May 7, 2025 • 36 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
May is National Stop the Bleed Month, a time designated to educate the public about bleeding control. Severe bleeding from trauma is a leading cause of preventable death for people of all ages with guest David Shapiro - ACS Stop the Bleed Committee
More than two-thirds of kids in under-resourced communities wear shoes that are too small. The right pair of shoes is a big deal for growing feet. Nonprofit “Operation Warm” Shares How New Footwear Can Boost Confidence, School Attendance, and Well-Being with guest Rich Lalley - Partnerships Director, Operation Warm.
Ongoing battle in Lowell over allowing underage patrons at Lowell pubs with guest Melanie Gilbert – Reporter for The Lowell Sun
Cancer Survivor Turns Legal Industry Upside Down — Rewrites the Rules for Women at Work with guest Sandra Fava - mom, breast cancer survivor & attorney
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
May is National Stop the Bleed Month, a time designated to educate the public about bleeding control. Severe bleeding from trauma is a leading cause of preventable death for people of all ages with guest David Shapiro - ACS Stop the Bleed Committee
More than two-thirds of kids in under-resourced communities wear shoes that are too small. The right pair of shoes is a big deal for growing feet. Nonprofit “Operation Warm” Shares How New Footwear Can Boost Confidence, School Attendance, and Well-Being with guest Rich Lalley - Partnerships Director, Operation Warm.
Ongoing battle in Lowell over allowing underage patrons at Lowell pubs with guest Melanie Gilbert – Reporter for The Lowell Sun
Cancer Survivor Turns Legal Industry Upside Down — Rewrites the Rules for Women at Work with guest Sandra Fava - mom, breast cancer survivor & attorney
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Night Size, Dan Ray, Dan Razy, Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Thank you very much, Madison. As we move into a
Wednesday night, I'm halfway through the week now and we
have a very interesting program coming up tonight. We're going
to talk a little bit later on about the Papal Conclave,
which is underway now formally in Rome. We'll also talk
about the possibility of banning cell phones in Massachusetts schools,
(00:26):
which I think is a pretty good idea. The President
of the Massachusetts State Senate talked about that today and
there are certainly other issues we could get into as well.
My name's Dan Ray. I'm the host of night Side.
I want to welcome Rob Brooks is off tonight, and
so Brian but is running the board. Be kind to Brian.
(00:49):
I think this is his first night. He's a veteran,
but this is his first night running the board solo
for Nightside. So we're in good hands with Brian, and
you are in great here ends here on Nightside. We
are going to start off our first hour, which we
interview four guests with I think sometimes really vital information,
(01:10):
and tonight, certainly this one is of vital importance. May
is National Stop the Bleed Month, a time designated educate
the public about bleeding, control severe bleeding from trauma. It's
a leading cause of preventable death for people of all ages.
With me is doctor David Shapiro. He is the vice
(01:30):
chair of the Stop the Bleed Committee. Doctor Shapiro, Welcome
to Nightside. How are you this evening? Doing well?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Thank you, Dan, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So this is Stop the Bleed A is associated with
the American College of Surgeons. And I think all of
us have heard about this situation where someone you know
is bleeding badly, and I think what most of us
only know is to put some pressure on it and
try to prevent the bleeding. But I assume it involves
(02:01):
a lot more than that.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
You'd be surprised Dan, how little more it includes. But
that's an important step to start with. What we try
to talk about is the fact that bleeding is the
number one cause of preventable death after injury, just like
you said, and it means that people who are bystanders
should intervene when they can. This training offers that opportunity
to learn what to do in that situation.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So the training is free or available. As I understand
that what how did How does one get that training?
Is it complicated? You have to go to a seminar somewhere?
Is it available online? What's what's the deal in that regard?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
There's a few ways to go get trained. One is
you can go online to Stop the Bleed dot org
slash save a Life, and there's actually a link that
gives you opportunities based on where you are, to get
trained by your local hospital or some local organizations that
do it. Most training available in the US is free.
All the training that I do, and I'm I'm in
the West Hartford, Connecticut area. All the training that we
(02:59):
do here is free. And I've actually been in Boston
and the Boston area and trained up there, always for free.
So people can go to the website, they can ask
their local hospital or their local trauma surgeons and they'll
teach them how.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
The Stop the Bleed website, which I've looked at and
I'm looking at right now. Four million people have learned
to stop the bleed. How long has this program been
in existence? How did you get full million trained that quickly?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Well, it's been about ten years since the program started,
it'll be ten years later this year, and it started
really as grassroots, but the goal is to get more
people trained every day. Five million is a wonderful number,
but it's a drop in the bucket compared to how
many people there are around, and we want everyone to
know how to do this. Just like if you've collapsed
on the street, someone comes over, checks your pulse and
(03:44):
then can start CPR. This is like thinking about CBR
for bleeding.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Now, I know a lot of people are going to
get freaked out, and I'm sure that a lot of
people will recoil from that if they see someone who,
let's say, has been hit by a car or stuff
at a of a difficult injury and they're bleeding. How
do you get people over that psychological hump.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Well, I think the most important thing that we can
talk about there is the being ready. You would never
hesitate to help your your spouse, your child, your brother's sister,
et cetera. You'd always go into help. And we'd always
expect that at the scene of any bleeding emergency, or
any crash or any accident, that someone would be there
to help our loved ones. So we want to provide
(04:29):
that kind of reciprocal care. If I'm there to help,
I'm going to help. And that's why this program is
so important. It's easy and it's straightforward. The training is
less than an hour, and it's once and you know
the material.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Wow, this sounds like a great program and it's one
that virtually everybody can take advantage of. I know that
every month we have you know, different causes in different
months and all that, but May is national Stop the
Bleed Month. In May twenty second is National Stop the
Bleed Day. So all you have to do is go
(05:04):
to the website Stop the Bleed dot org. It looks
to me some of the photographs that I see in
the website, everybody seems to be working with it looks
like what I guess is a limb or you know,
you know, uh, you're not obviously using human beings here.
What are they working on there? I noticed that they're
pressing down on this, uh sort of you know, light pink.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
We we actually offer them in all colors and they're
meant to represent all people. These are they're actually a
prosthetic limb. They're just a piece of great foam rubber
that's designed to be the same shape as a leg
or arm, so that we can teach people the three
important steps of stop the bleed. Those those techniques. Those
three techniques include direct pressure, like you've already said, okay,
(05:49):
packing where we actually forced gauz inside a wound to
help put pressure on the inside. And then the application
of a tourniquit, something that people have you know, had
in their in their scout years a long time ago.
And people learned to do the tourniquets years ago, but
they kind of went by the wayside for a while,
and they're back as of the last ten years. So
those three techniques are what we teach.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yeah, it looks pretty it looks pretty simple. It looks
like people are enjoying this process. And again I want
to encourage folks because hey, it could be me tomorrow
that's on the street somewhere impleting and I want people
to help me stop the bleed. Dot organ. I'm sure
that everyone tonight, if it was, as you said, their
spouse or their child or a dear friend, they would
(06:34):
want some stranger to help. And this makes all the
sense in the world. Do you have last question, doctor Shapiro.
Do you have any idea? And I don't script these questions.
I make them up as they go along. Do you
have any idea. How many people's lives may have already
been saved as a result of this program.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Well, it's a difficult number to get to because if
someone's life is saved, it's usually because somebody intervened early,
and that's important. But we know that there are thousands
upon thousands of these bleeding emergencies every day, and we
see them all over the world, and they include things
as simple as an accident with a knife for a window,
or a car crash or even violence. All those things
(07:15):
are amenable to this treatment. So that's what's important, is
being ready because just like for CPR, we never want
to have to use it, but if we're put of
the situation, we should be ready.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah. You know the reason I asked that question is
many years ago, got to be probably close to thirty
years ago. I was in a restaurant and a guy
stood up and he was he had some food stuck.
