Stories
Black Lives Matter Movement Stirs Painful Divide In Local Vietnamese-American Community
One of the burning issues of the day is playing out painfully among Vietnamese-Americans in New England: Which side of Black Lives Matter should the community be on? Some see the movement as a rightful denunciation of structural racism and police brutality. Others in traditionally conservative Vietnamese-American communities in Dorchester, Quincy and Manchester, New Hampshire,…
Read MoreAt the Bourne Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility, everything has its own smell. “You get the gas smell, old trash smell, new trash smell, recycling smell,” said Dan Barrett, general manager of the facility. “There’s a lot of different smells, and if you’ve been around long enough, you’ll know the difference.” After driving his truck…
Read More‘Social Movements Are Contagious’: Protests Within Massachusetts Companies Are Part Of A Growing Trend
If you happened to be shopping at the Whole Foods on River Street in Cambridge last month, you may have gotten the vibe that something was up. Small groups of employees were huddled together, whispering. One by one, they took off their plain face coverings and replaced them with masks that said “Black Lives Matter”…
Read MoreSchool districts are facing a lot of unknowns. One of the biggest questions is whether teachers with health concerns have to return to school or if they can work remotely. NHPR’s Sarah Gibson caught up with three teachers in the midst of figuring out how their districts will accommodate them, and whether that will be…
Read MoreParents Are Considering ‘Homeschool Pods’ For Fall, But Some Educators Warn Of Inequities
As school districts in Massachusetts submit their fall proposals to the state, many parents are coming up with their own contingency plans. Ryan Merten’s daughter, Lena, is going into fourth grade. In normal times, she would be delighted to return to Jackson Street Elementary School in Northampton. Merten said the whole family loves being in…
Read MoreIt’s been more than four months since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her home by Louisville Metro Police as they executed a no-knock search warrant. She was a 26-year-old Black woman who worked as an emergency medical technician and aspired to become a nurse. And while rallies, protests and much of the media…
Read MoreLeslie Cutitta said yes, twice, when clinicians from Massachusetts General Hospital called asking if she wanted them to take — and then continue — extreme measures to keep her husband Frank Cutitta alive. The first conversation about whether to let Frank go or try some experimental drugs and treatments was in late March. The second…
Read MoreOn a hot summer Friday, a Toyota RAV4 rolls into the parking lot of Cape Cod Beer in Hyannis. It’s there for an outdoor festival with live music, cornhole, and, of course, beer. Trailing just behind the car is a bright green shed. The driver parks it right in front of the beer garden. “I…
Read MoreAs New Hampshire Continues COVID Ban On Reusable Bags, Some Say Politics Is Trumping Science
Massachusetts recently announced that it was ending its pandemic moratorium on reusable shopping bags, saying towns could go back to reinforcing their bans on single-use plastic bags. Meanwhile, New Hampshire and many other states are still not letting shoppers bring their reusable bags to stores. But is that actually helping to slow the spread of…
Read MorePandemic Complicates New Hampshire Cities’ Plans For Dealing With Climate Change-Driven Heat Waves
New Hampshire is seeing more heat waves due to climate change. And staying cool is even harder this year because of COVID-19. Our new climate change reporting project, By Degrees, has this look at how New Hampshire’s cities are coping. On one of the hottest days of the summer so far, the sprinklers built into…
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