Introducing the first Outside the Bubble of this school year!
8th human case of EEE confirmed in Massachusetts, officials say
Recently, there has been a little bit of buzz regarding mosquitos and EEE (Eastern equine encephalitis) risk that they have wrought upon the state of Massachusetts. EEE is a serious illness that can lead to brain swelling, coma and death and unfortunately, Massachusetts has just confirmed its eighth victim. On Friday, a Bristol County man in his mid-fifties was announced to have been stricken with the illness, according to health officials. In response to the low-risk threat, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has been doing aerial spraying over large swaths of the state, which was recently announced via email to be descending upon Wellesley. Spraying has been taking place over the weekend and will continue into next week.
https://www.boston.com/news/health/2019/09/13/8th-human-case-eee-confirmed-massachusetts
MIT president knew about Jeffrey Epstein donations to Media Lab
Heaping onto the fallout from the news of Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to the MIT Media Lab, it was just revealed that MIT president L. Rafael Reif not only was aware of Epstein’s sizable donation to the institution, but also penned a personal thank you letter to the convicted sex offender for the contribution. Reif admitted that he had been in meetings with Epstein where donations were discussed. The president also said that MIT “could have and should have” done more in asking questions about Epstein’s donation and his connections to Joi Ito, MIT Media Lab’s former director who resigned after the news broke. Now, a number of MIT students are calling for Reif’s resignation.
https://www.cnet.com/news/mit-president-knew-about-those-jeffrey-epstein-donations/
Three ways Boston City Council is responding to fallout surrounding the ‘Straight Pride Parade’ protests
Boston City Council is currently discussing how to respond to the outcry over the “Straight Pride Parade” that took place in the city on August 31. The widely criticized event drew concern about Boston’s policing policies and public permitting process. There were 36 people arrested during the course of the day, and nine of them were charged with assaulting officers. So far, officials have floated the possibility of allowing exemptions to Boston’s mask ban, so that certain protesters cannot be prosecuted. Additionally, a potential resolution affirming support for the police has divided the city council, and may be subject to a public hearing, Another hearing is soon to be held on standard police procedure for dealing with huge crowds.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/09/12/boston-city-council-responding-straight-pride-parade-protests
