Facing a financial crisis, WBUR has announced that Boston’s NPR station is laying off seven employees and 24 others are taking buyouts.

These job cuts come weeks after the station on Commonwealth Avenue warned of possible job cuts.

WBUR’s on-air sponsorship income plummeted by about $7 million in recent years, and the station is looking to begin the next fiscal year with a budget that’s at least $4 million lower than this year.

“I will begin with the hardest news,” CEO Margaret Low wrote to staff members on Wednesday. “We are laying off seven people, including three part-time colleagues. This means valued co-workers are losing their jobs and will leave WBUR before the end of June.”

“It’s painful to lose longtime colleagues and friends and we’ll make time in the weeks ahead to recognize those who will depart,” Low added.

The station has also been offering buyouts, and 24 employees are taking them.

“The number of people who raised their hand allowed us to limit the number of layoffs,” the CEO said.

Among those taking the package are four members of the senior leadership team: Pete Matthews, Del Reese, Mike Steffon and Karl Voelker.

“This is a significant loss of institutional history,” Low said. “It’s worth noting that three of the four have been at WBUR (or Boston University) for more than 25 years. They all saw the Voluntary Program as a rare opportunity to turn the page and do something new.”

The buyout total number won’t be firm until May 1 when employees must formally commit to the voluntary buyout program.

Beyond the layoffs and buyouts, WBUR plans to cut expenses across the board. WBUR is eliminating nine unfilled positions, cutting travel costs, spending less or negotiating lower rates on contracted services.

“A small but not insignificant item — we will no longer buy Peet’s Coffee,” the CEO said. “Thanks to our Business Partnerships team, we now have a trade deal with a local coffee roaster — Fazenda. This will save WBUR thousands of dollars a year. Finally, we will no longer cover cell phone costs for any non-represented colleagues.”

These cuts come as WBUR has the top share for a radio news station in the city.

“There is so much for all of us to be proud of, but I recognize that this has been a tough period for everyone at WBUR,” Low said. “Change of this magnitude is very hard.”

ROUNDUP

BASEBALL

Dylan Bausumer allowed just one hit over six innings of work, and Preston George, Evan Yakavonis, Tommy Crowley and Dan Joyce had two hits each as Whitman-Hanson (6-2) bested Pembroke 10-0 in Patriot League action. … Kevin O’Keefe hit a walkoff single and got the win on the mound, and RJ Thorpe finished 4-for-4 with two RBI for Silver Lake in a 6-5 victory over Hanover. … DC Brown was phenomenal on the mound (15 strikeouts, no-hitter) and at the plate (two home runs, three RBI, two runs) for Plymouth North (5-2) in a 6-0 win over Plymouth South.

Matty Taylor recorded 13 strikeouts and allowed four hits and one earned run over seven innings as Sandwich came back to beat Carver 5-4 in a South Shore League clash.

Billy Burris tossed a complete-game shutout, and Phil Lombardi, Matt Cooke and Cam Kingston had two hits each as Tewksbury (2-4) topped Methuen 9-0 in the Merrimack Valley Conference Small Division.

BOYS LACROSSE

Hunter Grafton scored seven goals and provided three assists as Abington defeated Rockland 14-7 in a South Shore League matchup.

Taylor Richardson struck for six goals and supplied three assists, while Alex Morin and Sean Willis finished with three goals and an assist each as St. John Paul II routed Falmouth Academy 16-3 in a Cape and Islands League contest.

John Droggitis’ first-quarter goal got the scoring started, and Jimmy Nardone netted three goals and dished an assist as St. John’s Prep (6-0) defeated St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 10-5 in the Catholic Conference.

Colin Willoe scored four goals and added two assists, while Tommy Farrell added three goals and three assists as North Andover (2-5) edged Central Catholic 10-9 in overtime in the Merrimack Valley Conference.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Charlise Cox (hat trick, three assists), Lexie Davos (hat trick, assist), Danielle Cox (two goals) and Jess Lee (two goals) paced the Norwell (4-2) offense in a 15-3 South Shore League win over Middleboro. … Kolbie and Kyla Darmon netted three goals and dished an assist each, while Quinn Anderson scored twice and supplied two assists and Avery Cobban had two goals as well for Sandwich (8-0) in a 16-3 win over Hull.

Avery Laundry, Coco Clopton and Cecilia Tripp scored three goals each as Swampscott rolled to a 15-2 win over Essex Tech.

Megan Doyle reached 400 career points for Weymouth in a 15-1 Bay State Conference win over Milton. … Callie Burchill scored five goals, while Norah Downey made nine saves as Braintree beat Needham, 10-8.

SOFTBALL

Jill Gesswell went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Lily Grabowski and Maya Crawford finished 2-for-4 with an RBI each as South Shore Voke defeated Cape Cod Tech, 19-7.

