Aidan Dunbar says he had a brush with death in May — as he rode his bike on Brookline Avenue in Boston.

“It was a real, you know, life flash before your eyes kind of thing,” Aidan said. 

A surveillance camera captured what happened: The driver of a parked car suddenly opens the door — knocking Aidan off his bike and onto the street.

“I was in complete shock because it happened so fast,” Aidan said. “I had my hand on the handlebar, and I started to try and brake and avoid it. So, my hand and the handlebar got crushed by the car door. I flew over the handlebars.” 

It happened to Charlie Philbrook, too, while he was riding through Kenmore Square last month.

“It was pretty scary,” Charlie said. 

His bike camera recorded a video of him being bashed by a car door.

“There was no time to react,” Charlie said. “Before I knew it, I was going over the handlebars. I didn’t know what I was going to hit. Was I going to hit another car? Was I going to hit the ground? I didn’t know. It just it was such a shock.”

Charlie suffered minor injuries.

“I had a pretty bad bruise and scrape here on the elbow and then here on the hip,” Charlie said. “My situation could have been a lot more serious.”

Aidan needed two surgeries to fix his hand. 

“I’m so undeniably lucky, and it should have been so much worse,” Aidan said.  

But other cyclists were not as lucky.

A woman was seriously injured in Dorchester. Police say she was struck by a car door and swerved toward a bus.

 And in Somerville, a man was killed.

“It’s incredibly serious. Anything that puts you into the roadway — knocks you off your bike in the roadway — you’re in incredible peril,” said Boston attorney Joshua Zisson. He says he has represented nearly 300 cyclists who were hit by car doors.

“When someone opens the door of their car without looking into the path or at a cyclist who’s riding by, that is specifically prohibited by Massachusetts law,” Joshua said. “I think that not enough people are aware of it, and it’s definitely not on the public’s radar.”

There’s a simple way to check for cyclists before opening a car door: Reach across your body and use your hand farthest from the door handle to open it — that makes you turn so you can look behind you and check the side mirror to make sure the coast is clear. (If you are a passenger in a car, you can also use your opposite hand to open the door and look behind you — to make sure there are no cyclists as well.)

Cyclists are calling for a better state-wide network of protected bike lanes with barriers that separate cars and bikes.

“There may be the need to remove travel lanes for vehicles in order to make people on bikes safe. But I think the flip side is that you are saving people’s lives, and there’s no cost too high to save somebody’s life,” said Galen Mook, Executive Director at MassBike, a nonprofit cycling advocacy group. 

Charlie and Aidan hope with awareness and safer bike lanes  — what happened to them won’t happen to others. And just as we interviewed Aidan, a car parked in an unprotected bike path. 

“This is why we need protected bike lanes,” Aidan said. “If it’s just a line on the ground, they’re going to drive over it. Unless you have an actual physical barrier there, this is what happens, and you can’t change the culture; you have to change the way the system’s built.” 

City officials in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and other communities tell us they’re committed to building more protected and connected bike lanes. 

If you have a tip or story idea email Tell7@whdh.com

For more information on those plans and cycling safety, here are some resources:

City of Boston: 

Information on the city’s bike network planning, projects in the works, and Vision Zero map.

For bike-friendly information and discounts on Bluebikes, check out the Boston Bikes website. 

The city says: Protected lanes include buffers between parked cars and bike lanes to create space for people on bicycles to ride far enough away from doors to avoid dooring. The city continues to expand its bike network so that 50% of residents will be a three-minute walk from a safe and connected bike route, prioritizing links with a history of safety incidents. When a protected bike lane isn’t available, riders should stay 3 to 5 feet away from car doors. It is legal to ride a bike in the travel lane and a rider should do so when necessary for safety.

City of Cambridge:

Cambridge passed the Cycling Safety Ordinance, which mandates the installation of 25 miles of separated bike lanes between 2020 and 2026. These lanes increase comfort for people biking by using a physical barrier or curb to separate them from vehicles. Here is where to find up-to-date information on the project: Projects – City of Cambridge, MA (cambridgema.gov)

The city recently released a Biking in Cambridge Data Report: Bicycling in Cambridge Data Report 2023 – Cambridge Massachusetts 

and an updated guide called “Street Code” with rules of the road: 2023streetcode.pdf (cambridgema.gov)

City of Somerville:

The city council approved a bike network plan in September. Additional information can be found here. 

Mass.gov’s guide: Eight Ways to Share the Road with Bicyclists 

The MA RMV’s driving manual  

Boston Cyclists Union

Livable Streets

The MA RMV says police can issue citations for opening a vehicle door and hitting a cyclist or pedestrian under Mass General Laws section 14, chapter 90. If a person is found responsible they could face up to a $100 fine and a license surcharge of two points. 

He wasn’t looking to sell, but was intrigued when a real estate company, MV Realty, offered him upfront cash in return for the promise that they could sell him home when the time was right.

“I was a bit skeptical,” he remembered.

After talking to some people and researching the company, he decided to take them up on the offer of $2,120 in exchange for the exclusive rights to list his home in the future.

“When I didn’t find anything, I thought why not?” he said.

He said he thinks he used the money to buy flights for the family and then didn’t think much of it after that.

What he didn’t know was that the company placed a lien on his property. Since Watts didn’t try to sell his home in the year since he signed with MV Realty, he said he was unaware his home had a lien on it until 7 Investigates reached out this fall.

“I don’t think they should be able to. I mean that’s ridiculous that you can put a lien on someone’s property without them being upfront and forthright about it,” Watts said.

7 Investigates has discovered MV Realty filed liens on hundreds of properties across Massachusetts between 2021-2022.

MV Realty is a real estate brokerage company that sells “Homeowner Benefit Agreements”, which promises homeowners cash up front in exchange for MV Realty being the listing broker when it’s time to sell the house. To ensure homeowners stick to the contract MV Realty places a lien on the property.

“I was furious and I was in shock,” said Crystal Doe,a former Rutland homeowner.

Doe found out about the lien on her Rutland property when she she went to sell her home in 2022.

She claimed she tried to work with MV Realty at first but its agents didn’t put any effort into selling the property.

“They would not release the lien They gave us a very, very hard time about it and honestly it was very, very painful to my entire family,” Doe recalled.

She had to pay $13,000 to MV Realty to get out of their agreement; a value she said was ten times more than the incentive she initially received from the company.

Jordana Greenman is a real estate attorney who worked with Doe and first discovered the lien.

“I said to myself , ‘What?’ They filed something with the registry of deeds because they are listing your house. I’ve never heard of that before,” Greenman said.

Greenman decided to alert the Massachusetts Attorney General Office to the situation. That decision led the office to investigate MV Realty and eventually file a lawsuit in December 2022. The lawsuit claimed MV Realty engaged in “unfair and deceptive business practices.”

“I was very surprised that this was actually happening under the nose of this state without anyone noticing for so long,” Greenman said.

In March 2023, a Massachusetts judge temporarily blocked MV Realty from doing business in the state; an action that removed the liens from hundreds of properties.

“All the people who hadn’t sold their houses, that’s gone. That mortgage is deemed void, so that’s exciting. It means being a part of change,” Greenman said.

MV Realty operates in more than 30 states and so far six other Attorney Generals have filed lawsuits against the company. The recent legal action in Massachusetts however still hasn’t helped homeowners like Doe who lost money to the company.

Doe and others might get justice through a bankruptcy case in Florida.

MV Realty filed for bankruptcy in September. In the last few weeks, homeowners in Massachusetts have started to receive letters alerting them of the bankruptcy.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office advises people who receive bankruptcy notices to contract a lawyer if they have questions and points them to https://dm.epiq11.com/case/mvrealtyholdings/info.

There is a December 1 deadline in the bankruptcy case for consumers to file claims.

Greenman said she hopes homeowners file claims and show up for the bankruptcy case.

“If everyone just sits back and is like, ‘OK, well I don’t have this problem anymore so I’m not going to follow up on it,’ that’s just letting it slide,” Greenman said

Parents and pros have been on edge after an incident on the ice led to player Adam Johnson’s death, after the skate of an opposing player slashed his neck.

Hockey mom Kelly Lima brought her son to pick up a cut-resistant neck guard after seeing what happened to Johnson.

“I feel like I don’t have to worry as much about his life,” Lima told 7NEWS as she and her son Julian browsed a hockey gear shop. “I hope that keeps him from being really severely injured.”

“After the incident, my whole team is wearing neck guards and we just came today to get one,” said Julian Lima.

Demand for neck guards is surging among professional and amateur athletes.

One manufacturer says their entire stock of guards sold out in 12 hours after Johnson’s death.

Their cut-resistant fabric is made from yarn that is 15x stronger than steel.

“Youth hockey players, those kids are on the ice a lot – their skates are going all over the place,” said Jason Olden, co-founder of Warroad. “Parents are going to have some say in what the leagues do.”

Currently, USA Hockey, which governs all amateur levels of the sport, only recommends neck guards, though some states have made them mandatory.

Massachusetts is not one of them, but high school officials are discussing the issue.

“We will reiterate the recommendations that are put forth in the rules that have been there since 2015, and then we will continue to talk about it with our committees throughout the school year,” said Richard Pearson, Associate Director of the MIAA.

Professional hockey organizations are considering a mandate as well.

Former Harvard hockey player and now Providence Bruins forward John Farinacci was one of the first to wear a neck guard in a game one day after Johnson’s fatal cut.

“We wear wrist guards and tendon guards and stuff like that, so I think a neck guard is obviously one of the most important things,” said Farinacci.

He added that he feels making neck guards necessary is the right thing to do for all ages.

“Especially at a young age, I think it can get a little reckless in youth hockey,” he said. “Kids can’t control their bodies as much as us older guys. I think it’s something getting used to at a young age will help a lot of guys going forward.”

“I typically don’t pick up an unknown number but for some reason I did and it was the voice of my daughter,” he recalled. “And she said, ‘Dad, I’m in jail.”

Frank, who chose not to share his last name, said he instantly recognized the voice as his daughter.

“It was so real. I mean it was unbelievably real. It was my daughter’s voice,” he said.

The caller told him she had got into a car accident involving a pregnant woman and needed bail money.

“We’re on a retired income and I’m like, ‘Where am I going to come up with $12,500?’ So, I’m in a panic,” Frank said.

He was so panicked that he drove to the bank to pull out the cash. He said he was just about to get the money when he heard from his daughter.

“Then it hit me. It was a scam,” Frank said.

While it was his daughter’s voice he heard, it wasn’t actually her; it was part of a scheme by someone using artificial intelligence voice cloning.

“It was very traumatizing because you never expect to hear something like that in a phone call,” Frank said.

Officials have started warning consumers that calls like this are increasing as the technology becomes easier to use. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an alert earlier this year warning that scammers are able to clone people’s voices using short audio clips taken from videos posted online. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Scamtracker reports more than 200 complaints related to AI this year. The BBB published it’s own advice to help consumers distinguish what is real from what is fake.

Macfee, a global computer software company, conducted a survey this year and found people have lost between $500 to $15,000 on AI voice cloning attacks.

“These messages are the latest examples of targeted “spear phishing” attacks, which target specific people with specific information that seems just credible enough to act on it. Cybercriminals will often source this information from public social media profiles and other places online where people post about themselves, their families, their travels, and so on—and then attempt to cash in,” Macfee reported.

Margrit Betke, is one of the leaders at Boston University’s Artificial Intelligence Research initiative.

Her research has involved using AI to help people with motion disabilities but she is concerned that as the technology becomes more readily available, its misuse will increase.

“It can be very dangerous because you could make people say outrageous things and people might believe it,” she said.

Betke said in addition to people using the technology to take money from people, she is also worried about its use on social media and during political campaigns.

“It’s so easy now to switch around from legitimate uses of AI to something you shouldn’t be doing just because you can create these embeddings so easily.” Betke said.

She said in the past people needed hours of someone’s voice before they were able to clone it, now only seconds are required. Less work also means the technology is easier for anyone to use.

“I think it’s really worrisome that it’s so easy now for anybody to just generate videos and voices of existing people,” Betke said.

She believes there needs to be regulations to better monitor the use of voice cloning and other AI technology. President Biden recently issued an executive order aimed at increasing how AI is monitored and regulated. Part of the order includes establishing guidance for adding watermarks to AI generated content.

Frank said he reported his case to the local police but since he luckily didn’t lose any money there wasn’t anything they could do.

He said his family is still shaken up from the incident and created a protocol going forward so they can quickly verify if the person on the other end is actually one of their family members.

The FTC also recommends people immediately call the person who claims to be in danger to verify the situation. Another piece of advice is for families to create a code word to use if there really is an emergency so they can detect if it is actually their family member. Experts also recommend you make your social media private so people can’t pull audio of you from your online profiles and use it against you.

After years of pharmacies slashing hours, shuttering stories and cutting staff, patients are starting to get impacted.

Viewers told 7 Investigates that their pharmacies have randomly been closed, prescriptions have taken weeks to get filled and vaccination appointments were suddenly canceled.

“It’s not fair to the patients certainly and it’s not fair to the pharmacist,” said Joanne Doyle, the secretary of the Massachusetts Pharmacy Association.

Doyle has been a pharmacist for over 25 years. She said she’s heard of the challenges patients are facing. She isn’t surprised because the long wait times are a symptom of a much larger problem that has been mounting in the industry for years.

“Twenty years ago we would have had more staffing for certain areas and especially since COVID-19, the staffing has really dropped off and made it really challenging for a lot of pharmacists,” Doyle said.

The decrease in staff came at the same time many pharmacies reduced hours and locations, leaving more work for less staff.

“Hours were dwindling. More work was being handed out and it got very stressful to the point where I ended up having a nervous breakdown at work,” confessed Melissa Gordon, a Massachusetts pharmacy technician.

After working 16 years in retail pharmacy, Gordon left in October 2020 due to the increasing demands and concerns for patient safety.

“You have a bunch of brand new people and a bunch of really tired, broken people and it’s a recipe for disaster,” she said.

Gordon said she would catch mistakes in patients’ prescriptions a decade ago, but during the last few years of working in retail pharmacy the mistakes started increasing.

“We had the time and the care and the attention to do our jobs properly. Now it’s just I hope I don’t kill anyone today and that’s just absolutely terrifying,” Gordon said.

She said the increased demands paired with a diminishing workforce meant fewer opportunities to catch errors.

“These little things that are human error are now multiple because you have one person doing everything,” she said.

7 Investigates found multiple pharmacies were reprimanded by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy. The Board found multiple issues at sites that could have had a big impact. Many of the issues related to pharmacy technicians working and administering vaccines without an active license. The Board also found pharmacies were randomly closed and “failed to provide adequate continuity of care” and even processed a prescription wrong.

Gordon is now a pharmacy technician with a hospital system and said she believes the conditions in the retail pharmacy realm have only gotten worse since she left in 2020.

“It’s not just Massachusetts, it’s not just New England; it’s everywhere,” Gordon said.

Doyle agreed and said pharmacists nationwide are “at their breaking point.”

More than 90% of pharmacists surveyed in California stated that they did not believe their staffing was appropriate to ensure adequate patient care, according to a 2021 survey from the California Board of Pharmacy.

The industry-wide problems have been in the national spotlight recently as retail pharmacists associated with major drugstore chains have walked out in protest.

“They are afraid they are hurting the patients. They are afraid they can’t do their jobs. They are trying to save lives, they are trying to better lives and the strikes are about that,” Gordon said.

Massachusetts has lost 60 pharmacies in the last decade, according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services.

