Four candidates are scrambling to fill the Beacon Hill seat that Jen Benson vacated on short notice last month. 

In an effort to crack down on distracted driving, a new Massachusetts law will go into effect Sunday, Feb. 23. It bans the use of phones and other electronic devices while driving unless they are used in hands-free mode. 

With its review of departmental and committee spending requests complete, the Finance Committee learned last week that to balance next fiscal year’s budget, it must eliminate one of the largest deficits of recent years, sparking talk of an override.

With softball season little more than a month away, the School Committee voted unanimously Monday night to spend up to $19,000 for work on the Ann Lees softball field.

Approximately 100 people gathered at the Bromfield School Feb. 6 to learn about open-space residential design from Randall Arendt, an expert in the field.

A letter from the governor’s office last week announced that Harvard had been awarded $70,860 as part of the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program.

Carlson Orchards has cleared a hurdle in its quest to sell hard cider by the glass at its taproom on Oak Hill Road. 

A car accident in front of the Bromfield School Saturday evening broke a hydrant connected to a town center water main, nearly emptying the system’s sole storage tank and halting the supply of water to homes and businesses in the town center..

Two Harvard residents whose current whereabouts are unknown have become central figures in an international incident. 

The Finance Committee and the School Committee sat down together last week to thrash out the school budget, which last year constituted about 55% of the town’s operating budget.

The Select Board has dropped its proposal to connect Hildreth House and its planned addition with an enclosed walkway.

A group of citizens led by former Planning Board member Marc Sevigny has proposed tighter restrictions on cannabis cultivation in the agricultural/residential district.

Next Tuesday, the Select Board intends to vote to either approve with conditions—or deny—a permit to serve hard cider at a recently built taproom at Carlson Orchards on Oak Hill Road.

The Community Preservation Committee recommended nearly $368,000 in fiscal 2021 grants last week, with the largest, $150,000, earmarked for the Conservation Commission’s fund.

After nearly two years of searching, Harvard may finally have its first full-time facilities manager on board by May 1.

Newly issued Board of Health regulations require that anyone selling or cultivating marijuana in Harvard must obtain a $75 annual operating permit from the Board of Health.

Harvard’s decision to join SMART, a Massachusetts program to reduce trash, appears to be the smart move that its advocates envisioned.

The owners of the 120-acre Carlson Orchards on Oak Hill Road must wait until the next Select Board meeting to see whether the board will approve their application to serve hard cider onsite.

Results of the Army’s tests for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in about 100 private wells in Harvard are in, and they show that the substances have found their way into 46 of those wells.

The new elementary school is on schedule for its May 2021 opening despite winter weather fluctuations, and it is on budget despite dwindling contingency funds.