Allyson Fagan struck out eight and gave up seven hits in a complete game for her first start, while Priya Bedard tripled, doubled and scored two runs as Medway (3-2) edged Dedham 3-2 in the Tri-Valley League.

Cam Cloonan (double, home run), Haleigh Kelly (two home runs) and Lucy Latour (home run) made noise at the plate, and Edy Latour struck out eight over seven innings pitched as Dighton-Rehoboth (7-1) downed Norton 9-4 in nonleague action.

SCORES

BASEBALL

Arlington 10, Stoneham 7

EMK 6, Boston Collegiate 4

Essex Tech 8, Amesbury 4

Excel 10, Madison Park 9

Georgetown 7, Lynnfield 6

Hamilton-Wenham 6, Newburyport 3

Hingham 9, Quincy 1

Lynn English 10, Malden 6

Marblehead 16, Danvers 1

Marshfield 5, Scituate 2

North Quincy 6, Duxbury 5

North Reading 12, Ipswich 6

Pentucket 4, Manchester Essex 0

Plymouth North 6, Plymouth South 0

Sandwich 5, Carver 4

Shawsheen 4, Dracut 0

Silver Lake 6, Hanover 5

Tech Boston 6, Brighton 5

Tewksbury 9, Methuen 0

Whitman-Hanson 10, Pembroke 0

GIRLS GOLF

Duxbury 6, Silver Lake 0

Hingham 8, Scituate 0

Wellesley 5, Bishop Feehan 1

BOYS LACROSSE

Abington 14, Rockland 7

AMSA 9, Tyngsboro 8

Attleboro 8, Stoughton 1

Chelmsford 10, Groton-Dunstable 7

Foxboro 14, Milford 7

Littleton 13, Hudson 4

Methuen 17, Tewksbury 10

Milton 15, Weymouth 5

Nantucket 7, Nauset 5

Needham 18, Braintree 1

Newburyport 15, Triton 4

North Andover 10, Central Catholic 9 (ot)

Norwood 17, Dedham 7

Pentucket 13, North Reading 5

St. John Paul II 16, Falmouth Academy 3

St. John’s Prep 10, St. John’s (S) 5

Scituate 20, Quincy/North Quincy 3

Swampscott 10, Essex Tech 9

GIRLS LACROSSE

Andover 12, Billerica 7

Braintree 10, Needham 8

Cardinal Spellman 11, East Bridgewater 4

Central Catholic 14, North Andover 10

Cohasset 21, Mashpee 2

Dracut 14, Lowell 9

Ipswich 14, Georgetown 2

Lincoln-Sudbury 6, Concord-Carlisle 5

Manchester Essex 14, Lynnfield 4

Methuen 15, Tewksbury 6

Monomoy 17, Sturgis West 3

Newburyport 17, Triton 1

Norwell 15, Middleboro 3

Sandwich 16, Hull 3

Swampscott 15, Essex Tech 2

Wayland 14, Bedford 6

Wellesley 16, Brookline 4

Weymouth 15, Milton 1

SOFTBALL

Bishop Fenwick 8, Malden Catholic 4

Boston Collegiate 34, Randolph 33

Carver 6, Sandwich 1

Cristo Rey Boston/Cathedral 18, Margarita Muniz 1

Dighton-Rehoboth 9, Norton 4

East Boston 24, Excel Charter 0

Latin Academy 13, O’Bryant 1

Marblehead 22, Winthrop 0 (5i)

Marshfield 15, Scituate 1

Medway 3, Dedham 2

Newburyport 5, Hamilton-Wenham 1

Pembroke 12, Whitman-Hanson 3

Quincy/North Quincy 18, Duxbury 11

Silver Lake 16, Hanover 0

South Shore Voke 19, Cape Cod Tech 7

Ursuline 19, Dover-Sherborn 5

Wareham 31, Dennis-Yarmouth 6

BOYS TENNIS

Andover 4, Haverhill 1

Apponequet 4, Dighton-Rehoboth 1

Bishop Feehan 4, Walpole 1

Bourne 3, West Bridgewater 2

Bridgewater-Raynham 5, Brockton 0

Dartmouth 5, Durfee 0

Foxboro 3, Attleboro 2

Hamilton-Wenham 3, Marblehead 2

Hingham 5, Quincy 0

Latin Academy 5, Medford 0

Lynn Classical 5, Everett 0

Mystic Valley 3, Ipswich 2

Newton South 4, Melrose 1

Plymouth South 4, Plymouth North 1

Wellesley 5, Natick 0

Weston 4, Hopkinton 1

Whitman-Hanson 5, Pembroke 0

GIRLS TENNIS

Apponequet 5, Dighton-Rehoboth 0

Archbishop Williams 3, Arlington Catholic 2

Bishop Feehan 5, Walpole 0

Bourne 4, West Bridgewater 1

Bridgewater-Raynham 5, Brockton 0

Bromfield 5, Groton-Dunstable 0

Central Catholic 5, Lawrence 0

Dover-Sherborn 3, Westwood 2

Hingham 4, Quincy 1

Manchester-Essex 4, Newburyport 1

Newton South 5, Andover 0

Pembroke 4, Whitman-Hanson 1

Swampscott 3, Gloucester 2

Wellesley 4, Natick 1

Westford Academy 5, North Andover 0

Winchester 5, Reading 0

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

Blue Hills 100, Holbrook 36

Blue Hills 92, Wareham 44

Burlington 123, Watertown 13

Dedham 93, Bellingham 42

Dover-Sherborn 116, Millis 19

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

Dedham 89, Bellingham 47

Dover-Sherborn 91.5, Millis 44.5

Franklin 85, King Philip 51

Hopkinton 110, Ashland 28

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Lincoln-Sudbury 3, Bellingham 0

Natick 3, Newton North 1

Needham 3, Brookline 0

St. John’s (S) 3, Catholic Memorial 0

Wellesley 3, Braintree 0

Winchester 3, Newton South 0

Coaches are encouraged to report their scores and highlights in a timely manner to hssports@bostonherald.com

A renowned Massachusetts beauty brand is facing an ugly reality that is creating financial trouble for students, customers and staff.

Jaylean Sawyer always hoped to start her own beauty business.

“I want to be a boss lady, honestly, a boss woman. I want to be my own boss, make my own hours,” Sawyer said.

To take the first step towards this goal, she enrolled in the Elizabeth Grady School of Esthetics in Medford last spring.

“I was all for it,” Sawyer said. She was juggling classes with her full-time job.

Sirilak Prawanna also wanted to improve her beauty skills and decided to enroll at the school. She had already taken massage classes through Elizabeth Grady and was excited to expand her options.

However, both women say learning was difficult because of disorganization and lack of supplies at the school.

“It was a little bit difficult to learn how to do certain steps in a facial without these certain products,” Sawyer said.

Prawanna said she paid for make-up supplies in her tuition but they never received them.

And while both hoped the situation would improve, it didn’t.

The school was evicted from its Medford location in January because rent wasn’t paid. This caused classes to be moved online and teachers started leaving.

“Even the instructors were left hanging, so they couldn’t tell us anything and we also didn’t hear anything from the owner or the director of the school, so we were just waiting to see what was going on,” Prawanna said.

Weeks later the state shut down the school because of the eviction.

“I honestly had a full-blown panic attack. I’m paying out of pocket for school. I am on financial aid but I’m literally working every single day just so I can go to school,” Sawyer said.

Students are able to transfer their credit but many told 7 Investigates they struggled to find other part-time options or programs that were compatible.

“We were all blindsided by this. I feel like a lot of students wouldn’t apply if we knew ahead of time,” Sawyer said.

The students were unaware that trouble had been brewing for Elizabeth Grady School of Esthetics for a while. Kathleen DeNicola took over as the president in 2021.

Lawsuits claim she owes millions of dollars in loans, unpaid rent and taxes.

In addition to owning the school in Medford, she also runs seven Elizabeth Grady salons. State records show she holds the licenses for the Elizabeth Grady salons in Andover, Acton, Beverly, Burlington, Framingham, Saugus and Swampscott.

7 Investigates repeatedly tried to contact DeNicola and her attorney but did not hear back.

Joanne Hofmann is one of the customers who has gone to the Burlington salon for decades.

“I thought they were professional and I like to keep up my beauty regime,” Hofmann said.

When she called to try to schedule a facial in February a worker told her everybody was gone and there was no supplies.

This came as a shock to Hofmann who had $400 in gift cards.

She said she can’t find another Elizabeth Grady salon that is still open to accept them.

“This is not right, it’s not right, not right for me or anyone else,” Hofmann said.

Months later, 7 Investigates found more customers locked out and showing up for appointments at the Burlington salon, only to learn it was closed.

We repeatedly called all of DeNicola’s salons. We couldn’t reach anyone on the phone at any of their locations.

While customers are looking for new salons, Sawyer and Prawanna are struggling to makeover their beauty careers.

“Now I have to start over from the beginning,” Sawyer said.

“”I was scammed; that’s how I felt,” Prawanna echoed. “It’s just so sad that you cannot take back the time, you cannot take back anything and I just lose it for nothing.”

7 Investigates did get in touch with the Elizabeth Grady salons not licensed to DeNicola. Many said they are running normally and plan to stay open and rebrand.. However, they are not accepting gift cards not sold at their location.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has received a number of complaints related to Elizabeth Grady. The office told consumers in March, “we are not aware of any information that might help us in recovering funds on consumers’ behalf.”

The AG recommended consumers discuss charges with their credit card company or consider filing a claim in Small Claims Court.

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