BOSTON – With the biggest shopping day right around the corner, many American retailers still sell dangerous or potentially toxic children's toys, according to consumer groups that advise parents to be on watch for hazardous gifts.
Parents and others shopping for children should double check for potential problems before buying, the Boston-based Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, or MassPIRG, said an annual report on the issue. It singled out potentially deadly chemicals such as chromium and phthalates, which can pose serious health risks for developing children.
BOSTON – When Harriet Koch realized her dog Tembi was "pretty terrific," she decided to introduce her to seniors as a volunteer at Sherrill House, a nursing home on South Huntington Avenue in Jamaica Plain.
For the past five years, Koch, who is 87, has been delighting nursing home residents with Tembi, a lhasa apso small enough to fit on her lap, and gaining new friends along the way. Koch likens her pooch to an infant in explaining the animal's effect on those she visits.