He couldn't make any noise, and I knew right away
this guy's choking, and I went overtook me three times,
but the third time was a charm, and he popped
a piece of chicken out by using the Hemelick maneuver.
(07:46):
I just responded I had just done a story on it,
and I was in television at the time and had
learned the Heimlich maneuver, the idea of you know, you
take and you get it right underneath the sternum and
you really give them a jolt and the Heimlich maneuver.
They keep track of how many people because I got
this award from them, a certificate and all of that.
So maybe that's something that you folks would stop the
(08:07):
bleed might consider to do when someone actually it's proven
that they that they saved someone, a little bit of
acknowledgment might go a long way.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I totally agree with you and thank you for saving
that life, because I'll bet when you got trained to
do the heim mcaneuver, it wasn't that day you remembered
and it was really important there.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah, it was a few weeks prior, but it was
pretty simple. It's like, you know, you know, basically, you know,
you know what it is. You take your thumb, the
the the the the knuckle on your thumb and you
drive it up under the asternam. I just sort of
did it myself, and it took me three shots at it,
to be honest with it, didn't it didn't work perfectly,
(08:45):
but it's it's saved when one person's life. So anyway,
thank you so much, doctor Shapiro. I really appreciate you
taking the time tonight and I'm going to check out
the course myself and I been well.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Thanks Dan, Thanks for spreading the word. It's so important all.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Of us pleasure, my pleasure. Thank you so much. Well,
that's a great That was really something that I thought
was really interesting, and I hope you find I hope
you found that as interesting as I did. Uh. Let's
in a moment. We're going to talk about a program
that maybe is not as dramatic, but equally important. It's
(09:21):
called Operation Warm. Stay with us. We're going to talk
with a Partnership Direct Partnership's director of Operation Warm, Rich Lally.
Well than two thirds of kids in under resourced communities
were shoes that are too small. Uh, we'll be right
back here on Nightside. My name is Dan Ray. You
listen to WBZ in Boston.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
If you're on night Side with Dan Ray on WZ
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Well, we talked briefly during the break the fact that
two thirds of kids in underresourced communities we're shoes that
are too small the right pair of shoe whose big
deal for growing feet? Nonprofit Operation Warm shares how new
footwork can boost confidence, school attendance, and well being. And
they also do more than just shoes with us, as
(10:11):
Rich Lally Partnerships, Director of Operation Warm tell us about
the organization generally Rich and then let's talk about what
is needed at this time of year, what is most
needed at this time of year.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Sure, Dan, thanks for having me on. So Operation Warm
is a nationally active nonprofit organization. We've been around for
a little over twenty five years, and we provide brand
new clothing, specifically brand new shoes and brand new winter
codes to children living in need. Last year, across North America,
we served about one point two million children, and in
(10:46):
the Boston area we did tens of thousands of children.
So shoes are what's really in need at this time
of the year. Obviously we're beyond the coach season at
this time, but you know, kids grow pretty rapidly and
they'll go through a pair of shoes every four months
or so when they're in that growth spurt.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
So maybe the shoes that they got less September for
back to school now are too small.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Now you say they're too small.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You said North America. Does does this program extend beyond
the borders of the US to Canada, Mexico or or
was that we go into.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
We go into Canada. We're primarily in the United States,
but we've got a fair number of partners in Canada
as well.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Okay, now I assume you're not looking for old shoes.
I assume you said that you're you're looking for new shoes.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Right, Well, we provide new shoes, but actually we don't
at the scale that we're operating, we don't take in
donations of goods. We have them manufactured for us, and
so we have them packaged in a way that facilitates
distributing coats or shoes to children at distribution events. We
(12:00):
make sure the quality is all up to snuff. We
have a lot of lots of different colors that the
kids can choose from. And the way we handle all
of that is through the financial contributions that we get
from a wide range of community partners and foundations and
carring individuals and corporations and even some governmental units.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Okay, so if folks want to I don't have any
corporations listening to me or governmental units, but I do
have Yeah, that's individuals. If there are individuals out there
who would like to help you out, what is the
best way to be in contact. I assume you have
a good website.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Yeah, we have a great website. It's operationworm dot org.
That's Operation warm Warms and not cold warm dot org.
And you know when you're there, you can make a
contribution if you want, twenty five dollars will provide a
pair of shoes and two pairs of socks that have
a retail value of just about fifty to a child
(13:01):
in need. The other thing is that if your listeners
are a part of a church that likes to give
back in their community, or maybe it's a union local.
We work with a lot of union firefighters, and we
work with a couple of other unions as well. I
think we work with the electrical workers in the Boston area.
Or if they're worth some kind of a club like
(13:23):
a rotary club or a Kawanas club that does a
lot of service work in their community. Those organizations can
sign up to be a community partner and they raise
funds and then they donate the funds to us. But
tell us what local beneficiary organization they would like to
coach or shoes to go to. And oftentimes those members
then will go to the organization and literally help the
(13:44):
kids pick out their own shoes and help them try
them on, make sure they fit properly. And I'll tell
you what, that's a fantastic experience to do that.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
So Operation One, how long have you folks been operating?
How long you've been around?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Yeah, we started in nineteen ninety eight when our founder
saw some kids without coats on a day when it
was snowing in the Philadelphia area. He bought every coat
at the apartment stored in fifty eight coats. And last
year we did over a million coats and two hundred
and twenty five thousand pairs of shoes.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
So you have you the need continues, but you have
grown to try to fill that need. That sounds oh yes,
that's a great shot.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
I mean in the Boston area alone, last year we
had requests for eight thousand pairs of shoes and we
were only able to provide shoes to sixteen hundred kids.
So nationally the numbers are huge. It's you know, something
like seven hundred thousand pairs of shoes were requested across
the country and six hundred thousand of those went unfulfilled.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Wow boy, But you know again, the fact that you
were out there doing it and with the help of individuals,
I assume you were a five O one C three.
So any donations that listeners make is it is a
charitable deduction, assuming they adamized on their taxes.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
That's correct. Yeah, we're definitely a five oh one C three.
There's no profits associated with our company at all. Every
penny that we bring in is used to order more
coats or more shoes and then get them to more
beneficiary organizations like schools and nonprofit organizations that serve low
income families.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Sometimes. I know the groups that I talk to, like
you always like to acknowledge if they have a huge
corporate sponsor. I'm just wondering if there's any particular organization
that you'd like to cite for being supportive. Again, I'm
the doc here, but I just want to always ask.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Now, we've got three that I'd like to mention. Subaru.
We're one of their six court charities and they do
a program. Every one of their dealers does a program
with US across the country, and FADEX is Hughes. They
do about seventy eight to eighty different schools all across
North America. Every kid in the school gets a brand
new code or a brand new pair of shoes, are
both from their employees. And then close to you is TJX.
(16:03):
I think their headquarters in scenario. Yeah, right, you've got
one of their executives is on our board and they're
growing with us and doing programs in the cities where
they have distribution centers.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Well, I'm glad I asked that question. We don't script
questions here, and it's just what comes up in my mind.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
So that's why I appreciate the opportunity, because those folks
really really help make it happen. But so you know,
I found I've been doing this. I've been in with
Operation Warm since two thousand and nine and so quite
a while. And what I find is when you're trying
to make an impact in the community, you need lots
of donations. You need lots of small donations and a
few big donations, and you know, every little bit helps.
(16:44):
So twenty five dollars provides a brand new pair of
shoes with two pairs of socks to it.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
That's great. That sounds great. I really enjoyed our conversation.
