A gas pump burst into flames Tuesday after being hit by a vehicle in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood.
The crash happened at Alfa Auto Fuel on Washington Street.
Boston police say the driver of the SUV thought she put it in park, but accel…
Your Hometown Radio
by
A gas pump burst into flames Tuesday after being hit by a vehicle in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood.
The crash happened at Alfa Auto Fuel on Washington Street.
Boston police say the driver of the SUV thought she put it in park, but accel…
by
Many organizations across Massachusetts are in need of assistance, and one nonprofit in the Merrimack Valley says donations are depleting as a result of the rise in child poverty, homelessness and the arrivals of migrants to the region.
For almost 15 years, Catie’s Closet has helped 90,000 low-income students in schools all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“Catie’s Closet was created to solve a major problem and a barrier to education and that is access to clothing and basic necessities,” said CEO Mickey Cockrell.
She added that the organization’s SOS Urgent Response Program is experiencing unprecedented increase in special requests, especially since Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency last August amid the influx of migrants seeking shelter.
“Probably at the beginning of 2023, we were supporting around 50 to 100 kids in a month, and now, it would be more like weekly,” Cockrell said.
At one moment, Catie’s Closet had more than 1,000 children on the SOS Urgent Response waitlist and was unable to fill orders due to lack of funding.
“It’s tough to close your eyes at night knowing that there might be a child in need who is just wondering why they got the short end of the straw,” she said.
The International Institute of New England says it has recently served around 3,000 migrants.
“Specifically making sure all those clients are connected with public cash assistance, food stamps, TFDC,” said Caroline Rowe, managing director of IINE’s Lowell site.
She says organizations like Catie’s Closet are essential for the families she works with, especially since migrants are only getting around $530 a month.
“We cannot do refugee resettlement without a community and a network of organizations and other nonprofits, the schools, the health centers,” Rowe said.
The hope is to deliver special packages to the schools that requested them within 48 hours. Inside the customized bags, kids will find up to two weeks of clothing and other basic essentials.
Catie’s Closet says the best way to help is by donating on its website.
by
Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday nominated Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Judicial Court, elevating to the state’s highest court a longtime appellate judge who is also the governor’s former domest…
by
A man was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in a car-to-car shooting that left a man dead in Revere, Massachusetts, in the summer of 2019, prosecutors said.
Nelio Barbosa was shot in the neck while driving down North Shore Road near the Wo…
by
Police say a man stole a truck and crashed it last month in Bellingham, Massachusetts, fleeing before being arrested in Rhode Island.
A 23-year-old Ashland man whose name is being withheld was allegedly on drugs at the time of the incident on Jan. …
by
Have you ever tried to return a product that was recalled? If your experience was not easy, you are not alone.
Learning that a product you have at home is being recalled can be alarming. And hearing that all you have to do is contact the company to get a replacement or refund, makes it sound like a simple process. But, according to an analysis by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, of the 323 products that were recalled in 2023, only 47.9% of the companies made it easy for their customers to get a refund, 9.6% presented obstacles, and 42.5% made it very difficult or impossible to get any money back.
Teresa Murray is a consumer watchdog at U.S. PIRG.
“It’s clear that the recall process is not working in this country,” explained Murray. “Many companies, about half of them with refunds, don’t require you to return the product. They have other ways to verify that you own the product, but the ones that are trying to make it a pain for consumers actually require you to return it.”
In some cases, consumers are required to register their product online and then wait for further instructions.
“The companies are very vague about what is actually needed.”
U.S. PIRG also found that some companies won’t even issue a refund – only credits or vouchers toward another purchase. And in other cases, consumers are required to take costly steps to return a very cheap product.
“We found many, many cases of products that were like $2 to $3, $5, (to) $8 and that they (the companies) were requiring the products to be returned for — no other reason,” said Murray.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it’s estimated that only 6 to 10% of recalled products are returned or discarded.
“These products are recalled because they’re dangerous. And that means that they should not be used,” said Murray.
In a statement sent to U.S. PIRG, a CPSC spokesperson said, “In any recall, the primary goal is to get the defective or non-compliant product out of the hands of consumers. We take complaints about challenges with recall remedies seriously and work with companies to address those problems when we hear about them.”
The critical issue with all recalls is making sure you discard the product or get it repaired according to the recall requirements to make it safe.
“We really want regulators and lawmakers to look at this closely and figure out how to make our homes, our yards, our toys, everything a lot safer,” explained Murray.
The best site to check for any recalls is: https://www.recalls.gov
That’s a one-stop shop for us government recalls through six federal agencies.
You can get the latest recall information, report a dangerous product or learn important safety tips. And you can sign up to get CPSC, FDA, USDA and NHTA recall notifications sent to you. If you face problems trying to return or receive a refund for a recalled product, you can file a complaint by visiting the CPSC’s recall
WPKZ 105.3FM/1280AM
762 Water Street | Fitchburg, MA 01275 | 978.343.3766
EEO | FCC Quarterly Report | Contest Rules
© 2019 WPKZ | Website Development: Insight Dezign