Report Links 1990s Wilmington Water To Childhood Cancer: Patch PM

TEWKSBURY, MA — It's Wednesday, March 24. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Kim Janey was sworn in mayor of Boston on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the city's first Black mayor and first female mayor.
• Two people wielding pepper spray and a throwing star attacked and injured a juvenile in Marlborough.
• Another Massachusetts school committee voted to drop a Native American mascot for its high school's sports teams.

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

Today's Top Story

A two-decade study found a link between Wilmington's 1990s water supply and a cluster of childhood cancer cases, the state said Wednesday.

The state found a link between maternal, pre-natal exposure to carcinogens in the town's water and childhood cancers including leukemia and lymphoma during the 1990s.

Childhood cancer fell to normal levels starting in 2001 and the town's water no longer poses any known risk to public health, the state said.

Read the full story.

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Wednesday's Other Top Stories

Throwing star attack in "ongoing feud:" Two people wielding pepper spray and a throwing star attacked and injured a juvenile along the Assabet Rail Trail in Marlborough on Tuesday afternoon. According to police, the attack stemmed from an "ongoing feud." The two attackers were arrested and both charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

DNA links accused Waltham attacker to victim: The man police say is responsible for the 11 unprovoked attacks across Waltham last fall on unsuspecting men was arraigned Wednesday morning. During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunigan said police found blood on boots in Clauvens Janvier's blue Saab. After having them tested against DNA swabs of the 11 victims, authorities said the DNA in the blood on the boots matched one of the victim's DNA.

Probe questions police conduct after protest arrest: An independent investigation into the arrest of a Black Lives Matter protester in Swampscott on Dec. 12 determined that while Swampscott police acted properly based on the immediate information they had at the time, some aspects of the post-arrest conduct and investigation were flawed. Police Chief Robert Madigan and town officials requested an independent investigation amid the conflicting reports of the incident and accusations the officers violated the civil rights of the man arrested.

Goodbye, Warrior: The school committee's 5-2 vote puts to rest — for the moment — a divisive issue that nearly ripped Wakefield in half. Some argued the logo was antiquated at best and racist and harmful at worst, while others contended the logo was a tradition-rich way to honor the town's past.

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They Said It

"To think that my teenage grandsons were born at a time when there had never even been a Black woman on our city council, and today my six-year-old granddaughter Rosie and other little girls can see themselves represented in Massachusetts' highest court, the halls of Congress, and now in the 55th mayor of Boston."

• Kim Janey, who was sworn in as mayor of Boston on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the city's first Black mayor and first female mayor.