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Boston Globe
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The nine most annoying people you'll meet at the beach — and their cabanas, music, and sports equipment
It's almost enough to make you nostalgic for the days when people complained about the 'When you living your life your way starts to harm the people around you, [you need to rein] it in,' read one particularly popular comment. 'Wake the hell up.' Wake the hell up??? Is this the beach we're talking about — or the Advertisement Maybe I'm misremembering, but at some point wasn't the beach the poster location for, you know, relaxation? Feel the sand between your toes and all that . Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up On some beaches, mainly south of Massachusetts, the tension over the pop-up shade villages has gotten so intense that officials (on the Jersey Shore, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Ocean City, Md.) have laid down 'shade policies' restricting or banning the structures. Related : Alas, not unlike the Lone Star tick, tents and cabanas are multiplying — 'Umbrellas, canopies or sport-brellas Advertisement The SPF 50-rated McMansions are the latest irritant, but hardly the only one. With several weeks of summer remaining, here's a ranking of the nine worst people you'll meet on the sand. No one likes a Smokey the Beach Bum. VINCENT FEURAY/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Smokey the Beach Bum The world is this person's ashtray. This offender not only smokes in nature, but litters butts around his blanket, your blanket, and manages to make paradise feel like a dive bar parking lot at 2 a.m. It's enough to make you wish he would vape. The Seashell Sargent She spends the entire day berating the spouse, the kids, and the kids' friends. People aren't eating enough of the food she spent all morning preparing. Or they're hogging it all. They're spending too much time in the water. Or not enough. After what we've paid for parking! You've unintentionally bought a front-row ticket to the most depressing soap opera on the beach. A seagull with a snack at Crane Beach in 2022. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Lord of the Fries The guy on the next towel over gave a gull part of his burger, and now word has gone out in the sky: free food 17 feet southwest of the lifeguard stand. You're in a real-life scene from " Chad from Marketing Spends the entire afternoon on an endless stream of business calls. Yelling about key performance indicators, synergy, and 'touching base' like the beach is a WeWork with a good Zoom background. The Trespasser Stomps across your blanket like it's a public thoroughfare, not noticing as he kicks sand in your hummus, rumples your carefully smoothed set-up, and almost runs over the baby with his enormous $500 wagon. Advertisement A crowded at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham last summer. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff The Olympian Look, buddy, we're glad you enjoy every land, sea, and sand sport known to man and Amazon Prime. But we're not charmed by the shuttlecocks, footballs, frisbees, and kites coming our way at all times. We came to the beach to let down our guard — not to play goalie. The Close Talker, Beach Edition This family sets up about three inches from your turf, even though there are miles of open beach. Why? They're too lazy to walk even a few minutes (OK, you were, too, but you got here first). They're having so much fun, and have brought so many supplies, that pretty soon their stuff starts to bleed onto your towel, forcing you to spend the afternoon patrolling a border only you are focused on. Two beach-goers played football a respectful distance from others in June of 2020. It's no fun when you're having to dodge stray balls. Blake Nissen for the Boston Globe The Self-Appointed DJ Announces his arrival on the beach with a walk-on song and things only get louder from there. Decides the beach needs his playlist — and it's heavy on electronic dance music. You came to the beach to listen to the birds and the sound of the waves in real life. Now your only move is to put on your noise-canceling headphones and pull up the 'beach sounds' app on your phone. The Land Grabber She hits the beach at 5:30 a.m., sets up her multiple cabanas and chairs in a primo spot, then — her turf claimed — heads home. The villa sits empty until 11 a.m. when she strolls back to claim her oceanfront view. If you don't like it, tough. The lifeguard is her nephew. Advertisement The Universe OK, not technically a person, but rather everyone and everything that has conspired to put you in a bad mood before you even got to the beach. Traffic that turns a one-hour trip into a three-hour ordeal, with the arrival time ticking ever upward. Nonresident parking fees that have hit $45 on weekends in Gloucester, and, oh, And worst of all: The beach isn't always as perfect as you'd hoped — but even so, it's what you'll pine for come winter. Beth Teitell can be reached at
Extra.ie
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
French Government at centre of Perrier water scandal
The French government have found themselves in the centre of a huge scandal after it was revealed they covered up the illegal filtering treatments of premium water brands such as Perrier. A new report released by the senate discovered that Swiss food giant Nestlé, who acquired the brand in the early 90s, had used filtering treatments which were not authorised for 'natural mineral water' products. The revelation highlights Nestlé and the French Government's lack of transparency towards local and European authorities, the report stated. The French government have found themselves in the centre of a huge scandal after it was revealed they covered up the illegal filtering treatments of premium brands such as Perrier. Pic: VINCENT FEURAY/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Here's what we know… The report, which was released on Monday, came following more than 70 hearings over a six-month-long inquiry by the Senate. In the report, it was revealed that the concealment had been first addressed in October 2021 during a meeting on natural mineral waters. The senate said the 'highest levels' of the French Government were aware of the filtering treatments but failed to act on the matter. The office of President Emmanuel Macron was also aware of the 'cheating' since 'at least' 2022, according to the report. The President has since denied any knowledge of the scandal. The office of President Emmanuel Macron was also aware of the 'cheating' since 'at least' 2022, according to the report. Pic: LEON NEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images While there is no proven health risk to consumers, senators noted that they had still been misled as a result of the lack of transparency. The Guardian explains that there are strict EU regulations on the treatment of water marketed as 'natural mineral water.' The water cannot be disinfected or treated in a way which modify its characteristics. These methods are typically used on tap water. Nestlé Waters, earlier this year, confirmed they had used banned filters but defended the safety of their products. They added that they were always transparent to the authorities and never put pressure on the government. Pic: VINCENT FEURAY/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Nestlé Waters, earlier this year, confirmed they had used banned filters but defended the safety of their products. They added that they were always transparent to the authorities and never put pressure on the government. In a statement to Politico, they said the use of the treatment methods in the past was due to 'sporadic bacterial or chemical contamination' which was caused by 'faecal contaminations.' The organisation paid a €2m fine in order to avoid legal action. A complaint has been filed against the company by Foodwatch (a European advocacy group focusing on the protection of consumer rights in relation to food quality).
