In a show of support to the Wareham restaurants and grocery stores struggling through this difficult time and in an effort to give back to the community that has supported them, the members of the Wareham Police Department are purchasing $50.00 gift cards from every Wareham restaurant and grocery store.

Unfortunately, some restaurants have closed during this time but gift cards will be purchased once they reopen.

The department members plan on distributing the gift cards throughout the year to local families in need. If anyone knows of a family that would benefit from a gift card please contact any member of the Wareham Police Department. Contact information can be found on the Wareham Police Department website.

On May 8th, New Bedford grandmother Irene Beauregard of New Bedford will turn 90-years young.

Beauregard’s granddaughter Katelyn wanted to make sure the special day was recognized but knew that during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing guidelines meant that a birthday part with dozens of family and friends would not be a possibility.

So Katelyn’s creative juices kicked in and she decided to contact the producers of one of her grandmother’s favorite shows “Today with Hoda & Jenna” on NBC to see if they would do a birthday “shoutout,” something very popular on TV and radio shows. Typically, these shoutouts are quick, 2 seconds long well-wishes and the host moves on to other segments.

Not this time.

Hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager fell in love with grandma Beauregard’s story and decided it was worth much more than a simple “Happy Birthday!” Instead, they called the unsuspecting Irene in the middle of their live broadcast. “Since you can’t be with your grandchildren, I thought ‘Why don’t we try FaceTime?” said co-host Jenna Hager.

As you might guess the 90-year old Irene as flabbergasted and elated when she picked up the phone. But the surprise did not end after they exchanged a few words. A correspondent of the show was actually outside Iren’s door with gifts: flowers, balloons, a Red Sox jersey that says “Nana” on the back and tickets to the next Red Sox game when sports return.

There are no words that can put Iren’s response into perspective so we’ll let the video speak for itself:

On Saturday, May 9th from 10:00am-12:00pm the Cape Verdean American Veterans Association will be hosting a free food event in the New Bedford High School gym parking lot at 230 Hathaway Blvd. New Bedford.

All veterans are eligible to receive a 2 week boxed supply of food and you can sign up at www.Bit.Ly/CVFood4VETS. Simply bring a military ID, VA card, DD-214 to register on site.

Provided by the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation. Partnered by Colleen Pina-Carron, Gary Correia, Derek Baptiste, CV Vets Hall & City of New Bedford.

Mayor Jon Mitchell and Club Madeirense S.S. Sacramento together have announced that the 106th Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, scheduled for July 30 through August 2, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Club and the Feast Committee will announce further details about cancellation and any virtual commemoration or other Feast-related arrangements in the coming days.

The Feast is one of America’s largest and most popular ethnic festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees every summer. Founded in 1915 by four Madeiran immigrant men to recreate the religious festivals common in the villages of their home island and to commemorate their safe passage to America, this traditional midsummer gathering for family and friends is considered to be the world’s largest festival honoring Portuguese culture.

Tune in to the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra website or Facebook for a LIVE STREAM of When Oboe Met Viola with NBSO musicians Rebecca Hallowell (viola) and Ben Fox (oboe), Friday, May 8, at 7:00pm.

Join Rebecca and Ben for an evening of some of our favorite chamber works, arranged for viola and oboe. We’ll begin with a rarely heard duet by a nineteen-year-old Mozart, followed by selections from Schubert’s beloved song cycles: Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. Our program concludes with one of Brahms’ final compositions for piano, the third Intermezzo from Op. 119.

You have two options to view this live stream. Both options will not appear until very close to 7pm, and it is possible that the performance may start a bit late.

Option 1: If you have a Facebook account, go to the NBSO Facebook Live Videos page where you will see current and past live videos. Click on “When Oboe Met Viola” to open the post so that you can comment and see others’ comments.

Option 2: Go to our website and look for the Events tab, then Upcoming Events, and click on “When Oboe Met Viola.” Simply scroll down to find the video.

All of our live stream performances can be viewed afterward in either place.

