VETERANS

Massachusetts agencies will need to assess whether "project labor agreements" with union contractors are needed for public construction with a price tag greater than $35 million. That's under a new executive order signed Tuesday by Governor Maura Healey.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said Massachusetts leads the country in advocating for and protecting veterans and their benefits.

As many around the country celebrate Thanksgiving or observe the Day of Mourning for Indigenous people, some food pantries and soup kitchens are remembering veterans this holiday.

Several communities across western Massachusetts held events for Veterans Day.

Members of the Iron Workers union joined federal, state and local officials for a "topping off" ceremony at the construction site of the new Holyoke Veterans Home — hoisting the final steel beam and placing it on top of the building. The new building will replace the current facility, which was the site of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, when at least 76 residents died.

The Massachusetts Legislature has begun a five-month stretch of informal sessions following the end of formal sessions last week.

Many Memorial Day celebrations across the region were canceled due to heavy rain and thunderstorms earlier today, but not the ceremony at the state Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, which moved indoors.

The tribute banners, hung on utility poles, display men and women who've in some way served the country — in times of war and peace.

The Sheffield Historical Society unveiled a new headstone for Black Civil War soldier William D. Jones on Wednesday. His family members and about one hundred people from the town gathered to celebrate his military service.

Construction of a new state-run veterans’ home in Holyoke is progressing. The $480-million project will replace the current building. Formerly known as the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, the facility in use now was the site of a deadly 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, where at least 76 veterans died.