“It’s not surprising why it’s occurring. It’s occurring because of under reimbursements to pharmacies. You can’t continue to stay in business if you are losing money when you dispense prescriptions to patients,” said Seth Freedman, the pharmacy manager at Gary Drug in Beacon Hill.

Improving support and resources for pharmacies is a multifaceted issue, but both Freedman and Doyle point to the impact of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). PBMs work between pharmacies, drug manufacturers and insurance agencies to set reimbursement rates for pharmacies. These rates hit independent pharmacies particularly hard.

Nationwide, 41% of independent community pharmacies said their business’ financial health was poor or somewhat poor in a 2021 National Community Pharmacist Association survey.

Freedman said state lawmakers could take action to help pharmacies.

“If the state of Massachusetts would enact certain bills then I think that would better serve patients and better serve pharmacists in the region,” he said. A bill is currently in the statehouse that would increase transparency in the pharmaceutical industry; a measure if approved would begin to allow lawmakers to rein in excessive costs. The bill would also add some restrictions to PBMs.

Freedman said he believes workforce challenges could also be helped if pharmacies were better reimbursed.

Other states like Virginia and Ohio have proposed or passed changes to improve working conditions. Some of these changes include eliminating production quotas and efforts to enforce adequate staffing ratios.

Doyle said if changes don’t start, pharmacies will not have enough people in the future.

As pharmacists, lawmakers and companies come together, Doyle recommended patients have a little patience. Pharmacists recommend ordering prescriptions at least a week before you run out and trying to make vaccination appointments in person instead of online.

Dead baby chickens. Loose chicks. Smashed boxes. 7 Investigates is told this is how some young birds arrive at Logan Airport after being shipped by hatcheries.

“It takes my breath away,” an anonymous tipster said. 

The man, who works at Logan but doesn’t want to be identified, says he started documenting what he says are shocking and heartbreaking deliveries.  

A box labeled “live birds” is smashed under a larger box.

Boxes appear to have been tossed around.  

A box is filled with dead chicks.

“You never know what you’re gonna see when you open up the door. It’s almost like you gasp,” the tipster said.  

How can this happen?

The U.S. Postal Service allows day-old chickens to be shipped in ventilated boxes that are securely fastened.

But an animal expert says it doesn’t appear these birds were handled with care.

“They’re not being treated as the living animals that they are,” said Professor Kristen A. Stilt, faculty director of the Brooks McCormick, Jr., Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. 

One hatchery co-owner tells 7 Investigates that while situations like this are disturbing, they’re rare.

“It’s not all systemic scale of like failures. Accidents happen at all times in everything, but we do expect a little bit higher treatment for a live animal,” said Thomas Watkins, president and co-owner of a hatchery. 

Watkins ships his baby chicks from Iowa to Massachusetts and works with the U.S. Postal Service to implement safe practices.

“It’s really hard because, at the end of the day, it’s someone who failed to do something properly,” Watkins said. 

We showed the pictures to the U.S. Postal Service.

A spokesperson said: claims for damaged shipments are investigated on a case-by-case basis.

“I want to see more oversight when it comes to the shipping of live animals,” the tipster said. “It would make me feel like I made a difference.”

Hatcheries tell us that a very low percentage of chickens shipped by plane arrive dead, and some die from natural causes.  But some animal welfare advocates say chickens shouldn’t be shipped at all. 

This story started with a tip. 

If you have a tip or story idea, email Tell7@whdh.com 

“You can really kind of feel the tension,” said Harvard University Freshman Charlie Covit.

As the war in Israel rages, fear is building here at home.

“We have tracked 400 or so rallies around the country and especially after the first few days after the massacre, it was celebration, glorification and legitimizing Hamas brutality,” said Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL of the Center on Extremism.

The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, located in Manhattan, is working around the clock to track and intercept threats. They say college campuses have been hotspots since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

“Student groups and individuals have really, to a shocking degree, adulated, praised what Hamas has done,” said Jonah Steinberg, Rabbi and Dr. Regional Director of ADL New New England.

One of those student groups protesting on Harvard University’s campus is blaming Israel for the violence. That has Jewish students on edge.

“For the last week, me and my friends are all staying together,” said Maya Shiloni, a Harvard student from Israel. “We’re scared to walk alone. We are not walking alone at night.”

ADL leaders tell 7 Investigates antisemitism has been on the rise in Boston over the last several years along with growing white supremacist activity.

“We are seeing specific threats to Jewish institutions. We are seeing incidents of bullying in schools,” Steinberg said. 

What is happening in Boston is a nationwide trend, one that is being tracked in New York City at the ADL Headquarters

“Not surprisingly, large states with large populations, New York, California, Massachusetts,” Segal said. “We are just in a very sensitive time.”

The ADL Center on Extremism is the central hub for tracking hate groups and their movements. 

A team of cyber investigators have embedded themselves deep inside the dark waters of the internet watching, listening and disrupting any potential threats.

“We have saved over 200 years of human time that would have otherwise had to be spent listening to that,” Segal said.

They’ve developed technology that helps them sift through millions of social media posts in a matter of seconds. Antisemitic activity is reported to authorities.

“It’s because we know violence is never far behind,” Segal said. “So, the more that we can spend time in places that most Americans are not in, the more we can provide an early warning sign to law enforcement.”

In 2022, the Center on Extremism informed law enforcement of nearly 1,800 threats.

“People have heard of Pittsburgh and Poway and Charleston,” Segal said. “But there are dozens of other cities that people will never hear about.”

They have also seen a rise in threats against the Muslim community, as well.

“We recognize that, in order to combat antisemitism, we also must fight anti-Muslim bigotry and misogyny and racism and all forms of hate,” Segal said. “This is our mission. This is what we do.”

The ADL says that the rhetoric they are seeing will get worse before it gets better. They say it is important for all of us to call out hate speech when we see it to prevent it from brewing into acts of violence. 

But that’s not happening in some Massachusetts communities and the results have been deadly.   

Former train engineer Mark Layman has never forgotten one fateful October night 24 years ago. 

Layman was pulling into the Beverly Depot when, out of nowhere, a 17-year-old tried to cross the tracks. 

“He came from behind another train and walked right in front of me,” Layman said. 

Layman’s train hit and killed the teen.

“I have my own kids,” Layman recently said. “If something like that happened to them, I don’t know how I would — I live with that to this day.”

The Beverly Depot is one of 25 state-recognized “quiet zones” where train engineers are not allowed to sound the train horn. 

“I firmly believe to this day, if there was a horned crossing, he would have known there was a train coming in,” Layman said.

Any city or town can petition the Federal Railroad Administration to create a quiet zone. 

If approved, automatic warning devices like flashing lights and gates must be installed. 

“There’s a huge process,” MBTA Chief Safety Officer Tim Lesniak said at a recent meeting.

But the Beverly Depot doesn’t have any of those safety measures. The FRA tells 7 Investigates that train stations are exempt from the rules. That has people who ride the train concerned.

“They’ll see the train coming but they will run across,” said Charles Case. “You don’t know how fast that train is going.”

“People don’t pay attention,” said Matthew Arlington.

The Beverly Depot is among the 20 most “problematic” stations cited by an internal MBTA safety group. 

At least 10 people were hit by trains at the depot between 2010 and 2019. Half of them were killed, including Emerson College Professor Moses Shumow. 

“He rode to the station and he was struck and killed at a pedestrian at-grade crossing,” said Peter Brown, the founder of Brown Legal.

Shumow was Brown’s best friend. 

“There shouldn’t be any quiet zones out there that don’t have gates, that don’t have gate skirts, that don’t have crosswalks, that don’t have audio and visual warnings,” Brown said.

Brown has filed a lawsuit against the MBTA to make quiet zones safer. He believes a horn should be sounded if a pedestrian crossing has no gates or lights. 

“To have it not protected like they should have, then they’ve gone and they’ve made the decision, the choice, to not go and sound the horn,” Brown said.

The MBTA says they are following the law. 

In a motion to dismiss the case, the agency claims engineers have the option to sound their horn or ring the train’s bell as they approach a Commuter Rail station. 

When 7 Investigates was at the station, we couldn’t hear the bell until the train was already at the platform. 

And while the bell sound wasn’t clear to us, some residents of Beverly are very clear about what they want. 

“Wood that goes up and down, or a light — red and green — something of that nature,” said Susan Loudervack.

“To have some success here, to have the MBTA make an effort to do something would mean the world,” Layman said.

The MBTA recommends pedestrians and bicyclists look both ways before crossing railroad tracks and remove headphones to hear trains approach. 

7 Investigates found he’s not alone in what some drivers say is a parking problem.

Brayden Waterman thought he scored the perfect parking spot in a busy Boston neighborhood.  

“Yep, right here, here’s where I parked,” Brayden said.

He paid $63 to park that night through SpotHero, an app that helps people find privately owned parking spots that are available for short-term use.

“It was very clear as to where the spot was,” Brayden said.

The app guided him with specific instructions to this spot, tucked away behind a condo complex, with one requirement.

“It’s gonna be towed if you don’t park inside the lines, which I did,” Brayden said.

“I was very frustrated, I was very mad, I was very scared,” he said. “I don’t know if I would be able to get back home.”

7 Investigates discovered that Brayden isn’t alone. Even though SpotHero is highly rated overall, complaints can be found on the Better Business Bureau website and the SpotHero app.

Some of the comments said their car got towed, the spot sold doesn’t exist or customers were sold a pass that wasn’t accepted by the garage.

We asked SpotHero about these issues. 

“We don’t see that a lot,” said Chris Stevens, the chief marketing officer of SpotHero. “When you’re buying most places on SpotHero, you’re dealing with reputable businesses that have been in business for a long time.”

SpotHero works by allowing people or businesses to rent out their parking spaces through the app. Think of it as the Airbnb for parking.

“For people using your app going to an event, what would you say the chances are that when they come back, their car was still be there?” 7’s Dave Puglisi asked.

“I’d say that’s a pretty damn good bet that that’s gonna be the case,” Stevens said.

In Brayden’s case, SpotHero refunded the parking fee but not the extra $150 for the tow. They claimed he parked in the wrong place.

But 7 Investigates proved he parked in the right spot, so the company offered to refund his tow.

“I wish we had taken a closer look at that receipt the first time,” Stevens said. “The facts were to the advantage of the customer.”

SpotHero said the likely cause of Brayden’s tow was a miscommunication between the parking spot owner and the tow company patrolling the lot.

If the company notices a trend of bad activity with a particular spot, they will remove it from the app.

7 Investigates found elevator emergencies are cause for concern across the city. 

“It’s been going on for so long. It’s not like a today thing or a yesterday thing, it’s been a long term thing,” said Lisandre Montes.

Montes lives on the fifth floor of the Ruth Lillian Barkley building in the South End. 

For more than two weeks, the building’s elevator was out of order. 

Montes is confined to a wheelchair. So, without a working elevator, she can’t leave her apartment.

“I see it as a disrespect to those who are in need because they’re thinking of themselves but they’re not thinking of those who really need it,” Montes said. 

Bob Burress, who is also disabled, feels his home is now a prison.

“This has been very challenging,” he said. “…I just try to deal with my day and take it one day at a time.”

Burress’ day was interrupted on Sept. 14 when the elevator stopped working.

The Boston Housing Authority (BHA), which manages the building, said they couldn’t get the elevator fixed until Sept. 28. 

“This is not a game,” Montes said. “There’s other people that can just run the stairs, but what happens to those like myself and my neighbor that can’t?” 

7 Investigates found the elevator didn’t pass its inspection in October, 2022. 

The elevator phone was broken and there were concerns that the doors wouldn’t properly close during a fire. The Boston Housing Authority says both issues have been fixed, although the doors still need to be reinspected. 

One disability advocate says the 33-year-old elevator has a long history of problems. 

“I have documentation of at least 41 times the elevator has been down since January 1 of this year,” said advocate Dawn Oates.

7 Investigates also found the state has been investigating the 22-unit complex, calling the elevator issue a “life-safety hazard.”

“It’s a civil right,” said Bill Henning, the director of the Boston Center of Independent Living. “It’s required under federal fair housing law — state fair housing. It’s also a health issue. It’s an integrity issue.”

Boston’s city council president says elevator issues in other public housing buildings also need to be addressed.

“It’s a problem throughout the BHA development,” said City Council President Ed Flynn. 

“We must provide them with a safe elevator system that works,” Flynn said.

The Boston Housing Authority tells 7 Investigates that a lack of federal funding has hampered its ability to make repairs.   

“If they knew what it was like, then they would probably find the resources to help,” Burress said. 

The BHA has made $100,000 available for short-term repairs at the Ruth Barkley development and plans to either upgrade or replace the elevator over the next few years.

“It would really mean the world to me if I had an elevator that would work,” Montes said. “Then, I could just go out for a couple of hours and have the knowledge that I can come right back up.” 

The city of Boston says they will be working with the BHA to find out how many elevators need to be fixed and the amount of funding it is going to take to fix the elevators to ensure every Bostonian has the quality of life they deserve. 

7 Investigates found recent rainfall is making the threat posed by radon even worse.

“My situation could be anyone’s situation,” said Lindi Campbell, a lung cancer survivor.

Campbell was stunned when she found out her childhood bedroom in her parents’ basement may have made her sick.  

“We played down there,” she said. “We watched TV down there.”

Years after moving out, Campbell was diagnosed with lung cancer. She had never smoked.

She had the bedroom tested for radon, a naturally occurring odorless and colorless gas that forms when uranium in rock and soil break down. The gas seeps into the lower levels of homes through foundations.

“That exact room tested 21.6 picocuries which is the toxicity level equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes a day,” Campbell said.

7 Investigates found one in four Massachusetts homes has high radon levels.

Experts warn recent heavy rains may have made the problem worse.  

“If you have a high level of humidity and heavy rains, that can tend to increase radon levels,” said Morgan Cohen, the owner of MKC Associates Home Inspection

Cohen is a certified radon tester. He said homeowners should check for radon every two years or immediately if the land around their home has changed. 

“If they repave the road, put in a new water line, put in a new gas line, something like that is going to potentially affect how radon moves through the ground and it might affect how it gets into your home,” Cohen said. 

Cohen said winter weather also impacts radon levels.

“In the wintertime, you have all your doors and windows closed, you’re going to have more air trapped in your home so, you’re going to have more potential for radon exposure,” Cohen said.

The EPA says any home with radon levels more than four picocuries per liter should install radon mitigation systems.

“That’s typically done by putting a PVC pipe through the floor in the basement and running it up typically outside the home,” Cohen said.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health believes the average Massachusetts home has 3.2 picocuries of radon.

Homes in Worcester, Middlesex and Essex County have the highest chance of dangerous radon levels.

“You don’t know it’s there,” Cohen said. “You don’t feel it. The only way to know is to test if it’s there.”

Whether your home is new or old or was designed to resist radon, the gas can still seep in. Keeping it in check can save a life.

“It’s too late for me,” Campbell said. “That exposure happened.”

“It’s time that you do something to protect the people where it’s not too late,” Campbell continued.

Radon testing can be done through a licensed specialist or on your own. If you choose to do it yourself, make sure you are following all of the proper protocols to ensure you are getting the most accurate test results.

Experts say tests should run for 48 hours but, the longer the test is, the more accurate the results will be.

7 Investigates recently got a look at how one local city is cracking down on drivers who speed through school zones. 

“My heart sank and I ran out of the house,” said Peabody parent Elizabeth Mover in an interview. 

Mover’s son, Ben, was struck by a car on the way to school last year. 

