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Construction Schedule Update on Orleans, MA Wastewater Infrastructure Project Two-Week Look Ahead Starting March 1, 2021

Two-Week Look Ahead Starting March 1, 2021 Every week the construction contractors for Contract No. 2019-01 – Downtown Area Wastewater Treatment Facility and Effluent Disposal, Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, Inc. and Contract No. 2019-02 – Downtown Area Collection System and Pumping Stations, Robert B. Our Co., Inc. provide a “two-week look ahead” that summarizes anticipated construction…

Biden Aides Continue Push for School Re-Openings

Boston Herald – Top Biden administration officials insisted on Sunday that K-8 schools can safely reopen by April, even without requiring all teachers to be vaccinated first, as some states make educators a priority for COVID-19 shots. White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki underscored that President Biden wants to see those schools open for five days…

Dems Prepare for Party-line House Vote on Biden’s Pandemic Aid Bill

Politico – The House is on track to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package by the end of this week as Congress sprints to deliver aid to millions of Americans reeling from the pandemic and facing a jobless benefits cliff in mid-March. But House Democrats aren’t expecting to get a single GOP vote…

White House Adjusts Rules to Encourage More Loans for Tiny Businesses

New York Times – Aiming to steer more federal aid to the smallest and most vulnerable businesses, the Biden administration is altering the Paycheck Protection Program’s rules, increasing the amount sole proprietors are eligible to receive and imposing a 14-day freeze on loans to companies with 20 or more employees. The freeze will take effect on…

Schools Start Pooled Testing for COVID

WHDH – Dozens of school districts will start pooled COVID-19 testing this week, but officials say many more schools aren’t ready to launch. Massachusetts Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy said batch testing once a week for the coronavirus can determine that many people in the same group are low-risk, and if one test in the batch…

Massachusetts Shifts Vaccine Deliveries away from Local Boards of Health

WCVB —Massachusetts is moving forward to a new phase of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout and is again reallocating doses away from facilities that played a crucial role earlier in the process. Most local boards of health were informed Wednesday that future shipments will be directed elsewhere. That follows last week’s decision to curtail doses sent to hospitals. Gov.…

Markey Decries ‘Vaccine Redlining’

WBUR – After about a full year of the coronavirus crisis, data have gradually revealed what many predicted would happen: people of color, as well as people who are medically or financially vulnerable, are experiencing more loss and fewer gains than white people enduring the pandemic. Several Massachusetts political powerhouses and community leaders held a Facebook Live…

Community Health Centers Gear Up for Broader Vaccination Role

Boston Globe – Community health centers are gearing up for an expanded role in the state’s vaccination effort, widening the pathway into the neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19. While much attention has focused on high-volume sites including Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park, the 52 community health centers in Massachusetts are emerging as a growing force in the vaccination…

Massachusetts Surpasses 1.2 Million Vaccine Doses

MassLive – Massachusetts has administered a little over 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since the statewide rollout began in December, according to the latest weekly vaccine data. Over the last seven days, roughly 225,341 doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine have gone into the arms of Massachusetts residents, the data shows. Roughly 1,527,150 total…

US COVID Deaths Surpass 500,000

New York Times – The United States reached a staggering milestone on Monday, surpassing 500,000 known coronavirus-related deaths in a pandemic that has lasted almost a year. The nation’s total virus toll is higher than in any other country in the world. It has far surpassed early predictions of loss by some federal experts. And it…