Healey offering $2.5B higher ed infrastructure plan

By COLIN A. YOUNG

Gov. Maura Healey announced a plan Tuesday to pump at least $2.5 billion into facilities at the University of Massachusetts, state universities and community colleges by the middle of the 2030s.

Outside report calls UMass protest breakup reasonable but raises questions

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts officials acted reasonably and prudently in breaking up pro-Gaza encampments on campus last spring, but different enforcement tactics might have cut down on the number of arrests, as well as reduced the fraying of trust between students, faculty and staff and the UMass administration, according to an independent review released last week.

Author to discuss King Phillip’s War at Winchendon Library

By GREG VINE

WINCHENDON – On Jan. 30, history buffs will have an opportunity to learn about King Phillip’s War during a presentation on a new book which resulted from many years of research.

Athol Royalston Superintendent outlines steps for new high school

By GREG VINE

ROYALSTON – Athol Royalston Regional School District Superintendent Matt Ehrenworth met with Royalston’s Selectboard on Jan. 14 to go over the initial steps involved in the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s approval process for a new high school.

Union: Faculty pay not keeping up with community college enrollment

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – As enrollment at community colleges booms under the state’s new free tuition program, the faculty that teach and support the burgeoning population are asking for their first wage equity adjustment in 25 years.

Shelby Bronnes to step down from Royalston Selectboard

By GREG VINE

ROYALSTON – Voters at this year’s Town Election will have one more seat to fill on the Selectboard than originally anticipated.

Trump sworn in for 2nd term

By ZEKE MILLER,CHRIS MEGERIANand MICHELLE L. PRICE

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president Monday, returning to power with a promise to end America’s decline and to “completely and totally reverse” the actions of the man who drove him from office four years ago.

500 acres of Sunderland forestland returned to Nipmuc tribe by W.D. Cowls

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A 500-acre section of forested land connected to Mount Toby in Sunderland, west of Route 63, is being returned to the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band as a gift from W.D. Cowls Inc.

New Massachusetts license plate will spread overdose awareness message

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The opioid epidemic has affected tens of thousands of people across Massachusetts, and later this year, vehicles on the state’s roads will be able to offer reminders that survivors and grieving families are all around us.

North Quabbin Notes, Jan. 20

SPRINGFIELD – Western New England University recognizes the academic achievements of over 750 students who have been named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2024 semester. The following local students were named to the Dean’s List: Sarah Jaillet of Athol and Jeffrey Laplante of New Salem

FRCOG named digital equity trailblazer

By CHRIS LARABEE

For its work in closing the digital divide in Franklin County and the North Quabbin, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance has named the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) a 2024 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer.

Athol Royalston recognizes Students of the Month

Early educator recruitment lags amid low wages, licensure delays

By SYDNEY TOPF

Rosa Hernandez-O’Neil was surrounded by early educators growing up. Her mother ran a child care center in their home and her sisters all worked in the field. So, at 16 years old, Hernandez-O’Neil decided she wanted to join the family business as a teacher’s assistant.

Ed secretary pledges gender identity protections

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – The state’s top education official pledged Tuesday that Massachusetts schools would protect transgender students, even after a federal judge scrapped President Joe Biden’s expanded Title IX protections of LGBTQ students the previous week.

For local TikTok users, angst and uncertainty as clock runs out on wildly popular app

By ALEXA LEWIS

TikTok users around the region were greeting the looming U.S. ban of popular social media platform TikTok with emotions ranging from sadness to anger to skepticism, with many arguing that a government ban constitutes a limit on free speech.

Supreme Court upholds law banning TikTok if it’s not sold by its Chinese parent company

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States.

Thomas Aquinas College chapel named pilgrimage site

By DOMENIC POLI

NORTHFIELD — The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has decreed that the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College (TAC) will be an official pilgrimage site for the people of the diocese in observance of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

Healey targets primary care reforms, new graduation requirements in annual speech

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Drawing from Massachusetts history while also peeking into the future, Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday night took stock of the state’s strengths and challenges in a speech that focused more on following through on past work than on announcing new initiatives.

The Sportsman’s Corner: New law requires boat safety certificate

By Mike Roche