“He did everything right,” she said. “And a car unfortunately ran the red light and hit him while he was on his bike.”

Ben is going to be OK. Now, his mother is on a mission to protect other children.

“It sparked a fire in me that I was just angry that nothing was happening to these people who were violating the rules of the road,” Mover said.

“When you think someone’s going to get hit right in front of you, it’s pretty terrifying,” said Kathleen Kraemer, a school bus instructor and safety officer for Healey Bus.

Officials speaking with 7NEWS said bus drivers are shocked by what they see on the road. 

“They’re not paying attention to those big yellow school buses with those flashing lights,” said Lisa Connors, the director of transportation for the Peabody Public Schools. 

“They will go to the right side, going through the left side, not stopping, speeding,” said Healey Bus Safety Manager and Assistant Operations Manager Clair McNair. 

While the state has fines in place for those who illegally pass buses,experts say it’s nearly impossible to catch a driver unless an officer sees the incident happen.

“There’s really no consequences unless it’s something really tragic,” Connors said. 

Peabody mother Maria Scheri hopes an initiative she launched will change the situation. 

“I don’t think people really realize the extent of this happening,” she said. 

Working with the mayor’s office and a company called “Bus Patrol,” Scheri got safety cameras installed on the outside of 10 public school buses. 

The cameras developed by Bus Patrol can detect if a car is passing a bus when its stop signs have been deployed. 

The cameras record the incident and grab the driver’s license plate number. 

“This type of enforcement, I think it will really help and other states are seeing that they’re getting almost a 98% reduction in repeat violations,” Scheri said.

The buses equipped with cameras have three on the side, capturing motion on the front and back of the vehicle, as well as another camera right on the back of the bus. 

All the cameras gather information that gets sent directly to Bus Patrol.

“We’re going to be able to recognize some trouble spots, areas of concern and then be able to utilize that data to try to push it forward,” said Peabody Mayor Edward Bettencourt.

Until a law is passed, the city can’t hand out fines to drivers caught on camera. 

But the city hopes the cameras will make people think twice before they try to pass. 

“Once the word gets out that we do have the cameras on the outside of the buses watching the cars and something can be done, that’s such a huge relief for us,” Connors said.

The cameras will be on the buses in Peabody for the rest of the school year. 

Organizers will then be using information they gather to try to push for more change.

But, in some Massachusetts communities, residents and officials have one nerve-wracking thought: Will the dam hold?

7 Investigates found some dams could pose an immediate danger. 

As torrential rain floods out local neighborhoods, climate experts say the kinds of storms that produce such rain are becoming more common. 

“The rainstorms are now more intense,” said Christine Hatch, a climate sciences processor at UMass Amherst. “There’s more rain per hour. There’s more rain per storm.”

That means more stress on aging dams across the state. 

There are more than 1,300 dams in Massachusetts. 7 Investigates has learned 329 of those are classified as high risk, meaning they could cause significant damage to homes and businesses if they fail. Thirty-one dams are rated as poor or unsatisfactory by the state’s Office of Dam Safety, including the Hager Pond Dam in Marlboro. 

“It’s in disrepair,” said Marlboro Mayor Arthur Vigeant. 

Vigeant said the dam needs immediate attention.

“The dam has held up at this point, but we cross our fingers every time we get one of those storms,” Vigeant said.

If the Hager Pond Dam fails, it could damage homes and businesses in Sudbury.

One of those businesses is a historic grist mill. Recently, 7’s Dave Puglisi talked with owners of the Wayside Inn who own the mill. They said they are concerned that, if the Hager Pond Dam goes, their business would be destroyed.

“It would be terrible because a lot of people come here to take pictures and have memories here,” said Caio Connors of Framingham.

People in East Bridgewater recently felt the effects of what happens when a dam is breached.

Homes saw water rise up to their foundations after a wave of water overwhelmed the Stump Pond Dam.

Stan Cravits owns the dam. He says someone upstream released hundreds of gallons of water without warning him. The wave of water overpowered his dam. 

“It was coming in at such a fast rate, we couldn’t let it go fast enough,” Cravits said.

Cravits has already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

“We are going to do another emergency spillway so, if that ever happens again, we will be prepared for it,” he said.

The Office of Dam Safety tells 7 Investigates that engineers inspect high risk dams every two years to look for potential hazards.

“It’s really prudent of us to go look at the structures now to see if we can improve the resiliency of some of those,” Hatch said.

Several state organizations have invested more than $75 million to repair, replace or destroy problem dams over the past nine years

Recently the 176-year-old Lake Boon Dam in Stow received $1 million for emergency repairs.

“I think the right decision is to do it right once and for all,” said Lake Boon Rehab Project Manager Bruce Fletcher. “Do a complete rehab and not ever have to worry about it again.”

So why hasn’t the Hager Pond Dam been repaired yet? 

That’s because no one knows who owns it. The mayor says there has been a lot of finger pointing at who is going to foot the bill.

They hope the cleanup that has been done around the dam will be enough to keep it intact for now.

7 Investigates recently spoke to local doctors and patients who are sounding the alarm.

For years, Alice Moon struggled with stomach pain. Among symptoms, she said she also experienced episodes of violent vomiting. 

“They became more frequent where it was once a week. Then it became almost every day,” Moon said.

After being misdiagnosed for two years, a doctor told Moon she may have Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS).

“All signs pointed to THC and CBD,” Moon said, referencing substances found in cannabis. 

CHS is a condition that affects some people who use cannabis over a long period of time. It causes the receptors in the brain and the gut to change, resulting in nausea and vomiting.

“The more cannabis use, the more and more nausea and vomiting you get,” said Dr. Sushrut Jangi, a gastroenterologist at Tufts Medical Center

Jangi and other doctors at Tufts Medical Center noticed a rise in cases of CHS. They began a study of patients admitted to the hospital from 2012 to 2021. They found that hospitalizations for CHS more than doubled after the state legalized cannabis products in 2016.     

A lot of patients, Jangi said, are younger college students.

“It’s a difficult diagnosis to make because the symptoms are very common — belly pain,” Jangi said. “It can be vague, nausea, vomiting that comes and goes. You have to make sure it’s not something else.”

The symptoms usually appear after more than a year of heavy cannabis use.

Speaking to 7’s Dave Puglisi, Moon said she does not want anybody to be afraid of their consumption. 

“I just want them to be aware of the potential side effects that could occur,” she said.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Board also wants consumers to be aware of potential side effects, with a spokesperson telling 7Investigates marijuana products in the state must carry a warning label that reads in part “This product has not been analyzed or approved by the FDA.”

“There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks,” the required warning label continues. 

One day, Moon hopes the labels will specifically warn about CHS.

“A lot of people don’t believe that cannabis can cause these symptoms,” she said. “…We need awareness about this condition.

Jangi said cases of CHS are up nationwide. 

At Tufts, officials are working to expand their research to the rest of the state and beyond.

Jangi believes more studies are needed to determine all the health risks associated with marijuana use.

7 Investigates took their concerns to MassWildlife and got some answers. 

With coyotes crossing through yards, sleeping on front lawns and prowling through neighborhoods, coyote advocate Selin Nacar said things “should never have got to the point where they are now.” 

Photos show one coyote who experts say has a sickly appearance caused by mange, a condition caused by parasitic mites burrowing under the animal’s skin. The condition causes severe pain.   

“It’s something that should be taken care of,” Nacar said. “ At this point, the whole pack could have it.”

For weeks, residents near Atlantic Avenue in Plymouth say they’ve alerted MassWildlife and other wildlife rehabbers to help the coyotes before they spread the disease.

“Someone’s pet could eventually get it,” Nacar said. 

7’s Dave Puglisi has recently been talking to residents along Holmes Terrace in Plymouth. They say they’ve seen the coyotes for the last couple of months walking up and down the street. 

At one home, the coyotes have actually been living underneath the porch. 

MassWildlife told 7 Investigates they are aware of at least one coyote with mange in the neighborhood. But there could be more.

“It’s not that we don’t want to help the animal, but some of the methods to try to help the animal have the potential to further spread mange in the population or poison other wildlife,” said MassWildlife Black Bear and Fur Bear Biologist Dave Wattles. 

Experts say mange can spread from animal to animal through close contact or if the animals frequent the same areas.

To keep your pet mange-free, remove any trash, bird feeders or pet food around your property that could attract coyotes to your home.

And while mange is treatable, it’s not as easy as it may seem.

Massachusetts state law only allows box traps to be used to capture wildlife. But coyotes are notoriously reluctant to take the bait.

“Coyotes, foxes, other animals in this condition need to be hand-caught by net,” said Zak Mertz, the CEO of New England Wildlife Centers. “And it should be absolutely done by a licensed professional and someone who is rabies-vaccinated and has the equipment.”

New England Wildlife Centers are licensed to care for coyotes with diseases like mange. 

They’re urging residents to let them handle the problem.

“We give medication to not only treat the initial parasite, but also any internal parasites that might be causing them to become skinny and not be able to gain weight as well as anti-inflammatories, because their skin is so inflamed,” said Dr. Priya Patel of the New England Wildlife Centers.

If your pet catches mange, it can be treated with a prescription from a vet or some over-the-counter medications. 

This same medication can be toxic to coyotes.

“The medication used to treat this is commonly given to dogs, but it’s in very very specific weight doses,” Wattles said. 

As for the Plymouth coyotes – wildlife rehabbers are waiting for the right time to step in with permission from the state. 

“We are certainly looking to make sure that animal gets care,” Mertz said. “But it needs to get into care in an appropriate way.”

In the meantime officials are asking everyone in the neighborhood impacted by recent coyote sightings to try to stay away from the coyotes to reduce the chances of spreading mange.

And it could end up being a part of a national program.

7INVESTIGATES got an inside look at how it all works. Dave Puglisi has the story.

It’s tragic and absolutely unspeakable.

7Investigates found that nearly 57% of all gun deaths in Massachusetts come from accidental shootings or suicide.

Those numbers are mirrored nationwide causing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take notice.

The CDC is looking for new strategies to combat gun violence.

Members of the Weston Shooters Club believe they have the answer.

“We have formalized this now and are trying to work with the CDC who are looking for a solution to reduce gun violence and gun deaths and we already have the program,” said Weston Shooters Club owner Victor Grillo.

Grillo recruited a team of experts including military members, former police officers and Harvard psychologists to share their knowledge.

Chief Range Officer Ralph Bibbo said, “I know what it’s like to lose somebody and family to gun violence.”

Their work gave birth to GAASP:  Gun Accident Assault, and Suicide Prevention. The gun safety training program has received high praise from several public safety officials.

“It’s so common sense that anyone can do it and as we discussed David, we want you to take the course and see for yourself,” Grillo said.

The 30-minute class prioritizes safety at home.

The program then goes into what gun owners call the “elephant in the room” – talks of gun suicide prevention.

Instructors stress the importance of creating a barrier between someone in distress and their guns and not being afraid to ask for help.

GAASP will continue to be refined by experts and taught to members at the Weston Shooters Club with hopes of one day seeing it taught in every state.

Later this year the CDC will be looking at GAASP to review it and see if it will be awarded a grant for further research. Whether or not they receive that grant the creators hope that GAASP will catch on in every state.

They want drivers to slow down after a woman was hit and severely hurt crossing the street. 

7Investigates took their concerns to the city and got answers.

Roberta Cordero’s daughter Gina is lying in the street as paramedics strap her to a stretcher.

“I’m sick to my stomach,” Roberta said. “There was a witness that saw her in the crosswalk and the driver didn’t, and that’s what’s scary.”

Gina was in the crosswalk on Malden Street when a car crushed her right side. Gina needed five surgeries since the accident on July 21 to repair her broken pelvis, leg, elbow, collarbone, and check bone. She also fractured her neck.

“If it was a bigger car or a truck, Ford truck or something they would’ve probably just mowed her over so we’re very lucky,” said Rita Dantona, Gina’s aunt. 

Unfortunately crashes like this are not uncommon on Malden Street.

7Investigates found  23 accidents have occurred there since January of 2022. Half of those are within 500 feet at the corner of Newhall and Malden, where Gina was hit.

John Donnarumma started a petition about the ongoing danger to catch the attention of lawmakers.

“It just clicked in my head we have to do something about it,” Donnarumma said.

“The issue was not just this corner. It’s all the way down there around this corner and around the bend there’s issues over there.”

People living in the neighborhood fear someone will be killed if drivers don’t slow down.   

“You just take your life and your hands as a driver or a pedestrian to try and make your way in either direction,” said Malden Street resident Daryl Overka.

“Every time I get to this one point to walk her to school I’m afraid,” an anonymous resident said about walking with their child.

“They’ve tried some ideas but they haven’t worked. It’s time now. People are getting hurt,” Malden Street resident Vin Conte said.

After hearing from the residents of Malden Street, we took their concerns directly to the mayor. Revere Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe Jr. says the city will be taking a serious look at this intersection.

“At the minimum we want to look at putting a stop sign at the top of Malden Street right there,” Keefe said.

Keefe and Revere Police Chief Dave Callahan joined 7 Investigates for a closer look at the area.

((Dave Puglisi and Keefe – 38:33))

“What are some ways that you can maybe improve the speed over here?” reporter Dave Puglisi asked. 

“I have a few different ideas with our Safer Streets program we are going to be rolling out.” Keefe replied. 

Keefe says the Safer Streets campaign will focus on major roadways across Revere including all of Malden Street.

“A lotta people are cutting through and they tend to step on it,” Keefe said. “They take this bend, and some of that they have to be cautious of, especially when you have a major crosswalk.”

Keefe says the city will be working with traffic engineers over the next couple of months to identify where improvements can be made. Resident’s hope it’ll be enough.

“Let’s do something about this to save lives,” Overka said.

Just hours after our conversation with the mayor, he put in an emergency order to change all sides of this light into a blinking red. He hopes that this could be a solution for now while they try to find a more permanent answer for not only this intersection but the entire street.

Laura Impemba got a $300 gift card from friends to help cheer her and her family up after the death of a loved one.

“We were really touched,” Laura said.

But when she tried to use it–

“There was nothing on the gift card,” she said.

How could this happen? Fraud experts say crafty crooks are targeting gift cards at stores. They remove the cards from their packaging to get to the gift code number.

“They copy down the card numbers, and put it back together and then they take those cards and they put them back in the stores,” Martha Weaver, Co-Chair of the Fraud and Mitigation Task Force for the Retail Gift Card Association, said.

When customers buy the compromised card and try to use it – they come up with a zero balance.

“It’s one of those scourges that doesn’t seem to go away, it just evolves,” Weaver said.

Laura discovered her gift card was used in a supermarket weeks before she opened it.

“Which blew our minds because it had never left our possession,” Laura said.

She tried to get the company to refund her $300.

“I wasn’t able to get anywhere with phone calls I had made. It was really disheartening,” she said.

After we got involved, she got her money back.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Laura said.

If you like to send gift cards, the Retail Gift Card Association says to carefully inspect the gift card packaging for tampering before you purchase it. There are several other ways you can protect yourself. Click here for more info.

“I broke my back,” Pamela says.

She now relies on a specialized wheelchair to get around.    

“I’ve been paralyzed for 51 years,” she says.

Pamela’s wheelchair is her lifeline and if it breaks, she needs it repaired as soon as possible.

“It’s just awful,” she says.

She says she was recently stuck at home for 10 weeks waiting for a technician to replace a front wheel.  

“It took weeks and weeks, and weeks.  You make a phone call.  No answer.  They don’t answer the phone.

I’m just furious,” Pamela says.

