Heard on WCAI's Morning Edition

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit research organization out of Chatham, announced a number of new initiatives this week aimed at better understanding sharks that visit every summer.

Police departments around the region have not been quiet about police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death. 

Sandwich police condemned the actions of the officers who were involved, calling the incident "horrible" on Facebook. The post also says Sandwich officers undergo bias and de-escalation training.

Protests continued around the region and the country this weekend, calling attention to police brutality against Black people. Some of these events are being organized by teens and young adults. WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with 17-year-old Jocelyn Tompkins, a Sturgis Public Charter School student who helped organize a protest last week in Buzzards Bay that drew hundreds of people. 

Democrat Susan Moran was voted in Tuesday as the new state senator for the Plymouth-Barnstable district.

Moran beat Republican Jay McMahon to fill the seat left vacant by Vinny DeMacedo in November.

Native Americans and indigenous rights supporters will be watching Wednesday, as a federal judge is expected to hear arguments in the case over the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s reservation lands.

Starting Monday, small business owners around the country can apply for the latest infusion of federal money meant to help small businesses keep their workers on the payroll for as long as possible during this pandemic. 

The $2 trillion dollar stimulus package the President signed last week is far-reaching and includes money for individuals and provisions aimed at stemming the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Representative William Keating (D-Mass.) about what's in the bill and what he's working on to address the pandemic. 

Towns on Martha's Vineyard have shelter-in-place orders in effect as officials attempt to curb the rise of COVID-19. Those orders include a ban on construction. Governor Charlie Baker pushed back on Wednesday, saying island towns could not issue orders that contradict or supercede what Baker himself put in place. WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Chilmark Selectman James Malkin to talk about how he and other island officials are responding. 

Wednesday was the first full day Governor Charlie Baker's order to close all non-essential businesses was in effect. But Provincetown, and several other local towns, issued even stricter limitations in the hope of stemming the spread of COVID-19 before Baker issued his new restrictions.

WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Steve Katsurinis, Board of Health Chairman in Provincetown, about the town's emergency shelter-in-place order that went into effect Monday.   

Lawmakers have been busy on Beacon Hill, moving legislation aimed at addressing the impacts of the coronavirus epidemic. That includes a bill allowing towns and cities to postpone town meetings, elections and other events that would force people to gather in large numbers. Senator Julian Cyr of Truro is on the state's COVID-19 working group, a body that's looking into other measures that might need to be taken to stem the crisis.

Guards and medical staff are taking extra precautions with inmates at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne, as the COVID-19 epidemic continues to grow. 

WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Sheriff James Cummings about what he's doing to screen inmates and staff in an effort to keep COVID-19 from contaminating the jail.

A local scientist has joined her colleagues at a spot near the North Pole; she’s part of the largest polar research expedition in history. It’s called the MOSAiC project, which stands for Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate. The $150 million endeavor is spread out over 390 days, with researchers from 20 countries participating.

Running a marathon is not easy. You have to be physically and mentally ready, and flexible with the things you can't control, like the weather. Now imagine doing all that in one of the coldest places on earth. 

What does a pile of construction rubble have to do with fish? When old concrete gets put on the ocean floor, it goes from trash to habitat. Workers did just that to an artificial reef two miles off the coast of Yarmouth last week; they dumped pieces of granite and concrete to expand a reef that was built in the 1970s. WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with biologist Mark Rousseau of the state's Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF)about how his office manages artificial reefs like this one.  

A recent Harvard University report finds there is a lack of diversity within the six science organizations in Woods Hole. Estimates say 90% of researchers at these institutions are white, while 10% are people of color. The 15-page report also details a series of issues including, overt racism and microagressions, and a lack of cultural competence. Leaders at these organizations say they're working to increase diversity. 

WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Lead Reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan about how diversity and inclusion need to be considered not just in the workplace, but in the community of Woods Hole itself.

The family of a man convicted in 2005 of murdering his friend wants a new trial. New witnesses have since come forward, and an Innocence Project is looking into the case. The Mashpee Enterprise did an in-depth story on the case, and WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with  Enterprise reporter Jessica Hill about what she learned.

Most of us probably know about how much money we make each year. But, do you know exactly how much it actually costs for you to get through each day? Can you easily tally up your housing, transportation, food and even childcare costs? Researchers with the Nantucket Data Platform set out to answer that question for Nantucket residents, with some interesting, if not exactly surprising, results.

A play exploring the life and work of fishermen opens this week at Cape Cod Community College. The cast features both student and community actors, along with some special guests—local shellfishermen. The play itself was was written using interviews with fishermen from around the region. WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Vana Trudeau, Coordinator at the school's Tilden Arts Center, about "Boundless."

Newspaper websites have become a place for readers not just to learn new information; they have become public arenas to for readers to air their take on the day's news. But, not all comments contain factual information. The Martha's Vineyard Times has put a stop to some of that—at least when it comes to talking about climate change.

Chatham, like many towns on the Cape, has a shrinking population. Younger people, specifically, are moving away. They cite high housing costs and a lack of jobs as some of the reasons they don't make Chatham a year-round home. In response, the town created the "Chatham 365 Task Force," made up largely of working families, to identify some ways to make it easier for people of all ages to live and work in town. WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Select Board Chairperson and task force member Shareen Davis about their new, recently-released report.

Fall Town meeting season has begun, and residents across the region will fulfill their civic duty by taking up a wide range of issues. But multi-hour, sometimes multi-day, meetings can make it difficult for some to attend, and some towns have struggled to reach quorum.  Mashpee resident Craig Orsi and Yarmouth resident Stefanie Coxe recently wrote an Op-Ed in the Cape Cod Times on just this issue. WCAI Morning Edition Host Kathryn Eident talked with Coxe to hear more about their ideas on how to modernize this centuries-old form of democracy.  

 Researchers will be working with Hyannis residents as part of a new, federally-funded study to better understand how the chemicals known as PFAs interact with the human body.  Silent Spring research scientist Laurel Schaider says some 100 million Americans are estimated to have PFAS in their tap water, but little is known about the potential health impacts. WCAI Morning Edition Host Kathryn Eident talked with Schaider about the study.

Each year, state education officials recognize one teacher in Massachusetts who rises above the rest when it comes to dedication to students and education. This year, a 27-year-old high school teacher from New Bedford was given this distinction.

WCAI's Kathryn Eident talked with Takeru Nagayoshi about the award and how his work set him apart from thousands of other teachers throughout the state.

Beacon Hill is taking on the big task of figuring out how to legalize sports gambling. WCAI’s Kathryn Eident talks with State House Reporter Mike Deehan about how state lawmakers plan to do that, and what challenges they face in enacting the necessary laws.