r/massachusetts

just awful news out of a local YMCA camp. closed for the week. have to wonder how they go about the rest of the summer. that poor family.

Register to vote by Aug 22 to be able to vote in the Sept 1 primary.

I had a weird experience recently (or maybe I’m overthinking this). I was at a cvs in Medford and this woman approached me with a bunch of sunflowers in her hand. She told me she bought them but only realized later that her dad is allergic so she was going to throw them away, but I could have them for free if I wanted. I said no and walked away but the whole thing seemed pretty sketchy to me. She was with a group of other people in the parking lot. When I was leaving from cvs I noticed her approaching some other people with the same story.

Am I overthinking that she (and her friends) were trying to lure people in to pull off a scam?

Massachusetts anti-hunger advocate fasts to protest Trump food stamp cuts

By Leah Douglas

August 16, 20267:04 AM EDTUpdated August 16, 2026

Massachusetts advocate Liz Wills-O'Gilvie, 63, who has not eaten for nearly two weeks in an effort to push Governor Maura Healey to increase funding for the state's shrinking food stamp program, poses for a portrait at her home in Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S., August 15, 2026. REUTERS/Amanda Sabga

WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Anti-hunger advocate Liz Wills-O'Gilvie, 63, said she has not eaten for 15 days in a bid to push Governor Maura Healey to raise funding for Massachusetts' shrinking food stamp program.

By consuming only water, electrolytes ‌and glucose pills, Wills-O'Gilvie, whom Healey last year appointed to an anti-hunger task force, aims to draw attention to rising food insecurity due to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

"I know what (hunger) looks and feels like," said Wills-O'Gilvie, who directs the Springfield Food Policy Council and the food justice organization Gardening the Community.

More than 5.3 million people across the U.S. ⁠have lost SNAP benefits since President Donald Trump made sweeping changes to the program in his 2025 tax and spending law, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Rising food insecurity coupled with higher grocery bills have strained low-income households across the U.S. ahead of the November midterm elections.

U.S. states have raced to implement the changes and some have tightened the SNAP application process to avoid new federal penalties associated with incorrect benefit calculations.

Massachusetts' Department of Transitional Assistance, which administers SNAP, said enrollment is down by nearly 182,000 people, including nearly 65,000 children.

DTA staff are overwhelmed and people are losing benefits because they ‌cannot reach ⁠caseworkers, said Wills-O'Gilvie, whom Healey appointed to a state Anti-Hunger Task Force created last July after Trump's law passed. Wills-O'Gilvie said she spoke last week with Healey, who told her she was working on the issue.

According to DTA data, the agency has seen a 9% rise in daily calls since last year, with ⁠about 47% unable to connect, up from about 37%.

A DTA spokesperson said the agency has hired 118 new caseworkers since the start of the year among other efforts to help people stay on SNAP.

"We will continue ⁠doing everything we can to make sure families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities have access to the food assistance they need," the spokesperson said.

Now unable to drive due to her fasting, ⁠Wills-O'Gilvie, who suffers from lupus and hypoglycemia, said she has also met with state legislators in her home.

"I can't let people down," said Wills-O'Gilvie, adding that she intends to forgo food indefinitely.

Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; editing by Timothy Gardner, Alexander Smith and Chizu Nomiyama

Hi MA, from across the pond.

I'm sharing a consumer beware blurb about a contractor who has recently taken residence in your great State.

Westley Hunt is a fugitive with a warrant in Ontario Canada and True Structural Construction is the most recent iteration of his construction scam. He has a lengthy record of unresolved debts in Ontario as a consequence of stolen deposits, unfinished work and unpaid wages. His prior companies named Oneway Construction or One Way Structural and Construction have extensive complaints issued against them and you can view Wes' Consumer Beware Listing on an Ontario government webpage. Additionally, if you reverse image search the photos any of these companies use as promotional material you will see they are not original. Do not engage.

Re: Oneway

https://www.bbb.org/ca/on/ottawa/profile/construction-services/oneway-construction-0117-57044/complaints

https://www.consumerbewarelist.mgs.gov.on.ca/en/CBL/businessdetail/4897df81-0a61-ed11-9562-0022483c5cdf

https://www.federalcorporation.ca/corporation/10358878 

^ Dissolution status of Oneway Construction due to non-compliance presumably of tax duties.

Re: True Structural Construction

https://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?sysvalue=1Zx2BBLR1xXtkL7_XxYlyG.f8r8_U6OpmoTO.S5zcfw- 

This is a copy of Westley's business registration.

My kid might be interested in going into one (or all) of these fields. She's going into 9th grade, so it could change before she graduates. I am a licensed cosmetologist but I was trained in Florida at Aveda Institutes over 20 years ago, so I have no experience with MA cosmetology schools. I'm also not working in the industry anymore. I have the mass.gov list of accredited schools already.

In FL, a Cosmetology license was considered a "full license" and I could have done manicures, pedicures, all hair services, hair removal on face, and basic facials. Is it the same here?

I am also interested in experiences of students or parents with any of the cosmetology/beauty schools in MA? I want to avoid schools with negative reputations in terms of cleanliness, rigorousness of the curriculum, students coming out unprepared, poor teaching methods, etc.

Thanks again. I know I'm early to it, but she loves doing nails and make-up and I knew at 14 what I wanted to do, so if she's interested in this, I want to support her.

I’ve lived here my whole life and it’s honestly sad driving the highways. Everywhere from Cape Cod to Boston is littered with trash on the side of the roads, you would think a garbage truck tipped over. I feel like it’s been increasingly worse recently as well. It’s just sad seeing this state get treated like people’s personal garbage can.

It was a very eye opening experience as I got older and started traveling to states like Arizona and California where the highways are spotless despite being much larger. Even traveling to New Hampshire or Vermont it’s like flipping a switch once you cross the border and you don’t see fast food bags and Dunkin cups on the sides of the road.