Stories
Call-In Special: New England Colleges In ‘Survival Mode’ As COVID-19 Jolts Higher Education
COVID-19 has driven New England’s higher education sector into financial “survival mode.” Now colleges and universities must adapt or risk major — if not catastrophic — loss from the crisis. Join us for an America Amplified special from the New England News Collaborative. We’ll bring together voices from across the region, and we want to…
Read More‘An Economic Tsunami’: Cape Cod Businesses Weigh Reopening Ahead Of Uncertain Summer Season
Summer won’t be the same this year on Cape Cod. Many businesses in the region rely on tourism during the warmer months. Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to announce the re-opening plan for Massachusetts on Monday, but with so much uncertainty and so many questions about how the state will reopen, some Cape Cod businesses are…
Read MoreMaine Farms Welcome A Surge In CSA Membership Sales
With the depletion of certain items on grocery store shelves and the disruption to the supply chain, there is one thing the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted, and that is the importance of locally grown food. In Maine and around the country, small farms in particular are seeing a surge of interest in what they have…
Read MoreAt Codman Community Farms in Lincoln, the beef cattle are grass-fed, pasture-raised and ultimately available for purchase at the farm store. Demand for the farm’s beef, along with free-range chicken and pork, has never been higher. “People are really coming out of the woodwork and really demanding this product,” said Jennifer Hashley, who manages the…
Read MoreFor more than 100 years, kids have flocked to summer camps in Maine to play in the woods, swim in a lake, forge new friendships and find a bit of freedom from their lives back home. But the new coronavirus is casting a cloud of uncertainty over how sleepaway camps might operate this summer —…
Read MoreSince the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) started a month ago, Lindsay St. Pierre has been living and breathing PPP loans. At 10 p.m. on a recent Monday, she was nearing her 14th hour of working on applications for the program, which offers small business owners a forgivable loan that covers two months of expenses, in…
Read MoreWhen New Hampshire reopens parts of its economy in the next couple of weeks, the public beaches on the Seacoast will stay closed. It’s sparked debate in seaside towns like Rye over what restrictions are warranted. Last Sunday, on the first warm weekend of spring, the coastal Route 1A or Ocean Boulevard in Rye looked…
Read MoreMaine’s College Seniors Face Uncertainty After Graduation
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of stress on college students. In just a few weeks, many have had to pack their bags and leave campus, then transition to new, online classes. And for those set to graduate this spring, the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic has many on edge and some rethinking…
Read MoreAbout a month ago, fish plant worker Yamileth Alvarado says she and her team got together at the Tichon Seafood facility in New Bedford to listen to a presentation on how workers can protect themselves from COVID-19. A government employee, through a translator, told them what many of us have been hearing for weeks: Maintain…
Read MoreLaini Fondiller describes the scene in her Westfield barn as “organized mayhem.” An excited goat chorus reverberates through her barn as the 30 or so Alpine and Saanen dairy goats – her “ladies” as she calls them – assemble for the morning milking. Fondiller has been winning fans for her specialty cheeses since the late…
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