You're doing great work. Rich Lally Partnerships Director Operation Warm
operationwarm dot org. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Appreciate it. Great evening.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Right back at you. Okay, when we get back, going
to talk about a battle up in Lowell about allowing
underage patrons at Lowell pubs. We're going to talk with
a reporter for the Lowell Son, Melanie Gilbert. It's interesting.
I read the story, I got some questions, and Melanie
has the answers. My name's Dan Ray. You're listening WBZ
in Boston. Of course, we're in iHeart radio station. You
(17:22):
can pull down the new improved iHeart app. You can
make WBZ your number one presets. So wherever you are,
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you'll be able to get to us. You'll just be
a fingertip away. We're just a couple of minutes away
right after the news here at the bottom of the ear.
My name's Dan Ray, and you're listening to nights Side.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
If you're on Night Side with Dan Ray, I'm WBZ,
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
All right. Melanie Gilbert is a reporter for the Lowell Son.
Hi Melanie, Welcome to Nightside. How are you tonight?
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Well, hey Dan, this is my first time on your show,
so thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Well, I'm sure it won't be your last, because we
really do like we like the Lowell Sun. It's it's
a great city and it's a great newspaper and they
have great reporters and so you've done this story than you.
Underage patrons are welcome at Lowell pubs. I read the article,
which is interesting, and I'd love to hear your take
(18:24):
on it because I guess the loophole of the pub
is as long as they serve food, a pub, it
oftentimes could be just a pub's not a bar. I
guess is that the distinction we're talking about here.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Well, you know, it's a really interesting story. And I
got to tell you, Dan, I cover the municipal beat
and Lowell, which you know sounds like a big yawner, right,
you know. I cover the Health Department, the school committee
and the city council and stuff like that, and one
of my beats is the license commission. But I'm telling
you that's where the magic happens. You know, these cities
run on these little these little municipal meetings where all
this stuff goes down. So this was a hearing, a
(19:05):
violation hearing for the Blue Shamrock, which is the guy
who's been in business for like thirty years. And Nick
petrakis he's got he's a larger than life personality, really
invested in the community. Runs a lot of donation, you know,
he runs a sun Santum for the low charities and
a lot of charitable events. So he's you know, he's
a well rounded, well respected guy. But he's had issues
(19:25):
with underage patrons coming into his bar. So he was busted.
The bar was busted. So the License Commission is the
little sleeping municipal body that regulates liquor licenses in the city.
So when the police go out and do you know,
a sting operation, Let's say they go into a bar
and if they see somebody that they think or you know,
(19:46):
what's typically going to be what's considered a bar, even
though Loull doesn't have bars, they have pub restaurants.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, little Samantha goal here, but at least we understand it, okay.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
Well, or is there one of the police captains. The technicality,
you know, and he said, we're not going to change
our enforcement. So they go into the bar and if
they see people who they think are under age, they
ask them prid, well, you know, these people aren't in
that bar by accident. The IDs they have they pass.
There's a thriving market and fake IDs that have the stippling,
(20:20):
they have, the holograms they have, you know, they're pretty
good and I guess they cost around three hundred dollars
and these kids can order them from China and they
get into these bars. And so the bar uses sort
of a you know, a screening system, but it's not
sophisticated like the police scanner system that they use, which
connects to the state police database. So the cops can say,
(20:41):
show me your ID and they scan it and it's fraudulents.
So they go into the Blue Shamrock at like one
o'clock in the morning on March first, which is you know,
Friday night into Saturday morning, and they I buy two
women sitting at the bar and they think they're under age.
They card them their IDs are is the police report said,
clearly fraudulent, and so they criminally cite them and then
(21:02):
they give the bar a violation notice, which brings them
before the license commission for a hearing. So the license
commission is a body that says, you've sinned, we're going
to suspend your license, or you've sinned, we're going to
be a second chance, or you have to do remedial
training or whatever. So you know, Nick comes in, Nick Patratus,
who's the owner. He comes before the license commission. He says, look, yeah,
(21:23):
they're underage, but I'm not a bar, I'm a restaurant.
And they didn't have any drinks. They weren't served, they
didn't have any drinks in their hands, they didn't have
any drinks in front of them. They were there for
the food.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
I think, I think win this game.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
Well, you know this is this is why I'm going
to be there. May fifteenth is the follow up hearing.
And it's a really good you know, you always hear
that thing, is there a distinction with a difference, and
sometimes there are things that are difference with no distinction.
This has both isn't difference and a distinction. So he's clear.
You know, he has a kitchen, he's a really good menu.
I looked at his menu the other day. I thought, man,
(22:02):
I got to get in there and get myself a burger.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
But you're over rage. Now, that's that's an important Here's
the problem with the women who were who were nailed.
Obviously they were if they had fake id's, they were
not over twenty one. I assume how young they were.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
I believe Captain Peasley, who testified before the Liquor Commission,
said that they were eighteen. So they were eighteen and nineteen,
so they you know, they're not high schoolers, which has
been an issue in the past. Yeah, intact, this particular
bar has been cited for having underage like this.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Is this is this. Were they sitting at what we
would call the bar, or they had a couple at
a table, they were at the bar.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
They were sitting at the bar.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah, and so, but.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
No alcohol in front of them when they were carded
by the police.
Speaker 5 (22:52):
That's correct. And Nick says, too many people get past
the doormen or the door people, you know, and so
they're IDs. And so he says the bartenders are are
much better, and I spind fake id's and that they
use pen lights and black light and they can, you know,
they can. I guess there's a certain sickness to the
IDs issued by the states, they're not flimsy, and that
(23:12):
fake id's are sort of flimsy, you know. So there's
a lot of dimensions to the story. What really caught
my eye, And you know, I go to these meetings
because you never know, this is.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Let me, this is the best form of journalism. This
is local journalism. This is what newspapers are supposed to do.
Hat's awesome.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
You just go into yes, well, thank you. And you know,
I love these meetings. I eat the municipal beat for
breakfast function dinner because this is where this stuff pops
and it's just nuts. So I was sitting there, you know,
there's doodling, and all of a sudden my ear ears
pricked up because then I realized that we've got a
story here, and it kind of reminded me of that joke.
You know, two women walk into a bar, you know,
(23:50):
so they say, you know, a pre so, oh my gosh,
this is like too good. And so the young women,
I wonder if they're cases. I'm gonna have to pull
the police report, but I wonder if their cases are
going to be tossed out too. So you know, the
deal is is that you know, when you go into Applebee's.
You going to California Kitchen and you're going to Chief
Kake Pactory. Those places aren't open till two o'clock in
(24:11):
the morning. They're family style restaurants.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
You know.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
You see families going into those places and they ordered liquor,
and you can have liquor served to your table. You
might have a six year old sitting there, and it's
not a big deal because the vibe is different. But
you know, a club or a nightclub or a bar,
it's you're there for one thing to drink, you know,
And I think that's sort of you know. So in
Low though, they didn't want bars, so they made it
(24:36):
an ordnance that there are no bars, there are restaurants
that serve liquor. So this is the sticky wicket that
I mentioned earlier, is that the law Department said, when
you know, you guys, you you guys with a liquor commission,
you pass this ordinance that you said. As long as
they hold a restaurant license, there is no there's no violation.
(24:58):
You know, they're not to you right here, since blue
shamrock as a common uh you know light vitually, I don't.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
Say the word right.
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Yeah, thank you, Thank you, you saved me. License holder
is classified as a restaurant with an alcohol license, so
it's not an alcohol place that's serving food. It's a
restaurant serving alcohol, which is a whole different thing. It
is not unlawful for them to admit patrons under twenty
one years of age, provided they are only served food
and not alcohol. Now, the thing that's going to be
(25:26):
discussed on May fifteenth is, you know, this was one
o'clock in the morning. Was the kitchen open? So the
License Commission has requested uh the payroll records of the
employees who were on duty that night, and I'm sure
that's going to be one of the questions they asked.
