Stories

Massachusetts Landlords And Tenants Are At Odds — But Agree On Need For Massive Infusion Of Cash For Rent

July 6, 2020

Carolina lives in East Boston with her husband and four kids — her newest child was born at the start of the pandemic in March. The couple lost their cleaning jobs shortly after their baby’s birth, and the family has almost no income. Because Carolina and her husband are undocumented immigrants, the family can’t get…

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Some Activists Say Ben & Jerry’s Stance On Racial Justice Doesn’t Go Far Enough

June 29, 2020

After the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and protests that followed calling for racial justice, many companies around the world put out statements that were intended to show support for racial equity. Many of those messages were criticized for being vague. But there’s one company that’s earned praise for its response: Vermont’s own Ben…

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Hospitals Can’t Get Enough COVID-19 Tests

June 29, 2020

Matt Rabus stood at the laboratory hood at Holyoke Medical Center and got ready to run a COVID-19 test. He prepared a sample from a nasal swab and then squirted it into a specialized test cartridge that contains a liquid reagent made up of enzymes and other things that will help determine if the RNA…

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Students Say Race Belongs In The Classroom — And Not Just History Class

June 29, 2020

When news of George Floyd’s death broke in May, New Bedford High School English teacher Takeru Nagayoshi wasn’t sure how he could help his students process their anger and grief. School closures were making it hard for them to connect. So he created a virtual space. In a series of optional Zoom meetings, Nagayoshi invited the…

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COVID Tests In A Church Parking Lot? For Nashua, It’s Key To Public Health Outreach

June 24, 2020

Since early May, health worker Lisa Vasquez has spent most of her Thursday afternoons in the parking lot of St. Aloysius of Gonzaga Church in Nashua — which, at 3 p.m. on those days, transforms into a COVID-19 testing site. Like other public testing sites for coronavirus in Nashua and elsewhere, this one has Vasquez…

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‘I Don’t Look Like The People That Are In That Sphere’ – Maine Muralists Pay Tribute To George Floyd

June 19, 2020

During the first wave of protests in Portland over the death of George Floyd, three local artists painted a memorial mural for Floyd and other victims of police violence on the brick wall of a downtown building. In his own words, muralist Ryan Adams talks about what he hopes the image will convey, and about…

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‘I Have A Guy In China’: Inside The Pandemic Market For Medical Masks

June 11, 2020

The YouTube video shows Brian Danza chronicling his victory trip to Boston in April, as he pilots a single-engine aircraft to Logan Airport. He flew in to see the arrival of nearly 1 million medical masks he helped procure for the state from China, delivered on a now-famous flight of the New England Patriots’ jet.…

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Two Separate Bias Incidents In Vermont, Two Disparate Responses

June 10, 2020

Two separate incidents of racial harassment in recent months have revealed disparities in the way law enforcement agencies deal with “bias incidents,” according to the president of the Vermont chapter of the NAACP. Last month, Gov. Phil Scott publicly apologized to an African American Vermonter who was harassed while driving a vehicle with New York…

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How Will Protests Shape What Pro Sports Leagues, Teams Do To Make Change?

June 9, 2020

A few familiar faces joined the thousands of protesters who marched from Roxbury to the State House in Boston last week to speak out against racism and police brutality after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of officers in Minneapolis. “We’ve got Marcus Smart and we’ve got Vincent Poirier right there, here to…

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Trump Opens Atlantic Marine Monument To Fishing During Maine Roundtable

June 5, 2020

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in Bangor on Friday that he says will undo most of the fishing restrictions President Barack Obama ordered for a 5,000-square-mile swath of submerged canyons and mountains off the Atlantic coast that’s prized for its biological diversity. A legal battle is expected. Obama established the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts…

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