Disability experts say the repair system for customized / high-tech wheelchairs is broken. 

“People can be left stranded.  The level of consumer service seems to get worse every year,” Rick Glassman of the Disability Law Center says.  

Part of the problem, Glassman says, is that wheelchair repairs often require custom parts, which takes time.        

The other issue is, there are only a few companies that are approved by Medicaid to fix *these* wheelchairs in Massachusetts.               

“The companies involved don’t make money on repairs.  They make their money by selling wheelchairs,” Glassman says. 

“It boggles the mind that this could be acceptable,” wheelchair user, Chris Hoeh, says.

He was recently left stranded waiting for a new battery charger.  

“I was stuck on the side, literally down the hill.

It was very frustrating,” Chris says.

The new charger didn’t arrive for a month.   

Another wheelchair user, Peter Cronis, has experienced even longer delays.

“They’ve ordered this chip four times, and each time. They sent the wrong one,” Peter says.

He needs a new micro-chip for his wheelchair.  He has been waiting for a year.  

“I’m in limbo- I can’t do everything I need to do,” Peter says.

“We always sound like we’re exaggerating.

But if you talk to enough of us, you’ll see we’re not exaggerating,” Pamela says.

“It’s outrageous,” Chris says.

Glassman says these consumers need help.

“The State has to step in and level the playing field.  It’s really about trying to protect consumers in really basic ways when they’re stranded and when they need help and the company is not being responsive,” Glassman says.

7 investigates contacted the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

They told us that anyone who has complaints with wheelchair repairs should contact them. Scan the QR code for links to reach them.

For 7 Investigates, I’m Jonathan Hall.

To file a consumer complaint with the AG’s office- https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint

or contact the consumer hotline at (617) 727-8400.

To file a health care complaint with the AG’s office- https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-health-care-complaint

It’s a heartbreaking situation: older adults, some who worked and saved, are now homeless. What’s driving this troubling trend? Kimberly Bookman has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

The streets were the only place Cynthia Gray had to stay.

“It’s not easy at all,” Cynthia said.  

The 67-year-old worked as a school bus and truck driver.

Then she got sick, couldn’t work, couldn’t pay rent, and became homeless.

“I stand in line for shelters, and they’re full. That means we have to think of something, where we’re going to hide, where we’re going to go. I hid with others. I did some basements that we didn’t belong in the building. We just hid,” Cynthia said. 

Cynthia isn’t alone.  

In Boston, about 1700 adults over the age of 55 are experiencing homelessness.

443 of those people are older than 65.

“I always used to envy the elderly when I was younger because they looked like they were enjoying life. But I found out it’s not the case. You really won’t believe how many elderly people are out there. There’s a lot of us dying out in the street,” Cynthia said. 

Some older adults, often with low incomes or living on social security, can’t find affordable housing.  

“All the prices are driven up by the scarcity. We stopped building affordable housing at anything near the scale that we need to,” Mark Hinderlie, president of Hearth, said. The nonprofit organization focuses exclusively on helping seniors facing homelessness.

The problem brings tears to his eyes.

“I feel like we’ve squandered, we’ve squandered lives, and it’s been developing for such a long time.  It didn’t have to be this way. I didn’t have to get this bad. No one should have to go through it,” Mark said. 

Newton White lived through it.

The 69-year-old lost his job as an auto mechanic and was homeless for three years.

“The rent keeps going up, and I couldn’t afford it,” Newton said. 

But those days are behind Newton and Cynthia.   

Both just got keys to new homes through Hearth and 2Life Communities, another nonprofit group connecting seniors with a place to live.

“I am so happy in my heart,” Cynthia said. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had my own bed and to lie in my own room and my own place?”

Hearth has helped 3,000 seniors find permanent homes, and the organization is working to expand the amount of affordable housing in Massachusetts.

Cynthia says if you or someone you know is facing homelessness, there are resources to help.

“There is a future because I know I’m experiencing that now. All I can say is don’t give up,” Cynthia said. 

Cynthia hopes her success story will inspire others. 

City of Boston officials tell 7 Investigates they’re also working on finding more affordable housing of all kinds for people, including seniors.

For information and resources:

Hearth 

2Life Communities 

City of Boston Housing Help for Older People

An overview of production in the Boston Income Restricted Housing Report   

Resources for seniors in the city at the AgeStrong Boston Commission 

Anyone dealing with housing instability or evictions can get help from the Boston Office of Housing Stability A Massachusetts Guide to Obtaining Housing Assistance for state residents 
Rental assistance programs in MA 
Rental assistance programs in NH 

If you have a story idea or tip, email Tell7@whdh.com 

But, 7 Investigates found some products designed for pet protection may actually do more harm than good.    

A frightening scene as a dog jumps from a moving car onto a busy highway in California, dodging a tractor trailer.  

The dog survived. But the video shows how important it is to restrain your pet in the car.  

“Those events are fully preventable,” Lindsey Wolko, a pet safety researcher and advocate, said.

Wolko founded the Center for Pet Safety after surviving a car crash with her dog Maggie. She learned pet safety products aren’t regulated- and there’s no government oversight for things like carriers, harnesses, and seats.

“In the eyes of the government, pets are considered no different than a piece of luggage. They’re property,” Wolko said.

The non-profit tests products designed to keep dogs safe in moving cars.  

“We are really the only one in the world doing what we’re doing,” she said.

Stuffed animals serve as crash test dummies for popular pet products.  

This one flew forward, ripping its car carrier apart

Pet owners were shocked when we showed them the video.

“It’s horrifying,” a dog owner said.

“It’s terrifying to watch,” one pet owner said.

Wolko says they’ve tested hundreds of items. This harness snapped.      

“That’s troubling for sure.  I don’t want that happening to my animal,” a dog owner said.

Wolko says beware of products with plastic buckles, 

Tethers that clip into seatbelts, and zip lines in the back seat. 

She says some of these items could increase the risk of injuries in a crash. 

“It is so sad when we see products that are marketed to pet owners saying these products are safe, but in reality they’re not,” Wolko said.

Since 2013, a majority of the products tested by the center have failed.  Only 13 have passed.  

“There aren’t that many products on that list that actually can hold up to this level of testing,” Wolko said.

The certified merchandise comes with a high price tag.  But Wolko says they’re well worth it.  

“You’re protecting your life your family’s life and your pet’s life so you want to make sure that somebody else is looking out for you,” Wolko said.

It’s important to do your homework before purchasing any items for your pets.

To see the whole list of certified pet products, click on this link.

7 Investigates goes inside the secret hunt for Nahant’s coyotes.  Dan Hausle has the story –

“They follow us,” one concerned resident said.

 “It shouldn’t be that you fear living and walking out your door,” Nahant resident Gail Hyde said.

It’s a well-founded fear, because, for months, aggressive coyotes have terrorized the small seaside town of Nahant. 

  “We see them all on our cameras,” Hyde said.

Coyotes often lurk in Gail Hyde’s backyard.  She worries they’ll attack her dog.

 “I have to look around to see if the coyote is in the backyard and they’ve been here numerous times.”

She carries a golf club for protection whenever she’s outside. 

“I’m ticked off,” Hyde said.

 “They’ve become very aggressive,” another concerned resident, Jennifer McCarthy said.

McCarthy uses an air horn to scare off coyotes. 

 “It’s nerve-wracking.”

Things have gotten so bad that the town has called the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have snipers come shoot aggressive coyotes.   

 “It’s a professional wild life service program that is the safest,” Nahant Town Manager, Antonio Barletta, said.

But the operation is shrouded in secrecy. 

Neither the feds nor the town manager will say where or when the U.S.D.A. is hunting the coyotes. That makes residents nervous.

“Give us information… don’t keep us the dark,” Nahant resident Medi Mirnasiri said.

But 7 Investigates obtained these never-before-seen photos of the coyotes on the prowl.  Hundreds of photos, from the federal government, show the animals circling bait left in hunting areas.

“It is very difficult to identify which coyote is the problem,” Barletta said.  

Sharp shooters only target aggressive coyotes according to Nahant’s town manager.  

“If you remove a coyote and the problems go away, you assume you got the right one.”

So far, one coyote has been killed.

“It’s not like a recreational hunt.  This is a very prescribed, very carefully thought- out program with professionals,” Barletta said.

Nahant’s town manager says the project is working.  

“I would say it’s been successful because since the program we’ve had zero aggressive events,” Barletta said.

Despite the ongoing hunt, residents still feel unsafe while spending time outdoors.  

“I just saw three on Friday night,” one Nahant resident said.

“Nervous, very nervous. You’re just always on guard,” McCarthy said.

“I fear that somebody is going to get hurt,” Hyde said.

Nahant is the only community in Massachusetts taking this approach to aggressive wild life.  

The snipers will be on the hunt through February.

But what you don’t see is the hidden items that could pose big health and safety risks.   Federal agents showed 7 Investigates what they have confiscated and it’s not what you would expect. 

At Logan Airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents meticulously scan bag after bag, relying on special training to find illegally smuggled goods.  

“Anything and everything that gets put in a bag, we’ll find it,” US Customs and Border Protection, Assistant Port Director of Logan Airport, Daniel Joyce said.

If something doesn’t seem right, they waste no time conducting a thorough search. 

“As you can see these items here we recently seized off passengers coming into Boston Logan Airport,” Joyce said.

Agents have found dangerous drugs, undeclared cash and some unusual discoveries.   

“To carry anything illegal, or unapproved across borders, absolutely puts public health at risk,” Infection Prevention Director Martha Wassell at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital/MGB said.

Border agents blocked this package from Asia containing bird saliva and parts of a nest, the ingredients for bird’s nest soup.  Some consider this a delicacy, but allowing it to cross our borders could lead to people getting sick.  

“Bird droppings are risky,” Wassell said.

“It’s a high risk to transmit avian flu,” Joyce said.

Agents also confiscated 26 pounds of fresh quail eggs from a passenger’s bag.  

“It could spread salmonella,” Wassell said.

U.S. Customs officers screen more than 17 thousand travelers a day in Boston. They say undeclared food products brought in from overseas can create big problems.  

“Micro-organisms and pests can hitchhike on just about anything,” Wassell said.

“We’ll see the stuff every day. Some people are surprised,” Joyce said.

Our cameras were rolling as several bags of food were taken from this luggage.  

“If i knew that before, I wouldn’t take it,” Bich Dirn said.

Items like this fresh fruit may seem innocent, but they’re banned from entering the country.        

“A lot of times they have stow away bugs on them that could wreak havoc,” Joyce said.

“It could absolutely effect the food chain,” Wassell said.

The search for contraband doesn’t stop with luggage on the conveyor belt.

Agents at the seaport are constantly scanning giant shipping containers like these for illegal items as well.  

Searches have lead to thousands of confiscations, including generic botox that’s not approved to be sold in the US.  

“You’d be injecting this into yourself. How safe is that?”  U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Supervisory Officer, Rob LaVita said.

Health experts say this smuggled vial is not FDA approved and could result in botched Botox treatments.  

“It can be extremely dangerous. It can effect one’s ability to breathe so that can cause death,” Dr. Neelam Vashi, dermatologist at BU/Boston Medical Center said.

But US Customs agents are looking for much more than cosmetic risks – they are looking to stop terrorism.   That means searching for explosives, guns, and other deadly weapons.  

“It’s a huge win for us when we can get those.

We’re out here every single day doing the best that we can to protect the country,” LaVita said.

Planning to travel abroad, and not sure what you can bring back into the country?

Click on the link below to see what’s allowed, so you can keep your keepsakes.

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-3619?language=en_US

What do they think is putting them at risk?

This frightening scene continues to haunt the people who live near by. 

“People are not sure whether they want to stay here. They’re concerned about the health of their kids,” Braintree resident Max Feldpausch said.

Thick smoke engulfed part of Braintree as fire erupted at the Clean Harbors waste disposal center back in February.  

“There’s trailers and fuel and toxic chemicals stored there. When I found out that was the stuff on fire, I was completely shocked,” Braintree resident Tricia McColgan said.

Documents reviewed by 7 Investigates show more than 100 chemicals including lead, acetone and formaldehyde were stored in the trailers that burned.

“The quality of the air was bad at that time,” Braintree resident Hieu Huynh said.

The state says its testing shows the air in the neighborhood was safe in the days after the fire. However, state data also shows pollutants soaring as the fire raged.   

Some health experts say the black cloud from the fire contained an alarming amount of hazardous substances.

“They are reporting these spikes into the triple digits — which are far far outside of the healthy accepted standard,” Dr. Brita Lundberg from the Massachusetts Medical Society Environmental and Occupational Health Committee said.

Clean Harbors claims that no health hazard has been identified in the air in the days after the fire.

But it’s not just neighbors that Dr. Lundberg said were potentially exposed to toxic fumes…

“I’m very concerned about the health of those first responders,” Dr. Lundberg said.

Our investigation found a series of missteps unfolded when the fire broke out:

• Two fire hydrants didn’t work. 
• Hazardous waste warning signs on containers were unreadable.  

And while residents were in bed sleeping as the fire raged – no evacuation was ordered and no emergency alert call went out.  

“People woke up in the morning and were pretty angry that they hadn’t known what had taken place the night before…Who knows what came through our vents and our windows and people weren’t given really an opportunity to do anything about that,” Braintree Town Councillor Elizabeth Maglio said.    

“We should have made a robo call at minimal the next morning…”

Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros issued an apology for failing to send an automated emergency call. He says the town is now revising evacuation plans.

“We need a more strategic plan it’s going to give us specifics on each business and how we go about doing it,” Mayor Kokoros said.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has allowed Clean Harbors to re-open with a few restrictions.  

“I strongly object to them reopening any part of the business,” Mayor Korokos said.

In a statement, Mass D.E.P. Tells 7 Investigates Clean Harbors cannot transfer materials from truck-to-truck, which was the source of the fire. 

“It’s like we definitely have no authority in our community,” resident Hieu Huynh said.

“Massachusetts is supposed to be one of the best environmental states in the country –where is it?” resident Max Feldpausch said.

Clean Harbors declined an interview, but told 7 Investigates in a statement, “We are confident that there were no public health or environmental impacts.”

Meanwhile, neighbors say they just want to feel safe.

“We’ve got kids and we want to protect them,” resident Hieu Huynh said.

“Like anyone else would hope for their daughter, just that she can play safely in her neighborhood,” Max Feldpausch said.

“It is a health risk and we shouldn’t be the sacrifice area,” resident Zanah Taha said.

Residents and town officials are calling on Clean Harbors to monitor air quality in the surrounding community. 

The company tells us they are looking into possible solutions for future air monitoring.  

For 7 Investigates  – I’m Jonathan Hall.    

Radio dispatcher: “Motor vehicle accident, the electric vehicle’s on fire.”

Firefighters are sounding the alarm about the unusual dangers of electric vehicle fires.  

“It’s quite a bit hotter. 2,000 degrees plus. It’s like a jet flame underneath the vehicle – it’s not like a traditional car fire,” Wakefield’s Provisional Fire Chief Thomas Purcell said.

This electric car ignited in Wakefield. The car’s lithium battery was punctured in a crash and caught fire. Crews struggled for two hours to put the flames out.  

“We would shut the lines down intermittently, the fire would reignite,” Purcell said.

Chief Purcell said it took crews from six towns using 20-thousand gallons of water. Putting out a traditional car fire only takes about 150 gallons.  

“Copius amounts of water, but you have to get it directed to the battery pack. We did the best we could with what we had,” Purcell said.