Newsweek
06-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
To Fix America's Crumbling Water Infrastructure, the Private and Public Sectors Must Work Together
Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers' Report Card for America's Infrastructure provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of the nation's infrastructure. The results of the recently released 2025 report card were not where we want or need to be as a nation. Drinking water received a grade of C- and wastewater infrastructure a D+. Even more concerning, there's been no change since the 2021 report card. The ASCE data reflects the harsh reality faced by communities across the U.S.—public water systems are in desperate need of investment, repair, and modernization. Access to safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water is not a given for all Americans. View of the hand of a person holding a glass of drinking water from a tap. View of the hand of a person holding a glass of drinking water from a tap. VINCENT FEURAY/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Last December, Baltimore's water system—which serves 1.8 million people—showed elevated levels of legionella bacteria. This came on the heels of E. coli found in their water system in 2022 due to failing infrastructure. In Jackson, Miss., decades of water supply problems culminated with the 2022 failure of a major water treatment plant, leaving 160,000 people without potable water. And, 10 years later, work continues to remove lead pipes in Flint, Mich. These examples made national headlines, but there are systems across the U.S. that have similar challenges that haven't made the news—whether in dense urban spaces, sprawling suburbs, or rural communities. No one wants to be the next front-page story. We need to take a hard look at the current state of our water system infrastructure. Our nation's drinking water infrastructure system is made up of 2.2 million miles of underground pipes. According to the American Society of Engineers, because of the aging infrastructure, drinking water systems currently lose at least 6 billion gallons of treated water per day. That's over 9,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. This amounts to 2.1 trillion gallons of water loss per year, at a cost of $7.6 billion annually. U.S. water system owners currently spend a fraction of the $1 trillion we'll need in the next 20 years to make necessary upgrades. This doesn't account for the impact of extreme weather events like floods and droughts, which strain systems. And industry demands are only continuing to increase. Large, regulated water companies aren't the norm in the U.S. Unlike gas and electric utilities, most of which are regionalized, water systems are highly fragmented. There are more than 50,000 community water systems. The majority of these serve less than 10,000 people—and more than half serve fewer than 500 people. The small scale and fragmentation of these systems is inefficient, creating steep challenges for communities that have limited access to capital due to small customer bases. Decade after decade, needed upgrades are often unmade, creating a cycle of underinvestment that typically comes to a head when systems fail to meet drinking water standards or face major, costly upgrades or repairs that can no longer be kicked down the road. The solution will require both the public and private sectors to come together, and leveraging private capital is a key component. Yet the idea of infusing private capital is sometimes met with resistance. Perhaps it is a fear of loss of local oversight or a revenue stream, but the reality is that larger, regulated utility companies bring experience, expertise, and private capital that many small systems simply don't have. These companies are solutions providers, helping communities solve water and wastewater challenges, such as PFAS, lead and copper, and other critical issues that arise from underinvestment and deferred maintenance, and they do so at economies of scale, spreading investment across a much larger customer base. American Water plans to invest $40-$42 billion across our water and wastewater systems over the next 10 years. Economic impact studies show that for every $1 million invested in water infrastructure, upwards of 15 jobs are generated throughout local economies. For cash-tight communities, the long-term economic impact is consequential. Less money being used to replace aging infrastructure means more money for fixing roads, supporting pension funds, and stabilizing local taxes. To achieve the goal of safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water for every American, partnering with the federal, state, and local governments, along with other stakeholders, is key. Enacting constructive policies drives additional investment in critical systems. Proposed legislation, supported by the water industry, such as the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act, would allow water utilities to prioritize maintaining water quality over defending against polluters' liability disputes. Support of the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) would help ensure affordable access to safe drinking water while helping to provide all water utilities with much-needed revenue to repair and modernize infrastructure. Legislation is needed to ensure that all wastewater utilities have access to Clean Water State Revolving Fund dollars, allowing all utilities to apply for low-cost financing for wastewater infrastructure projects—and passing the savings on to customers. The solution is an "and" not "or" approach that requires the public and private sectors to work together. Public-private cooperation and partnership reap bigger benefits as well. We can safeguard human health, incentivize economic investment, and ultimately create American jobs. Working together, we can preserve and enhance our most precious resource for generations to come. John Griffith is the president of American Water. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
