Fighting fire — and PFAS

Also: Task force frustrations; Saugus takes heat for controversial student policy [❤️ Donate]( [View in Browser](   August 16, 2024  🌤️ Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! Before you jump into the weekend like [these P-town dolphins]( let's get to the news: - Extinguishing PFAS: Massachusetts is officially moving to phase out [PFAS]( from firefighting gear. Gov. Maura Healey signed [a bill]( yesterday that will ban the sale of any firefighting jackets, pants, shoes, gloves and helmets that contain the cancer-linked chemicals, beginning in 2027. Rich Mackinnon, the president of the Professional Firefighters Association of Massachusetts, says it's the strongest law of its kind in the country. "This next generation of firefighters will save lives," Mackinnon said during a press conference. "Their lives will be saved. Their families will not have to go through the diagnosis, treatment, and unfortunate death of cancer that many of them have already faced in the fire service and are facing today." - Why is PFAS in firefighting gear in the first place? The chemicals are good at making surfaces repel water, oil and grease - which had made them a popular choice for protective clothing. (Not only firefighting gear, but also [certain rain jackets and leggings]( - How does the new law work? Starting Jan. 1, 2025, anyone selling firefighting gear in Massachusetts will be required to provide a written notice if their product contains PFAS. Then in 2027, the law ratchets up to a total ban on selling or distributing firefighting gear with "intentionally added PFAS." - By the numbers: According to the International Association of Firefighters, cancer accounted for nearly two thirds of firefighter deaths between 2002 and 2019. (Though firefighters are exposed to many carcinogens as part of the job, advocates say PFAS are an oft-overlooked and unnecessary risk.) - Go deeper: The PFAS bill's history at the State House dates back to early 2023. [Read more here about the people behind it.]( - Meanwhile on Beacon Hill: The State House had a sneaky productive day yesterday. During a lightly attended informal session, lawmakers also passed a bill aimed at expanding services for pregnant people, while addressing [racial inequities in maternal health](. - The maternal health bill was [one of many items legislators left unfinished]( at the end of formal sessions, but House and Senate negotiators kept working on a compromise over the past two weeks. (Apparently, [there wasn't much the two sides actually disagreed on]( The bill now heads to Healey's desk. - What does it do? The bill includes [a number of changes]( to make it easier to access midwives, doulas and postpartum depression screenings. It removes barriers to opening low-risk birthing centers. And it requires MassHealth to cover doula services for pregnant people and parents until their infants turn 1 year old. - Emerson College is laying off 10 staff members and suspending two programs due to a budget shortfall from a decline in enrollment. College officials said their Bright Lights Cinema Series and Engagement Lab are not returning in the upcoming semester. - Earlier this summer, Emerson President Jay Bernhardt partially [blamed the enrollment decline]( on negative publicity from pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its campus last spring. More than 100 students were arrested, when police [forcibly broke up one large encampment](. Bernhardt also said other factors - like [national trends]( and a FAFSA rollout delay - played a role. - New in town: After four years, Somerville has a new police chief. The city [chose Shumeane Benford]( lead the department. Benford currently serves in two roles for the City of Boston: chief of the Boston Housing Authority's Police Department and chief of Emergency Management. Officials say Benford is a lifelong Bostonian, but did have a "brief residency in Somerville." He starts work on Sept. 16. - Somerville's last permanent police chief retired in 2020, kicking off a slightly bumpy national search that included Mayor Katjana Ballantyne [rejecting a previous finalist for the job](. - Heads up: The MBTA is shutting down the Orange Line all the way between Wellington and Back Bay this weekend for signal work. - You know the drill: [Your alternative options]( are shuttle buses between Wellington and North Station, and the Green Line from there to Back Bay. The Haverhill commuter rail line will also be free from North Station to Oak Grove. - Psst: The T is also closing the middle of the Red Line - from Kendall/MIT to JFK/UMass - for a full week, [starting Monday](. P.S.- What's missing from a popular Allston bar? [Take our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of this week's stories. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters The Rundown [A big job on a tight deadline: Transportation Funding Task Force appears to get scaled back]( Gov. Maura Healey created the task force to deliver a detailed financial plan, but transportation officials appear to be scaling back expectations. [Read more.]( [A big job on a tight deadline: Transportation Funding Task Force appears to get scaled back]( Gov. Maura Healey created the task force to deliver a detailed financial plan, but transportation officials appear to be scaling back expectations. [Read more.]( [Saugus school policy creates 'undue burden' on immigrant families, groups allege]( Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children say the policy disproportionately impacts migrant families since the requirements could discourage them from enrolling in the district. [Read more.]( [Saugus school policy creates 'undue burden' on immigrant families, groups allege]( Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children say the policy disproportionately impacts migrant families since the requirements could discourage them from enrolling in the district. [Read more.]( [Harris unveils an economic plan focused on housing and grocery prices]( Vice President Harris is set to give the first major policy speech of her campaign: one where she will try to show she's focused on voter concerns about the cost of living. [Read more.]( [Harris unveils an economic plan focused on housing and grocery prices]( Vice President Harris is set to give the first major policy speech of her campaign: one where she will try to show she's focused on voter concerns about the cost of living. [Read more.]( [WHO declares 2024 mpox surge a 'public health emergency of international concern']( "What we're seeing is tip of the iceberg" because of weaknesses in the surveillance system, says Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO's emergency committee. [Read more.]( [WHO declares 2024 mpox surge a 'public health emergency of international concern']( "What we're seeing is tip of the iceberg" because of weaknesses in the surveillance system, says Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO's emergency committee. [Read more.]( [Tobacco agreement yields $600 million windfall for Mass.]( Roughly $600 million will flow into the Massachusetts General Fund this fiscal year from tobacco companies, the result of a new agreement Attorney General Andrea Campbell struck to resolve seven years worth of disputes stemming from payments owed under the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement. [Read more.]( [Tobacco agreement yields $600 million windfall for Mass.]( Roughly $600 million will flow into the Massachusetts General Fund this fiscal year from tobacco companies, the result of a new agreement Attorney General Andrea Campbell struck to resolve seven years worth of disputes stemming from payments owed under the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Researchers say they've tracked down the origins of Stonehenge's so-called "Altar Stone," the monolith at the center of one of the world's most mysterious monuments. Researchers say [its Stone Age journey could be proof of a high level of societal organization](. - Police have [arrested five people in connection with the ketamine-overdose death of "Friends" actor Matthew Perry]( last fall. - Here's [the latest on TikTok's effort to fight the law]( that could shutter the app's American operations - in as soon as four months. - Molly M. Schpero [writes in this essay for Cognoscenti]( that - no matter how old we are - the discomfort of learning to do basic dance steps with strangers is one way to become a kinder person. What We're Reading 📚 - Seventy Miles in Hell ([The Atlantic]( - Gymnastics And IOC Leadership Found A Way To Screw Over Everyone ([Defector]( - 'That's nice!': Four New England jingles we still can't get out of our heads ([The Boston Globe](   Tell Me Something Good [I tasted over 250 ice cream flavors in Greater Boston. Here are my favorites (Boston.com)]( After verifying my list, biking to over 50 ice cream originators, and tasting over 250 flavors, here are my favorites and what to order. [Read more.]( [I tasted over 250 ice cream flavors in Greater Boston. Here are my favorites (Boston.com)]( After verifying my list, biking to over 50 ice cream originators, and tasting over 250 flavors, here are my favorites and what to order. [Read more.]( Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [Time for another taste test?]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.](   [Donate](   # # Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences](.   I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.   Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here](. Trustees of Boston University on behalf of WBUR, 890 Commonwealth Ave Boston, MA, 02215, US Copyright 2024 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.