Even after firefighters put out an electric car fire there’s a real danger the battery will spark up again. 

That’s what happened with this vehicle in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Days after igniting in a crash it burst into flames again in a tow yard.

“This thing was flaring up like crazy,” the tow yard owner, Robert Ruggiero said.

“It was a 6 to 8 hour operation the second time that vehicle caught fire,” Nashua Deputy Fire Chief Mark Wholey said.

There is special equipment to help in this new kind of firefight.

A thermal imaging camera like this one helps crews pinpoint the hottest spots so they know where the water is needed most. And new technology like this special fire nozzle is designed to spray water underneath the car.  That’s where hot spots occur most during EV fires.

But, the fire nozzles cost thousands of dollars.  Many fire departments in our area don’t have the resources to make all these purchases right now.  

“This is all technology that hasn’t hit the market widespread.

We’re a little behind the 8-ball, but we’re getting there,” Wholey said.

As more EV’s hit the road… many firefighters are hoping for more specialized training.

The National Fire Protection Association provides online courses at this link–

https://www.nfpa.org/EV

And several state fire officials in New England tell us they are now ramping up hands-on EV fire training.

“This street is just a mess,” one Newbury Street visitor said. 

Blocking streets in the North End.

“As a resident, its difficult — very very difficult,” one Northender said.

And clogging Charlestown.

“It’s a problem,” one visitor said.

We found problem parkers on Boston’s busiest streets. 

Watch as this double-parked S.U.V. on the right…is hit by a passing car.

“It’s bad. If it’s causing crashing – they need to do something about it,” a businessperson said.

“There are places in the city where it is at a crisis level,” Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Boston’s Chief of Streets said.

We showed Franklin-Hodge what our cameras caught.

“Yeah, nobody was injured, but imagine getting through here on a bike. 

All this kind of chaos and disruption on the roadway absolutely is a safety hazard for people,” Franklin-Hodge said.

City officials say food delivery and ride-share drivers are among the most common culprits.

“We need the companies that operate these services to step up and be partners in having streets that work for everyone and right now we’re not there.” 

Representatives for two major food delivery apps tell 7 Investigates they are working with the city to find a solution.

But it’s not *just* delivery drivers *serving up* these snags.

We saw this City of Boston truck double parked while the driver grabbed food.

“Yeah, it’s not okay.  It does not make me happy to see a city employee doing that here or anywhere in the city.

Don’t tell other people it’s okay to do something like that,” Franklin-Hodge said.

Our cameras staked out crowded Boylston Street on five days.

We only saw enforcement officers on one of those days and they were telling double-parkers to move on.

But one thing we didn’t see: any tickets being given out.

“We do ticket and we do enforcement although that isn’t our preferred strategy…. when we write a ticket for somebody doing food delivery it’s the driver that pays. It’s not the company that put them there,” Franklin-Hodge said.

Many commuters feel like they’re the ones paying because this double parking is *driving* them mad.

“There has to be a better way” one commuter said.

City officials say part of the solution could be for more food deliveries to be made on bikes or scooters like this that can park on the sidewalk. They cause less disruption on the streets.

The former Waltham residents, who now live thousands of miles away in Idaho, share their story and their calls for the system to change with 7 Investigates. They say what happened to them could happen to you. Dan Hausle has more. 

A knock on their door in the middle of the night still haunts Sarah Perkins and Josh Sabey.      

“It was so loud. Somebody shouted Waltham Police,” Sarah said. 

The couple recorded the tense situation when police and DCF workers arrived at their house last summer.  

They were told to wake up their children, 3-month-old Cal and 3-year-old Clarence, and hand them over.    

“I thought there must have been a mistake,” Josh said. 

“We were told eventually that if we didn’t give up our kids, they would kick down the door and take them,” Sarah said.

“So, you guys showed up at 1 o’clock on a Saturday morning,” Josh asks DCF workers on video the family recorded. 

“We surrendered,” Josh said. 

“Hey Clarence, you get to go on a car ride,” Sarah said on video the family recorded inside their home. 

“I don’t want to,” Clarence cried in response to being woken up. 

While Clarence screamed, the kids were loaded into a stranger’s car and taken to a foster home.

Their mom was distraught.

“I felt like I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t do anything,” Sarah said. 

“How it felt like the worst possible way that you could design to remove kids from a loving family,” Josh said. 

The family’s ordeal began two days earlier when Sarah took Cal to the ER for a fever and a cough.    

Chest X-rays showed Cal had fractured ribs.

“They said, ‘How did this happen?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know.’ The only thing I could think of was he had scooted himself off a bed,” Sarah said. 

Doctors notified DCF, and the agency started investigating. 

According to DCF reports that Josh and Sarah gave us experts “determined the fractures were not consistent with a fall from a bed” and were “more consistent with a baby being squeezed or from blunt force trauma.”  

The couple says they couldn’t explain the injury. 

“We didn’t abuse him,” Josh said. 

Cal had more medical tests. 

A pediatrician examined Clarence for signs of injury. 

“They found nothing concerning, and they reported that to the hospital and to DCF,” Josh said. 

Sarah and Josh say they cooperated fully with DCF allowing the agency to inspect their home and agreeing to future DCF visits.

So, they were stunned when DCF workers showed up in the middle of the night to take their kids.

“I was saying, ‘Are you allowed to do this?’” Josh said. 

DCF didn’t have a court order, and they didn’t need one.

“I think it’s crazy,” Josh said. 

Massachusetts law allows DCF to remove children — at any time — if the department has reasonable cause to believe that removal is necessary to protect a child from abuse or neglect.

“We know that there are certainly cases in which DCF need to remove children to protect them,” said attorney Michael Dsida, deputy chief counsel in the Children and Family Law Division at the Committee for Public Counsel Services which works with families involved in DCF cases.  

He says the agency should only be allowed to remove children from a home without a court order in rare and dangerous situations.

“We know from our experts and from our clients themselves about how traumatic this experience is for children. Some children do, in fact, recover, but many carry the scars from that removal for years and years and maybe even for the rest of their lives,” Michael said. 

Soon after DCF took Clarence and Cal, they were placed with Josh’s parents. 

And Josh’s mother realized she might have been the one who accidentally injured the infant. 

“She went to pick him up from the car seat one-handed,” Sarah said. “She like unbuckled him and slid her hand underneath his back, and he threw his head back, and so she gripped him to keep him from falling.” 

“She squeezed him really tight, and he cried out, but he comforted and was fine. She never told us about it,” Josh said. 

Josh and Sarah say after several court hearings and spending more than $50,000 in legal bills, they got their sons back and moved out of state.

But they worry their kids may never get over what happened to them.

“Clarence had night terrors after this, still does sometimes,” Josh said. 

Josh and Sarah want DCF’s system of removing kids to change, so this doesn’t happen to any other families.

“Maybe some kids need to be removed from their family. But it should never happen in this way. There has to be a better way,” Josh said. 

DCF officials say they can’t comment on a specific case. But they point out they must notify the court immediately after kids are removed from their homes without a judge’s order — and that parents then have the right to a hearing. 

There was a bill filed on Beacon Hill calling for greater court oversight before DCF can remove children from their homes.

DCF says it doesn’t comment on proposed legislation, but the Massachusetts Juvenile Court sent 7 Investigates their concerns about the bill:

“The bill proposes that DCF seek an order through Judicial Response, the Trial Court’s after-hours emergency system, when court is not in session. The bill requires that DCF demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the child is suffering from serious abuse or neglect or is in immediate danger of serious abuse or neglect and that immediate removal of the child is necessary to protect the child from serious abuse or neglect. This changes the standard for removal from reasonable cause to preponderance of the evidence which is a higher burden of proof. Requiring a higher burden of proof in an emergency situation may place the child in further danger. In addition, the Supreme Judicial Court has found that reasonable cause is the appropriate standard to apply for an emergency removal.” 

Do you have a story idea or tip for 7 Investigates? Email us at Tell7@whdh.com

They’re all trying to get across the busy intersection down the street from TD Garden, near the base of the North Washington Street Bridge connecting the North End to Charlestown.    

“It’s terrifying,” Morgan said.  

Morgan and Katy cross several times a day, walking their kids to and from school.

“It’s definitely scary,” Katy said. 

Traffic heading over the bridge is almost always backed up during rush hour, with vehicles blocking the crosswalk.    

“Someone is going to get hurt,” Morgan said.

“It’s a free for all,” Katy said. 

We repeatedly staked out the intersection, which is a popular alternate route for commuters trying to avoid traffic on Route 93. We found children, walkers, bikers, even tourists following the Freedom Trail, navigating around cars, buses, and cement mixers.  

Pedestrians have to cross to an island and often get stuck there waiting for the walk light, which is usually blocked by traffic.

Sometimes we found Boston police officers trying to control the crosswalk. 

A sign flashes a warning to drivers who could be fined for blocking the intersection. But it doesn’t seem to help. Vehicles in the different lanes try to merge onto the narrow bridge creating a bottleneck and lots of frustration.

“It’s a big mess, I can tell you. A big mess,” one driver said. 

“It’s definitely a safety hazard,” another driver said. 

7 Investigates asked transportation expert Peter Furth, a Northeastern professor of civil and environmental engineering, to check out the chaos.

“This is an intersection that is way over capacity. It’s terrible traffic management. It’s a big safety problem if a child is going by, the driver might not notice. I’m concerned. This is something that demands immediate action,” Professor Furth said. 

Professor Furth shared his findings with the Boston Transportation Department, and the agency says it is reviewing his suggestions.

Katy and Morgan fear what could happen if things don’t change.

“It is a matter of time before something bad happens at this intersection, the amount of close calls I’ve seen,” Morgan said. 

“Help! This is not safe for anyone,” Katy said. 

The new replacement bridge that is being built will streamline traffic when it’s completed. But that will take two more years. People who have to use this intersection tell us they want the city to fix this dangerous situation now.

If you have a tip or story idea, please email Tell7@whdh.com

Mailbox fishing, check washing and forgery — the money that is going missing for some residents is starting to add up in Massachusetts.

Elaine Hecker said she is always very careful about paying her bills.

“I handle all the finances, and I’ve never had a problem,” she said.

Last spring, the retiree wrote a $450 check to pay a bill and went to the East Falmouth Post Office to mail it.

“The post office was closed so I just threw them in the outside box,” Hecker said. “And I always check to make sure it goes down.”

Her mail went down – but came back up later that night when thieves broke into the mailbox and stole it.

“I thought what the heck, how did that happen?” Hecker said.

The mailbox bandits gave Elaine’s check a bath, literally washing away the ink.

A copy of the forged check showed what they did next: making it out to themselves so they could cash it and bumped the amount to almost $10,000.

“I can see writing behind where they changed the name,” she said. “They changed the date. I can see that too.”

The thieves cashed their handiwork and Elaine was out $9,700.

“Awful,” she said. “Awful. How am I going to get my money back?”

“It seems to be very widespread,” Lt. Michael Simoneau of Falmouth Police said.

It happened to Catherine Moniz, too – in the same town.

“I couldn’t believe it. They got it out of the mailbox?” she said.

She told 7 Investigates she dropped a check in a North Falmouth mailbox one night recently.

“That’s out of my common practice, I usually go into the post office every morning, and the one time I put the single check in there, they got it,” she said.

Police said in Catherine’s case, thieves used information from her check to print out several fake ones. They cashed one for $1,800.

“I was really dumbfounded, I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

According to the United States Postal Service, more than $1.3 million in checks have been stolen out of Massachusetts mailboxes this year.

There are some simple things you can do to protect yourself:

• It’s best to drop off your mail inside the post office.

• If you have to use the blue box, only drop your mail in right before a scheduled pickup. That way it won’t be sitting in the mailbox overnight.

• If you leave letters and bills in your own mailbox for the carrier to collect, don’t let them sit there very long.

• Try to keep an eye on your mailbox until your postal carrier comes.

You can also ask your bank for what’s called “secure checks,” which are more difficult to alter.

“People need to be vigilant and be aware,” Moniz said.

Both she and Hecker’s banks reimbursed them for the money that was taken.

Investigators say if you think someone has stolen one of your checks from the mail – contact your bank first and then call police.

For more information about mail theft, click here.

“It looks like candy, it really does – so you have to be careful,” said Brian Boyle, special agent in charge of the Boston DEA Field Office.

Federal agents found bright pills hidden in candy bags in Connecticut last month.

“That doesn’t mean, that if the pill is colorful, that it’s any less harmful,” said Dr. Ximena Sanchez-Samper, an addiction specialist at Charles River Recovery.

Not only that, but candy packages filled with the pills were also confiscated at the Los Angeles airport.

“Any method you can think to get it across the border, they’re going to come up with it,” Special Agent Boyle said.

And multi-colored pills were recently found stuffed in a box of children’s building blocks in New York City a few weeks ago.

“It is absolutely attractive to children,” Lisa Deane, whose son Joe died from a fentanyl overdose, said.

The colors disguise the deadly drug fentanyl. The synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin, and 100 times stronger than morphine. It’s so powerful the amount that fits on a pencil point can kill. More than a hundred thousand people died from opioid overdoses in the United States last year.

Officers say they don’t expect the drug to be given out on Halloween, but they’re concerned dealers are using the colors to create a fun party atmosphere around the killer narcotic. And they worry a child could find one of the pills and confuse it with something sweet.

“They’re trying to target young children.  They’re trying to get addiction. It looks like candy,” Boyle said.

Special Agent Brian Boyle showed 7NEWS how dealers use various devices for distribution.

“You just crank this up and a pill would shoot out,” he said.

It can produce thousands of pills a day, flooding the streets with fentanyl that has a new lethal lure.

“It’s absolutely is terrifying for a parent,” Deane said.

Her son Joe got hooked on opioids in high school when he swallowed a pill a classmate gave him.

“He loved the way it made him feel and the addiction started from there. And we had no idea,” Lisa Deane said.

Lisa says Joe was a gifted athlete who fought his addiction like a warrior.

“He was the toughest kid i’ve ever met in my life and he couldn’t overcome it.

“He died of pure fentanyl poisoning,” she said.

She is sharing his story, hoping to save someone else.

“Your kid can’t experiment with anything– nothing!” she said.

Rainbow fentanyl has been found in Maine and Connecticut recently. Officers fear they will find it in Massachusetts soon.

The Drug Enforcement Agency has several resources about fentanyl that can be found here.

Lisa Deane has also established DemandZero, a non-profit to combat the ever-growing opioid epidemic.

More info on education beyond the stigma of addiction can be found at ForCameron.com.

“When it first started, you could start seeing all these little cracks,” Mike Milanese said.

The concrete foundation under Mike Milanese’s house is cracking and crumbling.

“It’s not a good spot to be in,” said Milanese.

His home in the Central Massachusetts town of Wales is about 25 years old, and it’s in danger of collapsing.

“We do need a fix,” said Milanese.

Michelle Loglisci’s foundation is also getting weaker.

“It’s devastating. Everything you work for your whole life, and it’s gone,” said Loglisci.

Small cracks started forming years ago in her basement.

“You can barely see it, but it’s all through the walls,” said Loglisci.

The cracks are created by a mineral inside the concrete that looks like little brown flecks called pyrrhotite.

Over time, those flecks expand and cause extensive cracking.

“It can cause a lot of damage to the concrete, causing expansion, loss of strength, and leading to severe concrete failure,” said Kevin Miller, a concrete consultant. “There is no quick fix.”

It’s not quick – and it’s not cheap. A home would need to be lifted up, all the concrete removed, and a new foundation poured. This process can take more than $200,000. Most insurance companies don’t cover it.

