The Hingham ‘Cast is a hyper local, weekly podcast that looks at the pandemic through the lens of one small town: Hingham, Massachusetts. Hosted by award-winning broadcast journalist Ally Donnelly, The Hingham 'Cast explores how to build better communities through meaningful conversations. We talk about our health, our kids, our schools, our money, our jobs, our relationships, joys and struggles. Even as the pandemic keeps us apart, there is a real opportunity to come together. Through intim ...
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Residents are being asked whether or not we should override Prop 2 and half with a 7.9 million dollar override and permanently raise our property taxes so that we can maintain current services and fund different investments and needs. Without an override, we’d be about six million dollars short. We would have to cut services and lay off 19 municipa…
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I wish I didn't feel so woefully inadequate in finding words to describe where we are. Maybe there are no words. Maybe I have no idea. What I do know is that people are in pain. People need help and we all need each other. In this week's episode I talk with three women trying to help our community. Susan Sarni, Hingham's executive health officer is…
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When Kenzie Blackwell heard some public school students were using socks, dish towels and cardboard to serve as pads during their period, she knew the work she had to do. The Hingham woman launched Free . (period), a non-profit that provides free tampons and pads in public schools and to local service providers like Father Bill's and Interfaith Soc…
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If your child is threatening suicide, if someone in your family is abusing drugs, if you're struggling with a mental health crisis, Aileen Walsh can help. She's Hingham's new community crisis response clinician. She's embedded in the Hingham Police Department and brought to calls where a social worker might offer a different or added resource than …
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Ally Donnelly Hi and welcome to the Hingham ‘Cast. I'm your host Ally Donnelly. This episode is brought to you by Derby Street Shops. The Hingham ‘Cast is hyper local, we look at the world through the lens of one small town. My town here on Boston’s, South Shore, but the issues we explore are unfolding in communities across the country. Like Back t…
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A conversation on school safety with Hingham Public Schools Superintendent Gary Maestas.By Ally Donnelly
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There are three open seats for the Hingham School Committee. Four candidates are running: Aly Anderson, incumbent Nes Correnti, Matt Cosman and Matt LeBretton. If elected, they will help make up a volunteer body that has oversight of and responsibility for the school system, has the power to approve budgets, hire and fire the superintendent, negoti…
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A conversation with Dr. Margaret Adams, incoming Superintendent of Hingham Public Schools. Adams responds to the recent, explosive school committee meeting where interim Superintendent Dr. Gary Maestas said he would request "bodyguards and a bunker to be installed in my home," because of "the aggressive nature of some of our community members," aro…
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On this episode, we talk with Hingham Meteorologist Michael Page about the Blizzard of 2022. Page shares why this storm was declared a blizzard, our snow totals and how they're measured, how the blizzard ranks in terms of other historic South Shore storms and the effects of climate on this and other storms. The local meteorologist also tells us wha…
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The Hingham Memorial Bell Tower is the only, freestanding tower of its kind in North America. Built in the early 1900s, it's a tribute to the ancestors of Hingham's first settlers from Hingham, England. There are 10 working bells in its belfry. The smallest bell is more than 500 pounds. The largest weighs about the same as a Honda Civic! Every Satu…
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We sit down with three South Shore brewers to get the latest on the local craft beer scene. Joining Ally are Mike Dyer, co-owner of Untold Brewing in Scituate; Dino Funari, founder of Vitamin Sea Brewing in Weymouth; and Russ Heissner, founder of Barrel House Z also in Weymouth. Where do they get their inspiration? What beer makes them most proud? …
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We bring two of Hingham's biggest meat-eaters to Cambridge to check out Plant Pub. The concept restaurant is a new eatery from Hingham native Pat McAuley and celebrated chef Mary Dumont. Along with a thoughtful list of craft beers and seltzers, Plant Pub serves up traditional "bar food," but with a "vegan twist." The burgers, "chicken," pulled "por…
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Hingham was bruised and battered after our first big storm of the season. The Nor'easter brought 80mph winds, knocking down trees and power lines. Thousands were in the dark and, as day broke, the damage was laid bare. Homeowners all over Hingham are assessing their losses and filing insurance claims. Some are finding nasty surprises in their cover…
