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No Data Caps For Now: Comcast To Delay Heavily-Criticized Plan To Limit Internet No Data Caps For Now: Comcast To Delay Heavily-Criticized Plan To Limit Internet
No Data Caps For Now: Comcast To Delay Heavily-Criticized Plan To Limit Internet Comcast’s highly-criticized move to implement internet data caps is being delayed. On Friday, Feb. 18, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued a statement welcoming Comcast’s announcement that they will postpone, what he called an “ill-timed” data cap until 2022. Comcast’s planned data caps went into effect on Jan. 1, in 12 states - including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - plus Washington, D.C. The data caps were envisioned long before the pandemic hit. “Delaying this ill-timed data cap until at least 2022 is the right call. I have heard from…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
Town So Irked By Comcast Internet Cap, It May Just Build Its Own Broadband Network Town So Irked By Comcast Internet Cap, It May Just Build Its Own Broadband Network
Town So Irked By Comcast Internet Cap, It May Just Build Its Own Broadband Network At least one town is so irked by Comcast’s new internet service cap that it’s looking into starting a municipal internet option. On Thursday, Feb. 11, the creation of a Municipal Fiber Task Force to study implementing an internet network throughout Agawam was announced by Mayor William P. Sapelli. Sapelli said that a town-owned and managed network is just one option Agawam will explore as an alternative to Comcast. The town could also partner with a third party to provide service, make another arrangement, or not change anything at all.  Among the factors that will be studied by the …

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
COVID-19: MA Kidnapper, Sex Trafficker, Bank Robber Get Early Prison Release Due To Pandemic COVID-19: MA Kidnapper, Sex Trafficker, Bank Robber Get Early Prison Release Due To Pandemic
Covid-19: MA Kidnapper, Sex Trafficker, Bank Robber Get Early Prison Release Due To Pandemic A convicted kidnapper, sex trafficker, and two bank robbers are among the criminals who have been released from Massachusetts prisons early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, 419 motions for release have been filed in Massachusetts by convicts as well as people awaiting trial. Of those requests 88 have been granted, 219 have been denied, and 96 are pending, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Early releases are being allowed for some people in the justice system because prisons tend to be superspreaders for diseases. To allow for social-distancing, prisoners across the nation ar…

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by Kristin Palpini
Lifestyle
COVID-19: Pandemic Leads To Emergence Of Remote Co-Living Spaces COVID-19: Pandemic Leads To Emergence Of Remote Co-Living Spaces
Covid-19: Pandemic Leads To Emergence Of Remote Co-Living Spaces An odd blend of community and isolation is springing up amid the COVID-19 pandemic as people seek to work remotely from interesting spaces. Young professionals who fled big cities at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 are more and more choosing to live in the type of real estate geared toward communal living, according to a Wall Street Journal report. “Many of those who left were seeking fresh air, more space and distance from infection clusters, but they also found the prospect of being isolated in the country daunting,” the article noted. Now shared vacation homes, farms and conve…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: CDC Cites 'Substantial Increase' In Fatal Drug Overdoses Coinciding With Pandemic COVID-19: CDC Cites 'Substantial Increase' In Fatal Drug Overdoses Coinciding With Pandemic
Covid-19: CDC Cites 'Substantial Increase' In Fatal Drug Overdoses Coinciding With Pandemic There has been a substantial increase in fatal drug overdoses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting in a new alert. The worst rate of deaths in the year that ended in May coincided with containment measures, including closures, during the pandemic. "These newly released provisional fatal overdose data, coupled with the known disruption to public health, health care, and social services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related mitigation measures, highlight the need for essential services to remain accessible for those most at r…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Missing 13-Year-Old Girl Found Missing 13-Year-Old Girl Found
Missing 13-Year-Old Girl Found As night fell, so too did the hopes among firefighters and volunteers that they were going to find a missing 13-year-old girl. On Wednesday, Dec. 2, at nearly 6 p.m. Goshen Firefighters and members from nearby towns, canvassed the area around Fuller Road in Chesterfield to assist Massachusetts State Police Troopers in finding a missing girl. The girl, age 13, had last been seen on Fuller Road near the Chesterfield/Goshen town line wearing lightweight clothing, Goshen Firefighters said. “Nightfall, a brisk wind, scattered flurries, and temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark add…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: State Gives Worcester 10 Days To Defend Special-Needs Education Plan COVID-19: State Gives Worcester 10 Days To Defend Special-Needs Education Plan
Covid-19: State Gives Worcester 10 Days To Defend Special-Needs Education Plan School officials in Worcester, Springfield, and Boston have just 10 days to defend distance-learning plans for special-needs students - or else state officials are going to step in. Concern that special needs students and those with disabilities are not learning what they need to through the more independent at-home learning style has led Massachusetts education administrators to evaluate what’s happening in the state’s biggest cities. There are no special-needs students receiving in-school education in Worcester or Springfield, and less than 200 in Boston, according to the Boston Globe. …

