Crystal: Tonight on "Greater Boston", what does Rachael Rollins'’abrupt exit mean for other women of color looking to break the same barriers she did.

Then, allergy season is upon us.

If you feel like your symptoms are worse than ever, you'’re not alone.

Too allergy expert joined me on what is making this year unbearable for so many and what we can do about it.

Before Rachael Rollins was forced to discern -- resign over the damming results of two separate federal ethics investigations, she was a powerful champion of progressive hymnal justice reform.

She was also repeatedly breaking barriers, becoming the first black woman to ever serve as a U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, and the first lack women to serve as a district attorney anywhere.

In the state.

Her election came on the heels of nationwide efforts to elect more women, especially more women of color into public office.

Now in the wake of her scandal, what is next for the aggressive policies that she fought for?

And the politicians that she fought to work alongside?

It is a question many have been asking in recent weeks, and the answer is complicated.

As a state senator Lydia Edwards acknowledges in an op-ed for the Boston Globe.

The system Rollins pushed against is all too eager to closing.

And it is too easy for us to, in condemning recent actions, throw away a legacy of justice reform that must be reserved.

Senator Lydia Edwards joins me now.

Senator Edwards: Thank you for this opportunity.

Crystal: A lot of folks who were watching this rise of Rachael Rollins were -- had many mixed emotions.

You write in your op-ed in the globe about this.

What made you want to put pen to paper to talk about this?

Senator Edwards: I was deeply pained, in general when I heard of the fundraising issue and the potential that she would be resigning.

It was a gut punch because of what she needs to so many of us.

Just as an individual, but her leadership, her ability to be the U.S. attorney as the first black woman, I have known her since I was a baby attorney.

And the response to her was constant.

It wasn'’t fair.

It did not speak to the entirety of Rachael and her legacy.

I did not want her mistakes to be her only legacy.

She made mistakes.

But she did a lot of good, and it is worth us acknowledging that.

Crystal: She was trying to do a lot of things, you mentioned that in the piece.

Including not prosecuting minor offenses.

Including pushing more progressive stance is in law enforcement at a time where the country was crying for it.

What happens now in that law enforcement system when someone who was championing those ideals is now resigning and gone from that position?

Senator Edwards: Another thing I mentioned is that we stop making movements about individuals and about the goals of the policies, and the people they are going to impact for generations.

That is what we need to do.

We are not perfect.

Nobody is perfect.

People pass away, they change their mind, they make mistakes.

Ultimately their individuality should not stop the goals or essence of the movement they started helping to amplify.

If you feel truly that criminal justice reform is necessary, then you believe that regardless of who is at the helm.

Should be fighting for it, you should be fighting for a just criminal justice system where the racial disparities do not exist, where people are safer, where people truly believe that their income does not determine the outcome of their trials.

These are things that are worth fighting for regardless of who is at the helm.

Crystal: I am thoughtful of even Rachael Rollins'’race of district attorney, and the other side is saying these policies push too far.

They are to regressive for the state of Massachusetts.

Does this get to be and I told you so moment for folks who believe that?

And it rings it back to -- many more steps from before she won the elections?

Senator Edwards: There are people who would like to combine the two, the individual Ms. Rollins, and therefore that means of the policies, they call them anti-police policies, are therefore a nonstarter.

And therefore are not working.

The statistics demonstrate they are working.

They did work.

Not prosecuting these petty crimes, we had a lower recidivism rate.

When we prioritize the health and wellness of people who are suffering from addiction, versus punishing them for the actions they took, we were seen people get healthier in our neighborhoods get safer.

The reality is, facts matter.

The reality is, we need to make policies based off of the goals of reforming the criminal justice system, keeping it neighborhoods safe and eliminating racial disparities.

Those policies that she pushed for do those things.

If her imperfections and mistakes that she made, which no one is denying them, I am not denying them, they are not part of that conversation as to whether we need criminal justice reform or not.

There are two different conversations your how she is held accountable has nothing to do with whether we should be ending these programs.

Crystal: I am thoughtful of the organizations that helped wrap around community organ assizes, women of color who are looking into going into politics.

How does it hurt that effort?

Senator Edwards: If those individuals who want to wrap it all into one moment, saying the mistakes of one individual, one woman, one black woman, it means the rest of you will be making mistakes.

That is an intent to that is based off of their own bigotry.

To those individuals, I am a Lydia Edwards speaking to you, as a woman, a person of color, run like your life depends on it.

Run with your heart wide open, run because we need your voices and your perspectives are vital.

You do not -- you are not the mystics of any other individual, you are not the mistakes or the imperfections of other people that come before you.

