Regional News

Thirty-two residential schools that serve students with the most severe disabilities will receive much-needed aid from the state.

This spring, as other schools in Massachusetts closed their doors and moved instruction online, those schools stayed open — exposing students and staff to the virus and incurring millions in unmet costs. And even with this support, the risk isn’t over.

George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, but his death hit home for Boston Scientific because the company has nearly 9,000 employees in Minnesota.

“We immediately held listening sessions with our executives,” said Desiree Ralls-Morrison, a senior vice president and general counsel for the medical device maker.

With or without a link to the Twin Cities, many Massachusetts firms say they are committed to confronting racism — even within their own organizations — after Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racial inequality.

Clauses in police union contracts often protect officers from the consequences of their misconduct. That’s according to a new analysis from the ACLU of Connecticut.

Connecticut’s Department of Education says that state COVID-19 data will guide the decision-making process regarding how K-12 students should learn in the fall, but Thursday's numbers inched in the wrong direction:  The state reported 101 new positive COVID-19 test results and an uptick in the number of hospitalizations by two.

Many colleges plan to resume in-person learning in the fall. Others, including prestigious schools like Harvard, are going all online. In the midst of a pandemic, returning to dorms or even a classroom is a hard choice to make for some students and professors.

Chelsea City Manager Tom Ambrosino scanned the chart he uses to track the daily coronavirus case updates for this small, densely populated community. The chart peaked on April 13, when160 residents received positive test results. In the past week, the city recorded between zero and four new cases a day.

Ambrosino liked what he saw.

“At this point I’d say it’s a very positive trend,” he said.

Lengthy debate is expected in Massachusetts Senate Thursday on a major policing and racial equity bill. More than 140 proposed amendments were filed to the bill by Tuesday’s deadline.

Museums around Massachusetts are gearing up for their reopenings after being shuttered since mid-March. Announcements have been rolling in since Gov. Charlie Baker gave Phase 3 the green light last week. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston announced Wednesday that it will unlock its doors first to members on July 14 and 15, then to the public on July 16.

Data shows Connecticut is succeeding in slowing the spread of COVID-19, even as cases of the virus spike in other states.

Connecticut school districts say access to technology has kept tens of thousands of students from being able to learn at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rolling seven-day average of positive COVID-19 cases in Connecticut was less than 1% over the past week, lower than every other state except Vermont, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday.

With fewer than 100 new confirmed infections a day, 885 contact tracers are able to follow up on 96% of all reported cases within 48 hours, but fewer than half of those contacts result in interviews useful in the prevention of outbreaks, Lamont said.

If you’ve missed hitting the gym or your Pilates class since the pandemic shut down the state in mid-March, there’s good news — starting Monday, your gym, unless it’s in Boston or Somerville, can reopen.

(Boston and Somerville indoor fitness centers can open next Monday, July 13.)

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont suggested he will slow down the timetable to fully reopen bars in the state.