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by Kristin Palpini
Business
Stop & Shop To Fill More Than 5,000 Positions In NY, CT, MA Stop & Shop To Fill More Than 5,000 Positions In NY, CT, MA
Stop & Shop To Fill More Than 5,000 Positions In NY, CT, MA Stop & Shop is looking to hire over 5,000 new employees in for in-store, home delivery and distribution centers throughout the Northeast.  Also available in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island are roles in the supermarket chain's bakery, deli, seafood, home delivery driver, selecting, and shopping departments. Potential applicants can start the hiring process here.  “As we continue to expand our e-commerce capacity, and work to deliver a great in-store experience, we’re looking for more team members who want to join our business,” said Maria …

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by Christina Coulter
News
Guitar Center Files For Bankruptcy Guitar Center Files For Bankruptcy
Guitar Center Files For Bankruptcy Guitar Center, a mecca for new and used, affordable musical instruments, has filed for bankruptcy. On Saturday, Nov. 21, the retail chain - and the largest seller of musical equipment in the U.S., said it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to MarketWatch. Guitar Center plans to keep its U.S. 300 stores open during the bankruptcy process. The filing is expected to help Guitar Center reduce its debt by $800 million. As is the case with many recent bankruptcy filings, Guitar Center said economic restrictions brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected bus…

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by Kristin Palpini
Business
Bank Branches Are Pulling Out Of Stop & Shop Bank Branches Are Pulling Out Of Stop & Shop
Bank Branches Are Pulling Out Of Stop & Shop Citizens Bank is pulling out of dozens of Stop & Shops beginning in January. Among the branches being closed are 26 in Massachusetts and 14 in Rhode Island. The decision to close the branches was made due to people’s habits changing toward more online banking and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Boston Business Journal. Even though many branches inside Stop & Shop’s will close, there will still be 90 in-store branches available. There are 416 Stop & Shops in *New England, and New York. Citizens Bank has more than 1,200 locations. The St…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Regal Cinemas Temporarily Closing 500 Theaters - 14 in MA and CT Regal Cinemas Temporarily Closing 500 Theaters - 14 in MA and CT
Regal Cinemas Temporarily Closing 500 Theaters - 14 in MA and CT With not enough blockbuster movies to screen, on Thursday, Oct. 8 Regal Cinemas is temporarily closing more than 500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. This includes 10 theaters in Massachusetts and four in Connecticut. In all 536 theaters will close and impact 40,000 employees across the U.S. Massachusetts movie theaters began reopening in August after they were shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic in March. But moviemakers have been experimenting with airing new releases in people’s homes, major markets like New York City are yet to reopen, and customers are still cautious about going to the…

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by Kristin Palpini
Business
Free, Healthy Snacks For Students At Stop & Shop Now Available Free, Healthy Snacks For Students At Stop & Shop Now Available
Free, Healthy Snacks For Students At Stop & Shop Now Available Free healthy snacks and hand sanitizer are being handed out to Stop & Shop customers in an effort to help families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop & Shop is calling them “better for you” snacks. The grocer was inspired by the back-to-school season and the consideration that families home-schooling their children or using a hybrid approach to education would need to feed their children more often at home. This could be a struggle for some families. “We hope our snack program will make a difference in the lives of thousands of families and students across our communities,” said St…

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by Kristin Palpini