TTC_12_9_20_Vol.16-No.59

Page 6 www.TheTownCommon.com
December 9, 2020
Community
Community Announcements,
from page 5
of bacteria that can sicken
anyone who comes in
contact. That includes
people who fish, swim, or
boat in the river, as well as
people (and pets) who swim
at beaches such as Plum
Island Point and Salisbury
Beach. You deserve to know
if the river water you are
coming into contact with
is contaminated with CSO
discharge, and House Bill
4921 will guarantee you that
right.
CSOs are also four times
more likely to be present in
economically-disadvantaged
communities with large
minority populations,
such as Lawrence. From an
environmental justice point
of view, it's important to
find ways to solve the issues
that impact public health,
and HB4921 is a step in that
direction.
The bill is currently stuck
in the Senate Ways and
Means Committee. If it
can be voted out of that
committee, it will move to
the Senate, where it is very
likely to pass.
The Council is asking you
to write a letter or email, or
make a phone call, to the
committee chair and Senate
leadership to let them know
that you support HB4921,
Route 1 Antiques & The Collector’s Eye
Owners & dog lovers
Greg & Lionel with Yuancy,
Maggie & Heidi
why you support it, and ask
that it be passed out of the
committee. Here's who to
contact:
Senate Ways and Means
Michael Rodriquez:
Email:
Michael.Rodrigues@
masenate.gov
Mail Address:
24 Beacon St., Room 212 ,
Boston, MA, 02133
Phone: (617) 722-1114
Senate President Karen
Spilka
Email: Karen.Spilka@
masenate.gov
Mail address: 24 Beacon
St., Room 332 , Boston,
MA, 02133
Phone: (617) 722-1500
New $1.5M
Coastal
Education
Center Planned
for Crane Beach
Center will bolster
The Trustees’
commitment to
coastal resiliency
IPSWICH — The Trustees
of Reservations (The Trustees)
announced its plans to
build a Coastal Education
Center at Crane Beach that
solidifies the organization’s
commitment to climate issues
by providing visitors an
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immersive educational experience
regarding our changing
coast.
Situated between the Atlantic
barrier beach and the
estuaries of the Great Marsh,
the Center will be a resource
that dovetails naturally for
field-based and other experiences
that promote the environment
and climate literacy.
Featuring a combination
of open-air classrooms, educational
space, and retail areas,
the Center will become
a regional hub for coastal exploration
and education that
serves as a model for sustainable
design.
“There’s no better way for
people to learn about our
coastal ecology than by witnessing
and interacting with
it in person,” said Trustees
Executive Vice President
Jocelyn Forbush. “We’re so
thankful to our generous
anonymous donor because
this center will tell the story
of our coastal communities
in completely experiential
ways by immersing visitors
in our dynamic landscape,
with the goal of spurring
people to take action on
crucial issues like climate
change, sea level rise, and
erosion.”
The $1.5 million to build
the center comes courtesy
of an anonymous donor.
Pending local approvals,
construction could begin
as soon as September 2021
with the center open and operational
by May 2022.
The new two-story building
proposed at Crane Beach
will be built on the site of the
current refreshment stand,
taking into account future
flood models and sand dune
migration. The upper level
will be an education space
with an adjacent open-air
classroom. The education
space will feature experiential
learning tools such as
touch tanks, while the lower
level will consist of food
and retail areas so beachgoers
still have access to snacks
and refreshments.
Access to the Center will
be included in the cost of
tickets to Crane Beach so
that the visitors to Crane
will learn more about coastal
resiliency and be inspired
to take action. While the
Center will operate on a
year-round basis, the bulk
of programming and events
will take place in the spring,
winter, and fall so there is no
expected increase in summer
traffic.
“This new education center
will play an important
role in helping young people
understand the future
climate and coastal problems
that will impact our
community,” says David
Scudder, former chairman
of The Trustees North Shore
Advisory Group and longtime
Argilla Road resident.
“This Center is such a valuable
resource because it will
educate and inspire the next
generation of problem-solvers
by planting the seed of
interest as early as middle
and elementary school.”
A final design for the
Center has not yet been developed
but sustainability
and resilience will be key
elements, making sure the
Center blends well with
landscape features and the
adjacent bathhouse structure.
Pet adoption
scams on the rise
By Paula Flemming
The COVID-19 pandemic
has dramatically increased
demand for pets as people
seek adding a pet to the family
to ease the loneliness and
tension of prolonged time
at home. Many feel that
they now have more time
to train a puppy. With this
rising demand has come a
spike in pet scams, in which
an online search ends with
a would-be pet owner paying
hundreds of dollars or
more to purchase a pet that
ultimately doesn’t exist.
The Better Business Bureau
(BBB) advises extreme caution
when shopping for a pet
online, especially in light of
scammers’ evolving tactics.
Soon after cities and states
began to impose tighter restrictions
to curb the spread
of COVID-19, BBB Scam
Tracker saw a spike in pet
fraud reports, with nearly
4,000 reports received
in 2020 from the U.S. and
Canada. Law enforcement
and consumer advocates
now say a person searching
online for a new pet is extremely
likely to encounter a
scam listing or website.
The pandemic has given
scammers a new tool in their
arsenal. Scam Tracker reports
show that many fraudsters
are telling would-be pet
owners they cannot meet
the animals before sending
money. Petscams.com,
which tracks and exposes
these scams, recommends
using another tool popularized
by COVID-19 — video
conferencing — to meet the
Community Announcements,
page 7