The South Shore’s Morning News on 95.9 WATD-FM

Celebrating Women's History Month with the Abigail Adams Historical Society

March is Women's History Month, so Rob and Beth decided it's the perfect time to highlight some iconic women from Massachusetts. Every week throughout March, The South Shore's Morning News will honor historical South Shore women whose impact extended not only to the local region but also beyond—and continues to resonate today.
Who better to kick off Women's History Month than Abigail Adams!? We talked with Michael Achille, President of the Abigail Adams Historical Society, all about Abigail's life and influence. Listen and learn: 
 

Keeping That Energy Up...Living and Practicing by Design with Dr. John Hayes

Rob and Beth love their weekly check-up with Dr. John Hayes during his segment, Living and Practicing by Design, which airs Thursdays at 9:22am. 
For this week's topic, the Doctor wanted to discuss ways to maximize your energy levels and the ways it can benefit your overall health. As we grow older, it feels as if we grow more sluggish. You can read the full blog post from Dr. John Hayes by clicking here. Listen in as Rob, Beth, and the Doctor explore the building blocks of health to keep us all energized: 

My Girlfriend's Cooking Makes Me SICK! Please Help, Hingham Housewife!

Another big issue to tackle for Author Alexandra Slater, a.k.a. the Hingham Housewife! This week, listener Bill from Scituate, wrote in his current dilemma and it's affecting him so much that he feels ill!
I don't like my girlfriend's cooking. I want to ask the Hingham Housewife how I can tell her nicely to stop making me meals. It makes my stomach hurt.
Now this seems like an especially sensitive subject. Rob, Beth, and the Hingham Housewife all pondered best solutions. Listen to hear. 
And we also received some feedback from listeners on the text line:
508 number said: 
Why not think about cooking together. Like he can cook too? If he didn’t have her in his life what would he even do? He can say that he wants to cook more and would like to take over a few nights
Lisa in Humarock commented:
Suggest to her whatcha making ... how about let's Cook together

Please, No! Not Another Data Hack - Tech Talk with David Snell of ACT Smart I.T. in Wareham

Yes, another data hack that we need to deal with, and this time, it could include your medical information (yikes!). 
On this week's Tech Talk with David Snell of ACT Smart I.T., he explained this unfortunate update:
Last week, the U.S. employee screening services company DISA Global Solutions confirmed that over 3.3 million people were affected in a 2024 data breach in filings with the Attorneys Generals offices of Maine and Massachusetts.
Rob and Beth wondered aloud, "What does this mean!? What should we do, as consumers!?" 
David has some advice for us, and everyone! You can read his full blog here. Listen and learn to our interview too: 

Whales N' Tails: Gib Brogan, Campaign Director, Fisheries - Oceana

The Whales are coming! The Whales are coming! Actually... they are already here! Right Whales are hanging out in Cape Cod Bay...at this current moment, according to Oceana and their tracking abilities. Some of the population is still lingering in the warmer waters of Florida, but in the next two months, they will be migrating to join their fellow whale friends soon.
We do need to help with the conservation of Right Whales as they could become extinct. According to Gib Brogan and Oceana, there are only about 370 whales accounted for. These numbers are frightenedly low and endanger the entire ecosystem. Here on the South Shore, the beaches and ocean are extremely important, so please listen to this interview and learn about the vital need for Right Whale conservation, and how you can help: 
 

Attention Lovers (Including Yourself)! Venus Retrograde Begins...More Comfort Monday with Diane Jordan of Natural Body Works in Kingston

  Hold on to your hearts and love yourself deeply because we are settling into the astrological event Venus retrograde! This may sound intense to you, but thankfully, we have Diane Jordan of Natural Body Works in Kingston stopping by for More Comfort Monday to explain how we can all maximize this time. 
The overall message of this transit is to love yourself, as Diane explains:
The most important thing to remember about the energy of Venus – is that our first relationship is with ourselves. Our sense of love and value needs to be directed inward to ourselves as much as we direct those energies outward.
Listen to our More Comfort Monday segment as Diane gives us the guidebook on getting through Venus retrograde with, or without, our lovers:

