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Friday, December 20, 2024

Passage of economic development bill offers dual paths to increased housing at Devens

With time running out, municipal and state agencies scrambled this week to name representatives to the working group that will study the feasibility of building more housing in Devens, in an area that includes the iconic quadrangle of abandoned Army barracks known as Vicksburg Square.

Friday, December 20, 2024

School Committee hears plan to revise graduation requirements

In the recent election, voters rejected requiring a passing score on the MCAS for high school graduation. In the wake of that change, Harvard school administrators are updating graduation requirements for the Bromfield High School.

Friday, December 20, 2024

Free shuttle to Emerson Hospital to begin in January

Thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, many patients who were accustomed to receiving care from the now-closed Nashoba Valley Medical Center will have access to a free shuttle to Emerson Hospital.

Friday, December 20, 2024

Baron is named interim harbormaster

With a new year approaching, the Park and Recreation Commission faced the need for someone to carry out the duties of harbormaster while the longtime incumbent, Bob O’Shea, remains ill.

Friday, December 13, 2024

Area leaders vow to restore emergency room at closed Nashoba Valley hospital

This week the Nashoba Valley working group convened by Gov. Maura Healey in October blessed the creation of a nine-member subcommittee whose job is to determine the services a reconstituted ER would need to provide and to find a means to pay for them. 

Friday, December 13, 2024

Fire chief asks CPIC to recommend $300K to design new fire station—but where to build it?

Fire Chief Rick Sicard came before the Capital Planning and Investment Committee at its Nov. 20 meeting in the hope the committee would get the ball rolling on a new fire station. But the project is proving to be a conundrum. 

Friday, December 13, 2024

The money’s all gone: Town assigns remaining ARPA funds to projects

The nearly $2 million the town received in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2021 has now either been spent or committed to projects. 

Friday, December 13, 2024

New reading curriculum to be implemented at Hildreth Elementary School

Citing a districtwide need for a curriculum that will better support students with disabilities and special education needs, the Harvard schools will implement a new literacy program at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Friday, December 13, 2024

School Committee appoints Ostaszewski as school business administrator

Mandy Ostaszewski, finance and nutrition support specialist for the Harvard Public Schools, was promoted to school business administrator by unanimous vote of the School Committee.

Friday, December 13, 2024

Bal is new president and CEO of MassDevelopment

Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced Nov. 22 that Navjeet Bal has been appointed president and CEO of MassDevelopment, the state’s primary economic development agency. 

Friday, December 6, 2024

Select Board hits pause button on DPW renovation; transfer station could be at risk

Harvard’s landfill problem just got much bigger. Solid waste from the old landfill was thought to be contained in the area behind the trash bins at the Transfer Station. But test borings found solid waste under most of the Transfer Station and the western half of the DPW facility.

Friday, December 6, 2024

Harvard faces $1.3 million deficit as budget woes loom for fiscal 2026

Rising costs and lagging revenues are creating conditions for yet another budgetary storm in fiscal 2026.

Friday, December 6, 2024

EMS asks for new ambulance using state and town money

Harvard’s ambulance service is requesting funds to help purchase a second ambulance for the town—but not because it intends to put two ambulances into service. 

Friday, December 6, 2024

A man with a plan: New DPW director wants training for staff, better winter road treatment

Department of Public Works Director David Smith has been on the job for only about a month, but already he has plans for improving the department. 

Friday, November 29, 2024

CPIC weighs school requests for floors, lockers, seats, and more

At its Nov. 21 meeting, the Capital Planning and Investment Committee considered requests totaling $662,000 from the schools. But less than a quarter of that amount was for new projects. Almost 80% was either for the continuation of an ongoing project or for requests that had not been funded in past years.

Friday, November 29, 2024

Town to return to one Annual Town Meeting per year

When Annual Town Meeting rolls around again next spring, voters might want to consider packing a lunch. At its Nov. 19 meeting, the Select Board voted to return to a single-session Town Meeting, to be held in the spring.

Friday, November 29, 2024

Extra $100,000 of ARPA money turns up; Select Board approves four proposals, rejects one

It’s a rare occasion when the town finds $100,000 to spend on almost anything it needs, but that’s what happened when the Devens water connection design engineers realized that police details needed for the duration of the project had been funded twice.

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