“Right there in the policy it says foundations are not covered. And I said, ‘How can foundations not be covered?  It’s the base of your home!” said Loglisci.

The homeowners say no one will buy a home with a fractured foundation.

“I don’t know what my husband and I are going to do. We can’t downsize for retirement,” Loglisci said.

Concrete containing pyrrhotite has been used in Massachusetts homes for decades because the state has no standards to screen for this mineral.

Milanese and Loglisci are pushing for a law to change that. They’re also hoping the state will start a fund to help homeowners in this situation. But getting action on Beacon Hill will take time– something these homeowners don’t have.

“I don’t think it’s going to fall in just yet, but you can see, it’s slowly going down,” said Milanese.

“These are serious life-altering issues that need to be dealt with right now. We’re all stuck,” said Loglisci.

Here is more information if you think you might have pyrrhotite in your foundation:

The proposed bill regarding pyrrhotite in concrete foundations at the Massachusetts State House can be found here.

Learn more about Massachusetts Residents Against Crumbling Foundations, a local group of residents with pyrrhotite in their foundations, here.

To find out if you have pyrrhotite in your concrete, the following link will bring you to a Massachusetts reimbursement program for testing your concrete, learn more here.

The state will reimburse you for a majority of your testing costs.  Please read the entire document to find out who should do the testing.

A USGS map of Pyrrhotite can be found here.

Many concrete foundations with pyrrhotite in the middle of Massachusetts were poured by a concrete firm in Connecticut from 1983 to 2015.  Thousands of Connecticut homes are also affected.

The State of Connecticut established a corporation to handle homeowner issues with crumbling concrete, called the Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company, Inc. Learn more here.

The CFSIC recently announced that they have identified more than 100 Connecticut public buildings with pyrrhotite in the concrete. Learn more here.

“I could feel being hit. Something striking me in the the head.  At that point, I didn’t even know where I was,” said former corrections officer Matthew Robidoux. He said he never saw it coming, “when I opened my eyes, I saw blood all over the ground.”

Robidoux was working at the Nashua Street jail in 2019 when his life – and his face – changed forever.

“Plastic surgery. They had to rebuild this nose,” Robidoux said.

Exclusive video obtained by 7 Investigates shows the frightening attack.

“The outside people don’t know the truth unless we tell them. And they will never know the truth unless we tell them. Period,” said another former corrections officer who wants to remain anonymous. He said these kinds of assaults are too common at Nashua Street.

“I have seen officers really, really, really take a beating inside. Lips are swollen, fractured cheekbones, unconscious. They’re totally knocked out,” he said.

Former Shift Commander Michael Walsh remembers responding to an assault on a female officer.

“I get in there and I held– she had lumps on her head. I grabbed ahold of her, and her whole body was trembling.”

Keeping order behind bars is a dangerous and demanding job. Officers say they’re being forced to do it while exhausted.

“Someone’s going to get hurt,” Robidoux said. “They ain’t going to be 100 percent when they have to defend themselves.”

Robidoux was attacked during a 16 hour shift. 

“We call it, being drafted. You are not working just 16 hours. And if you get out after 16 hours, you are lucky. Go play the lottery,” the anonymous CO said.

On the schedule board at the jail, each yellow tab represents an officer who must work a double shift.

Officers say if they don’t obey draft orders they can be suspended – even fired.

“We have staffing challenges here, definitely,” said Superintendent Michael Colwell.

Colwell runs the jail and agrees it can be a dangerous place.

“Yeah, that’s an unfortunate reality to this business. Some of the people that we house are violent offenders.”

He admits officers are being mandated to work multiple 16 hour shifts in a row but, he does not agree that extra hours make officers more vulnerable to attacks.

“I don’t think we’ve established any tie-in to say, hours of work and inmate misconduct,” Colwell said.

The jail is short-staffed due to the pandemic, retirements and a lack of applicants.

Officers who have been attacked inside the jail say that staffing shortage puts them at risk.

“The thing is they need to go home to their family, and that’s the main mission … we need to go home safe every day. And it should be at the end of 8 hours,” Robidoux said.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department said they are taking steps to fix the staffing crisis inside the jail.

They are now running four different training programs for people who want to become officers and they have promised the next thirty graduates will go directly to Nashua Street.

A custom-made wheelchair gives Kenny Hersh freedom. He has difficulty walking and uses an iPad to communicate due to a rare neurological condition.

“The chair is the way I can participate in life,” said Hersh. 

It also lets him travel with his wife, Leah. Last fall, the couple flew from Boston to Los Angeles for a family celebration.

“It becomes part of his body,” she said. 

Large and battery-powered wheelchairs are loaded into the cargo hold with the luggage, and sometimes that can be a difficult process.

When Hersh landed in LA, he discovered a piece he uses to steer his wheelchair was damaged.   

“I was angry,” he said. 

The couple said they were stuck in a hotel room for days, arguing with their airline about repairing or replacing his chair.

“I said, ‘Do you understand this is a wheelchair? This is not a piece of luggage,'” Hersh’s wife told 7 Investigates. 

Our investigation found Hersh’s chair was one of 21,000 wheelchairs and mobility scooters damaged, lost, or delayed on domestic flights since 2019. 

“Unfortunately, this is a problem that goes hidden a lot from the rest of the average travelers, because they’re not experiencing it themselves,” said Heather Ansley, associate general counsel for corporate and government relations at Paralyzed Veterans of America. 

GG deFiebre appeared in an emotional TikTok post in tears.

“It’s made for me,” deFiebre said, referring to her wheelchair. 

She said an airline broke a wheel on her chair.  

“It happens all the time to people and it shouldn’t be something that happens,” said deFiebre. 

Disability advocate and model Bri Scalesse said after an airline bent her chair one wheel didn’t touch the ground.  

“Today my freedom and independence was taken away,” Scalesse said. 

We found despite thousands of problems the U.S. Department of Transportation has not fined one airline for mishandling wheelchairs in the last three years.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. airlines, tells 7 Investigates the companies recognize the importance of continuing to improve air travel accessibility while ensuring the highest level of safety for all travelers.

Eventually, the airline involved repaired or replaced deFiebre, Scalesse, and Hersh’s chairs but, the damage to their lives was already done. 

“If they are going to provide a service to the increasingly growing population with disabilities just get it right,” Hersh said. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) said a single damaged wheelchair is one too many. The agency wants to require that airline employees get better training on how to handle and stow wheelchairs.  

In March the USDOT held a public hearing on issues people who use wheelchairs encountered during air travel. Click here for video from the hearing. The agency has issued a rulemaking to make it clear that airlines are required to return all wheelchairs and mobility devices in the condition they were received and that damaging a wheelchair is a regulatory violation that may subject an airline to a fine. 

For information on passengers with disabilities rights click here.

To file a complaint with the U.S. DOT, click here.

US DOT travel tips for people with disabilities 
Paralyzed Veterans of America wants to hear from passengers who had travel challenges. 

Study: Why improperly fitted wheelchairs can be harmful 
All Wheels Up is crash testing wheelchairs in cabins for commercial flights. 

If you have a story idea, suggestion or tip please email: Tell7@whdh.com

“When it hit, my vision was blurred but it was because the windshield cracked and exploded on me,” said Leonard Brown after a chunk of concrete crashed through his windshield. The concrete fell from a Somerville overpass earlier this year.

“It’s concerning. If I had anyone else in the car they would have been extremely injured or killed,” said Brown.

Steve Kingsbury also got a smashing surprise driving through East Milton Square on I-93 last fall.

“It shook me up a lot. All of a sudden it was a very large noise and my windshield just shattered in this area,” said Kingsbury.

He isn’t sure what exactly fell from the overpass because, luckily, it didn’t make it through his windshield.

“Not even a cut, I was very fortunate, although I was covered in glass. Until you see the windshield, you don’t realize the extent of what really happened to me, and how lucky I was,” said Kingsbury.

WHDH obtained records from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation showing 16 reports of falling debris in the past year.

“That’s almost frightening to hear,” said Kingsbury.

In Charlestown, a concrete pillar that supports the Tobin Bridge is crumbling, sending pieces falling onto police cars parked below. A Boston Police Department spokesperson says no one was hurt, but the concrete dented two police cars and smashed the windshields of two others.

In Boxford, pieces of metal have fallen from this bridge over I-95. No damage has been reported, but rusty metal pieces are laying under the bridge. Even a small piece could be trouble if it crashes into the windshield of a moving car.

Other incidents include concrete falling from this bridge over the Mass Pike in Charlton and a piece of metal falling from this Saugus bridge, hitting a car.

“That’s a lot of incidents in a short period of time,” said Kingsbury.

MassDOT tells 7-Investigates they take all reports of falling debris from bridges and overpasses seriously. They say engineering crews are sent out to inspect structures whenever a report is received.

The agency says it will spend more than $3 billion over the next five years to repair and rebuild bridges across the state.

“I was very fortunate. I’m hoping it doesn’t happen to somebody else,” said Kingsbury.

“I’m literally crying happy tears,” Kelly said.

Kelly just found out $84,000 of her student loans are going to be wiped away.

“It’s great. I’m so happy,” Kelly said.

Kelly graduated with a degree in graphic design thirteen years ago.

She has struggled to pay off her loans.

“It really was like a living nightmare,” Kelly said.

Kelly is one of 66,000 students across the country who will soon have their loan balances forgiven.

It’s all part of a major settlement between dozens of states, including Massachusetts, and Navient Corporation, formerly part of Sallie Mae.

Navient is one of the country’s largest student loan companies.

“It is truly going to be a life-changing settlement,” said attorney Arwen Thoman, Student Loan Ombudsman and director of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Student Loan Assistance Unit.

The agreement settles lawsuits claiming the company “engaged in unfair and deceptive acts” and gave loans to students who were unlikely to be able to repay them.

“Borrowers have struggled under the weight of these debts in many cases for decades,” Thoman said.

Could you have your student loan forgiven in this settlement?

You may be eligible if you: 

• Took out certain private loans between 2002 and 2014   

• Had low credit scores   
• Attended specific for-profit schools and later fell behind on your loan payments  

“In order to be eligible for the relief, the loans had to have gone at least seven months past due,” Thoman said.

Other students – about 350,000 of them – will be getting some money back if they paused payments on their federal loans by putting them in forbearance.

That is a mechanism that allows borrowers to temporarily stop making payments while they try to save money.

“We allege that the company should have told them about ways to manage their loans, but instead, told them to basically stop making payments on their loans. Meanwhile, interest accrued, and borrowers fell further and further behind,” Thoman said.

Massachusetts borrowers in this group will receive about $500 each.

Navient, the loan company involved, tells 7 Investigates the claims in the lawsuits are “unfounded.”

But the company says the settlement allows it “to avoid the additional burden, expense, time, and distraction to prevail in court.”

This debt relief is a huge relief for Kelly and her family.

They will finally be able to buy a house!

“I can’t put into words how much this will change my life,” Kelly said.

To potentially qualify for the loan cancelation, you must have had a Massachusetts mailing address or lived in one of the dozens of states participating in the settlement.

For a list of those states and to find out more about the settlement, click here for information from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office. 

To ensure the settlement administrator can find you, federal loan borrowers who may be eligible for a refund/restitution payment are encouraged to update their contact information in their studentaid.gov account or create an account if they do not already have one.

Studentaid.gov is the U.S. Department of Education’s main website for federal student loans and a portal to access information about all your federal student loans. You can use your studentaid.gov account to apply for repayment plans, consolidate your federal loans, explore repayment plans with a loan simulator, and use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool.

Eligible private loan borrowers will be notified if their loan will be discharged.

For additional information and settlement updates, please visit the settlement administrator’s website  www.NavientAGSettlement.com or call the settlement hotline at 1-833-630-1416.

Click here to contact the MA AG’s Student Loan Assistance unit, where you can file a request for help. 

For more information about the settlement from Navient, click here. 

“Repeatedly, I kept seeing mice. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh,'” Chantal said. 

Chantal videotaped four of them darting across the floor while she waited for her flight in Terminal C last month. 

“This really surprised me. I was just worried that it was going to end up in someone’s bag,” Chantal said. 

Chantal says nearly as surprising as seeing the mice is what happened when she reported the critters to airport workers. 

“They’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, they’re always here. It’s normal.’ It’s just like, ‘What? That’s so weird,'” Chantal said. 

Passengers have been posting their rodent sightings on social media. 

One mouse is trying to grab a cup. 

Another mouse races across the floor to munch on some food.

Surprised travelers are also taking to Twitter, posting: 

“Sitting at Boston airport, and a mouse just scurried up to my bag.”

“Just had a mouse run between my legs at the Boston airport.”

“I think it’s concerning for sure,” said Marc Potzler, a pest control expert and board-certified entomologist with Ehrlich Pest Control.

Pest control experts say mice spread disease and could cause dangerous situations.

“If a rodent were inside a wall and found an electrical wire to chew on, they can knock out a security system, knock out the electronics in the building, or potentially start a fire, all of which are very, very severe conditions in an airport setting,” Marc said. 

Massport runs the airport and tells 7 Investigates it’s gotten 76 separate complaints about mice at Logan in the last three years.

The agency says it “takes any and all complaints we receive seriously” and blames ongoing construction in Terminal C and the cold weather for driving the mice inside.  

The agency adds that “Indoor sightings of mice are not unique to Logan Airport.” 

But Chantal says she’s a frequent flyer and the mice sightings were definitely unique for her.

“I have never seen mice or anything like that in an airport before,” Chantal said. 

Massport says as soon as we told them about the mice Chantal saw, they called their pest control contractor, who is at the airport four days a week and on-call 24/7.  

If you have a tip, story idea, or caught something on camera, email us at Tell7@whdh.com

Cameras that read license plates are being installed around Massachusetts and Rhode Island and one couple says the cameras are worth their weight in gold after they survived a violent crime.

“I didn’t think it was real at first, I thought someone was playing a prank on us,” said Jennifer.

“The gentleman that came to my side had a gun,” said Gordon.

A quick trip to a convenience store turned frightening for Jennifer and Gordon last summer.

“We were immediately blocked in by another car. Immediately two gentlemen approached,” Gordon said.

One man attacked Gordon on his side of the car, while Jennifer was fighting off another attacker on the driver’s side.

“He was trying to pull me out and I’m fighting back and then he just punched me right in my nose,” said Jennifer.

“He spun around and hit me in the top of the head with the gun,” said Gordon. “He hit me again -at that point I kind of lost consciousness.”

Jennifer – who was nine months pregnant – stopped fighting.

“I knew I had to back down and that was the right thing to do for myself and for my baby,” she said.

The thieves drove off – but they didn’t get far.

“They caught them the following day. They only had our vehicle for about five hours,” Gordon said.

Some hi-tech help quickly led police to this motel in Warwick – and the stolen car.

An extensive camera system captures license plates on all vehicles driving through the area.

Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Police in Cranston, Rhode Island tells 7NEWS, “we were able to put the plate into the system. A very alert police officer was patrolling a hotel in that area. Found the car with blood on the side. They eventually came out and surrendered.

If it wasn’t for the cameras I don’t think we would have had the lead that we had to locate these people.”

7NEWS got a behind-the-scenes look at the network of electronic eyes.

“This is saying that it’s a stolen license plate right here. The system itself is not probable cause to stop a vehicle; make an arrest or anything– that’s just information. We proceed with our normal checks that we would do to verify because the last thing we want to do is stop an innocent motorist,” said Lt. Justin Dutra from Cranston PD.