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Hingham 'Cast Profile: John Serafini, HawkEye 360
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Hingham's John Serafini is the CEO of a company called HawkEye 360. It's a radio frequency and data analytics firm that uses space-based satellites to detect, locate and analyze data from devices like walkie-talkies, satellite phones and radar. Clients include the US government, some of its allies and clients Serafini can't name publicly. HawkEye's…
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We sit down with Hingham Public Schools Interim Superintendent Gary Maestes. He is two months into his temporary post and says he spends much of his day just putting out fires. "There was a void, not having a superintendent in the seat, so my time has been occupied managing crisis issues on a daily basis. Every day, it's just, do what you can." Our…
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"My God, we are all trying our best:" Crisis in Veterinary Care
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"I couldn't be treated like an abused woman every day of my life anymore:" former veterinary care staffer Millions of people got new pets in the pandemic and the surge of new patients is stressing an already stressed system. Veterinarians offices are struggling to keep up with the flood of cases, pushing pet owners to other offices and animal hospi…
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Dave Jodka was just 44 when he was diagnosed with sinus cancer. Doctors told he and his wife Kathleen that the prognosis was good, but things took a terrible turn in 2014 and the Scituate father of four did not live through the year. In his last months, Dave and Kathleen thought hard about what Dave wanted to leave behind and how he wanted to be re…
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South Shore Habitat for Humanity plans to build two new homes in Hingham next year. Before Habitat breaks ground, they must raise hundreds of thousands of dollars and, of course, choose the families that will soon call the houses home. In this episode we talk with Andre and Danielle Lavoie. They purchased a Habitat home in 2007. Andre's family has …
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This episode was absolutely selfish. I've been in a really funky space lately. I'm not depressed, but I'm not exactly happy. I'm meh. I feel like I'm in this weird in-between. It doesn't feel like the height of Covid, but it still feels lousy. I'm vaccinated, but my 9-year-old isn't. We're wearing masks again. I worry about the kids having to quara…
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A severe work force shortage is forcing nonprofit human service organizations into turning away vulnerable clients with disabilities. The pandemic has exacerbated an already critical problem. In this episode we profile Beth and Cormac McDaid of Hingham. Cormac turned 22 during the pandemic, but his mom, Beth, has not been able to find a suitable da…
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This was supposed to be a year of healing and recovery for local schools. Instead the highly-contagious Delta variant is making this Back-to-School feel like deja vu. Ally sits down with Hingham's interim superintendant Gary Maestes. He weighs in on everything from mandating vaccines for teachers to making masks optional for some students. She also…
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"I don't feel like the high risk community as a whole is being seen." Just when things started to feel pretty normal again, the Delta variant and its brethren came in to slap us back down. Many are angry, frustrated, exhausted at the prospect of renewed restrictions, mask mandates, another abnormal school year. But people like Sonia Steele, who are…
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James "Woody" Wood owns the food truck Woody's Goodies. He parks it near the commuter ferry into Boston at the Hingham Shipyard. When Covid hit last year, pushing hundreds of Boston offices to shut down, nearly his entire customer base was wiped out with work from home. Woody was terrified. How would he feed his family? What would happen to the bus…
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Pivoting in a Pandemic: Locales Tacos y Tequila
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Opening a restaurant is challenging in the best of times, but throw in a global pandemic and it's brutal. Just ask Brian McLaughlin, owner of soon-to-launch Locales Tacos y Tequila in Hingham, Massachusetts. McLaughlin had planned to open his taco shop in July 2020, but sourcing equipment, finding tradespeople to commit to the job, ever-evolving Co…
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Hingham Public Schools is losing its superintendent and two of six principals after a difficult pandemic year plus. Experts say being a superintendent is more challenging than ever with high expectations, demanding accountability and a "loss of civility" in interactions with some parents. Hingham is among 45 or 15% of districts in the state needing…
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Done Hiding: Life as a Transgender Man (Rebroadcast)
