Gilda Geist

Island food pantries preparing for impending SNAP cutoff With federal food assistance expected to run out of money at the end of the week due to the government shutdown, area food pantries are bracing for an increase in demand.

You might be surprised by how much food insecurity there is on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Island food pantries expect the impending cutoff of SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown to increase demand for their services. www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

Everett 13-year-old arrested by ICE and sent to Virginia detention facility - The Boston Globe The boy’s mother, Josiele Berto, was called to pick her son up from the Everett Police Department on Thursday, the day he was arrested.

From the Boston Globe:

"The boy is a 7th-grader at Albert N. Parlin School in Everett, his mother said. The teen and his family, who are Brazilian nationals, have a pending asylum case and are authorized to work legally in the United States, Lattarulo said."

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/12/m...

The Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries recently issued an advisory for "low-oxygen zones" in Cape Cod Bay.

So why do these hypoxic areas form—and what does it mean for marine life? 🦞

#WHOI senior scientist Malcolm Scully breaks it down with wcai-npr.bsky.social. Listen here: go.whoi.edu/cai-loz

Tempestology (HURRICANES) with Matt Lanza & Dr. Kim Wood — alie ward Part 1: Hurricanes. Typhoons. Cyclones. Tropical storms. Tropical depressions. What does it all MEAAAN? Let’s dive in. Career meteorologists Dr. Kim Wood of the University of Arizona and Space City W...

Hurricane season has been pretty quiet in Mass so far this year, but we still have a few months left to go. For folks interested in learning more about hurricanes, how they work, and how to prepare for them, I *highly* recommend this episode of @ologies.bsky.social: www.alieward.com/ologies/temp...

Brief departure from my usual content alert! My partner @ocathal.bsky.social made this game and it's fun :)

Map of the U.S. rip current risk from Florida to Maine. A majority of the Atlantic coastline is colored red, designating a "high risk" of rip currents this week.

A large portion of the Atlantic coastline will see the risk for high surf and rip currents this week due to #Erin.

🟥Risk of Rip Currents is High🟥
Life-threatening rip currents are likely. Swimming conditions are unsafe for all levels of swimmers. Stay out of the water.
nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/grap...

We'll be following Hurricane Erin on WCAI this week. Tune in on the radio (90.1 FM) or online (capeandislands.org) for the latest on how the hurricane, which is not expected to make U.S. landfall, could still have impacts on our region. First and foremost: high surf conditions start Tuesday morning!

A map of Massachusetts showing significant drought in the Cape Cod Region and Mild Drought on Nantucket.

Drought Update! Unfortunately, drought conditions have worsened in the Cape Cod Region, which was upgraded to a "Level 2 - Significant Drought."
For more information about the current drought status and how you can help, visit www.mass.gov/info-details...

Nantucket fashion designer featured on new season of 'Project Runway' Nantucket's own Madeline Malenfant is one of 12 contestants on the newest season of "Project Runway," the competition reality show for fashion designers.

Nantucket fashion designer Madeline Malenfant is on this season of Project Runway.

I interviewed Madeline about what it's like bringing her Nantucket-inspired historical fashion sense to one of the most iconic competition reality shows of the 21st century.
www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

"It's really important to start from a real place, especially when you're talking about aspects of Black life in America."

Dara Douglas shares her experience doing archival research for Ralph Lauren's new collection inspired by Oak Bluffs.
www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

Seeking fair contract, Cape Cod nurses are prepared to strike Union nurses at Cape Cod Healthcare are prepared to go on strike if necessary, though they are hoping to instead reach a fair deal with their employer.

Union nurses at Cape Cod Healthcare are prepared to go on strike if necessary, though they are hoping to instead reach a fair deal with their employer at the bargaining table this month.

July will 'now and forever' be Cabo Verdean Heritage Month in New Bedford This Saturday is the 50th anniversary of Cabo Verde's independence from Portugal.

Btw it's Cabo Verdean Heritage Month in New Bedford
www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

It's officially summer! ☀️Cape Cod mascot Doug the Quahog will predict how many beach days we'll have this season. But the quahog (the Wampanoag word for a hard-shelled clam) gained importance thousands of years before Doug came along, as an integral component of the Wampanoag people's culture, (1/2)

Thousands rally against Trump policies in one of Cape Cod’s largest demonstrations In what will rank as one of the largest political demonstrations ever on Cape Cod, about 2,000 people turned out in Hyannis on Saturday afternoon, June 14, to demonstrate against the Trump administrat...

In what will rank as one of the largest political demonstrations ever on Cape Cod, about 2,000 people turned out in Hyannis on Saturday afternoon, June 14, to demonstrate against the Trump administration. Demonstrations also took place in Falmouth, Bourne, Vineyard Haven, Aquinnah, and Nantucket.

