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Articles by Brita Lundberg
¿Cuándo hay que enjuagar el arroz antes de cocinarlo?
Lavar el arroz antes de llevarlo a la olla es una de las costumbres culinarias más debatidas en las cocinas de todo el mundo. La decisión de pasarlo por agua fría no responde a un mandato único ni a una regla de higiene inflexible, sino a una cuestión estrictamente química y gastronómica.
Regenerative organic is not automatic: what it really takes to earn the certification
Becoming regenerative organic certified is a complex, multi-year process that goes far beyond long-standing sustainable practices, even for farms that have worked under soil-health principles for generations. That is the case of Lundberg Family Farms, a California-based rice producer with organic roots dating back to the 1960s, which obtained Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) in 2023 after an exhaustive evaluation of its agricultural, environmental and labor practices.
A warning about radioactive air pollution from Pilgrim
ATTORNEY GENERAL Andrea Campbell filed a civil lawsuit last week against Holtec, the company decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear power station in Plymouth, for releasing asbestos air pollution during their demolition process. Asbestos is a known airborne carcinogen that causes malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and ovarian cancer. Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility applauds the lawsuit and believew another hazard lurks unseen at Plymouth – radioactive air pollution.
Bill would ensure tenant access to lawyers in eviction cases
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LOW-INCOME TENANTS who are at risk of being evicted could gain access to free legal representation through a proposed program that garnered support from housing attorneys during a legislative hearing Wednesday. The program, outlined in a Sen.
Seniority-driven layoff rules are bad for teacher diversity
For me, this issue is deeply personal. After moving from home to home with relatives in Brazil from the age of four, I came to the United States at age 12. As my mother cleaned homes during the day and bussed tables at night, I was in school. I was the only child in my class who wasn't white and didn't speak English, and had to repeat a grade. Despite these challenges, by high school I had become a straight-A student, even as I worked a job at Dunkin' Donuts until midnight some evenings.
Report says Boston region teetering on 'the precipice'
The good news is the Boston area is hardly alone in facing serious headwinds from the pandemic's upending of work patterns and the uncertainty it's introduced about our economic future. The bad news: simply having plenty of company in our misery does not mean we can sit back and wait to ride some broad trend that will eventually pull us out of the hole we're in. Average office vacancy rates in major US cities hover around 50 percent (it stands at 30 to 35 percent in Boston).
Report says Boston region teetering on 'the precipice'
THE GOOD NEWS is the Boston area is hardly alone in facing serious headwinds from the pandemic's upending of work patterns and the uncertainty it's introduced about our economic future. The bad news: simply having plenty of company in our misery does not mean we can sit back and wait to ride some broad trend that will eventually pull us out of the hole we're in.
Why is the US locking down for climate change?
AMERICANS REALLY hated locking down for COVID-19, so why does the US keep locking down for climate change? Sometimes we are locked in, due to wildfire smoke and heat; and sometimes we are locked out, with homes leveled due to flooding and fire; but the bottom line is-we keep locking down. Our children aren't playing outside because it's 118 degrees Fahrenheit or there is fire at the door or they can't breathe due to air pollution or wildfire smoke.
A new food co-op opens in Boston
It's been a long and winding 11-year road for the Dorchester Food Co-op, which will be opening its doors to the public this month. It marks the return of community and work-owned food co-ops to Boston, five years after the last local grocery co-op shuttered. Co-op markets differ from other markets primarily in their ownership model.
The term 'turf' is misleading
MOUNTAINS OF OLD truck tires dotting the US countryside used to be a common sight, but no longer. Companies have found a lucrative new use for old tires: grinding them up and re-marketing them as "artificial turf" for children's athletic fields. The arguments in favor of plastic turf initially appear compelling. It's a way to reuse plentiful tire waste. It offers an apparently durable sports surface that doesn't require irrigation or sunlight. It can be used in wet conditions.
Ballot face-off over gig workers looms
TWO YEARS AGO, Massachusetts braced itself for what was expected to be the most expensive ballot measure campaign in the state's history. That question, brought by ride-hailing companies to classify their gig workers as independent contractors, was kicked off the ballot by a ruling from the state's highest court. In just a few weeks, the state should know if the fight and the ad dollars will be back on the horizon. And this time, there could be ballot measures on both sides.
The state's child welfare system is 'infected with dysfunction'
IT IS AN unfortunate truth that Massachusetts, with all of its famous hospitals and prestigious universities, has among the most abysmal track records of any state of caring for children in state custody. These vulnerable children, many of whom are in the system due to allegations of abuse or neglect, are revictimized by the highly defective child welfare system that puts their very lives at risk.
While online Lottery falters, third-party app provides tickets through workaround
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE AGAIN rejected an attempt to allow the Massachusetts Lottery to sell its products online, but that doesn't mean gamblers can't order Lottery tickets online or on their phones. Courier services that take orders for and then buy Lottery tickets on behalf of their clients have existed for years with various degrees of legitimacy - Mass.
Black Boston takes the convention stage
For the first time in four decades, the national NAACP convention came back to Boston with a point to prove and a long list of political priorities to hammer out. Paradoxically, the 114th convention and its 13,000 attendees represent both a commitment to shared values but also a platform for the "rich diversity that exists within the Black community," Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston NAACP, said on the Codcast .
Black Boston takes the convention stage
For the first time in four decades, the national NAACP convention came back to Boston with a point to prove and a long list of political priorities to hammer out. "It's public facing for people to see Black folks, primarily, in rigorous discussion and debate about some of this nation's most pressing issues," she said. "You take gun violence, for example.
