Stories
In a minivan packed past the point of seeing out the rear window, Dottie and Bob Engler waited in Woods Hole to drive onto a ferry destined for Martha’s Vineyard. “We’re hoping, because it’s full of fresh air and openness, that it’ll be a great respite for us this summer,” Dottie said. On Memorial Day…
Read MoreThe Agency of Education has released its final guidelines for how to hold a graduation ceremony during a pandemic. High school seniors are now getting a clearer picture of how their schools will mark this once-in-a-lifetime achievement during a once-in-a-lifetime public health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic first interrupted Owen Hansen’s senior year about a week…
Read MoreTrans Clippers Project Gives People A Chance To Reclaim Their Gender Expression During The Pandemic
At a time when clippers are scarce, there’s an effort underway to get them in the hands of transgender people to help them maintain their gender identity. The Trans Clippers Project just made its first set of deliveries around Boston thanks to community fundraising and local volunteers. Grace Walker, who’s the Massachusetts coordinator for the project,…
Read MoreBrandon Bradley was job-hunting in Tennessee two weeks ago, when he got a text from his landlord’s daughter. It read: “Brandon, my husband said you need to get your stuff out by tomorrow or he will put it in storage for you in the garage. The power and gas will be shut tomorrow.” Brandon and…
Read MoreDallas Paiva was excited and nervous as she picked up the phone and made her first call as a Massachusetts contact tracer. The goal of the state’s Contact Tracing Collaborative is to reach out to every person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus or might have been exposed and help them isolate themselves so…
Read MoreIt’s reopening week for some Massachusetts office buildings that have been closed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Occupancy is capped at 25% to promote physical distancing, and some companies are taking additional measures. At the Cambridge Innovation Center, home to hundreds of Kendall Square startups, the main entrance now opens with a wave of the…
Read MoreVermont has one of the lowest rates of coronavirus infections in the country. People from more urban and more infected areas have noticed, and real estate agents report a surge in interest in Vermont property. Out-of-state buyers are looking for a safe and relatively disease-free place to live, a trend spurred in part because many…
Read MoreImmigrant workers on Vermont’s dairy farms say they want access to the same coronavirus aid programs that have helped other residents weather the unprecedented economic downturn. Vermont’s dairy industry has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and a sudden drop in milk prices due to COVID-19 has forced some farmers to scale back…
Read MoreAlong Maine’s border with Canada, communities on either side are closely connected, historically, culturally, economically. But the COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily severed that connection, as the governments of the two countries have suspended nonessential travel along the border. As part of Maine Public’s series “Deep Dive: Coronavirus,” Robbie Feinberg visited one border town to see…
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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…
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