Entries being accepted until Oct. 5 for Safe Streets Smart Trips High School Video Contest
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is now accepting entries for the 12th annual Safe Streets Smart Trips High School Video Contest. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, Oct. 5, at 11 p.m.
The contest encourages students to showcase their understanding of roadway safety across all travel modes to try to decrease pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities. This year, students are being asked to write and produce a 30- to 60-second video emphasizing “Safe Walking, Biking and Driving Behaviors.”
“By engaging students directly in roadway safety, we not only raise awareness but also empower the next generation to lead the way in creating safer streets for everyone,” Transportation Secretary and MassDOT CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement. “We are eager to see the creativity and passion in this year’s entries as students highlight the shared responsibility we all carry to keep our roadways safe.”
As an initiative of the Massachusetts Strategic Highway Safety Plan to promote safe walking, bicycling and driving behaviors, the contest is open to all Massachusetts public high school students and features a Freshman/Sophomore category and Junior/Senior category.
Grand prize, runner-up and honorable mention videos in each category will be chosen by a MassDOT panel. Winning videos will be shown Tuesday, Oct. 28, at MassDOT’s annual transportation conference, Moving Together, where the creators will receive their prizes, including $600 Amazon gift cards for the grand prize videos and $300 Amazon gift cards for the runner-up videos. Top videos may also be used in future safety campaigns.
To learn more about the Safe Streets Smart Trips High School Video Contest, visit mass.gov/roadway-safety-video.
Tapestry Health to host ‘Walk for Every Body’
NORTHAMPTON — Tapestry Health, a nonprofit health care provider in western
Massachusetts, will hold a community walk and celebration called the “Walk for Every Body” in support of individual autonomy, access to care and health equity on Sunday, Sept. 28, followed by a block party at the walk’s finish line on Strong Avenue.
The Walk for Every Body is a day of action inviting the community to come together to champion reproductive and sexual health care, harm reduction and Women, Infants & Children (WIC) nutrition services. The post-walk block party will include remarks by Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, a banned book drag story time, live music, local food and a family-friendly activity tent.
“Our vision for the future is a world where health is a human right, accessible to all, and free from social and structural inequities,” Mavis Nimoh, CEO of Tapestry Health, said in a statement. “Now is the time to join our energies and advance the work.”
Proceeds will support Tapestry Health’s work in western Massachusetts, which includes providing sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, birth control, gender-affirming care, overdose prevention and nutritional support through WIC.
For more information or to register for the walk, visit tapestryhealth.org/EveryBody.
Congresswoman Clark endorses Markey for reelection
BOSTON — House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) has endorsed U.S. Sen. Ed Markey for reelection.
“Ed Markey is a champion. He is a champion for climate, he is a champion for protecting our health care and he understands the affordability crisis that we’re having in this country,” Clark said in a YouTube video. “He has the experience and the seniority to get results for us in Massachusetts, and he is worried about the same issues that families are worried about around their kitchen table. How do we reduce the cost of health care? How do we reduce the cost of housing? How do we make sure that people who are playing by the rules can get ahead? I’m proud to endorse Ed Markey and I hope you will vote for him.”
“In the toughest fights and at the highest levels of Congress, it is Katherine Clark’s powerful voice that carries the needs, hopes and dreams of Massachusetts families,” Markey said in a statement. “From universal health care and child care, to parental leave, to reproductive freedom, Congresswoman Clark fights for the policies and programs that create opportunity, equality and a brighter future for children, students and families. I am honored that she represents me in Congress and I am proud to have her endorsement for reelection.”
Barks & Brews to raise money for Dakin Humane Society
EASTHAMPTON — The 10th annual Barks & Brews event, presented by Dakin Humane Society, will be held Sunday, Oct. 5, at Fort Hill Brewery.
The event will begin with a VIP Exclusive Preview Hour from noon to 1 p.m., with general admission taking place from 1 to 3 p.m. Ticket options are:
- VIP admission tickets, priced at $75, entitle attendees to on-site parking, hors d’oeuvres served during the preview hour, a complimentary beer and an event T-shirt.
- General admission tickets, priced at $35, include a complimentary beer. Parking is located on-street and at the school lot (a five-minute walk).
Tickets may be purchased online at dakinhumane.org/barksandbrews.
All attendees of the event must be at least 21 years old. Guests are invited to bring crowd-friendly dogs on a non-retractable leash (retractable leashes are not allowed) and are asked not to bring strollers. Other event features will include a Halloween costume contest for dogs, a hot dog eating contest for dogs, a 50/50 raffle, a photo booth, nail trimming, dog baths, vendor booth shopping and food trucks.
Barks & Brews is an annual fundraiser for Dakin. In previous years at Fort Hill Brewery, the event has generated about $30,000 for services and programs that help animals in need.