The Buttonwood Park Zoo, a regional leader in wildlife conservation, oversaw the birth of two endangered bird species last month. Two Cabot’s tragopans, a horned pheasant species listed as vulnerable, and five scaly-sided mergansers, an endangered diving duck species, hatched under the watchful eye of animal care staff.

Some of these adorable babies will make their public debut this Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 11:00 am during BPZOO’s daily Virtual Keeper Chats, live on Facebook. The video will also be available on the Zoo’s YouTube channel later in the day.

Buttonwood Park Zoo photo.

“This is the second year in a row that the BPZOO has been successful in contributing to important national zoological breeding programs for the Cabot’s tragopan and the scaly-sided merganser”, said Buttonwood Park Zoo Director, Keith Lovett. “These species of conservation concern are at risk of becoming extinct in the wild and the Zoo is dedicated to conserving both of these amazing birds.”

Joining more than two hundred and forty accredited zoos across North America, BPZOO actively participates in Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), cooperatively managing the survival of individual species to ensure a healthy and genetically diverse population while enhancing the conservation of these species in the wild. There are 28 species at the Zoo that fall under a SSP, including the Cabot’s tragopan and scaly-sided mergansers.

“Zoological breeding programs help to ensure a future for species like the Cabot’s tragopan and scaly-sided mergansers by establishing assurance populations that can serve as a safeguard against extinction in the wild.” said Lovett. “Additionally, species at accredited zoological institutions often serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts allowing zoos the opportunity to educate guests about these animals while also encouraging them to support the conservation of wildlife locally and globally.

Buttonwood Park Zoo photo.

In addition to being an integral part of these SSPs,BPZOO also financially support the Scaly-sided Merganser Task Force, a dynamic program that works to save and protect migratory waterbirds, their habitat, and the livelihoods of people dependent upon them by funding non-invasive video monitoring of artificial nest sites.

About Cabot’s Tragopans
Found in southeast China in subtropical, evergreen broadleaved forest and mixed deciduous-coniferous forest, Cabot’s tragopan are one of five species of tragopan, or horned pheasant, which refers to the set of fleshy horns that emerge during the courtship displays of the males. They are herbivores, who feed on seeds, fruits, and plants.

Plagued by habitat loss and the ongoing conversion of natural mixed forests to conifer plantations, its declining, small population has resulted in severe fragmentation of the population. Illegal hunting for food still occurs in some places, especially outside protected areas. With fewer than 5,000 mature individuals in the wild, they are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. There are only 32 individuals living at 15 AZA accredited institutions.

About Scaly-sided Mergansers
Scaly-sided mergansers need clean water to survive. They nest and breed along the banks of forested, fast-flowing mountain rivers and rapid streams in southeast Russia, North Korea and northeast China. Winters are spent in central and southern China on lakes and lagoons. A skilled diving duck, these mergansers feed on small fish, crustaceans, and insects. They are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red list due to a declining population resulting from habitat loss, logging, illegal hunting, and drowning in fishing nets. The newest scaly-sided mergansers join the nine currently living at BPZOO. There are 82 scaly-sided mergansers in total across 13 AZA accredited institutions.

For more information about the Zoo’s virtual programs, animals and exhibits, visit www.bpzoo.org. The Buttonwood Park Zoo is currently closed to the public, but is working hard to ensure we stay connected to the community through virtual programming.

If you would like to contribute to the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society’s Emergency Operating Fund, please text BPZOO20 to 41444 or visit https://www.bpzoo.org/emergency-operating-fund/.

Buttonwood Park Zoo photos:

Mayor Jon Mitchell and the Board of Health have acted to ensure the safety of large industrial workplaces in New Bedford, both for essential businesses currently in operation, and those not designated as essential that will return to operations in the coming weeks. The Mayor and Board of Health announced two emergency orders to keep employees safe at their place of work, and to outline reporting requirements of COVID-19 in the workplace.

The order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in industrial facilities requires that each facility enforce social distancing best practices, modify workstations accordingly, perform regular cleaning and disinfection, and designate a health and safety officer for COVID-19.

