MA Town Reinstates Mask Order After Coronavirus Spike: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, July 19. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A bill to protect victims of violent crime and human trafficking from deportation was signed into law Friday
• Framingham City Council may repeal a two-week-old law that allows stores to charge customers for single-use paper bags.
• Jeanica Julce, 27, of Somerville, was pulled from the water by dive teams after more than nine hours after a Boston Harboat boat crash.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Provincetown town officials issued new mask rules for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people after more than 130 residents and tourists tested positive for the coronavirus.

The majority of those who tested positive were part of an outbreak of "breakthrough cases," which hit Provincetown during the 4th of July weekend. Breakthrough cases happen when people who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 contract the virus anyway.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, town officials during an emergency meeting Monday voted to advise people to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. Town officials also voted to advise clubs and music venues where social distancing isn't achievable to enforce vaccine verification prior to admittance.

Read the full story.

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Monday's Other Top Stories

Rethinking paper bag fees at grocery stores: Framingham City Council may soon prove that the customer is always right. A new city law went into effect July 5 that allows businesses to charge 10 cents per single-use paper bag. Just two weeks later, a City Councilor wants to repeal the fee after backlash from unhappy shoppers. The law allows businesses to charge 10 cents per paper bag and keep the money.

Boston Harbor boat crash victim ID'd: Jeanica Julce, 27, of Somerville, was pulled from the water by dive teams after more than nine hours of searching Saturday morning. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The U.S. Coast Guard said a small boat with eight aboard hit the day marker about 3 a.m. Saturday, throwing everyone on board into the water. Crews were able to bring seven of the boaters back to shore, but an eighth person was missing until her body was found around noon, Boston police said. Julce was living in Somerville and majoring in finance at UMass Boston, with dreams of opening her own dance studio, and a GoFundMe page has been set up by her family

New MA law prevents deportation of victims of violence: A bill to protect victims of violent crime and human trafficking from deportation filed by state Rep. Tram Nguyen, D-Andover, was signed into law Friday, Nguyen's office said. The bill was filed with Rep. Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset and included in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which Gov. Charlie Baker signed Friday. The bill "provides clear and consistent language for law enforcement to certify immigrant victims of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, and sex trafficking, who have helped in the prosecution of their abusers," according to a news release. "With that certification, these victims can then apply for a U- or T-visa, which would allow them to testify without fear of deportation."

Police ask for help in finding suspect in serious hit-and-run crash: Wilmington police are seeking information related to a serious hit-and-run crash that occurred Wednesday. Around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, there was a crash at the intersection of Middlesex Avenue and Clark Street that ended in a vehicle hitting a nearby house, police said. A maroon or red vehicle fled the scene on Clark Street toward Church Street, police said. They are looking for witnesses and information on a maroon or red vehicle with front end damage.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Picture This

For the first time, a state commission is gathering together to be tasked with reviewing and making potential changes to the state's seal, flag, and motto. The current emblem for the Commonwealth depicts a Native American man, with a colonist's arm above him brandishing a sword, and a Latin phrase that reads, in part, "By the sword we seek peace." (Shutterstock photo)

They Said It

"The church is more than the building, this community is where a single mom can bring her two beautiful shy girls and watch them blossom and grow in self-confidence surrounded by love and a caring community. This is a place where elders who must move into a nursing home are visited and sent cards and respond with words, of thanks saying, 'it is nice to know I am not forgotten.'"

• Rev. Tina Walker-Morin, who is asking the Sandwich community to help repair the nearly 200-year-old First Church of Christ to help celebrate her 40th birthday next month.