You are your own person.

And your voice is going to be one that highlights so many realities that are not talked about enough.

I say to you, run louder, lunch -- run proud or even more so.

That will have you distinguish yourself from everybody else.

I am proud to be who I am and where I come from.

I don'’t believe that my work, my essence, my heart is going to be judged by someone else'’s mistakes.

Voters do care, they do know, they do the research.

Crystal: The biting and minister should have to make another appointment.

It feels like the election season has already started.

Do you think that, if you had a crystal ball, do you think they would go with some buddy more conservative when it comes to legal standpoints and policies?

Senator Edwards: I hope not.

I hope they don'’t play into the policies not working because the person was imperfect.

I hope they understand those policies are very popular today, that many people benefited from them, that people are free today because of those policies, and if he believes in rolling back those policies, if he picks up a conservative person, I am rolling back attempts at criminal justice reform.

Crystal: We will be watching it closely.

Senator Lydia Edwards, thank you so much for your time.

There has been no storage of warm weather this year, but the higher temperatures have come with a cost.

A longer and stronger pollen season.

For many who suffer from seasonal allergies like myself, symptoms have been worse than ever.

And even people who don'’t usually have much of a problem during pollen season, they have started to feel its effects.

What does the rest of the spring have in store and how can any of us fight the symptoms?

We are hoping to get answers today.

I am joined by Kenneth Mendez, President and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

And Dr. Anna Wolfson, from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Think you for joining us.

What are you seeing in your office nowadays?

It seems like everyone I know is talking about sneezing and sniffling.

Dr. Wolfson: We have seen some any patients with runny noses, congestion, GIs -- itchy eyes.

It has been rough pollen season this year.

Crystal: Is this something you gear up for?

Seeing the forecast or seeing trends, and you are thoughtful about that in your office?

Dr. Wolfson: Absolutely.

As of the pollen season comes, we add in work latex, more slots force patients, and also we anticipate that more patients to be seeking out our advice and care.

We also realize people will be calling with more questions, we have nurses available to answer their calls and messages.

Especially asthma patient, they often have many questions.

Crystal: Kenneth, I am thoughtful of this as well.

I have asthma, every time allergies kick up, my asthma kicks up as well.

That can be a real concern for folks who are just trying to find relief.

Kenneth: There is some they called allergic asthma, which can be triggered with seasonal allergies.

What a lot of people don'’t realize is that over 3100 people die each year from asthma.

It is really important to see someone like Dr. Wolfson, see a specialist so you understand what your triggers are for your asthma and you can deal with that.

The spring allergy season can be a trigger for that for certain types of asthma.

We have found that the allergy seasons are getting longer and more intense.

The pollen releases are more intense because of the additional carbon dioxide from climate change.

That is supercharging the releases.

If you are in an urban area, there are urban heat islands where the average temperature is close to four degrees more than outside of the urban area.

It is a lot worse for people in urban areas.

Crystal: We were looking into information and found that a lot of the major Massachusetts cities see an uptick in these cases of allergy and asthma or the last few years.

Kenneth: Definitely Dr. Wolfson would know that.

We do a report called allergy capitals, we look at the 100 largest cities, and the ones that are most challenging to live in with allergies.

There are three criteria that we use.

Pollen counts, access to specialists like Dr. Wolfson, and over-the-counter medication.

Your rank will be based on your -- Boston ranks quite high and terms of access to specialists.

But in other places, there are higher pollen counts, tree pollen, or over-the-counter medication.

That'’s why some of the rankings fluctuate each year.

Crystal: How does this year compared to years past?

Dr. Wolfson: It is much worse this year, both anecdotally, we have seen patients suffering, asking questions about what to do.

They have very itchy eyes, runny noses, and asthma symptoms.

We anticipate this continuing on into the future.

They carry on and build on themselves.

This is something we need to prepare for going into the future.

Crystal: I am thoughtful, imagine folks who may not have experience allergies in years past.

This season was particularly bad for them.

Folks are concerned it may not just be allergies, maybe it is Covid, maybe another infection.

Sometimes folks get concerned and they start sneezing and don'’t normally do.

It might be something very serious.

Dr. Wolfson: Fever is not a symptom we would expect with allergies, that would be assigned.

Taking a Covid test would be the first step.

If you are confused, unsure, seeing your primary care doctor can really be helpful.

Kenneth: I would add one other slightly different angle.

With allergies it is your total allergic load in your system.

A lot of people are coming in and saying they have never had allergies before, or their allergies feel a lot worse.