Facilities will also be required to conduct temperature checks at the start of all production floor workers’ shifts, ensure a positive-testing employee not return to work until it is safe, notify the New Bedford Health Department of positives, and ensure any staffing agency with which they work is complying with federal and state law providing sick time to employees. The facilities are also encouraged to conduct hazard assessments and develop preparedness and response plans for the spread of disease, with the input of their employees.

The order outlining reporting of COVID-19 in the workplace requires employees to notify their employer of a positive test or advice to self-quarantine, and requires staffing agencies or contractors to report the same to any workplace in New Bedford if an employee is not directly employed by the workplace. This order enables the employer to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their facilities.

Violation of the City’s orders may result in a $300 per day fine for each violation.

Mayor Mitchell declared a state of emergency in New Bedford on March 13 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and has acted to enforce social distancing measures, including the closure of personal care businesses and playgrounds, to protect public health during the state of emergency. The Mayor and Board of Health have taken action to protect senior citizens, ensure safety at essential businesses by requiring employees to wear masks or face coverings, and have acted to ensure workplaces uphold stringent safety requirements to protect workers.

“Shortly after 10:15 last night, Chelmsford Police located a vehicle wanted by Bedford Police. Massachusetts State Police K9 Unit Trooper Thomas Janeczak and his partner Tank (pictured) responded to assist in the search for three male suspects who were captured by a security camera as they ran from the vehicle.

Tank deployed from the vehicle and acquired a track across a parking lot. The track continued into the woods, then across another parking lot and then into a second wooded area.

Tank then became frantic at the wood line. Trooper Janeczak pulled the dog back and shone his flashlight into the woods at the point where Tank had a change of behavior. The Trooper saw two men in hoodies crouched down in the woods and gave a warning for them to surrender or face apprehension by Tank. Both men then emerged from their attempted hiding spot and gave up without further incident.

K9 units from Chelmsford and Billerica Police then deployed in that same area and, a short time later, located the third suspect in a landscaping company yard across from where Tank located the first two. All three suspects were turned over to Billerica Police.”

“At about 12:48pm, on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, officers from District C-11 (Dorchester) responded to a call for a fight involving a person in possession of a firearm in the area of 569 Washington Street (Citizens Bank).

On arrival, officers spoke with the victims who stated that they were in line outside the bank when a verbal altercation bubbled up between another customer in line who refused to adhere to the recommended social distancing protocols. When asked to move away, the male suspect refusing to practice social distancing and adhere to the line restrictions, brandished a firearm and pointed it in the direction of the victims. Before police arrived, the male suspect and a female accomplice jumped into a motor vehicle and fled the scene.

After a description of the motor vehicle was broadcast over the police radio, officers were able to observe and stop the suspect’s car in the area of 94 Whitfield Street. Given the presence of a firearm, both suspects were ordered to exit the vehicle. After the occupants were removed from the car, a search of the vehicle enabled officers to see and seize a loaded Bersa .380 semi-automatic firearm (see photo).

Officers arrested Ricardio Pantojas, 40, of Boston and charged him with the Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Carrying a Loaded Firearm on a Public Way and Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon (Gun).”-Boston Police Department.

Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, Trooper Brian Donaghey, assigned to the State Police-Boston Barracks, was conducting a security check of critical infrastructure at a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority facility on Memorial Drive in Cambridge when he encountered two trespassers in a motor vehicle in the parking lot.

Trooper Donaghey determined that the operator of the gray 2004 Toyota Camry was unlicensed, and had him exit the vehicle. When he did so, he observed a prescription bottle on the floor of the car; the bottle’s sticker had been ripped off.

The Trooper subsequently determined that the bottle contained a large number of Percocet pills, for which the man did not have a prescription. After a further search of the vehicle Trooper Donaghey recovered a loaded, unlicensed Ruger Prescott LC9 9 millimeter handgun.

The operator, CARLOS GARCIA-PAREJO, 22, of Cambridge, was arrested for possession of an unlicensed handgun and possession of a Class B substance.