Gordon and Jennifer – who now have a baby boy – are thankful the cameras were working that night.

“If the technology is out there, then why not utilize it to save people and save lives,” said Gordon.

“It could have went down a whole different path. But it didn’t. And we’re lucky and we’re all healthy and wonderful and definitely, God was on our side,” said Jennifer.

It’s important to note these cameras do not capture images of people and they are not used to ticket drivers for traffic violations.

Experts say many of the trees that fall during storms are zombie trees — trees that are weak or nearly dead.

“A zombie tree is a tree that has experienced some kind of disturbance that has caused the tree to become unstable or unsafe but still has the appearance of being a totally healthy tree,” arborist Steven Kendall explained.

Part of Kendall’s job is to help homeowners find the troubling trees lurking in their yards. 7NEWS got the chance to see him in action as he patrolled Sally Meding’s Natick home.

Meding said she knows how frightening falling trees can be. Her son needed stitches when a tree fell on him while he was riding his bike in Wellesley.

“That was really, really scary for me,” she said. “Really scary.”

Kendall said they are simple signs that homeowners can use to identify tree trouble themselves. He instructs them to look closely at the ground around the tree for mounds or cracks in the dirt.

“It could be the root zone has been impacted either by a shifting due to high winds or some or some other kind of loading,” he explained.

If the tree is often surrounded by puddles, that could spell trouble too.

“Flooding can often times cause root death,” he said.

Some other signs include:

• A tree that is leaning to one side
• Animal and bird nests can hollow out the tree and weaken it
• Cracks in the trunk

Mending said she was concerned about a crack in the tree next to her driveway.

“That happened in a high wind and made an awful sound,” she said.

However, upon closer inspection, Kendall said the tree is actually in really good shape.

“It’s not a full-thickness crack and it looks like the tree is doing a pretty good job of trying to heal that wound,” he told Mending.

Another helpful trick for finding zombie trees: take photographs once or twice a year and compare them with past pictures so you can see any changes, especially after a storm.

And drivers probably don’t think about the safety of bridges in the Boston area.

But 7-Investigates found bridges with crumbling concrete, rusted rebar and corroded beams. 

“This bridge needs, really, immediate attention,” said Ming Wang, distinguished professor of Civil Engineering at Northeastern University.

Prof Wang is an international bridge expert.  And he assessed some local bridges.

Our first stop was in Andover where 495 crosses over Route 28 northbound.

The concrete columns are crumbling and these support beams have big gouges in them.

“That problem is very serious,” said Prof. Wang.

He pointed out one beam where a massive piece of concrete is missing.

“You need a new structure there,” said. Prof. Wang

We asked Prof. Wang to rate this situation on a scale of 1-10 , with 10 meaning the bridge needs immediate attention.

“This bridge is severely up to 8,” said Prof. Wang.

7News contacted the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 

Officials say plans are in place to completely overhaul this bridge and five others in the area starting in 2024.

But that’s more than two years away.

This small bridge over Route 1 in Saugus has a potentially big problem.

“This one is the most serious,” said Prof. Wang.

Wang says if a vehicle carrying a heavy load drove across the bridge, this beam underneath might not hold up.

“It could fail at anytime,” said Prof. Wang.

On a scale of 1 to 10?

“Eight point five, to nine already.”

When state transportation officials learned what we found, they told us, “repairs are being scheduled.”

“It is very important to fix it up,” said Prof. Wang.

The Tobin Bridge in Chelsea is the state’s longest bridge – stretching more than two miles.

Wang found several parts of the famous structure he believes need attention.

“My God, all this concrete is crumbling,” said Prof. Wang.

Several concrete footings are deteriorating.

“This particular location is bad, it needs immediate attention,” said Prof. Wang.

Wang says the footings should be repaired and monitored.

And he says this huge concrete beam also needs to be fixed.

“This is one of the more critical conditions.  The concrete will crumble someday,” said Prof. Wang.

His rating?

“This is severe, between 8.5 to 9,” said Wang.

The state is scheduled to fix some of the concrete problems under the Tobin next March, but not this particular section.

After seeing Professor Wang’s findings the Department of Transportation told 7-Investigates, “MassDOT is scheduling inspectors to review the conditions identified by Professor Wang.”

More money is on the way to repair bridges across the Bay State. President Biden signed the new $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law this week. The White House says more than $1 billion is now dedicated to fixing Massachusetts bridges over the next five years.

Joan did not expect a letter from the Massachusetts RMV. When she opened it…

“I was floored. I was absolutely floored,” Joan said.

Joel got the same letter.

“I was stunned, and I was upset,” Joel said.

They were being threatened with suspension of their drivers’ licenses.

“I was freaking out,” Joan said.

The letter listed a specific “offense date” but no details.

“I was going through trying to remember what happened that day. You know, was there anything going on that day that was out of the ordinary?” Joan said.

The offense – according to the letters: “complaint medical.”

Joel called his doctor and local police. Both told him no one filed a complaint against him.

“I was scared. I don’t know what serious thing could I have ever done that would cause somebody to suspend my license,” Joel said.

The serious-sounding letters said if they didn’t “request a hearing with the RMV” soon, their licenses would be suspended for “an INDEFINITE TIME.”

“It’s crazy,” Joan said.

We found a bunch of these letters went out to Massachusetts drivers this fall.

We found a bunch of these letters went out to Massachusetts drivers this fall. 

The Registry won’t tell us how many it sent, but attorney Brian Simoneau says he has been inundated with calls from frantic drivers. 

“These people were horrified. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’ve been practicing for 20 years,” Simoneau said.

Joan found out what all the fuss was about at her hearing.

“It wasn’t a complaint,” Joan said.

The Registry just wanted her to get an eye exam.

“It took up my life for like three weeks just worrying about it,” Joan said.

The RMV tells 7-Investigates the letters are “courtesy reminders” to drivers who need to get an updated vision test to keep their license active.

Of course, drivers need to be able to see well. But why didn’t the RMV just explain that in the letters?

“They got these letters making them sound like they are public enemy number one and that they were in big trouble with the registry,” Simoneau said. “And that’s really kind of the crux of the problem. The letters weren’t informational in nature. They cause more confusion than anything else.”

Joan passed her eye exam, sent in the results, and her ordeal was over.

But Joel says his license was suspended after he called the RMV multiple times to find out what the letter was about and tried to arrange a hearing.

When he finally found out he needed an eye exam, he got one, passed, and sent the RMV the results. But his license was still suspended!

“I am furious, and I am so frustrated,” Joel said.

After we contacted the Registry, Joel’s license was reinstated. The RMV says it is reviewing how it handles these reminder letters.

If you got a letter like this, or have a tip or story idea we’d like to hear from you.

Email Tell7@whdh.com 

Here’s how to find out if your phone is affected. If you have any questions contact your carrier:

FCC: Plan Ahead for Phase-Out of 3G Cellular Networks

Verizon

AT&T 

T-Mobile

Next year millions of cell phones and electronic devices will stop working because of a technology upgrade. Massachusetts safety officials tell 7-Investigates they are so concerned they’re putting out a public alert. 7’s Hank Phillippi Ryan has the story. 

Kennedy Duncan keeps up on the latest technology. 

“I have a newer phone,” Kennedy said.

But she didn’t know about a high-tech change on the horizon. 

Next year major mobile carriers are dumping their 3G network to change to a newer generation: the faster 5G. 

“I had no idea,” Kennedy said.  

Most people we spoke to didn’t know either. 

“No, I wasn’t aware of this,” a woman told 7 News.

“It’s a shock to me,” a man told 7 News. 

“I never heard this before,” another man told 7 News.

And when the change happens many older cell phones won’t be able to make or receive any texts or calls, including calls to 911. 

“You will open that phone, and it won’t work. If you’re in an emergency of any sort, you might not be able to reach the people that you need to get to immediately,” Kerry Collins, the Undersecretary for Forensic Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

And it’s not just phones that could stop working.

It’s also tablets, smartwatches, medical devices, vehicle emergency alert systems, even your home security system.  

“There’s a whole host of technology that uses 3G,” Kerry said. 

We’ve learned the Massachusetts Probation department is in the process of phasing out hundreds of 3G GPS monitoring bracelets.  

State agencies are trying to figure out what other devices may be impacted. 

“We’re letting all of our partners know in public safety that they need to check their devices as well to make sure they’re going to work in January of 2022,” Kerry said. 

The FCC says, “Some devices may only require a software update” but some people “may need to upgrade to a newer device.” 

Mobile carriers are working to alert customers.

But safety officials say don’t wait to hear from someone. 

Find out if your device is about to stop working and upgrade before there’s an emergency. 

“When you see this, when you hear about this, contact your carrier, it is too important to wait, your safety is at risk,” Kerry said. 

Different carriers will phase out 3G at different times. Some carriers are offering discounts to help people upgrade to newer phones.  

If you have a question, tip, or story idea email Tell7@whdh.com 

This is how Tamara is used to seeing Hobbs: playful and full of energy.

But last summer, Tamara had to rush her beloved family pet to the animal hospital.

Hobbs ended up in the ICU needing emergency care, IV fluids, and medication. 

“I thought he was going to die,” Tamara said. 

What happened?

“Hobbs got into a container of gum. Then I Googled ‘my dog ate gum’ and started to panic,” Tamara said. 

The chewing gum Hobbs ate contained xylitol, a sugar substitute. 

It’s not dangerous for humans to consume, but can be devastating if a dog eats it – causing seizures, liver failure even death in a very short period of time.

“I had no idea. I was really worried,” Tamara said. 

We found emergency calls to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center about dogs poisoned by xylitol over the last few years are up nearly 40%.

“40% is a lot,” said Dr. Tina Wismer, DVM, the director of toxicology for the ASPCA Poison Control Center.

Hobbs is one of thousands of dogs poisoned by the substance.

“This is definitely something that dog owners need to have on their radars,” Dr. Wismer said. 

And it’s not just gum or candy you have to worry about.

Xylitol may also be in foods like peanut butter, ketchup, baked goods, toothpaste, vitamins, and sugar-free products. 

You may miss it even if you check the label – xylitol can also be called birch sugar, birch bark extract, or wood sugar.

“It is really surprising the wide range of products that we find xylitol in. Sometimes it’s not in the active ingredients. Sometimes it’s listed in the inactive ingredients,” Dr. Wismer said. 

We found one gum brand does say on the label: “Xylitol is not safe for dogs.” 

But products with Xylitol are not required to have warning labels.

Symptoms of xylitol poisoning include vomiting, seizures, tremors, and difficulty walking or standing.

Tamara It was extremely traumatic. It was definitely the scariest thing that I’ve gone through.

Hobbs spent 24 hours in the ER. He’s OK now. And to keep him that way Tamara doesn’t bring anything with xylitol into her home. 

“We feel very lucky that he survived it,” Tamara said. 

If you’re a cat owner and are wondering what this means for your pet – the FDA says xylitol doesn’t seem to be dangerous for cats. 

If you think your dog has eaten something with xylitol call your veterinarian, animal hospital or animal poison control center immediately. 

For more information:

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center 

ASPCA Xylitol Safety Warning: How to Protect Your Pets 

FDA Warning Xylitol and Dogs  

FDA Xylitol is Dangerous to Dogs Warning Poster 

Paws Off Act of 2021 

If you have a tip or story idea please email Tell7@whdh.com 

Reports of flight attendants being punched or having to subdue out-of-control passengers with duct tape and seat belt extenders have been surfacing all across the country.

At a homeland security office in Chelsea, U.S. Air Marshals have been training flight crew members in self-defense.

Flight crews say they have to be ready because reports of problems on planes are only increasing.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been more than 4,700 unruly passengers just this year alone. That number is more than double what was reported in 2020.

Of the recent confrontations, 73 percent involve passengers who refuse to wear masks.

Flight attendant Kristen Beard said she wants to learn what to do if a passenger on her airplane flies into a rage.

“I’m definitely more aware things can escalate to violence quickly,” she said. “There’s been instances of people storming the flight deck or trying to open doors, passengers fighting passengers, passengers fighting flight attendants.”

The training starts in a classroom but quickly moves into the gym.

Then the flight attendants take the techniques they learned into a flight simulator. Inside these special training areas, flight crews must contend with the exact conditions they will be dealing with in the air — including crowded seats, overhead compartments and thin aisles

One after another, the trainees practice what to do if they are confronted with violence.

“I can only imagine going onto an aircraft – you’re stuck in a tube with 200 something passengers and some of them aren’t very happy,” said TSA spokesperson Dan Velez. “This type of class helps flight attendants become a little more at ease knowing they can confidently deescalate a situation and defend themselves and passengers if they need to.”

Flight attendants say they are just doing what they must to stay safe in the sky.

“I don’t think our intention is ever, ‘I’m gonna fight people on the plane,” said flight attendant Brittany Decker. “You never want anything to happen. Our first priority is to keep everyone safe, make sure the planes get on the ground safely and take off safely.”

Tonight we take you inside an FBI sting to stop a Malden man’s deadly plot. The dangerous operation went down six years ago. But now we’re getting to see what agents say they did to catch a homegrown terrorist. Steve Cooper has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

Undercover video obtained by 7 Investigates shows visits to a New Hampshire gun store.

“This is the one when I shoot when I put my thumb over it?” Edward McLarnon asked during one visit while holding a gun.

“Is a 22 powerful enough?” McLarnon asked in another meeting.

Edward McLarnon had a weapons wish list that was detailed and disturbing:

A .22 handgun — the type the mafia uses. A pistol with a silencer. An AK-47 or equivalent. A sniper’s rifle with a scope. A bunch of grenades. Dynamite and C4, an explosive.

He had lethal plans for specific targets like the former Attorney General of Massachusetts.

“Martha Coakley,” McLarnon said.

And the chief judge of Boston’s federal court.

“Judge Saylor,” McLarnon said.

The FBI had received a tip that McLarnon wanted to acquire weapons and kill people.

Agents moved quickly to stop him.

McLarnon thinks another man in the gun store is an arms dealer, but he’s really an undercover FBI agent.

McLarnon tells him about his deadly plan.

“It was very chilling,” FBI Special Agent Brian LeBlanc said. He oversaw the undercover operation back in 2015 and listened live to every word.

“I felt like this is a serious individual that has a plan to commit acts of violence, and we have an opportunity to prevent him from doing it,” LeBlanc said.

McLarnon talked about his hatred for the legal system.

“All federal judges are criminal psychopaths,” McLarnon said. “The judges hate me.”

The FBI says McLarnon blamed the judicial system for his problems.

“I lost my business. I lost my family, my son,” McLarnon said.

He posted on social media about it.

“Courts operate as criminal enterprises,” McLarnon said. “I’m a victim of court corruption.”

But the FBI says McLarnon was no victim.

“He didn’t appear to take responsibility for his own actions that had caused these to happen and he really just wanted revenge. I think he had focused on it so much that it consumed him,” Alyssa Dietrich, an FBI analyst and staff operations specialist said.

McLarnon “I’m killing traitors in the process of them committing treason.”

“He believed he was doing his patriotic duty for calling out judicial corruption, and that the killing of these individuals was going to save the United States,” LeBlanc said.

The operation ended at a New Hampshire rest stop.

McLarnon paid the undercover agent $700 for grenades, bullets, guns, and explosives.

FBI video recorded from a plane recorded agents swooping in to arrest him.

“The team that worked this case worked very hard, long hours, a lot of hard work went into this,” LeBlanc said. “And to see it follow through like that I was very happy and proud.”