I think because there is more pollen release, and you have longer, more intense season, if you had never allergies -- if you had never had allergies before, because of the additional pollen, you are starting to react because your body has started to reach that threshold.

That is why some people are feeling these symptoms and maybe have never had them before.

Crystal: I know that albuterol has been in short supply in the last season.

We are having a hard time with the stockpile.

As we thing about more folks having an asthma flare up, is there a concern that there may be a shortage of medication to treat acute symptoms?

Dr. Wolfson: This is a concern, we are monitoring it closely.

We want to guard against hoarding situations, but also making sure our patients have the medications that they need.

There are good are to notice -- good alternatives.

It is a good idea to speak to a physician to see if you are a candidate for that.

Hopefully factories will be able to keep up with the supply and demand.

Kenneth: I think the shortage has been for primarily the nebulized albuterol that they use in a hospital setting.

We will usually here in our community, we are a national organization, we will hear about shortages and are in touch with pharmacies to understand where the shortages might be.

We have heard and seen is, the nebulized, the liquid form.

We do not want to hoard anything, we want to make sure people understand what it is.

If you use a spacer, and air chamber, with an inhaler, that can work as an alternative.

Dr. Wolfson: It is important to emphasize that the nebulizer does not necessarily work better than the inhaled version of albuterol.

It can be a very good substitute.

Crystal: With young children, they might not do as well with using the pump and spacer, correct?

Dr. Wolfson: Yes, that is tough for really small kids.

That is where alternative nebulized medications could come in.

Or trying the inhaler, he would be surprised.

Crystal: What is the best way, if I am at home, I and I am concerned about this, I might be feeling like this is an unbearable season.

Dr. Wolfson, what should I be doing at home to prepare my fifthself -- myself?

Is there anything I can do at home to help myself?

Dr. Wolfson: There are lifestyle modifications you can make.

The first is shutting the windows.

I know it is nice outside, keeping the pollen outside and using the air-conditioning instead.

You also can physically remove pollen from your hair and skin if you outside.

Taking a shower after you have been outside.

There are over-the-counter medications.

Ask your doctor if it is OK to use those.

There are effective medications available over-the-counter, such as oral antihistamines that can help patients.

Crystal: I'’m warmed to -- I want to talk about the climate change conversation.

As we try to work on solutions as a nation for what that looks like, it is possible that we have to continue to brace ourselves for what could be a drier and more highly pollinated season.

Kenneth: People think about climate change, they think about sealevel rise, and some people who are not on the coastline, might not see the impact of climate change.

But what we tell people is, or is a direct link.

If you'’re allergies are getting worse, it is because of climate change.

The longer growing seasons, the more intense releases of pollen.

I will give you an example of how that works.

The first growing season starts in the springtime with pollen releases from trees.

But because it is a lot warmer, the growing season starts sooner.

Then from the trees, he moved to the summer, where you have grass pollen, and towards the fall you have ragweed.

Which is the fall allergen.

That fall allergen continues a lot longer because it is warmer in the fall.

Usually the first frost kills the ragweed so they cannot pollinate anymore.

But because it is much warmer and the growing season continues.

Then you have more intense releases of pollen because of the carbon dioxide.

It is known that carbon dioxide supercharges the release of pollen from plants.

That is how you get more intense leases.

That is the link between private change and allergies and our health.

In addition to the things you can do to manage the pollen in your hair, it is a bigger picture issue where reducing your carbon footprint, being mindful of that is important.

Crystal: Would you agree with that, Dr. Wolfson?

Dr. Wolfson: Yes.

Just to say that pollution can worsen asthma itself.

Crystal: I want to think you both for your time.

Kenneth Mendez is a president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

And Dr. Anna Wolfson is an immunologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Thank you for your time.

That is it for tonight.

Thank you so much for watching.

I am Crystal Hanes, good night.

♪ >> I'’m deep in the Lynn Woods inside the belly of the beast, Dungeon Rock.

Some say that this place is seriously haunted.

Do you worry that it'’s actually haunted?

>> For sure.

Yes, absolutely.

>> Others that it hides the treasure of 17th century pirate Thomas Veal.

>> He'’s in the cave.

The treasure'’s in the cave and he'’s smashed flat.

So this rock becomes his dungeon.

>> One thing that is certain, it was dug by a man who believed he was being led right here from beyond the grave.

So there is a supposedly haunted cave here in Lynn.

We'’re going to get to the bottom of this spooky story and our quest begins right here.

>> I grew up not too far from the woods.

We definitely learned about Dungeon Rock as kids, for sure.

It'’s a pretty cool and compelling story.