And this is the thing that you know, you're a journalist.
You remember when you can get more than one bite
of the apple. You're like in dreamland. Right, it's not
(25:48):
a one and done story.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Continued to be continued Melanie. I love your enthusiasm. Do
me a favorite. We're going to I'll ask my producer
to get back to you after the day eight of
May fifteenth, or if you get a chance to call
Marita back. We'd love to know how the story ends.
I think I think he may be on solid ground here,
(26:10):
but we'll see. We'll see how they normally is the
ABC seed that's doing this, the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission,
they do that too.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Yeah, yeah, well that's what law enforcement has, the boots
on the ground sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Yeah, that's a state. That's a state. See, Melanie, love
your enthusiasm, got enthusiasm, But I got to let you
go because I got one more guest coming up and
a quick commercial break that We've gone a little longer
than I should, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and hope
to soon. I mean, like this, mom, Okay, thanks Melanie,
talk soon, all right, real quick. Got to get to
(26:45):
a break and we come back. We're going to talk
about a cancer survivor who is basically turned the legal industry,
had a real impact on the legal industry because of
her experience. She's a lawyer. We'll talk with and Fava
right after the break.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Dendra Fava, you practice Lauren, Morristown, New Jersey. Right, I've
been in Morristown route to eighty seven. What's going on
with the music here? Brian? Okay, Sandra, can you hear.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
Me, I can.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Okay, I got you this big introduction here. You practice
Lauren Morristown, right, I do.
Speaker 6 (27:38):
My office was located in Morristown, New Jersey.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I know Morristown, Peeback, Gladstone, that Neck of the Woods
route to eighty seven. I know it very well. So
you have dealt you're a breast cancer survivor, yes, okay,
and your your mom and your practicing attorney. I happen
to be a member of the bar here in Massachusetts,
so I just can imagine what you would have had
(28:03):
to have gone through as a woman with breast cancer,
but also as someone who is trying to keep a
law practice alive. Yeh've done much more than that. You
now have rewritten the rules for women at work, explained
to us that place.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Four.
Speaker 6 (28:18):
So during the pandemic, in about early September of twenty twenty,
I was diagnosed with stage three best breast cancer. So
I had to make a lot of quick decisions. I
was at that time a partner at a large national
law firm in one of their in their Morristown actually
(28:40):
office location, had a robust practice book of business as
a family law practitioner here in New Jersey, and so
it's a COVID. I have three kids who at the
time were eight, six, and four or thereabouts, maybe even
a little younger at.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
The start of it.
Speaker 6 (29:01):
I have my spouse who happens to also be an attorney.
So we're all, you know, working remote and now I
have to deal with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, more surgery, lots
of doctor's appointments, being very careful because your immune system
is completely shot as a result of that. You know,
(29:21):
the treatment that ultimately did save my life, and I'm
very grateful for and you know, I tell people that
I'm not always certain if it was the pandemic or
really the breast cancer, but at that point in time,
I really had like an awakening as I came through
it and realized that, in particular, you know, the large
(29:43):
firm that I was at while they tried to give
me support, and I you know, couldn't knock the efforts
that were made at large. You know, the people at large.
You really got the message that you were just the
cog in the wheel. And you know, I could have
I could have passed and it wouldn't have been a
blip on anybody's radar. And I really started to think
that while I am passionate about being an attorney, it.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Would have been a big bloop. It would have been
a Sandra, as you know, it would have been a
big blip on your family's radar. Though.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
Absolutely, absolutely, that's.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
The other part of the equation.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Go right ahead, Yeah, for sure. And you know my career,
I worked very hard, as many attorneys do. You know,
I don't come from a family of lawyers. My parents
are immigrants, so I'm first generation in this country, first
in my family to go to college and then to
get a law degree. So I didn't have family help
or mentors and things like that. So I always, you know,
(30:37):
figured if I worked really hard, I would get to
where I wanted to be, and in reality, that is
what happened. But at the sacrifice of you know, taking
care of my health and you know, my stress levels
being high at all times. You know, I kind of
operate best. I used to say when I was under
like tremendous pressure or fire from all angles, and I
(30:57):
really said, there's going to be no more of this.
My family. Myself comes first, actually, because without me, my
family is going to be in the rough, rough spot.
And then you know, my family and being there for
my children and my spouse. Those are my priorities. And
I kind of lived that. I didn't just say it,
I did it. And I made a huge transition within
(31:20):
my practice, and interestingly enough, my clients were really receptive.
I still brought on new clients. I was very clear
with the rules of engagement as far as my availability,
which you know, pre COVID and pre you know, emails
and Apple phones and all of these things was the
way people practiced law. Right, You make a phone call,
(31:42):
you send a letter, you send a fact, you know.
But with time and as technology advances, you know, there's
an expectation that you'll be available all the time, at
any time of the day or night, you know, and
at an expense. And that comes from the top down,
whether it's leadership in your firm or organization, whether it's
from the courts of the adversaries, clients, you know, all
(32:03):
of the above. And so I really just made my
engagement terms very clear kind of with everybody. You know,
I'm going to work and I'm going to do everything
that I need to do for whoever needs it to
be done. But you know you won't be able to
reach me during the week on these you know, after
this hour and on the weekends, if there's an emergency,
you should call the police because I can't really help
(32:24):
you anyway, you know, I can, I'm not I can
be your therapist and do that. And that's an important
part of my job to understand and hear people and
listen to people. But also there has to be kind
of a line. And most people, you know, when you
say it out loud to them, they're like, yeah, of course, sure,
no problem. And it kind of really changed knowing that
(32:45):
the clients and you know, those people were accepting of that.
Then I had to work on the organization and that
was less of a positive experience. You know, several women left,
are partners left at the same time that I like,
And a lot of it had to do with this
expectation that you know, this would be your number one
(33:07):
priority at all times, at all levels.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
So so you you left the big firm and now
have your own practice. It sounds to me like you're
the big firm. Yes, wasn't. Wasn't with you on this.
I will predict that probably you're gonna be a You're
going to be a rain maker for yourself. And a
lot of the clients maybe who would have gone to
(33:30):
the big firm, are going to gravitate towards you because
they will probably will respect your integrity and your courage.
Speaker 6 (33:40):
Well, thank you, that's really nice of you to say, Dan,
And you know, I do try to live all areas
of my life with integrity, and you know, doing things
that I believe in doing the right thing, not just
for self gain or not for self gain, but because
it's the right thing to do. You know, my father,
who's bout collar, you know, to have taught me and
my sibling from a very young age. You know, you
(34:01):
don't have anything if you don't have your integrity. So
it's important for me to be able to put my
head on a pillow at night, close my eyes and
not worry about if I did the right thing. I mean,
I do that with my children because I think as
a parent we always second guess ourselves. But certainly I
didn't want to do that in my professional career.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
I will bet you tell you. I will bet you
that a lot of your clients probably respect your boundaries
and they're probably very happy to have you as they're
representative in whatever matter you're dealing with them on. So
I say, hats off to you. I wish more lawyers
thought like that. All of us who ever practiced law
(34:38):
know what the partner track is and it's no fun.
And you were a partner and even at that point
you realize that it wasn't what you wanted to do,
and you had the guts and the courage to turn
it around. So I say, congratulations, Sandra. And if how
could folks, we have a lot of listeners in New Jersey,
(35:00):
folks want to get in touch with you. Give us
a quick way in which they can reach out to you.
