News Briefs

Free one night video production class at WCAT

Looking for a fun, new skill? Interested in getting more involved with the Winthrop community? Sign up now for WCAT’s free “Introduction to Video Production Class” on Monday, Feb. 10, from 6 -8 p.m.

Not sure if “Lights, Camera, Action” is for you? This one-night class will introduce you to the high-def world of television production, with a condensed, two-hour version of our full production course.    

Learn what we do here at your local TV station, what it takes to become a WCAT Producer and how you can produce your own TV programs for WCAT and YouTube.

HD cameras Studio set-up and shooting
See how we edit with Adobe Premiere Pro 2020 (cloud based)
Music? Comedy? Talk Show? Learn how you can create exactly the kind of programs you’re interested in.
Meet other producers and work together on many different projects.
After the class, you’ll have the opportunity to sign-up for the full course and be on your way to becoming a WCAT Producer and a member of a great community organization.
Must be at least 17 years old.
Space is limited.  
Sign-up now at www.wcat-tv.org/freeclass/ or call us at 617.846.3400 to find out more.


WCAT is a 501c3 volunteer based, non-profit organization. TV for Winthrop, by Winthrop.

BLOOD DONATIONS NEEDED

The American Red Cross has extended its urgent call for donors of all blood types to give blood or platelets. With influenza escalating across the country and preventing some donors from giving, and winter weather threatening to cancel blood drives, the Red Cross now has a critical shortage of type O blood and urgently needs donors to restock the shelves. 

Currently, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of type O blood available for patient emergencies and medical treatments. Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type and can be given to Rh-positive patients of any blood type. While just 7 percent of the U.S. population has type O negative blood, it can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what hospital staff reach for during emergencies when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type.

Every day, the Red Cross must collect nearly 13,000 blood donations and more than 2,600 platelet donations for patients who rely on blood to survive. Shortfalls in donations can cause delays in essential medical care for patients like 12-year-old Dagan Hawkins.

Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November, Dagan has required platelet and blood transfusions during his cancer treatments. “There was a time when they needed to have blood products delivered from another hospital because they were unavailable there,” said Dustin Hawkins, Dagan’s father.

Donors of all blood types – especially types O positive and O negative – are urged to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.

Carsley on  Dean’s List at Dean College

Dean College is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Carsley of Winthrop has earned a place on the Dean’s List for the Fall 2019 semester.

Founded in 1865, Dean College is a private, residential college located in Franklin Massachusetts, 45 minutes from Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. Dean College offers baccalaureate degrees, associate degree programs, as well as a robust schedule of part-time continuing and professional education credit and certificate programs throughout the calendar year.

Sullivan Named to the Dean’s List at the University of New Haven

 Braeden Sullivan, of Winthrop, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of New Haven has been named to the Dean’s List for the fall, 2019.

Sullivan is working on a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology.

The University of New Haven, founded on the Yale campus in 1920, is a private, coeducational university situated on the coast of southern New England. It is a diverse and vibrant community of more than 7,000 students, with campuses around the country and around the world.

Within our colleges and schools, students immerse themselves in a transformative, career-focused education across the liberal arts and sciences, fine arts, business, engineering, healthcare, public safety, and public service. We offer more than 100 academic programs, all grounded in a long-standing commitment to collaborative, interdisciplinary, project-based learning.

House Passes Legislation to Help Protect Persons with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities

On Wednesday House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo along with his colleagues in the House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation to create a registry of care providers who harmed a person or persons with an intellectual or developmental disability. The bill seeks to prevent those providers from being hired for programs funded or operated by the Department of Developmental Services (DDS).

The legislation, An Act to Protect Persons with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities from Abuse, creates a registry of care providers against whom the Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DCCP) has made a final decision regarding “substantiated findings” of acts resulting in serious physical or emotional injury of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability.

“I’m proud that the House to action today to further ensure the safety and wellbeing of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities,” said Speaker DeLeo, (D – Winthrop). “Thank Chair Michlewitz and Chair Khan for their important work on this issue. This legislation will save lives.”

“I am proud to join my colleagues in the House in voting to pass Nicky’s Law, which will protect our most vulnerable residents with developmental disabilities against abuse from caretakers,” said Rep. RoseLee Vincent (D-Revere).  â€œThank you to Chairwoman Khan and Chairwoman Dean-Campbell for ushering this important piece of legislation through the House under the leadership of Speaker DeLeo.  Many lives will be improved, and many families will have peace of mind because of Nicky’s Law.”

The bill requires care provider employers to check the registry prior to hiring or retaining any person as a care provider and prevents employers from hiring or retaining any provider who appears on the registry.  Those employers include those with DDS licenses for day services, those that have contracts with DDS, and those receiving funding from DDS.  Under the bill, DCCP imposes monetary fines or other penalties on any employer that fails to comply. The legislation also includes due process protections for care providers.

 The legislation builds on ongoing increased support for those departments serving adults and children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. From 2012 to 2020, DPPC funding has increased by 93 percent.

 â€œIt was an honor to work with Speaker DeLeo, Chair Campbell, Vice Chair Cutler, dedicated families, advocates and other stakeholders to address the abuse of individuals with disabilities,” said Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton), Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. “The creation of the registry will provide future protections for our most vulnerable individuals. It is deserving that Nicky’s Law is one of the lead pieces of legislation being addressed in 2020.”  The bill will now go to the Senate.