The South Shore's Morning News Week in Review -- Friday, February 28th, 2025

Rob and Beth welcome you to another edition of 'Week in Review' podcast. First, teachers Lindsay-Leigh Consolati and Carol Herb join us to talk about a scholarship in honor of Nicole Downs, a math teacher for 15 years at Marshfield High School who died in December of ovarian cancer at the age of 38.  Then, Plymouth State Rep. Michelle Badger stops by to talk about high energy prices in Massachusetts and what the legislature is doing about it. Finally, our tech guy, David Snell from ACT Smart I.T. in Wareham joins us to talk about the possible dangers from Chrome extensions. 

Discussing High Energy Bills: State Rep. Michelle Badger Joins the South Shore's Morning News

It has been a topic on the forefront of a lot of Massachusetts' residents minds lately... energy bills being an exorbitant cost this winter. It has been reported that some energy bills are over $1000! The cost isn't necessarily attributed to JUST the energy either...it is the delivery fee that is the main cost. 
The South Shore's Morning News wanted to look further into this, so they invited State Rep. Michelle Badger onto the show as she has been working hard on this subject lately for her constituents. Please listen to the full interview below. 
Rob Hakala also reached out to Eversource for an interview and comment. They replied with this: 
It is important to note that Eversource has two different natural gas service territories – NSTAR and EGMA (former Columbia Gas service territory) – and the specifics differ slightly for each. Each of those service territories has communities in Plymouth County and there are some communities that are served by a different gas utility such as National Grid. NSTAR communities include Carver, Kingston, Plymouth and most other communities are EGMA, except for Abington, Rockland, Whitman, Hingham, Middleborough and parts of Hanson.
 
I would also note that we’re holding an assistance event for customers in Plymouth on Wednesday, March 19, at Plymouth North High School at 6:30 p.m. More information about this and other assistance events available here: https://www.eversource.com/content/residential/about/our-company/news-room/massachusetts-news/detail/eversource-hosting-in-person-assistance-events-to-help-customers-with-natural-gas-bills
 
Statement on 10 percent reduction announced this week
 
Ensuring safe, reliable service and maintaining affordability for customers is our top priority as we work with the commonwealth to cost-effectively realize Massachusetts’ unprecedented energy transition. Following the DPU’s direction last week in the face of higher-than-normal natural gas bills to reduce delivery rates by 5 percent on the total bill, we filed a plan earlier this week that makes a 10 percent reduction to rates through the local delivery adjustment charge (LDAC) for March and April while also ensuring that we can continue to build on our collective progress in achieving the commonwealth’s clean energy goals.
 
This winter’s bills have posed serious challenges and concerns for our customers that reinforce the critical need to maintain affordability and reliability as top priorities in our collective pursuit of the commonwealth’s energy transition, and this filing is a positive step to support our customers with lower bills in the coming months. We will continue to work with our regulators, state officials, and other key stakeholders on efforts to provide longer-term rate relief, and we remain laser-focused on ensuring this transition occurs at a pace attainable and affordable for our customers. 
 
If approved, customers will see this reduction in the local distribution adjustment charge on their bills, which includes energy efficiency programs, and the company will also absorb any additional carrying costs that accrue with the deferral of these costs to the off-peak, summer months.
 
Nov. 1 Rate Adjustment and Increased Usage
 
With colder temperatures recently, customers have been using more natural gas to heat their homes and businesses to stay warm. Rates did not significantly change between November and January, and the higher bills customers have recently been experiencing are primarily a result of rate adjustments that took place on Nov. 1 (following a transparent regulatory review process) and increased usage with the colder weather.
 
For example, usage increased by approximately 19% in January 2025 compared to January 2024 for both of Eversource’s gas service territories.
 
This much colder weather driving increased usage, coupled with the rate adjustments that took effect in November 2024, are the primary factors impacting customers’ current bills. How much energy a customer uses ultimately impacts both the supply and delivery portions of the bill. It’s important to note that even if customers do not raise their thermostats, more energy is used to maintain the same temperature setting in colder weather. 
 
