Massachusetts
Massachusetts students return to school after lengthy teacher strike
Students in Newton, Massachusetts, were finally able to return to class on Monday after a historically long teachers union strike that kept the schoolhouse doors shuttered for more than two weeks.
The strike ended on Friday night after 15 days of protest and 11 missed school days, allowing students to come back to class Monday morning. The Newton Teachers Association reached a contract agreement with the school district Friday and voted to ratify it late Sunday evening.
Ninety-seven percent of the union voted to affirm a four-year contract that accounts for 13% cost-of-living increases, pay increases for classroom aides and behavioral therapists, and 60 days of parental leave, among other things. The school district will hold a public vote to approve the contract on Wednesday.
Union negotiator Ryan Normandin said the deal was a victory, saying closing schools to reach the new contract terms sent a powerful message to the students who could not go to class.
“We taught our students not to be afraid that when those in power try to take away your rights, that they should stand up for themselves, that they should not do it alone, but together,” he said at a press conference. “We taught every other district in this state what will happen if they try to balance their budgets on the backs of our students and educators.”
Newton parent Trevor Mack, a father of an eight-year-old girl, struck a different tone, telling the Boston Globe that the contentiousness was “long overdue” and “avoidable,” adding, “I don’t think there’s a single party that won in this strike.”
Both the district and the union “lost my trust very early on in their very negative tone and rhetoric,” Mack continued.
The Newton controversy unfolded against the backdrop of a wealthy district with favorable student-to-teacher ratios, as well as higher-than-average teacher salaries and spending per pupil.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, teacher salaries increased considerably in Newton from 2018’s $82,045 to $96,810 in 2022. By contrast, the average teacher salary in Massachusetts was $80,204 in 2018 and $89,889 in 2022. Similarly, Newton’s per-pupil spending is higher than the state average, clocking in at about $24,521, where the state average is $20,133, as of Jan. 18.
The district and the union incurred significant costs over the course of the strike, which started with a walkout on Jan. 19. In total, 2,000 teachers from roughly two dozen schools were affected, but roughly 12,000 students took the brunt of the strike in the affluent suburb of around 87,000 locals.
Since striking is illegal for public sector union members in Massachusetts, a judge continuously increased the fines on the teachers union, reaching $600,000 and threatening to double fines to $100,000 per day if a deal was not reached by Sunday evening.
The school district, on the other hand, is now expected to spend an added $53 million over the course of the new contract.
The strike, which was the longest of its kind in 30 years, was roiled in controversy, and some in Massachusetts see it as a flashpoint that could invite more during contract negotiations in other school districts.
Around 15 to 20 districts in the state are concerned about upcoming negotiations, Massachusetts Association of School Committees Executive Director Glenn Koocher told the Boston Globe.
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“A lot of districts that have contracts coming up are thinking about what this means if the unions are becoming more militant, if they’re not afraid of a judge, if they’re not afraid of being held in contempt, and if they think it can get them more,” Koocher explained.
Teacher strikes have increased in the Bay State since 2022, with unions showing a willingness to weather fines for long periods of time.
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
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Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
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But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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