Speaker 5 (35:04):
Absolutely, so.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
Obviously you can go to my website Favolawanjay dot com.
You can follow me my travel law on Instagram. I
have a Facebook page. Obviously, I'm on LinkedIn. You know,
all of those ways and my contact informations, my phone number, email,
all of that's on the website.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
That's great. Congratulations, congratulations on your recovery and may that
continue for decades. I hope thank you great health for
the rest of your life. And your kids and your
husband are blessed to have you as part of their family.
Speaker 6 (35:39):
And I thank you so much, Dan, that means a lot.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
My pleasure pleasure to have met you. Sandrew, all right,
we will. We will come back and we're going to
talk back after nine o'clock. We're going to talk about
an idea that is now being seriously considered long overdue,
and that's getting cell phones out of public school classrooms
here in Massachusetts. We'll explain right after the nine o'clock
nots
It's Night Size, Dan Ray, Dan Razy, Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Thank you very much, Madison. As we move into a
Wednesday night, I'm halfway through the week now and we
have a very interesting program coming up tonight. We're going
to talk a little bit later on about the Papal Conclave,
which is underway now formally in Rome. We'll also talk
about the possibility of banning cell phones in Massachusetts schools,
(00:26):
which I think is a pretty good idea. The President
of the Massachusetts State Senate talked about that today and
there are certainly other issues we could get into as well.
My name's Dan Ray. I'm the host of night Side.
I want to welcome Rob Brooks is off tonight, and
so Brian but is running the board. Be kind to Brian.
(00:49):
I think this is his first night. He's a veteran,
but this is his first night running the board solo
for Nightside. So we're in good hands with Brian, and
you are in great here ends here on Nightside. We
are going to start off our first hour, which we
interview four guests with I think sometimes really vital information,
(01:10):
and tonight, certainly this one is of vital importance. May
is National Stop the Bleed Month, a time designated educate
the public about bleeding, control severe bleeding from trauma. It's
a leading cause of preventable death for people of all ages.
With me is doctor David Shapiro. He is the vice
(01:30):
chair of the Stop the Bleed Committee. Doctor Shapiro, Welcome
to Nightside. How are you this evening? Doing well?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Thank you, Dan, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So this is Stop the Bleed A is associated with
the American College of Surgeons. And I think all of
us have heard about this situation where someone you know
is bleeding badly, and I think what most of us
only know is to put some pressure on it and
try to prevent the bleeding. But I assume it involves
(02:01):
a lot more than that.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
You'd be surprised Dan, how little more it includes. But
that's an important step to start with. What we try
to talk about is the fact that bleeding is the
number one cause of preventable death after injury, just like
you said, and it means that people who are bystanders
should intervene when they can. This training offers that opportunity
to learn what to do in that situation.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So the training is free or available. As I understand
that what how did How does one get that training?
Is it complicated? You have to go to a seminar somewhere?
Is it available online? What's what's the deal in that regard?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
There's a few ways to go get trained. One is
you can go online to Stop the Bleed dot org
slash save a Life, and there's actually a link that
gives you opportunities based on where you are, to get
trained by your local hospital or some local organizations that
do it. Most training available in the US is free.
All the training that I do, and I'm I'm in
the West Hartford, Connecticut area. All the training that we
(02:59):
do here is free. And I've actually been in Boston
and the Boston area and trained up there, always for free.
So people can go to the website, they can ask
their local hospital or their local trauma surgeons and they'll
teach them how.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
The Stop the Bleed website, which I've looked at and
I'm looking at right now. Four million people have learned
to stop the bleed. How long has this program been
in existence? How did you get full million trained that quickly?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Well, it's been about ten years since the program started,
it'll be ten years later this year, and it started
really as grassroots, but the goal is to get more
people trained every day. Five million is a wonderful number,
but it's a drop in the bucket compared to how
many people there are around, and we want everyone to
know how to do this. Just like if you've collapsed
on the street, someone comes over, checks your pulse and
(03:44):
then can start CPR. This is like thinking about CBR
for bleeding.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Now, I know a lot of people are going to
get freaked out, and I'm sure that a lot of
people will recoil from that if they see someone who,
let's say, has been hit by a car or stuff
at a of a difficult injury and they're bleeding. How
do you get people over that psychological hump.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Well, I think the most important thing that we can
talk about there is the being ready. You would never
hesitate to help your your spouse, your child, your brother's sister,
et cetera. You'd always go into help. And we'd always
expect that at the scene of any bleeding emergency, or
any crash or any accident, that someone would be there
to help our loved ones. So we want to provide
(04:29):
that kind of reciprocal care. If I'm there to help,
I'm going to help. And that's why this program is
so important. It's easy and it's straightforward. The training is
less than an hour, and it's once and you know
the material.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Wow, this sounds like a great program and it's one
that virtually everybody can take advantage of. I know that
every month we have you know, different causes in different
months and all that, but May is national Stop the
Bleed Month. In May twenty second is National Stop the
Bleed Day. So all you have to do is go
(05:04):
to the website Stop the Bleed dot org. It looks
to me some of the photographs that I see in
the website, everybody seems to be working with it looks
like what I guess is a limb or you know,
you know, uh, you're not obviously using human beings here.
What are they working on there? I noticed that they're
pressing down on this, uh sort of you know, light pink.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
We we actually offer them in all colors and they're
meant to represent all people. These are they're actually a
prosthetic limb. They're just a piece of great foam rubber
that's designed to be the same shape as a leg
or arm, so that we can teach people the three
important steps of stop the bleed. Those those techniques. Those
three techniques include direct pressure, like you've already said, okay,
(05:49):
packing where we actually forced gauz inside a wound to
help put pressure on the inside. And then the application
of a tourniquit, something that people have you know, had
in their in their scout years a long time ago.
And people learned to do the tourniquets years ago, but
they kind of went by the wayside for a while,
and they're back as of the last ten years. So
those three techniques are what we teach.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yeah, it looks pretty it looks pretty simple. It looks
like people are enjoying this process. And again I want
to encourage folks because hey, it could be me tomorrow
that's on the street somewhere impleting and I want people
to help me stop the bleed. Dot organ. I'm sure
that everyone tonight, if it was, as you said, their
spouse or their child or a dear friend, they would
(06:34):
want some stranger to help. And this makes all the
sense in the world. Do you have last question, doctor Shapiro.
Do you have any idea? And I don't script these questions.
I make them up as they go along. Do you
have any idea. How many people's lives may have already
been saved as a result of this program.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Well, it's a difficult number to get to because if
someone's life is saved, it's usually because somebody intervened early,
and that's important. But we know that there are thousands
upon thousands of these bleeding emergencies every day, and we
see them all over the world, and they include things
as simple as an accident with a knife for a window,
or a car crash or even violence. All those things
(07:15):
are amenable to this treatment. So that's what's important, is
being ready because just like for CPR, we never want
to have to use it, but if we're put of
the situation, we should be ready.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah. You know the reason I asked that question is
many years ago, got to be probably close to thirty
years ago. I was in a restaurant and a guy
stood up and he was he had some food stuck.
He couldn't make any noise, and I knew right away
this guy's choking, and I went overtook me three times,
but the third time was a charm, and he popped
a piece of chicken out by using the Hemelick maneuver.
(07:46):
I just responded I had just done a story on it,
and I was in television at the time and had
learned the Heimlich maneuver, the idea of you know, you
take and you get it right underneath the sternum and
you really give them a jolt and the Heimlich maneuver.
They keep track of how many people because I got
this award from them, a certificate and all of that.