The term 'turf' is misleading
MOUNTAINS OF OLD truck tires dotting the US countryside used to be a common sight, but no longer. Companies have found a lucrative new use for old tires: grinding them up and re-marketing them as "artificial turf" for children's athletic fields. The arguments in favor of plastic turf initially appear compelling. It's a way to reuse plentiful tire waste. It offers an apparently durable sports surface that doesn't require irrigation or sunlight. It can be used in wet conditions.
Black Boston takes the convention stage
CommonWealth Magazine · Black Boston takes the convention stage
Braintree chemical fire leaves behind a lot of questions
COMMUNITY HEALTH can be a sleepy subject - unless, perhaps, it is your own community that is under fire. Or on fire, as in the case of Braintree, where a conflagration in February at Clean Harbors, the largest hazardous waste disposal facility in New England, incinerated three trailers containing a slurry of toxic materials.
Top budget officials still undecided on tax cuts
STATE REVENUES are expected to rise slightly in the coming fiscal year, but top budget officials from the Legislature and Healey administration say it's still unclear whether there is enough money to enact permanent tax cuts. At the end of last year's legislative session, former governor Charles Baker and Senate leaders wanted to press ahead with $500 million in permanent tax cuts in addition to nearly $3 billion in one-time refunds from the state's tax cap law.
Staff shortages throughout K-12 education are taking a toll
AS 2023 OPENED, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education met on January 3 for a special meeting and had just one item listed on the agenda: "Goal setting process for accountability system and Student Opportunity Act." In recognition of the fact that the pandemic has impacted students and communities differently, at that meeting the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education proposed a four-tiered set of targets for districts depending upon the amount of decline in...
Prohibition on ARPA 'tax cuts' declared unconstitutional
TWO RECENT COURT decisions indicate even the US government has limited influence over how states spend their money. The traditional way the federal government gains leverage over state policies is by using carrots - offering additional federal money, for example, if a state adopts a certain type of program or passes a specific kind of law. But when Congress in 2021 passed the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, it tried to sway state fiscal practices using more of a stick approach.
Pollution inequality must stop; enforce roadmap law
Ashmont Grill offered a healthy serving of community-building IT HAS BEEN, to borrow the hackneyed line from a made-up Boston bar, a real-life place where everybody knows your name. For 18 years, the Ashmont Grill has been the go-to gathering place for my Dorchester neighborhood, as well as for a wider circle of people in Boston and beyond. We were drawn to its high-end comfort food and convivial bar, where you could come for a beer but quickly find yourself in friendly conversation.
Pollution inequality must stop; enforce roadmap law
MASSACHUSETTS IS HOME to some of the greatest inequalities in pollution in the nation. According to Northeastern Professor Daniel Faber, Boston ranks fourth for disparities in air pollution and Massachusetts ranks in the top three states in the country for locating hazardous waste facilities next to the elderly and people living in poverty.
Why do we accept asthma with our 'natural' gas? - CommonWealth Magazine
TAKE A DEEP breath. And exhale. Most of us don’t think about breathing. But that is not the case for one in eight children in the Commonwealth who have asthma. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, Boston and Springfield are in the top 20 so-called “asthma capitals” in the US. Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses among US children and costs families and society hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Gas stoves are a risk to your health and emitters of dangerous pollutants
Most of us assume that products on the market are safe. It’s reasonable to think that retailers would provide ample information if a product posed a potential threat to your health. We see examples of this all the time, like warning labels on cigarettes or choking hazard warnings on toys with small parts. As consumers, we expect to be informed. But there’s an appliance that might be in your kitchen that was sold with no warning label, when it should have had one: the gas stove.
Mandatory public health measures for COVID-19 are associated with better mortality, equity and economic outcomes
Abstract We review approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic in a systematic way by comparing countries/states representative of the mandatory vs. voluntary approach to non-pharmaceutical interventions in Europe and the US. We use a comparative tabular format to examine differences in mortality, economic impact and equity between regions with mandatory versus voluntary policies.
Physicians critique National Grid official’s stance - CommonWealth Magazine
A clarifiation has been made to this op-ed making clear that National Grid does not have an ownership stake in the Weymouth compressor station. More detail is at the end of the op-ed. MARCY REED’S February 15 commentary, “Hunger and the Clean Energy Transition,” is misleading, disingenuous, and self-serving. Get the Daily Download Our news roundup delivered every weekday.
Why Newton should worry about the West Roxbury pipeline
Brita E. Lundberg, M.D. Do you know who your new neighbors are? No? It’s time to get acquainted then. The folks of West Roxbury already are: they have had their water lines cut and they hear from them at all hours—from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. at night.It isn’t necessary to travel to the Dakotas to feel the impact of new methane (aka “natural”) gas pipelines that are spreading like a vast neural network across the country.
From Green Newton: Living with Drought 101
Newton, like communities across Massachusetts, is experiencing an exceptional drought that is predicted to continue into autumn.
From Green Newton: How to mitigate lead in our water
Given recent reports of high lead levels at some of Newton’s outdoor water fountains and at several public schools, it is timely to review the sources of lead in drinking water and to find local solutions to this nationwide problem.Lead in drinking water usually results from the use, many years ago, of lead pipe or lead-based solder or joints in water systems; over time, the lead leaches into the water, especially in acidic environments.
The Street Ministers - CommonWealth Magazine
LARRY MAYES IS pacing the hallway of Dorchester District Court like a man on a mission. Mayes is a youth outreach worker, more commonly known as a "streetworker," who is employed by the Ella J. Baker House in Boston's Four Corners neighborhood, not far from the courthouse. He's here to advocate for a man we'll call "Mario," a 25-year-old Cape Verdean who has surrendered to authorities one year after skipping out on assault and battery charges. Mayes wants to keep Mario out of jail.
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