Heat Wave, 6 Drownings Force MA Towns Into Action: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, June 7. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A funeral and calling hours have been scheduled this week for Worcester police Officer Enmanuel "Manny" Familia, who died Friday during an attempted water rescue.
• Massachusetts and the rest of New England — the most heavily vaccinated region in the U.S. — are giving the rest of the country a possible glimpse of the future if more Americans get their shots.
• Braintree has scheduled a rally in honor of the officers and the police dog shot during a standoff Friday.

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

Today's Top Story

Massachusetts officially entered a heat wave Monday with its third consecutive day of temperatures over 90 degrees, forcing towns across the state to cope with the dangerously hot temperatures.

Framingham, Lexington, Malden, Salem and other Massachusetts towns declared heat emergencies and opened cooling centers for residents who did not have air conditioning on Monday. Braintree, which also opened two cooling centers, said it would close schools early Monday because of the heat. Waltham also closed its high school early, as it is the only building in the district without air conditioning.

Meanwhile, officials are urging residents to be careful when they go swimming. At least six people have drowned since Friday, including a Worcester police officer and a teen he was trying to save. On Monday, police reported a child died after being pulled from Lake Gardner in Amesbury Sunday around 4 p.m.

At noon, Monday's temperatures appeared as if they would fall short of breaking the record of 97 degrees in Boston. But humidity had the "real feel" temperature at over 100 in several parts of the state at various points during the day. And that humidity is expected to be even worse on Tuesday, even as temperatures cool slightly.

Forecasters are warning cooler temperatures may not come until Wednesday. That's when a cold front from Canada will move through the area, bringing more seasonable temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekday. It's free!

Monday's Other Top Stories

Funeral set for Worcester police officer: A funeral and calling hours have been scheduled this week for Worcester police Officer Enmanuel "Manny" Familia, who died Friday during an attempted water rescue at Green Hill Park. Hundreds of police officers are expected to attend. Familia drowned Friday after responding to the pond at Green Hill Park on a report of swimmers in distress. He went into the way to try to rescue Troy Love, 14, who slipped underwater while trying to swim across the pond with members of his family.

MA a model for COVID-19 success: Massachusetts and the rest of New England — the most heavily vaccinated region in the U.S. — are giving the rest of the country a possible glimpse of the future if more Americans get their shots. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the region have been steadily dropping as more than 60% of residents in all six states have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Picture This

Wayland hero: 10-year-old Luke Canterbury was credited for his quick thinking when a fire broke out in December. Luke recalled what to do in an emergency from the Student Awareness of Fire Education offered in the town's schools. He was named a junior firefighter by the Wayland Fire Department this month.

They Said It

"That doesn't sit right with me, and it shouldn't sit right with anyone."

• Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey in an Associated Press interview on moves by the Sackler family to shield themselves from financial penalties in a case she brought against the family, which owns oxycontin-maker Purdue Farmer.

In Case You Missed It

Man who shot two police officers ID'd: A man who shot and injured two Braintree police officers, as well as killed a police dog, was Andrew Holman, 34, of Brockton, the Norfolk District Attorney's office said. Police returned firing, killing Holman. Holman was armed with two guns, the DA's office said. Braintree has scheduled a rally in honor of the officers and the police dog.

By The Numbers

61: The number of underage drinkers Lawrence Police caught after conducting a sting operation at a liquor store that had been the target of complaints. Mt. Vernon Liquor will be charged with eight counts of selling alcoholic beverages to underage people and will go before the Lawrence Licensing Board.