A 69-year-old man who police say suffers from memory impairment issues was reported missing from Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Rodney Riviello was last seen at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. He is believed to be on…
Massachusetts
After restoration, Massachusetts investigating 911 outage
The Massachusetts State 911 Department is still investigating what caused a statewide outage of the 911 emergency system for multiple hours Tuesday afternoon, officials said as they announced that residents could resume dialing 911 to report any emergencies.
The outage, which was first reported around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and was resolved by about 3:45 p.m., came as a dangerous heat wave settles in over Massachusetts and as Boston prepares to host a victory parade for the NBA champion Boston Celtics on Friday. While the system was down, people experiencing an emergency were urged to contact the direct line for their local police department, activate a firebox if one is in service near them, or go to the nearest police or fire station.
The State 911 Department said it would provide more information as it becomes available.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called attention to the outage early Tuesday afternoon at the beginning of her press conference with public safety officials to talk about this week’s extreme heat and Friday’s Celtics parade.
“Never a dull moment,” the mayor said. “And we just wanted to start actually with a notification that currently the statewide 911 system is down and calls are not going through. We’ve been in touch with the state and with all the relevant officials to work on getting this resolved.”
The outage also came up, albeit in an entirely different way, during the Mass. Department of Transportation board meeting taking place Tuesday afternoon.
“Are we getting hit by a tornado? I left my phone on the desk … Hopefully it’s not an alarm for the project,” MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said when his presentation on the Allston multimodal project was interrupted by at least one phone in the MassDOT board room going off with an alert about the 911 outage.
The State 911 Department exists within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and is funded through a $1.50-a-month fee on all devices that can access the 911 system, like cellphones.
“The Massachusetts statewide enhanced 911 system is one of the largest systems per capita in the United States. A person dialing 911 from anywhere in the Commonwealth is automatically connected to the Public Safety Answering Point handling emergencies in that area. The system provides the phone number and address of the telephone used to make the emergency call (wireline calls) or the phone number and approximate location of the caller (wireless calls), along with dispatching data for local police, fire and ambulance services,” the department wrote in its latest annual report. “PSAP personnel dispatch, either directly or indirectly, emergency response services based upon the needs of the caller.”
Hopkinton police searching for 2 women who offered young child a ride home
Police in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, are investigating an incident Tuesday afternoon where two women allegedly offered a young child a ride home.
Police said the incident took place around 2:40 p.m. at Hopkinton Common. A woman told police that her child was offered a ride home by two women who were traveling in a white vehicle, possibly a Toyota RAV4.
The child, who was taught by their mother not to speak with strangers, ran away and rejoined their friends.
Police said they are currently seeking any footage or photos from the area around the time of the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Gregg DeBoer at 508-497-3401.
Mass. inspector general calls for receivership at cannabis commission
Amid continued leadership turmoil at the Cannabis Control Commission, the state inspector general on Tuesday urged legislators to appoint a receiver to take over management of the state agency.
In the letter to legislative leaders, Jeffrey Sha…
Here’s how to keep cool and stay safe as dangerous heat blankets the region
While the hot weather is setting the scene for a solid beach day, you should know heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.
That’s why doctors say if you’re headed out on Wednesday, you should take breaks from being outside, do less intense activities, keep quick relief medicine handy and watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
While these tips apply to everyone, they especially do to sensitive groups, including people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children and teens.
It’s also important to know the signs of heat exhaustion — heavy sweating, cool and clammy skin, dizziness, nausea and muscle aches.
If you or someone you see has any of these symptoms, you should go to the emergency room immediately.
“The things you might see in other people and have a hard time recognizing in yourself that are big red flags are confusion… If you see someone who looks like they’ve been out in the sun too long and they are exhausted and confused, that’s someone who may be suffering from heat stroke and needs to come and see us in the emergency department,” said Dr. Luke Apisa of Massachusetts General Hospital.
Fourteen Boston Centers for Youth and Families community centers will serve as cooling stations on Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And some Boston Public Library locations are also available for people looking to escape the heat.
Celtics to celebrate 18th title with victory parade Friday: What to know before you go
Crews in Boston are busy planning and prepping more than two dozen duck boats for the Boston Celtics’ rolling rally on Friday – an event that’s expected to draw more than a million fans.
Meanwhile, the Celtics players have taken their trophy to Miami to relax for a few days, while the city of Boston prepares to celebrate them with that duck boat parade.
Luckily, we’ve had more than our fair share of these championship celebrations – like when the Celtics won back in 2008 – so the logistical plans are in place, they just need to be tweaked a little bit.
This week’s heat wave is delaying the festivities until Friday, as city officials urge fans to be prepared with extra water and sunscreen and to use the MBTA, buying tickets early to avoid waiting in long lines Friday morning.
The rolling rally is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. in front of TD Garden on Causeway Street, passing by City Hall Plaza, and then the Boston Common on Tremont Street – both of those locations will have misting centers to help keep fans cool – and then it will end on Boylston Street by the Hynes.
The entire parade is expected to be fairly quick – about 90 minutes – so hopefully fans aren’t out in the heat for too long.