So maybe that's something that you folks would stop the
(08:07):
bleed might consider to do when someone actually it's proven
that they that they saved someone, a little bit of
acknowledgment might go a long way.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I totally agree with you and thank you for saving
that life, because I'll bet when you got trained to
do the heim mcaneuver, it wasn't that day you remembered
and it was really important there.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah, it was a few weeks prior, but it was
pretty simple. It's like, you know, you know, basically, you know,
you know what it is. You take your thumb, the
the the the the knuckle on your thumb and you
drive it up under the asternam. I just sort of
did it myself, and it took me three shots at it,
to be honest with it, didn't it didn't work perfectly,
(08:45):
but it's it's saved when one person's life. So anyway,
thank you so much, doctor Shapiro. I really appreciate you
taking the time tonight and I'm going to check out
the course myself and I been well.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Thanks Dan, Thanks for spreading the word. It's so important all.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Of us pleasure, my pleasure. Thank you so much. Well,
that's a great That was really something that I thought
was really interesting, and I hope you find I hope
you found that as interesting as I did. Uh. Let's
in a moment. We're going to talk about a program
that maybe is not as dramatic, but equally important. It's
(09:21):
called Operation Warm. Stay with us. We're going to talk
with a Partnership Direct Partnership's director of Operation Warm, Rich Lally.
Well than two thirds of kids in under resourced communities
were shoes that are too small. Uh, we'll be right
back here on Nightside. My name is Dan Ray. You
listen to WBZ in Boston.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
If you're on night Side with Dan Ray on WZ
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Well, we talked briefly during the break the fact that
two thirds of kids in underresourced communities we're shoes that
are too small the right pair of shoe whose big
deal for growing feet? Nonprofit Operation Warm shares how new
footwork can boost confidence, school attendance, and well being. And
they also do more than just shoes with us, as
(10:11):
Rich Lally Partnerships, Director of Operation Warm tell us about
the organization generally Rich and then let's talk about what
is needed at this time of year, what is most
needed at this time of year.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Sure, Dan, thanks for having me on. So Operation Warm
is a nationally active nonprofit organization. We've been around for
a little over twenty five years, and we provide brand
new clothing, specifically brand new shoes and brand new winter
codes to children living in need. Last year, across North America,
we served about one point two million children, and in
(10:46):
the Boston area we did tens of thousands of children.
So shoes are what's really in need at this time
of the year. Obviously we're beyond the coach season at
this time, but you know, kids grow pretty rapidly and
they'll go through a pair of shoes every four months
or so when they're in that growth spurt.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
So maybe the shoes that they got less September for
back to school now are too small.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Now you say they're too small.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You said North America. Does does this program extend beyond
the borders of the US to Canada, Mexico or or
was that we go into.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
We go into Canada. We're primarily in the United States,
but we've got a fair number of partners in Canada
as well.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Okay, now I assume you're not looking for old shoes.
I assume you said that you're you're looking for new shoes.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Right, Well, we provide new shoes, but actually we don't
at the scale that we're operating, we don't take in
donations of goods. We have them manufactured for us, and
so we have them packaged in a way that facilitates
distributing coats or shoes to children at distribution events. We
(12:00):
make sure the quality is all up to snuff. We
have a lot of lots of different colors that the
kids can choose from. And the way we handle all
of that is through the financial contributions that we get
from a wide range of community partners and foundations and
carring individuals and corporations and even some governmental units.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Okay, so if folks want to I don't have any
corporations listening to me or governmental units, but I do
have Yeah, that's individuals. If there are individuals out there
who would like to help you out, what is the
best way to be in contact. I assume you have
a good website.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Yeah, we have a great website. It's operationworm dot org.
That's Operation warm Warms and not cold warm dot org.
And you know when you're there, you can make a
contribution if you want, twenty five dollars will provide a
pair of shoes and two pairs of socks that have
a retail value of just about fifty to a child
(13:01):
in need. The other thing is that if your listeners
are a part of a church that likes to give
back in their community, or maybe it's a union local.
We work with a lot of union firefighters, and we
work with a couple of other unions as well. I
think we work with the electrical workers in the Boston area.
Or if they're worth some kind of a club like
(13:23):
a rotary club or a Kawanas club that does a
lot of service work in their community. Those organizations can
sign up to be a community partner and they raise
funds and then they donate the funds to us. But
tell us what local beneficiary organization they would like to
coach or shoes to go to. And oftentimes those members
then will go to the organization and literally help the
(13:44):
kids pick out their own shoes and help them try
them on, make sure they fit properly. And I'll tell
you what, that's a fantastic experience to do that.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
So Operation One, how long have you folks been operating?
How long you've been around?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Yeah, we started in nineteen ninety eight when our founder
saw some kids without coats on a day when it
was snowing in the Philadelphia area. He bought every coat
at the apartment stored in fifty eight coats. And last
year we did over a million coats and two hundred
and twenty five thousand pairs of shoes.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
So you have you the need continues, but you have
grown to try to fill that need. That sounds oh yes,
that's a great shot.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
I mean in the Boston area alone, last year we
had requests for eight thousand pairs of shoes and we
were only able to provide shoes to sixteen hundred kids.
So nationally the numbers are huge. It's you know, something
like seven hundred thousand pairs of shoes were requested across
the country and six hundred thousand of those went unfulfilled.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Wow boy, But you know again, the fact that you
were out there doing it and with the help of individuals,
I assume you were a five O one C three.
So any donations that listeners make is it is a
charitable deduction, assuming they adamized on their taxes.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
That's correct. Yeah, we're definitely a five oh one C three.
There's no profits associated with our company at all. Every
penny that we bring in is used to order more
coats or more shoes and then get them to more
beneficiary organizations like schools and nonprofit organizations that serve low
income families.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Sometimes. I know the groups that I talk to, like
you always like to acknowledge if they have a huge
corporate sponsor. I'm just wondering if there's any particular organization
that you'd like to cite for being supportive. Again, I'm
the doc here, but I just want to always ask.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Now, we've got three that I'd like to mention. Subaru.
We're one of their six court charities and they do
a program. Every one of their dealers does a program
with US across the country, and FADEX is Hughes. They
do about seventy eight to eighty different schools all across
North America. Every kid in the school gets a brand
new code or a brand new pair of shoes, are
both from their employees. And then close to you is TJX.
(16:03):
I think their headquarters in scenario. Yeah, right, you've got
one of their executives is on our board and they're
growing with us and doing programs in the cities where
they have distribution centers.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Well, I'm glad I asked that question. We don't script
questions here, and it's just what comes up in my mind.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
So that's why I appreciate the opportunity, because those folks
really really help make it happen. But so you know,
I found I've been doing this. I've been in with
Operation Warm since two thousand and nine and so quite
a while. And what I find is when you're trying
to make an impact in the community, you need lots
of donations. You need lots of small donations and a
few big donations, and you know, every little bit helps.
(16:44):
So twenty five dollars provides a brand new pair of
shoes with two pairs of socks to it.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
That's great. That sounds great. I really enjoyed our conversation.
You're doing great work. Rich Lally Partnerships Director Operation Warm
operationwarm dot org. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Appreciate it. Great evening.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Right back at you. Okay, when we get back, going
to talk about a battle up in Lowell about allowing
underage patrons at Lowell pubs. We're going to talk with
a reporter for the Lowell Son, Melanie Gilbert. It's interesting.
I read the story, I got some questions, and Melanie
has the answers. My name's Dan Ray. You're listening WBZ
in Boston. Of course, we're in iHeart radio station. You
(17:22):
can pull down the new improved iHeart app. You can
make WBZ your number one presets. So wherever you are,
anywhere in the world, anytime during the day or night,
you'll be able to get to us. You'll just be
a fingertip away. We're just a couple of minutes away
right after the news here at the bottom of the ear.
