HIGHER EDUCATION

Union fire fighters in Amherst, Massachusetts, are calling on town management to fully staff the department, after last week's blaze that destroyed an apartment building, displacing 232 people.

With the federal government defunding programs that support DEI initiatives, colleges are making decisions on what they want to protect. At Elms College in Chicopee, a junior majoring in biotechnology, was recently awarded a scholarship specifically for Black students looking to go into the medical field.

In Amherst, Massachusetts, 232 people were displaced after a fire started Friday night in an apartment complex, used as off campus housing for many UMass students.

This week on The Rundown, our panelists discuss state Senate action on spending in local sheriff's offices, a new Franklin County survey on student needs, how the Trump administration is affecting higher education and the local impact of the No Kings protests.

BU Professor of finance Mark Williams says Massachusetts needs to adopt some longer-term strategies to soften the impact of Trump Administration funding cuts.

On The Rundown, panelists discuss why some schools in western Mass. have lower vaccination rates, the Pittsfield man who is back at home after being unlawfully detained by ICE, and a pilot program to clean up nips.

We talk to the president of Smith College about its new plan to make tuition free for some students, and tour Farmer Clark's in Hampden.

The Western Massachusetts Literacy Collaborative recently received a $190,000 grant from the Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education to train future educators

The list of Massachusetts colleges and universities offering free tuition — to qualifying students — is growing. Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley announced this month it would do this for any U.S. family with an income of up to $150,000.

Today on The Rundown with Carrie Saldo, panelists discuss rent control as western Mass. towns see tenant rights advocacy, how school districts are addressing infrastructure needs, inconsistent leadership in higher education and continued delays from the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).