Items

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  2020-10-20

  "Bennett Walsh resigns as Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent; suit over firing dropped"

  This MassLive article reports on Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent Bennett Walsh's decision to drop a law suit after Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker had him fired in light of the facility's poor response to the pandemic.
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  2020-09-13

  "Plight of Holyoke Soldiers' Home residents, families becomes political flashpoint in state Senate race"

  This MassLive news article discusses how a state senate candidate was using the poor response to the pandemic at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home during his opponent's term in office to gain popularity for himself.
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  2020-09-05

  Covid Safe Wedding

  My older sister Rose got engaged in March of 2019 with the intent to not be engaged for a long period of time, her and her soon to be husband Ben, decided on their wedding date and venue shortly after their engagement; April 18, 2020 at Plimoth Plantation. Rose and Ben are the first cousins from either family to get married.The wedding was going to have an estimated amount of 230 people. Only a short 11 months away my whole family began the wedding planning, trying to cover all bases for what would be the most anticipated day for the next year. From wedding dress shopping to sign making to endless phone calls with the venue coordinator, it really was never ending. The whole summer was spent making sure everything would be perfect for their big day. Fast forward exactly one year after their engagement the world shutdown began. Governor Baker of Massachusetts announced the stay at home order, where he limited all outdoor gatherings to 5 people. With this announcement we had to replan and rethink my sister's entire wedding day. Many tears and phone calls later the April 18th wedding was canceled due to the worldwide pandemic. She was able to pick a new date in October and had taken her 230 person wedding down to a 100 person wedding, in hopes that things would be settled after a few months. Due to the spike of cases in July, it became a 50 person wedding in September. It was held in my parents backyard on Labor day weekend. This was truly something that could not have been planned for, nor did we ever imagine impacting the wedding. Although my sister had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions, and 3 wedding dates later, it was a beautiful celebration of love and coming together during this socially-distanced unknown time.
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  2020-03-29

  Poll: Vast Support for Widespread Shutdowns to Protect Mass. Public Health, press release

  Eighty percent of Massachusetts residents support Gov. Baker's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 96 percent supporting school closures, 94 percent approving the halt of restaurant dining-in, 93 percent supporting the shuttering of bars, and 92 percent agreeing that nonessential businesses should be closed to the public, according to a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.
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  2020-05-05

  Suffolk University/WGBH News/Boston Globe Poll: Coronavirus Has Cut Income for Nearly Half of Mass. Residents

  The survey examined the economic fallout from the pandemic in Massachusetts, the extension of the stay-at-home advisory and closing of nonessential businesses, state and national leadership during the pandemic, perceptions about compliance with wearing masks and social distancing, comfort levels for resuming certain activities, and mail-in voting.
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  2020-03-19

  Drone footage over Boston

  t feels like the streets of Boston haven’t been this empty since the cows (apocryphally) laid out the paths centuries ago. Aram Boghosian, a regular freelance photographer and videographer for the Boston Globe, shot aerial video with a drone over several Boston hotspots on Monday and Tuesday. On a normal weekday afternoon, the city bustles with workers and tourists and commuters alike. But in the footage, the city sits nearly empty. It’s a ghost of what it was just a week ago, before Gov. Charlie Baker banned gatherings of over 25 people, established tight restrictions on stores and restaurants, and closed the schools in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Newbury Street and Faneuil Hall Marketplace are nearly devoid of shoppers. The seagulls on Summer Street seem to outnumber the pedestrians. Traffic is breezy in and out of the city, and an empty Fenway Park won’t see a pitch anytime soon. Only a handful of people walk and bike across Boston Common, which hosted a rally of over 13,000 densely packed people less than three weeks ago. It seems unimaginable now *Drone footage of Boston during quarantine
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  2020-04-24

  COVID 19 Journal: 03/27/2020

  COVID 19 Journal by Kaitlin Whalen written 03/27/2020
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  2020-03-15

  Students move out of Suffolk, Baker attempts to quell COVID-19 pandemic

  The Suffolk Journal, Suffolk University's student run newspaper, reports on Suffolk's decisions around campus during the pandemic.
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  2020-03-26

  AIA MA Letter to Governor Baker

  Letter written by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Institute of Architects r to Governor Baker of Massachusetts asking for in cases where a construction project is designated an essential business the architecture firm also be designated an essential business. #HIST5241