My name's Dan Ray, and you're listening to nights Side.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
If you're on Night Side with Dan Ray, I'm WBZ,
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
All right. Melanie Gilbert is a reporter for the Lowell Son.
Hi Melanie, Welcome to Nightside. How are you tonight?
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Well, hey Dan, this is my first time on your show,
so thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Well, I'm sure it won't be your last, because we
really do like we like the Lowell Sun. It's it's
a great city and it's a great newspaper and they
have great reporters and so you've done this story than you.
Underage patrons are welcome at Lowell pubs. I read the article,
which is interesting, and I'd love to hear your take
(18:24):
on it because I guess the loophole of the pub
is as long as they serve food, a pub, it
oftentimes could be just a pub's not a bar. I
guess is that the distinction we're talking about here.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Well, you know, it's a really interesting story. And I
got to tell you, Dan, I cover the municipal beat
and Lowell, which you know sounds like a big yawner, right,
you know. I cover the Health Department, the school committee
and the city council and stuff like that, and one
of my beats is the license commission. But I'm telling
you that's where the magic happens. You know, these cities
run on these little these little municipal meetings where all
this stuff goes down. So this was a hearing, a
(19:05):
violation hearing for the Blue Shamrock, which is the guy
who's been in business for like thirty years. And Nick
petrakis he's got he's a larger than life personality, really
invested in the community. Runs a lot of donation, you know,
he runs a sun Santum for the low charities and
a lot of charitable events. So he's you know, he's
a well rounded, well respected guy. But he's had issues
(19:25):
with underage patrons coming into his bar. So he was busted.
The bar was busted. So the License Commission is the
little sleeping municipal body that regulates liquor licenses in the city.
So when the police go out and do you know,
a sting operation, Let's say they go into a bar
and if they see somebody that they think or you know,
(19:46):
what's typically going to be what's considered a bar, even
though Loull doesn't have bars, they have pub restaurants.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, little Samantha goal here, but at least we understand it, okay.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
Well, or is there one of the police captains. The technicality,
you know, and he said, we're not going to change
our enforcement. So they go into the bar and if
they see people who they think are under age, they
ask them prid, well, you know, these people aren't in
that bar by accident. The IDs they have they pass.
There's a thriving market and fake IDs that have the stippling,
(20:20):
they have, the holograms they have, you know, they're pretty
good and I guess they cost around three hundred dollars
and these kids can order them from China and they
get into these bars. And so the bar uses sort
of a you know, a screening system, but it's not
sophisticated like the police scanner system that they use, which
connects to the state police database. So the cops can say,
(20:41):
show me your ID and they scan it and it's fraudulents.
So they go into the Blue Shamrock at like one
o'clock in the morning on March first, which is you know,
Friday night into Saturday morning, and they I buy two
women sitting at the bar and they think they're under age.
They card them their IDs are is the police report said,
clearly fraudulent, and so they criminally cite them and then
(21:02):
they give the bar a violation notice, which brings them
before the license commission for a hearing. So the license
commission is a body that says, you've sinned, we're going
to suspend your license, or you've sinned, we're going to
be a second chance, or you have to do remedial
training or whatever. So you know, Nick comes in, Nick Patratus,
who's the owner. He comes before the license commission. He says, look, yeah,
(21:23):
they're underage, but I'm not a bar, I'm a restaurant.
And they didn't have any drinks. They weren't served, they
didn't have any drinks in their hands, they didn't have
any drinks in front of them. They were there for
the food.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
I think, I think win this game.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
Well, you know this is this is why I'm going
to be there. May fifteenth is the follow up hearing.
And it's a really good you know, you always hear
that thing, is there a distinction with a difference, and
sometimes there are things that are difference with no distinction.
This has both isn't difference and a distinction. So he's clear.
You know, he has a kitchen, he's a really good menu.
I looked at his menu the other day. I thought, man,
(22:02):
I got to get in there and get myself a burger.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
But you're over rage. Now, that's that's an important Here's
the problem with the women who were who were nailed.
Obviously they were if they had fake id's, they were
not over twenty one. I assume how young they were.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
I believe Captain Peasley, who testified before the Liquor Commission,
said that they were eighteen. So they were eighteen and nineteen,
so they you know, they're not high schoolers, which has
been an issue in the past. Yeah, intact, this particular
bar has been cited for having underage like this.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Is this is this. Were they sitting at what we
would call the bar, or they had a couple at
a table, they were at the bar.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
They were sitting at the bar.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah, and so, but.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
No alcohol in front of them when they were carded
by the police.
Speaker 5 (22:52):
That's correct. And Nick says, too many people get past
the doormen or the door people, you know, and so
they're IDs. And so he says the bartenders are are
much better, and I spind fake id's and that they
use pen lights and black light and they can, you know,
they can. I guess there's a certain sickness to the
IDs issued by the states, they're not flimsy, and that
(23:12):
fake id's are sort of flimsy, you know. So there's
a lot of dimensions to the story. What really caught
my eye, And you know, I go to these meetings
because you never know, this is.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Let me, this is the best form of journalism. This
is local journalism. This is what newspapers are supposed to do.
Hat's awesome.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
You just go into yes, well, thank you. And you know,
I love these meetings. I eat the municipal beat for
breakfast function dinner because this is where this stuff pops
and it's just nuts. So I was sitting there, you know,
there's doodling, and all of a sudden my ear ears
pricked up because then I realized that we've got a
story here, and it kind of reminded me of that joke.
You know, two women walk into a bar, you know,
(23:50):
so they say, you know, a pre so, oh my gosh,
this is like too good. And so the young women,
I wonder if they're cases. I'm gonna have to pull
the police report, but I wonder if their cases are
going to be tossed out too. So you know, the
deal is is that you know, when you go into Applebee's.
You going to California Kitchen and you're going to Chief
Kake Pactory. Those places aren't open till two o'clock in
(24:11):
the morning. They're family style restaurants.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
You know.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
You see families going into those places and they ordered liquor,
and you can have liquor served to your table. You
might have a six year old sitting there, and it's
not a big deal because the vibe is different. But
you know, a club or a nightclub or a bar,
it's you're there for one thing to drink, you know,
And I think that's sort of you know. So in
Low though, they didn't want bars, so they made it
(24:36):
an ordnance that there are no bars, there are restaurants
that serve liquor. So this is the sticky wicket that
I mentioned earlier, is that the law Department said, when
you know, you guys, you you guys with a liquor commission,
you pass this ordinance that you said. As long as
they hold a restaurant license, there is no there's no violation.
(24:58):
You know, they're not to you right here, since blue
shamrock as a common uh you know light vitually, I don't.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
Say the word right.
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Yeah, thank you, Thank you, you saved me. License holder
is classified as a restaurant with an alcohol license, so
it's not an alcohol place that's serving food. It's a
restaurant serving alcohol, which is a whole different thing. It
is not unlawful for them to admit patrons under twenty
one years of age, provided they are only served food
and not alcohol. Now, the thing that's going to be
(25:26):
discussed on May fifteenth is, you know, this was one
o'clock in the morning. Was the kitchen open? So the
License Commission has requested uh the payroll records of the
employees who were on duty that night, and I'm sure
that's going to be one of the questions they asked.
And this is the thing that you know, you're a journalist.
You remember when you can get more than one bite
of the apple. You're like in dreamland. Right, it's not
(25:48):
a one and done story.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Continued to be continued Melanie. I love your enthusiasm. Do
me a favorite. We're going to I'll ask my producer
to get back to you after the day eight of
May fifteenth, or if you get a chance to call
Marita back. We'd love to know how the story ends.