>> In the mid-1800s, the woods entered an ominous chapter, becoming a hotbed of the paranormal thanks to a Massachusetts man named Hiram Marble, a member of a social-religious movement called spiritualism.

>> They had mediums that believed that they could speak to people that have passed on.

And so Hiram Marble would use these mediums.

>> Marble purchased the land in Lynn Woods because he believed he was being led there by one spirit in particular, the ghost of a pirate from the 1600s named Thomas Veal.

>> Stories have it that there was a pirate who ended up taking up shop there, hiding with his treasure.

An earthquake happened and he was sealed in the cave with the treasure, allegedly.

>> The pirate story first appeared in print nearly two centuries after it supposedly happened.

And soon, versions began popping up all over.

And it was against this backdrop that Hiram Marble and his son Edwin would spend 30 years relentlessly digging a cave in search of the remains of Thomas Veal and his buried treasure.

A cave still there today.

Dungeon Rock.

Would you be interested in joining me for a little trip to the pirate cave?

>> There are a lot of people who still go to Dungeon Rock.

I'’m just not one of them.

>> Wait, you'’ve never been inside?

>> No.

>> Why?

>> It creeps me out a little bit.

>> Do you worry that it'’s actually haunted?

>> Yeah, for sure.

>> For sure?

>> Yes, absolutely.

I don'’t need to encounter that spirit.

>> At the edge of the woods, today a 2,200-acre park, we met up with Ranger Dan Small, our guide into the heart of Hiram Marble'’s unholy obsession.

There was no turning back now.

>> There are people who won'’t go in.

One time, oh, 20 years ago I had an assistant ranger, and he was a rugged guy, he was like a regular guy.

But he would not go in there.

>> As the original story goes, one night in 1658, a mysterious ship appeared in the bay.

Four men, including Thomas Veal, were seen rowing from it up the Saugus River.

They took up residency in the woods.

>> And he had the treasure with him, which is the important part.

>> Three of the pirates were captured by authorities, but Thomas Veal escaped.

>> He ran up into here with the treasure.

Behind this big rock that you'’re standing next to there'’s actually a natural cave.

>> And there he lived for a time until a great earthquake struck and collapsed his makeshift abode.

>> That'’s why it'’s called Dungeon Rock.

This is the pirate'’s dungeon because a big boulder has him trapped underneath it.

>> As for the veracity of this old yarn- meh.

>> There were pirates in this area at that time.

There really was a guy named Tom Veal.

There'’s records of him in the Salem court.

>> But while there are firsthand records of earthquakes here in 1638 and 1663, there wasn'’t one in 1658.

>> Another major fault with the story, too, is nowhere before about 1850 or 1840 is there any reference to this area being called Dungeon Rock.

>> True or not, Hiram Marble wholeheartedly believed the tale.

As for people today?

>> I'’ve found ritually-killed chickens.

I'’ve found things with candles and coconut and all sorts of things that were set up.

It'’s easy to dismiss it all as a hoax or hooey, but the reality is a lot of people still believe that there'’s something going on up here.

And who am I to say there isn'’t?

>> Out of excuses and reasons to stall, it was time to enter this literal underworld.

Inside it is cold, it is damp, and it is dark.

The tunnel is erratic.

They actually would hold seances in the cave.

The ghost would appear, he would say, "go right, go left," and that'’s why it makes these abrupt changes.

>> And it abruptly ends, 174 feet from the start, with two stagnant pools of water.

We got a trusty ghost meter here.

It runs on a 9-volt battery.

So I'’m not sure how much of a ghost meter it can really be, but we'’re going to turn it on and see what we find here at the end of the cave.

All right.

The needle seems to be doing absolutely nothing in any direction.

A little bounce here.

>> Hello?

>> What?

Honestly, what the [bleep] was that?

>> Hello?

>> Hello.

>> Turns out it was just some kids messing with us.

Like, that was legitimately, for a moment, terrifying.

In the end, there were no ghosts.

There was no gold.

A disappointment I think the Marbles might relate to.

Hiram passed away in 1868.

Edwin kept digging until his death in 1880 and is buried in an unmarked grave just steps from the cave'’s entrance.

They didn'’t find the treasure either, but in a way they did get what they were looking for.

>> Edwin and Hiram'’s plan from the start, and they made this very public, was that if they ever found the money they were going to buy all this land around here and they were going to turn it into a park for the people in Lynn.

>> Today it is exactly that.

And their manmade cave at Dungeon Rock is free and open to the public whenever the weather allows.

So, yes, you can come and see it for yourself.

If you dare.>> The Curiosity Desk is sponsored by Emerson College, inspiring curiosity and creative