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The Hingham 'Cast team took a break to celebrate the 4th of July holiday. We are reairing our conversation with Finn and Moira Congdon. Finn was born into a girl’s body. He spent his entire childhood trying to figure out why his life didn’t feel right. He wore baggy, body-hiding clothes. He avoided mirrors and sank into a deep depression. The Hingh…
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'Cast Away: Dropping Anchor in Watch Hill, RI
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The Hingham 'Cast teams up with local news site the Hingham Anchor to launch a new travel series. Ally and Laura & Hilary from the Anchor head 80 miles south of Hingham to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Watch Hill is home to beautiful beaches, stunning homes, a historic light house, the only operating "flying horse" carousel, a terrific mix of local inn…
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"Completely humiliated and defeated:" that's how Leslie Badger describes reading aloud in her first grade classroom. It's the first time Hingham's Animal Control Officer shares publicly the story of her learning disablity and how a parakeet named Charlie changed the course of her life. "Animals don't judge," she says. It's a great conversation on h…
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"I want that window to kind of hone in on who I really am." Aldous Collins has emerged from the quiet of Covid to a rebirth of sorts. Like all of us, the frontman for The Aldous Collins Band is thinking more about how he wants to live, to work, to show up for his family. We talk about what that will look like in his music and why he's making change…
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We dive into the hot-from-the-oven world of South Shore bar pizza. There are fierce rivalries, ferocious loyalties and opinions on everything from burnt edges to baked beans. It's a fascinating conversation with Kerry Byrne who founded the South Shore Bar Pizza Social Club during the pandemic. The Facebook group is a landing page and debate stage f…
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Finn Congdon was born into a girl’s body. He spent his entire childhood trying to figure out why his life didn’t feel right. He wore baggy, body-hiding clothes. He avoided mirrors and sank into a deep depression. The Hingham man had a loving, accepting family, but was still terrified to finally come out as transgender. It’s a painful, but beautiful…
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With a toothy grin and disarming charm, PJ Antonik takes up all the space in a room. He is the founder and frontman of Oak Development & Design, a home renovation firm in Hingham, Massachusetts. He has his own TV show, podcast and loyal clientele snapping up his Instagram-marketed homes. Antonik bristles at the word, but is, by definition, a house …
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Maddie McCoy lost her battle to a rare childhood cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma in 2019. She was just 11-years-old. While she was still alive, her family and friends launched Maddie's Promise. It was a sweet push to help Maddie raise money for other kids in the hospital and the people she saw living homeless on the streets of Boston. That promise i…
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Local elections matter. In many communities in Massachusetts a Select Board serves as mayor and city council. There is one seat open on Hingham's Select Board and three candidates vying for the position. It's a demanding, often thankless job. Hingham's Select Board met 80 times last year. The Board calls town meeting and figures out what’s on the a…
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With restrictions eased, theaters from Broadway to Boston pledge that productions will be back on stage by the fall. But exactly what that looks like for audiences and actors is still being figured out. Ally talks with Broadway actress and South Shore native Mary Callanan and Zoe Bradford, co-founder of Norwell's Company Theatre.…
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Local elections matter. The people we vote into office have an enormous amount of power over our town and day-to-day lives. When the pandemic hit, our worlds shrank and how, or if, our communities adapted was laid bare. From public safety and school funding to property assessments and public health enforcement, the effectiveness of local government…
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From the White House to the State House leaders are setting goals to combat climate change, but environmentalists say cities and towns need to step up too. Like many communities across the Commonwealth, Hingham does not have a Climate Action Plan, but soon, residents can vote to make one. In this episode we talk with Christin Eigenmann who, for mos…
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Danielle was just 12 when she started cutting. She said, at first, it was an accident, but it quickly became deliberate. She says when the physical pain came, the emotional pain felt like it was bleeding out of her. It's called self harm or self injury and affects 1 in 5 adolescents. Experts say cutting can start for any number of reasons from a ch…