Entry to the gallery is free btw!

Wampanoag art exhibit All Our Relations: 'Something important going on' More than 20 Wampanoag artists will have work on display at Cotuit Center for the arts.

Wampanoag artists from all across the region will have artwork on display at the Cotuit Center for the Arts tonight through June 29. I got a sneak peek of some of the pieces that will be in the exhibit.

www.capeandislands.org/in-this-plac...

Falmouth activists share 'red cards' to help immigrants know their rights After at least one Falmouth resident was taken by immigration authorities last week, a local activist group is trying to spread the word about immigrant rights.

This is where we reported that the arrest happened: www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

We reported that the arrest happened, but we don't have the man's name. ICE didn't get back to us, and Falmouth police also had no info, other than being able to confirm that ICE was in town that day. Anyone with info on the man or eyewitness accounts from that day, please let us know.

Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard folks, if you saw any of the federal immigration enforcement activities take place on the islands yesterday OR if you have any information on who was taken, please DM me.

Cape region braces for storm ahead of holiday weekend Cape Cod, the South Coast, and the islands will receive the brunt of a late-spring nor’easter predicted to bring as much as three inches of rain and winds gusting to 50mph.

Storm conditions will impact the region Thursday morning and continue into Thursday night, though we could see light rain starting overnight Wednesday. #CapeCod

Falmouth activists share 'red cards' to help immigrants know their rights After at least one Falmouth resident was taken by immigration authorities last week, a local activist group is trying to spread the word about immigrant rights.

After at least one Falmouth, MA resident was taken by immigration authorities last week, a local activist group is trying to spread the word about immigrant rights.
www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

Meals-on-Wheels cuts back program for Cape and Islands seniors Due to state and federal funding cuts, Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands is scaling back its meal delivery program for seniors to four days a week instead of the usual five.

Meals-on-Wheels currently delivers to its clients Monday through Friday. But on June 1, they will no longer be delivering on Tuesdays. @gildageist.bsky.social

Breaking: Juan Francisco Méndez has been released from Strafford County Corrections and is in Burlington, where he is being processed out of federal custody, according to his attorney.

Méndez was arrested in New Bedford last month by federal agents who smashed through his car window.

Five days after a judge ordered Juan Francisco Méndez's release, he is still detained in New Hampshire. I talked to his lawyer yesterday and she explained the situation.

www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

Juan Francisco Méndez, detained in window-smashing ICE arrest, ordered released After his arrest in New Bedford, the immigrant from Guatemala was detained for nearly a month in New Hampshire, but the US government never charged him with any crimes.

Juan Fracisco Méndez's lawyer after his hearing Thursday: “The government submitted nothing, absolutely nothing. They didn't make any charges against him, they didn't say he was resisting arrest, they didn't say he was unlawfully in the country.”
www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

BREAKING NEWS: A New Bedford man whose April detention during an immigration raid made international headlines, with video of agents smashing in his car window, is set to be released after a judge found Homeland Security did not file charges #immigration #ICE
newbedfordlight.org/judge-orders...

Immigrant in U.S. for 30 years arrested by federal agents in New Bedford - The New Bedford Light Juan Ramón Alegría Rodas is the 18th confirmed detainee in New Bedford since Jan. 20. He says he has been detained in a case of mistaken identity.

Juan Ramón Alegría Rodas is the 18th confirmed detainee in New Bedford since Jan. 20. Arrested Monday while on his way to pick up his teenage daughter from school, he says he has been mistaken for a friend and former roommate deported in 2009. #immigration #newbedford #immigrationarrest #detainees

‘I need to keep fighting’: How an ICE arrest changed one New Bedford family ICE agents detained Juan Francisco Méndez after breaking through his car window with an axe. His wife, Marilú Domingo Ortiz, is now trying to be reunited with her husband.

You may have seen the video of a federal agent smashing a car window to detain an immigrant living in New Bedford. His wife, Marilú, spoke to the New England News Collaborative about how she and her son are doing after her husband's arrest.
www.capeandislands.org/2025-05-05/i...

More than a quarter of staff gone at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center At least 27 percent of staff who worked at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center when Trump took office are no longer with the agency. The Woods Hole lab is at the center of the regional fisheries...

Since Trump took office, 27% of staff at Northeast Fisheries Science Center are no longer at their jobs the NOAA branch, which has five labs throughout the northeast, including its directorate in Woods Hole.
www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...

This is according to current and former NOAA employees, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation.

NOAA declined to comment, saying its policy is to not comment on internal personnel matters.