Stories Archives · Page 65 of 153 · New England News Collaborative

Massachusetts Scales Up Contact Tracing, But Some Experts Question Its Value

December 3, 2020

Lauren Buck’s days start early, compiling the names of people in Revere who have tested positive for COVID-19. The calls begin a few hours later and often last until 8:30 or 9 at night. “There are a lot of people who are very, very cooperative and there are people who can be very scared or…

Immigrant Woman Starts Food Pantry In Her Home To Help Undocumented Families

December 2, 2020

Early in the pandemic, Xiomy De la Cruz was working at a fast food restaurant, but her work hours were cut back. She is a Peruvian refugee single mother with two children and another on the way. Like many families, she found herself in various pantry lines to make ends meet. “So I said to…

In The Age of Black Lives Matter, New England Faces Its Own Role In Slavery

December 2, 2020

L’Merchie Frazier says she was not surprised to see her event drowned out by a busy news cycle this fall. During the week of October 12, the U.S. was experiencing dramatic increases in coronavirus cases, Amy Coney Barrett went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss her Supreme COurt nomination, President Trump and Joe Biden…

To Survive The Pandemic, Vermonters Took A Hike

December 1, 2020

The reports from earlier this year are in, and all across the state, the number of people using Vermont’s hiking trails was way up. Whether it was the Long Trail, Vermont’s State Parks, or developed trails in our towns and cities, people flocked to the outdoors during the early months of the pandemic. Before COVID-19…

Med Schools Are Seeing A Surge Of Applications. It’s Called The ‘Fauci Effect’

December 1, 2020

When COVID-19 restrictions reduced his work schedule, Sam Smith turned to another time-consuming task: applying to medical school. He’d always wanted to go into medicine, Smith said. But what was happening in the world had a big impact on the kind of medicine he hopes to practice. Now, Smith said, he wants to specialize in…

How One Student Juggles Work, College And A Pandemic

December 1, 2020

For a few days each week, Josh Knight goes to class on the subway. He has to: he’s on his way to work at the Charlestown YMCA. But he’s also a first-year student in the honors program at Framingham State University. It means that even as he boards an Orange Line car bound for North…

How A Daily Zoom Call Became A Lifeline For COVID Response In New Hampshire’s North Country

November 25, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has isolated a lot of us, but it’s also brought community institutions together in a new way. In New Hampshire’s North Country, a daily zoom call has become essential for leaders managing the fallout of the pandemic. When the coronavirus shut down just about everything in March, including schools, Gorham Superintendent David…

Teens Fight For New Climate Change Curriculum in Massachusetts Schools

November 24, 2020

Every week, more than a dozen student activists from around Massachusetts call into a Zoom meeting. Behind them are glimpses into their lives – superhero posters and hot pink bedroom walls. “OK. So do we want to start off today’s meeting with an agenda?” asked Nico Gentile, the 17-year-old climate organizer running today’s meeting. The…

New Study Shows Methane Leaks Prevalent In Connecticut Cities

November 19, 2020

A new study of natural gas infrastructure in Connecticut says harmful amounts of methane are leaking from aging underground gas pipes. The findings add to an emerging body of science demonstrating the scale of methane leaks in America. Methane is the main part of natural gas. Like carbon dioxide, it’s a greenhouse gas, trapping heat…

New Method to Save Salt Marshes Piloted in Buzzards Bay

November 17, 2020

Wearing tall rubber boots, a scientist walked along an overgrown path to the Little Bay salt marsh in Fairhaven. “I’m going to kind of weave us up through this back zone,” said Alice Besterman, the post-doctoral researcher with the Buzzards Bay Coalition. Besterman pushed past tall, pale grasses that hid crabs underfoot, and when she…