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Real Estate Boom: Tight Supply, Soaring Demand
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Open houses canceled before they'd begun. Buyers snatching up houses sight unseen. Inspections waived. Cash offers a hundred thousand dollars over asking with little-before-used escalation clauses. It's a pandemic-fueled real estate boom that's driven up prices and made it a kill or be killed seller's market. But what could it mean for the fabric o…
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Paul Deane had hit bottom. He was addicted to heroin, had just lost his wife after she overdosed and was struggling to be a father to their four sons. The Weymouth man says he drove his life into the ground and shares how therapists at a Quincy non profit helped him put the pieces back together. Interfaith Social Services is many things to many peo…
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Surviving Screens & Getting Your Kid Back
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Ally talks with Cindy and Eliza Farina. Eliza is a 7th grader who says in the height of the pandemic, her screen time reached as high as 16 hours a day. How accurate that is, mom Cindy doesn't know, but says shutting down devices can get ugly. With light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, how do we get our kids back from the clutches of screens? Pe…
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Ally sits down with her 9-year-old daughter Lucy to hear what it was like to go back to school after so many months remote and hybrid. She also checks in with Tony Keady, Principal of East Elementary School in Hingham on bringing the kids back not only physically, but emotionally and what their focus will be in the months ahead and as they prepare …
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Thousands of families across the country have welcomed new pets into their lives during the pandemic. With everyone home, there is always someone to walk, feed and scratch the ears of this newest family member. But as life inches back to some level of new normal, what will that mean for your "pandemic pet?" Dr. Trish Cairns, co-chief of staff at No…
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Fight Club: Booking a Vaccine in Massachusetts
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People are crowdsourcing tips on Facebook. They're setting alarms to wake up in the middle of the night and refresh their browser. They've set up multiple computers and phones to be ready to pounce when the time comes. So goes the hunt to book appointments for people aged 65 and older to get vaccines in Massachusetts. "You would get halfway through…
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Laundry Love is a group of dedicated volunteers who spend hours in local laundromats helping people struggling financially. They provide free laundry cards, detergent and other supplies to clients who, without them, may be forced to make tough choices between buying food or medicine or paying their rent and doing their laundry. As need grows in the…
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She's been a mainstay in local families' lives for decades. Maureen Fox, or "Miss Mo" as she’s affectionately called by children tall and small (and their adults) is the director of Sandcastles Childcare Center, in Hingham. Like most businesses when Covid hit, Sandcastles shut down, but reopened just four months later in July. "The fact of the matt…
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It's Lonely: Remote Learning Too Remote for Some
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In this episode we talk with Hingham Middle Schooler Sophie Deane and her mom Karen. We hear how Sophie switched from hybrid to fully-remote learning and how lonely this pandemic can be. Karen, who works long hours as a hospice nurse was also caring for her ailing dad and knew things at home were bad. Her kids were alone for long stretches. Sophie …
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In this week’s episode we talk about turning the page to a new administration. No matter who you voted for or how you feel about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, it is a fresh start. We sit down with six people in the community to hear what their hopes are for the year ahead. It wasn’t necessarily easy. I reached out to several people I thought would h…
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Hingham native Kim Boggini is an ICU nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. She was in the first wave of employees to be vaccinated. Her first dose was about a week before Christmas and she got her booster or second dose January 8th. Other than a sore arm, she didn’t have any side effects from the first shot, but after the second shot, she felt l…
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With a fistful of yeasty dough, Dan Fickes is nervous. “I’m 57 years old. I’ve never made bread in my life.” The Hingham man is not just making any bread. He’s making Grammy Bread--the simple, white bread that got a wounded woman out of bed to face life without her first-born son. “I just can’t fathom losing one of your children at any age--let alo…
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