Massachusetts
Drought expected to worsen, raising risk for dangerous brush fires in Massachusetts
BOSTON – New month, same old weather story. The warm and dry conditions are expected to continue for at least the first half of November.
Brush fire concerns remain atop the headlines. Tuesday and Wednesday are forecast to be very warm and windy and we are likely to see some renewed red flag warnings posted around southern New England.
Needless to say, any and all outdoor burning is a terrible idea right now and should be avoided at all costs.
Both Boston and Worcester continue to be at or near the record for driest meteorological fall.
Other than a few sprinkles, this week is expected to be just about bone dry. Our next chance of any significant rainfall looks to be early next week.
Therefore, we expect the drought conditions to worsen again this week. We will get an update of the Drought Monitor on Thursday and the percentage of both moderate and severe drought areas in Massachustts could climb significantly.
For the third straight week, we will see a big jump in temperatures for a few days. The warmest days this week will be Tuesday and Wednesday.
There is a high probability of breaking records Wednesday afternoon with highs expected to climb well into the 70s.
Keep in mind that average highs this time of year are in the mid 50s.
Combine that with some very gusty winds over the next few days and you have a recipe for dangerous and rapidly spreading brush fires.
Boston area forecast
No weather issues expected at the polls on Tuesday. Mild and breezy conditions all day long.
Later this week, (Thursday through the weekend) temperatures will come back to near normal but still no significant rainfall expected. Looks like another very pleasant weekend.
Lastly, we will be monitoring a new Tropical Depression this week. It is expected to become a hurricane (Rafael) by Wednesday and then head into the Gulf of Mexico later this week. We will have much more on this in the coming days.
Massachusetts
Top Places to Work in Massachusetts: Explore the winners lists and more – The Boston Globe
Day-to-day work can be a grind — the same slog to the office or job site, the same bad coffee, the same Zoom squares.
But the world of work itself is ever changing.
Employers must constantly make room for a new generation of workers, the current crop of whom are complex: technology whizzes who yearn to lead but are seemingly unafraid to skip out on jobs they’ve already been hired for.
At the same time, the number of older workers is on the rise, including three 80-plus-year-old salesmen at the Newton Highlands restaurant wholesaler Boston Showcase Co. who help younger co-workers understand the difference between what customers want and what they need.
We’re also trying to figure out how to deal with the explosion of meetings that has turned office workers into Zoom zombies while grappling with our cellphone addictions, which are admittedly a welcome distraction during all those meetings.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have taken a beating in recent years, despite the fact that many of these efforts are simply about making everyone feel more welcome at work. Leaders at Entrada Therapeutics in Boston adjusted slide presentations to accommodate people who are colorblind while Boston online auto retailer CarGurus provides nonalcoholic beverages during work happy hours to make nondrinkers feel more comfortable.
The best employers know how to consider the many ways work changes — and stays the same — and keep people happy all the while. Kymera Therapeutics in Watertown, for example, takes employees on deep-sea fishing trips. At another Watertown biotech, C4 Therapeutics, employees are entered into a drawing each quarter to win two weeks of extra paid time off.
This year, 175 companies made the Globe’s annual Top Places to Work list, including 39 newcomers. In all, the employee engagement company Energage, based in Exton, Pennsylvania, invited more than 8,000 organizations with employees in Massachusetts to participate. Nearly 68,000 workers at 323 companies rated their employers on leadership, values, training, benefits, and other metrics. The rankings are broken down into four size categories: small (50-99 employees); medium (100-249); large (250-999); and largest (1,000 or more).
The data for these rankings are based on company profiles at the time the surveys were conducted earlier this year.
Winning employers are well aware of the balancing act required to meet employees where they’re at while keeping them engaged and motivated. And they know a few extra weeks off or a deep-sea fishing trip never hurts.
Explore the winners’ lists (by company size) and more:
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2025 TOP PLACES TO WORK SURVEY: Visit bostonglobe.com/nominate
Katie Johnston can be reached at katie.johnston@globe.com. Follow her @ktkjohnston.
Massachusetts
Board explores allowing 3-year bachelor’s degree for colleges in Massachusetts
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Massachusetts
Wind advisory for 3 Massachusetts counties until Thursday night
A wind advisory was issued by the National Weather Service on Wednesday at 3:54 a.m. valid from 7 p.m. until Thursday 10 p.m. for Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties.
The weather service comments, “Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts 40 to 50 mph possible.”
“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result,” says the weather service. “Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.”
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