After his arrest along a New Hampshire highway, McLarnon was convicted on several charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He appealed those convictions and lost. For 7 Investigates, I’m Steve Cooper.

If you have a tip or story idea email: Tell7@whdh.com 

The phone rings in the Littleton Police Department 911 call center. Bill Harrold, the dispatch supervisor, answers the call, “911, this line is recorded. What is your emergency?”

Bill is ready for any call that comes in. “Hello? You dial 911?” he asks the caller.

But sometimes, a 911 dispatcher will only hear background noise on the other end of the line.

“911, this line is recorded. What’s your emergency? Hello?” Bill asks another caller, but no one responds on the other end of the line.

Similar calls come into the police department.

“911, this line is recorded. What’s your emergency? Hello?” Another dispatcher asks a caller, but all she hears is a noise like someone is running.

“911, what’s your emergency?” Another dispatcher asks. When no one answers, she tries to see if they need help. “Hello? If you need police, press one. If you need fire, press two. If you need EMS, press three.”

Dispatchers use high high-tech equipment to try to trace the caller’s location.

And in Littleton, police are sent to investigate every call.

“We have to send someone there to rule out the fact it’s not an emergency,” Littleton Police Chief Matthew Pinard says.

But often, these calls are mistakes. Littleton PD says misdials make up about 40% of their 911 calls.

“911, this line is recorded. What’s your emergency?” A dispatcher asks.

“I don’t have one. It dialed it by itself in my pocket,” a caller responds.

Other callers tell police they didn’t mean to call.

“Oh, I must have butt-dialed. I’m so sorry,” a caller says.

“Oh, my watch dialed you. I’m sorry,” another caller says.

It’s happening all over New England.

“It’s nerve-racking for sure,” Bill says.

7 Investigates found Boston police get about 20 mistaken 911 calls a day.

Nantucket police say up to 70% of the calls they got this summer were misdials.

Quincy police say since the beginning of the year, they’ve gotten more than 5300 accidental calls.

That’s 5300 times worried dispatchers like Laurie Brancaccio had to figure out if there was a life-or-death emergency on the line.

“You never know what’s on the other end of the 911 call when you pick it up. It’s been overwhelming some days,” Laurie says.

“Other calls are coming in at the same time, you have to prioritize, and you know, we could potentially not get to the right person at the right time,” Bill says.

Why the increase in pocket and purse dials? Experts believe it’s the proliferation of smartphones, watches, and gadgets.

“It’s modern technology, and they’re making it easier for people to get through to 911,” Bill says.

But here’s how you can help: if your device accidentally calls 911, police say, please stay on the line and explain what happened.

“Don’t just hang up and walk away or power your phone off. Just confirm that it is a misdial. You won’t get in trouble for it,” Chief Pinard says.

One way to prevent misdials: make sure the home screen on your phone is locked before putting it in your purse or pocket.

For more information: FCC: Avoid Making Accidental Wireless 911 Calls 

If you have a story idea or a tip, email Tell7@whdh.com 

Our undercover camera found over and over on MBTA buses, subway cars, and commuter rail trains passengers are not wearing masks. 

And workers are not asking them to.

“It’s just crazy,” Sarah Fisher, a college student says. 

Sarah relies on the subway to get to class.

She always wears a mask and is disturbed by passengers who don’t. 

“This morning, I saw people on the train, like not wearing a mask, and they didn’t seem to really be concerned about it,” Sarah says. 

A federal order requires masks be worn on public transportation to help prevent the spread of COVID.

“It’s very well known by now that masks are very effective at reducing the spread,” Dr. Varghese Mathai, Ph.D., a physics professor at UMass Amherst, says. 

Mathai demonstrated for us how a virus, like COVID-19, can spread in a bus, subway, or train. 

His simulation shows how in about five minutes, depending on airflow, a passenger who is not wearing a mask could spread airborne COVID particles throughout the inside of a public transit cabin.

Mathai points out that people closer to the unmasked person are generally more likely to be exposed to the virus than people farther away.

“By not wearing a mask, you’re actually endangering the people around you if you’re sitting in an enclosed environment,” Mathai says. 

So Why aren’t T workers cracking down on passengers with no masks? 

We found their power is limited. When Governor Baker’s emergency order ended this spring so did the T’s ability to fine riders.  

And MBTA workers might fear for their safety

In the last year, nearly 20 MBTA employees have been harassed, spit on, or assaulted after telling people they need to wear a mask. 

“It’s terrible that these workers are experiencing violence and assault on a job just for trying to make a safe work environment for themselves, and a safe riding experience for passengers,” Jeff Newton, from The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) says. 

Hoping for that safe riding experience, Sarah wants all T riders to wear a mask. “I just sort of like wonder why, like, why can’t you just put on a mask for the short time that you’re on the train?” 

The T says if a passenger is not wearing a face mask because of a health condition, employees can’t ask for more information or proof.  

For more information about passengers, public health, and the mask mandate click here. If you have a tip or story idea email Tell7@whdh.com

Tina watched the video on her phone in horror — her home surveillance system showing her house was on fire.

“I was completely panicked,” Tina says. 

Swirling smoke filled her living room as the fire alarms shrieked! 

She could see her dog Dunkin trapped inside! 

“It was so scary. I ran out of work, and I jumped in my car. I called the Tewksbury Fire Department. 

‘Get my dog out of the house!’ That was the only thing I asked for,” Tina says. 

Firefighters rescued Dunkin.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I lost him,” Tina says. 

And they got the fire out. 

But there was so much damage, Tina’s home was gutted. “We lost everything,” she says. 

Tina and her husband had insurance and wanted to rebuild their 70-year-old home.

That’s when they got shocking news: They’d have to pay about $70,000 to bring their windows and their electrical and plumbing systems up to current building code. 

And their insurance wouldn’t cover that.

“When it was installed, it was up to code, but now it’s no longer up to code. It’s really sad,” Tina says. 

We found insurance companies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire aren’t required to pay for building code upgrades after a disaster.

Some policies do cover it. If yours doesn’t, there is special coverage you can buy, but many people don’t know about it.

“Unfortunately, we have seen situations where homeowners were not aware that they didn’t have building code coverage and were absolutely shocked when they found out that they’re not protected,” Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute says. 

That’s what happened to Tina. Now her home sits empty while she and her husband live in a hotel.

They’re still paying their mortgage and struggling to come up with the money to rebuild.  

“You work really hard for the things you have and to be comfortable and all that was taken away from us,” Tina says. 

Do you have building code coverage? It’s also called “ordinance or law coverage.”  

To find out, check your policy or call your insurance agent. If your policy doesn’t include it, you can buy that additional code coverage. If your policy does include it be sure to ask how much it covers to make sure it’s enough. Some policies only include about $10,000 in coverage, and you may need more. 

For more information: 

Massachusetts Guide to Homeowners Insurance 

Insurance Information Institute: What is homeowners insurance? 

Insurance Information Institute: Am I covered? 

Insurance Information Institute: What is covered by standard homeowners insurance? 

Insurance Information Institute: Home buyers insurance guide 

If you have a tip or story idea, email Tell7@whdh.com 

The door at District 7 Tavern has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Inside, the bar sits empty. The pool table is covered. The TVs and jukebox are off. 

“It’s been a struggle to keep the lights on,” co-owner Arianne Waldron says. “We are in debt. We are drowning.” The Roxbury pub is struggling to find the money to reopen. 

“The bills are piling up in a very kind of overwhelming way,” Arianne says, “Like how will we ever get out of this?”

Earlier this year she and her business partner applied for grant money from the federal “Restaurant Revitalization Fund.” 

The fund had $28 billion that Congress set aside to help businesses like Arianne’s that were hit hard by COVID.

“It felt like, OK, this is going to be our lifeline,” Arianne says. 

District 7 got an email from the Small Business Administration with good news: “Congratulations, Award Approved.” 

“We were ecstatic,” Arianne says. 

The email promised a $100,000 grant would be in the restaurant’s bank account in “3-7 business days.” 

“This money was going to save us. This money was going to enable us to reopen, to enable us to hire back our workers, and for them to be able to provide for their families,” Arianne says. 

Arianne and her partner used the email — and the promise of that money – to get a bank loan.

They began repairs, bought employee uniforms, and hired back their manager.  

But two weeks later, they got another email that said: 

“We regret to inform you that due to recent court rulings the U.S. Small Business Administration will not be able to disburse your Restaurant Revitalization Fund award.”

“I immediately felt sick to my stomach,” Arianne says. 

We found the same shocking notice went out to nearly 3,000 bars and restaurants across the country. The money they were promised wasn’t coming!  

“Their immediate reaction was terror, desperation, heartbreak, confusion,” Erika Polmar, the co-founder and executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition says. 

What happened? When Congress created the fund, lawmakers gave priority to applications from businesses owned by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged people. 

But then some businesses filed federal lawsuits challenging that.  And judges agreed with them.

“It’s particularly devastating when you believe you have the award and it’s taken away,” Erika says.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition was flooded with calls from business owners who also already spent the cash they were promised.

“I spoke to folks that were justifiably hysterical. I have never before in this role called in crisis counselors while on the phone with people, it was that dire and it still is,” Erika says.

The fund then had to reconsider all outstanding applications on a first-come, first-serve basis and it quickly ran out of money!  

We found only 36% of the businesses that asked for money were eventually approved.

And now more than a hundred thousand restaurants and bars – including District 7 – are still waiting for help.

“This sudden yanking of this rug out from under us has really left us in the lurch,” Arianne says.

There are bills in Congress right now calling to give more money to restaurants and bars to stay afloat. Industry experts tell 7-Investigates if something isn’t done soon more businesses will close and more people will lose their jobs.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Independent Restaurant Coalition  and additional resources 

Video released by the Independent Restaurant Coalition

National Restaurant Association 

Boston Black Hospitality Coalition

Here are links to some of the bills pending in Congress to replenish the fund and other legislation to help restaurants, bars, and other food and beverage businesses: 

Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021

Entree Act 

Small Business Administration information about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund

Businesses that received money from the fund 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) tells 7 Investigates:

As of June 30, 2021, the RRF program received more than 278,000 submitted eligible applications representing over $72.2 billion in requested funds, and approximately 101,000 applicants have been approved to restaurants, bars, and other restaurant-type businesses.

Underserved populations received approximately $18 billion in grant awards including:

• Women-Owned businesses ~ $7.5 billion
• Veteran-Owned businesses ~ $1 billion
• Social and economically disadvantaged-Owned businesses ~ $6.7 billion
• Businesses Owned by Representatives of Multiple Underserved Populations ~ $2.8 billion

The remainder of the $28.6 billion was awarded to eligible applicants not identified as part of an underserved group.

Additional economic relief is available: The SBA is still administering programs such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loans [EIDL], Targeted Advance EIDL, and Supplemental Targeted Advance EIDL programs. SBA Administrator Guzman increased the maximum amount that small businesses can borrow through the EIDL program. 

If you have a story idea or a tip please email: Tell7@whdh.com

John says his life is so much better because of his CPAP machine.

It provides a steady stream of air into this nose mask. John needs the device to sleep.

He has a condition called “obstructive sleep apnea” which makes his airway narrow – cutting off his oxygen.

The device keeps him breathing well. Before he had it, “You wake up miserable, groggy, depressed, angry,” John says. 

Beyond being exhausted, medical experts say sleep apnea patients could be more likely to suffer a heart attack or a stroke. “This is my lifeline,” John says.

CPAP’s can be noisy, so there’s special foam inside to keep them quieter. 

And turns out– that’s a problem.

John recently learned the machine he depends on was recalled. 

The official recall notice says the sound abatement foam may degrade into particles and be ingested or inhaled which can result in serious injury which can be life-threatening and cause possible toxic and carcinogenic effects. 

The recall involves millions of respiratory devices made by Philips Respironics, a subsidiary of Philips.

“It was surprising,” John says. 

The company says it’s working on a “repair and replacement program.”  

But John just got an email from Philips saying it will take about 12 months for his repair or replacement.

That leaves him and millions of others with a difficult decision. “Do you take the chance on using the machine? Or do you stop and live life like you used to, in a zombie state of not having great sleep?” John says. 

The company says people with recalled CPAP machines should stop using the devices and consult with their physician. 

John’s doctor is telling him to buy a new device that’s not part of the recall. But that could cost more than a thousand dollars and may not be covered by insurance.

“They are really left with no options,” Makenna Cox, an attorney with the law firm Girard Sharp says.

Lawyers have filed more than a dozen lawsuits in federal court in Boston against Philips. The company’s North American headquarters is in Cambridge. 

One suit wants the company to pay for ongoing medical monitoring and give patients a refund, or replacement with a non-defective device.

“We want them to be reimbursed for the trouble, the headache they’ve gone through, the anxiety that this is causing,” Makenna says. 

For now, John is struggling. He can’t find a new machine in stock. And the one he’s using could be harming him.

“It’s a rock and a hard place,” John says. 

Philips tells us they do not comment on pending litigation but that they are mobilizing their resources to fix this problem. They say they are committed to getting a repaired or replacement device to people as soon as possible. 

Click here for a link to the recall notice.

Click here for pictures of recalled devices and information from the company for patients.

Click here for information from the FDA about the recall.

If you have a story idea or tip email: Tell7@whdh.com 

Kelli was so excited to meet her newborn.

“I was ready to be a mom and take on the world with my new baby,” Kelli says.

When Landon was born, he was beautiful, and he loved to be held.

“He’s such a good boy,” Kelli says.

But Kelli’s happiness soon turned to tears.

“It’s just been a lot,” Kelli says.

Over the next few months, she learned little Landon was deaf, had cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy.

“It’s not something that any new parent wants to hear for their child,” Kelli says.

Testing revealed Landon had Cytomegalovirus or CMV.

CMV is a common virus. More than half of American adults over 40 have it in their body but don’t know it, because they have no serious symptoms.

A pregnant mom who has the virus doesn’t always pass it along to her growing baby, but when she does, it can be dangerous.

“It can cause devastating consequences for the developing newborn, these can include seizures, low birth weight, cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness, and even death,” says Dr. Michael Cohen, M.D., the director of the Multidisciplinary Pediatric Hearing Loss Clinic at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston.

“I was like, literally completely in shock,” Kelli says.

There’s no cure for CMV.

But there are ways to lessen the damage to newborns through early diagnosis and treatment.

When Grace was born doctors saw some visual symptoms of CMV, yellow skin and a smaller head. When a test confirmed she had the virus she started getting antiviral medicine. Like Landon, Grace is deaf and has cerebral palsy, but her dad believes things could have been much worse.

“I feel very fortunate. I feel if we didn’t know that Grace had CMV, and we started the antivirals later in life, she would just have had more damage done to her brain,” Shayne Gaffney, Grace’s father says.

Shayne is part of a group of parents and doctors pushing to make CMV testing mandatory for all newborns in Massachusetts. Right now, hospitals in the state aren’t required to screen for the virus.

“I think it’s most important for it to change.

The group also wants mandatory prenatal education to teach moms how to prevent passing the virus to their babies.

“It’s not something that any new parent should need to go through,” Kelli says.

There’s a CMV bill being considered at the State House right now. If it passes Massachusetts would be the first state in the country to require CMV testing for all newborns and prenatal education for parents.

For more information about CMV and the legislation filed in MA:

Massachusetts cCMV Coalition

Information about CMV bills filed in Massachusetts

National CMV Foundation

How mothers can prevent CMV from being passed to their infants

Mass Eye and Ear CMV information

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) information on CMV

If you have a story idea or tip, please email Tell7@whdh.com.