The adjustment to natural gas rates for our customers in Massachusetts that took effect on Nov. 1 reflected a variety of factors including the cost of natural gas on the supply side of the bill and – on the delivery side – our significant investments in safety and reliability projects to strengthen and improve service for our customers, and growth in energy efficiency programs and services available to help customers better manage their energy use and to help advance decarbonization goals.
 
For NSTAR gas customers, energy efficiency represented about 60% of the Nov. 1 rate adjustment and investments in the distribution infrastructure represented about 7%. For EGMA (former Columbia Gas) customers, energy efficiency programs represented about a quarter of the rate adjustment, and significant system investments to improve safety and reliability of the former Columbia Gas system that were required as part of the transaction agreement approved by the state represented about 40% (The former Columbia Gas system has required significant upgrades to bring the system up to standards and ensure safe, reliable service for customers). Additionally, the total increase includes supply costs, which are vulnerable to market forces and typically increase during the winter months, fluctuating year-to-year based on market conditions and weather. In total, the rate adjustments that took place on Nov. 1 represented an approximately 23% increase on the total bill for NSTAR residential heating customers and a 29.5% increase for EGMA residential heating customers compared to last winter.
 
Thanks to collaborative efforts with stakeholders to spread awareness about the benefits of these programs as well as a desire from customers to take control of their energy usage, we saw an increase in participation for these programs and services last year – specifically with respect to heat pump incentives provided to natural gas customers and the delivery of energy efficiency programs to income-eligible customers in our natural gas service territory. These efforts support our shared goals with the commonwealth to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and advance electrification while also driving bills down for customers on a daily basis as the energy that a customer never uses results in real savings. In addition, this increase incorporates projected funding needed for 2025 based on the plan we submitted and is currently under consideration with the DPU. We’re proud to support Massachusetts as a national leader in the ongoing energy transition, and the Mass Save 2025-2027 Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization Plan is one pathway the commonwealth is taking to meet its goals with a focus on affordability and reliability.
 
We know that the high cost of energy is challenging for our customers, and we want to help them plan ahead, manage their energy use and overall cost as best as we can. We highly encourage customers who may need help paying their bill to take advantage of the many assistance programs available and we are here to work with all customers one-on-one to connect them with payment options and bill assistance programs - including our budget billing option that smooths out seasonal spikes by setting a predictable bill amount each month based on our customer’s annual energy use. We’ve scheduled multiple events across the state for our customers in the coming weeks to help them learn more about their bill and connect them with assistance options. 
 

2025 Check Up on your Personal Health Habits...Living and Practicing by Design with Dr. John Hayes

Since we are at the end of February, it's a good idea to check in... on our health check up!
On this week's Living and Practicing by Design with Dr. John Hayes, the doctor wanted to remind us it is OKAY if we feel like we have been slipping from our healthy habits because all we need to do is reintegrate, or begin, with small changes on a daily basis. 
This was a great relief, and reminder, for Rob and Beth as they now feel invigorated to pick up the fruits and get their bodies moving! You can read the Dr.'s full blog post by clicking here.
Listen to our full interview here:

My Teenage Daughter Refuses to Get a Summer Job! Please Help Me Hingham Housewife!

Author Alexandra Slater A.K.A. the Hingham Housewife is back from vacation week and we're so excited to reunite with her! Our listeners were also very excited for the Hingham Housewife's return as one listener had a very pressing matter regarding a frustrating parenting situation:
My question is for Hingham Housewife - I am frustrated with my teen, she is turning 16 in May and I want her to get a summer job this year. I always enjoyed having a summer job during high school because I met so many people, made a little bit of money, and it taught me structure and discipline, in a fun way. I was trying to get her excited by telling her she could be a lifeguard at the beach or pool, maybe work at an ice cream shop, or even babysit! My daughter did not like any of those suggestions and said she deserves a relaxing summer with her friends. Please help me! 
This was a tough one so Hingham Housewife gave her best advice to navigate teenage angst. Listen in and let us know what your dilemma is in the form below: