Stories
Massachusetts is preparing to welcome its first Ukrainian family of refugees next week. Governor Charlie Baker says the state should be ready to resettle evacuees fleeing what the United Nations calls Europe’s largest refugee crisis of the century. The state Senate earmarked $10 million to support international evacuees, including Ukrainians, earlier this month. Baker said…
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Plunked on a southern New England shoreline is an understated and misunderstood ecosystem: Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford, Conn. For decades, that site was treated as an ugly nuisance, but it’s the focus of a $4 million restoration project aiming to make the coast more resilient to climate change. Rick Potvin, manager of the Stewart…
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Victor and Amilbia came to this country, like many other migrants, to find better opportunities for themselves and their future family. So never in their wildest dreams did they think their American dream would include facing eviction. The family of seven, who asked that only their first names be used because the parents are undocumented,…
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At the edge of a Jewish cemetery in Hartford, Conn., is a three-story, red-brick building strewn with vines. It’s known as the Deborah chapel. Built in 1886, it used to be a mortuary where the deceased were prepared for burial according to Jewish custom. Congregation Beth Israel owns this part of the cemetery and the…
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An NHPR investigation has discovered multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, abusive leadership, and retaliation by Eric Spofford while he was CEO of Granite Recovery Centers (GRC). GRC is the largest provider of substance use disorder treatment in New Hampshire and serves thousands of people across New England each year, at a time when the need…
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Every day, dozens of trucks loaded with waste drive through the gates of Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. Near the entrance, they’re greeted by a sign listing banned items, including refrigerators, propane tanks and dead animals. And at the bottom, in large red letters, is a warning: “Juniper Ridge Landfill only accepts waste generated…
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A Connecticut-run incentive designed to help low- to middle-income buyers purchase an electric vehicle continues to struggle. New data show income-eligible rebates accounted for only about 1% of all rebates issued through the state’s Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program. “That’s not a significant uptake,” said Anthony Cherolis, who is with the…
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A lot of the stories you hear on VPR start with observations. A sign pinned to the bulletin board at a general store might spur reporting, or an offhand comment from a public official at a meeting. Sometimes, reporters hang onto things they’ve noticed, waiting for the right opportunity to pursue them. And sometimes, we…
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File this story under political thriller. The scene is a little free library, one of those community bookshelves that sprout up in yards, encouraging passersby to take or leave a book. Krysta Petrie and Katie Cohen host one on Trapelo Road in Waltham, Mass., dubbed the Little Queer Library, which offers mostly books featuring LGBTQ…
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It took the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 to jump-start Boston’s police reform efforts. Now, what should be a robust City Hall oversight apparatus — the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency — is in place, and Mayor Michelle Wu is aiming to name a new police commissioner with advice…
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