The weather on Friday, July 4, with scattered clouds and temperatures in the high 70s, couldn’t have been better as Harvard’s annual Fourth of July festivities got under way.

As many towns across the state struggle to spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars they have already received as part of the national opioid settlements, Harvard’s Addiction Abatement Working Group, charged with seeking and evaluating abatement fund spending proposals, is making progress toward its goal of pooling a portion of its oversized share of the funds.

Last June the Press published an article titled “Unsettled: How Harvard landed an opioid settlement windfall while others got shortchanged.” The article outlined how the team of lawyers responsible for determining how much opioid settlement money each state, county, and town in the U.S. would receive used a questionable method to determine town allocations for several New England states..

Longtime resident Audrey Ball was the grand marshal in Harvard’s 2025 Fourth of July parade. Chairman Christopher Chalifoux said the committee all agreed that “Audrey is an outstanding example of the volunteerism that makes Harvard such a wonderful town to live in.” 

Police Chief James Babu was recently honored with an award from Open Sky Community Services for his ongoing work in supporting crisis intervention training for Harvard’s police officers.

A post concerning Harvard’s parade by local electrician and longtime resident Dave Woodsum on the social media site Nextdoor in late June sparked an explosion of commentary—120 posts as of Monday, July 7.

Ever since Superintendent of Schools Linda Dwight announced in May that she would be leaving the district in July 2026, School Committee members have been aware they have a year to choose a new superintendent. 

It’s been a good year for the self-funded Fourth of July Committee. “I tallied up our sales and donations and am pleased to report we made a little money this year,” committee member Molly Sinkewicz wrote..

The Devens Housing Working Group submitted its report to Gov. Maura Healey and the Legislature right on time, May 20, but work on its recommendations for increasing housing within Devens is just now getting underway.

Following a temporary injunction ordered by a New York district court judge last week, the Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens is up and running again, but its future remains uncertain after changing the lives of disadvantaged youth in Central Massachusetts and elsewhere since 1996.

The Harvard Public Schools are likely to be pioneers in the state next week if the School Committee votes to adopt a district wide Artificial Intelligence policy that has been in development for the past three years. 

There are worse places to be trapped: an elevator, the subway, the Bourne bridge on a Friday. Bare Hill Pond wasn’t a bad place to be stuck on Thursday, June 26, for the six or so families enjoying the beach after a break from the heat.

During the Select Board’s meeting to approve fiscal 2026 reappointments, members also said goodbye to five of Harvard’s long-term volunteers: Elizabeth Williams, George Triantaris, Libby Levison, Diana Harte, and Donald Ritchie.

The Devens Jurisdiction Framework Committee, the group convened in 2018 to explore options for the future governance of Devens, has not been idle, in spite of the absence of a key stakeholder.

The Select Board’s June 24 meeting agenda included an item to dissolve the War Monument Restoration Committee, as it appeared to the board that the committee’s charge had been fulfilled. But after private discussions with committee members, Select Board members were convinced that there was more work to be done.

The Select Board voted unanimously at its June 24 meeting to reappoint 43 current members to town boards and committees, also appointing four new members. According to the town’s online Boards and Committees Information System, 46 volunteer committees are at work in Harvard.

Despite the threat of rain, more than 300 people, including many from surrounding towns, protested for democracy at the Harvard Common on Saturday, June 14, a day intentionally chosen by national organizers to coincide with the military parade in Washington.

A New York-based federal judge extended until Wednesday, June 25, his order temporarily blocking the U.S. Department of Labor from shutting down its Job Corps training program for low-income young adults.

Harvard has engaged an engineering firm specializing in water and environmental projects to design a water and sewer system for the town’s new multifamily district on Ayer Road. The firm estimates that its design will be complete by spring of 2026.