managers must wait 24 to 36 hours after a sample is collected to obtain test results. Beach water quality might have already changed significantly during this period, and the prior day’s test does not necessarily refl ect current conditions. In 2019, DPH made changes to the beach posting protocols, which resulted in 39 additional days when area beaches were incorrectly fl agged as unsafe for swimming, including over the Fourth of July weekend. While Save the Harbor/Save the Bay recognize the importance of protecting public health, the current system is severely fl awed and needs to be improved. Although Save the Harbor/Save the Bay had hoped to resolve this situation before the start of the 2020 beach season, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced public agencies, advocates and other stakeholders to – rightly – direct their attention and resources to other pressing public health concerns. As Save the Harbor continues to address the impacts of systemic racism that has too often prevented people of color from Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School. The legislation has also been endorsed by the four Roman Catholic Bishops of Massachusetts. 1. On July 24, 1911, American Hiram Bingham discovered what abandoned Incan city in Peru? 2. What do square, barn and lion have in common? 3. What “crab” is considered a “living fossil” because it originated 450 million years ago? 4. On July 25, 1917, what exotic dancer and alleged spy was sentenced by a French court to be executed by fi ring squad? 5. What color is cyan? 6. On July 26, 1992, the “Dream Team” of what U.S. sport played its first game at the Barcelona Olympics? 7. What comic pair’s theme song was “The Dance of the Cukoo”? 8. On July 27, 1940, the cartoon “A Wild Hare” was released, introducing what victim of Elmer J. Fudd? fully enjoying the benefi ts of our shared $5 billion investment in clean water, it is important to note that access to these urban beaches is particularly important to the region’s low-income and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) residents. Later this year and early next year, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will host three forums and a conference on the future of our public beaches, to help our community partners in waterfront neighborhoods and beachfront communities address systemic racism, sea level rise, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which threaten public health and safety. Working with their policy partners at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the state Department of Environmental Protection and DCR, Save the Harbor will also convene a public meeting of their Beaches Science Advisory Committee, to create a shared understanding and consensus among stakeholders and regulators on how to best address the inadequate and inaccurate posting protocols, to both protect public health and preserve public access to clean water. In the interim, instead of simply relying on postings and fl ags, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay urges beachgoers to also rely on common sense and the multiyear average included in this report to decide when and where it is safe to swim. And when you are on the beach, be sure to wear a mask and observe the guidance for social distancing – to protect yourself and your community from COVID-19. 9. What do Clark Kent, Oswald Chesterfi eld Cobblepot and Diana Prince have in common? 10. What are Texas, Memphis, Kansas City and the Carolinas well known for? 11. What two men had the lead roles in the 1980 fi lm “Stir Crazy”? 12. What is advisable to wear at Hawaii’s black sand beaches? 13. What game using colored balls did the Olympics only allow at its summer games in 1900 in Paris? 14. On July 28, 1866, Congress authorized the legal use of what measurement system? 15. What First Lady during the Inaugural Ball during the War of 1812 “set astir an Air of Expectancy” upon serving a large dome of ice cream? 16. On July 29, 1981, who married in front of an estimated 500 million TV viewers? 17. The Drake Passage connects what oceans? 18. What are the four strokes of competitive swimming? 19. What do harbor, Ross, Baikal and gray have in common? 20. On July 30, 1863, what American inventor/manufacturer was born who said, “If I’d listened to customers, I’d have given them a faster horse”? ANSWERS 1. Machu Picchu 2. They are types of dance. 3. The horseshoe crab, which is not a crustacean 4. Mata Hari 5. Greenish blue 6. Basketball 7. Laurel & Hardy 8. Bugs Bunny 9. They are “real” identifies of fi ctional characters (Superman, The Penguin and Wonder Woman). 10. Their barbecue styles 11. Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder 12. Shoes – black sand absorbs a lot of heat. 13. Croquet 14. Metric 15. Dolly Madison 16. Prince Charles and Lady Diana 17. Pacifi c and Atlantic 18. Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle (or front crawl) 19. They are types of seals. 20. Henry Ford

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