I think I think he may be on solid ground here,
(26:10):
but we'll see. We'll see how they normally is the
ABC seed that's doing this, the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission,
they do that too.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Yeah, yeah, well that's what law enforcement has, the boots
on the ground sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Yeah, that's a state. That's a state. See, Melanie, love
your enthusiasm, got enthusiasm, But I got to let you
go because I got one more guest coming up and
a quick commercial break that We've gone a little longer
than I should, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and hope
to soon. I mean, like this, mom, Okay, thanks Melanie,
talk soon, all right, real quick. Got to get to
(26:45):
a break and we come back. We're going to talk
about a cancer survivor who is basically turned the legal industry,
had a real impact on the legal industry because of
her experience. She's a lawyer. We'll talk with and Fava
right after the break.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Dendra Fava, you practice Lauren, Morristown, New Jersey. Right, I've
been in Morristown route to eighty seven. What's going on
with the music here? Brian? Okay, Sandra, can you hear.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
Me, I can.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Okay, I got you this big introduction here. You practice
Lauren Morristown, right, I do.
Speaker 6 (27:38):
My office was located in Morristown, New Jersey.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I know Morristown, Peeback, Gladstone, that Neck of the Woods
route to eighty seven. I know it very well. So
you have dealt you're a breast cancer survivor, yes, okay,
and your your mom and your practicing attorney. I happen
to be a member of the bar here in Massachusetts,
so I just can imagine what you would have had
(28:03):
to have gone through as a woman with breast cancer,
but also as someone who is trying to keep a
law practice alive. Yeh've done much more than that. You
now have rewritten the rules for women at work, explained
to us that place.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Four.
Speaker 6 (28:18):
So during the pandemic, in about early September of twenty twenty,
I was diagnosed with stage three best breast cancer. So
I had to make a lot of quick decisions. I
was at that time a partner at a large national
law firm in one of their in their Morristown actually
(28:40):
office location, had a robust practice book of business as
a family law practitioner here in New Jersey, and so
it's a COVID. I have three kids who at the
time were eight, six, and four or thereabouts, maybe even
a little younger at.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
The start of it.
Speaker 6 (29:01):
I have my spouse who happens to also be an attorney.
So we're all, you know, working remote and now I
have to deal with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, more surgery, lots
of doctor's appointments, being very careful because your immune system
is completely shot as a result of that. You know,
(29:21):
the treatment that ultimately did save my life, and I'm
very grateful for and you know, I tell people that
I'm not always certain if it was the pandemic or
really the breast cancer, but at that point in time,
I really had like an awakening as I came through
it and realized that, in particular, you know, the large
(29:43):
firm that I was at while they tried to give
me support, and I you know, couldn't knock the efforts
that were made at large. You know, the people at large.
You really got the message that you were just the
cog in the wheel. And you know, I could have
I could have passed and it wouldn't have been a
blip on anybody's radar. And I really started to think
that while I am passionate about being an attorney, it.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Would have been a big bloop. It would have been
a Sandra, as you know, it would have been a
big blip on your family's radar. Though.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
Absolutely, absolutely, that's.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
The other part of the equation.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Go right ahead, Yeah, for sure. And you know my career,
I worked very hard, as many attorneys do. You know,
I don't come from a family of lawyers. My parents
are immigrants, so I'm first generation in this country, first
in my family to go to college and then to
get a law degree. So I didn't have family help
or mentors and things like that. So I always, you know,
(30:37):
figured if I worked really hard, I would get to
where I wanted to be, and in reality, that is
what happened. But at the sacrifice of you know, taking
care of my health and you know, my stress levels
being high at all times. You know, I kind of
operate best. I used to say when I was under
like tremendous pressure or fire from all angles, and I
(30:57):
really said, there's going to be no more of this.
My family. Myself comes first, actually, because without me, my
family is going to be in the rough, rough spot.
And then you know, my family and being there for
my children and my spouse. Those are my priorities. And
I kind of lived that. I didn't just say it,
I did it. And I made a huge transition within
(31:20):
my practice, and interestingly enough, my clients were really receptive.
I still brought on new clients. I was very clear
with the rules of engagement as far as my availability,
which you know, pre COVID and pre you know, emails
and Apple phones and all of these things was the
way people practiced law. Right, You make a phone call,
(31:42):
you send a letter, you send a fact, you know.
But with time and as technology advances, you know, there's
an expectation that you'll be available all the time, at
any time of the day or night, you know, and
at an expense. And that comes from the top down,
whether it's leadership in your firm or organization, whether it's
from the courts of the adversaries, clients, you know, all
(32:03):
of the above. And so I really just made my
engagement terms very clear kind of with everybody. You know,
I'm going to work and I'm going to do everything
that I need to do for whoever needs it to
be done. But you know you won't be able to
reach me during the week on these you know, after
this hour and on the weekends, if there's an emergency,
you should call the police because I can't really help
(32:24):
you anyway, you know, I can, I'm not I can
be your therapist and do that. And that's an important
part of my job to understand and hear people and
listen to people. But also there has to be kind
of a line. And most people, you know, when you
say it out loud to them, they're like, yeah, of course, sure,
no problem. And it kind of really changed knowing that
(32:45):
the clients and you know, those people were accepting of that.
Then I had to work on the organization and that
was less of a positive experience. You know, several women left,
are partners left at the same time that I like,
And a lot of it had to do with this
expectation that you know, this would be your number one
(33:07):
priority at all times, at all levels.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
So so you you left the big firm and now
have your own practice. It sounds to me like you're
the big firm. Yes, wasn't. Wasn't with you on this.
I will predict that probably you're gonna be a You're
going to be a rain maker for yourself. And a
lot of the clients maybe who would have gone to
(33:30):
the big firm, are going to gravitate towards you because
they will probably will respect your integrity and your courage.
Speaker 6 (33:40):
Well, thank you, that's really nice of you to say, Dan,
And you know, I do try to live all areas
of my life with integrity, and you know, doing things
that I believe in doing the right thing, not just
for self gain or not for self gain, but because
it's the right thing to do. You know, my father,
who's bout collar, you know, to have taught me and
my sibling from a very young age. You know, you
(34:01):
don't have anything if you don't have your integrity. So
it's important for me to be able to put my
head on a pillow at night, close my eyes and
not worry about if I did the right thing. I mean,
I do that with my children because I think as
a parent we always second guess ourselves. But certainly I
didn't want to do that in my professional career.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
I will bet you tell you. I will bet you
that a lot of your clients probably respect your boundaries
and they're probably very happy to have you as they're
representative in whatever matter you're dealing with them on. So
I say, hats off to you. I wish more lawyers
thought like that. All of us who ever practiced law
(34:38):
know what the partner track is and it's no fun.
And you were a partner and even at that point
you realize that it wasn't what you wanted to do,
and you had the guts and the courage to turn
it around. So I say, congratulations, Sandra. And if how
could folks, we have a lot of listeners in New Jersey,
(35:00):
folks want to get in touch with you. Give us
a quick way in which they can reach out to you.
Speaker 5 (35:04):
Absolutely, so.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
Obviously you can go to my website Favolawanjay dot com.
You can follow me my travel law on Instagram. I
have a Facebook page. Obviously, I'm on LinkedIn. You know,
all of those ways and my contact informations, my phone number, email,
all of that's on the website.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
That's great. Congratulations, congratulations on your recovery and may that
continue for decades. I hope thank you great health for
the rest of your life. And your kids and your
husband are blessed to have you as part of their family.
Speaker 6 (35:39):
And I thank you so much, Dan, that means a lot.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
My pleasure pleasure to have met you. Sandrew, all right,
we will. We will come back and we're going to
talk back after nine o'clock. We're going to talk about
an idea that is now being seriously considered long overdue,
and that's getting cell phones out of public school classrooms
here in Massachusetts. We'll explain right after the nine o'clock
nots
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