Massachusetts
Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts gathers for Holocaust Remembrance Day
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts is honoring the memory of people who died in the Holocaust with two community gatherings for Yom HaShoah in Springfield and Amherst.
Yom HaShoah is Israel’s day of commemoration for the roughly six million Jewish people murdered by Nazi Germany.
“The echoes of these events continue today, and really continue to have an impact on our communities,” said Nora Gorenstein, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts. So in the events for Yom HaShoah, we’re commemorating the people who survived and also those who did not.”
Gorenstein said it’s important to keep their memories alive, and to hear stories from Holocaust survivors directly.
Each year, fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors are around to share their experiences, and Gorenstein said it’s important to listen and reflect.
“That’s a very hard personal history to share, and one of the the ways that we continue to do that is through the relatives of those survivors, when they’ve heard the stories from their parents or their grandparents,” Gorenstein said. “Having those next generations continue to educate others and to share this information is also really important.”
Earlier this year, a demographic study by the Claims Conference found there are approximately 245,000 Holocaust survivors still living across more than 90 countries.
Gorenstein said it’s important to continue to learn from history so mistakes from the past aren’t repeated.
“We can learn to stand up for one another, our neighbors, and our communities,” Gorenstein said.
Massachusetts
Why Mass. state universities are getting $14M to increase graduation rates
When the state started directing SUCCESS funding to community colleges, it contributed to a 10% increase in student retention between 2022 and 2023.
Now, the hope is to see similar results at state universities by utilizing the same pot of money.
The Healey administration announced last week it will extend SUCCESS funding for the first time to the state’s nine universities — to the tune of $14 million.
The money, coming from the fiscal year 2025 budget, will support programming aimed at increasing graduation rates, particularly among historically underserved students.
According to the Department of Higher Education’s most recent data, more than 30% of state university students don’t earn a degree within six years of enrolling. For Black and Latino students, the number is more than 40%.
- Read more: Number of Black students at Harvard Law drops by over half after SCOTUS ruling
“We’ve made progress in making it more affordable for students to enroll in college, and this program will now lift barriers that arise on the way to graduation, especially for first-generation college students who cannot draw on a parent’s experience to navigate earning a degree,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
In a similar effort, the UMass system recently announced it will offer free tuition and fee support for in-state undergraduates whose families earn $75,000 or less.
The SUCCESS expansion does not include the five UMass campuses.
The SUCCESS Fund (which stands for Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services) was created in fiscal year 2021 specifically for the state’s 15 community colleges.
The SUCCESS grants for state universities will further the initiative, enabling campuses to create new services to support vulnerable or historically underserved students, “including students of color, students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, and students who are low-income or first-generation to college.”
Dr. Linda Thompson, chair of the Massachusetts State Universities Council of Presidents and president at Westfield State University, said the funding expansion will help the institutions reach more students looking to advance their education.
“We are confident the funding initiatives brought by the Healey-Driscoll Administration will reach those individuals who want to stay in Massachusetts, build businesses, support our economy, and strengthen their families,” she said.
- Read more: Teaching at community colleges is getting tougher. Why do employees stay?
The dollars per university are based in part on the number of Pell Grant-eligible state university students and enrollment numbers. They are as follows:
- Bridgewater State University: $2,895,955
- Fitchburg State University: $1,297,587
- Framingham State University: $1,315,502
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design: $890,286
- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts: $684,096
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy: $713,536
- Salem State University: $2,050,053
- Westfield State University: $1,532,795
- Worcester State University: $1,620,191
In addition to the $14 million for state universities, the state fiscal year 2025 budget also invests $14.7 million in community colleges, for a total $28.7 million investment in SUCCESS programming.
Massachusetts
We asked, you answered: Your favorite hot chocolate spots in Massachusetts
A cup of cocoa is a sweet treat and hand warmer all in one. And on a cold day in Boston — especially amid the holiday season — there’s nothing better to accompany you through the streets.
We asked WBUR readers and listeners where they like to grab a cup of hot chocolate. (We asked WBUR staffers, too, and you can find out their responses by signing up for one of our newsletters with this link before Dec. 31.)
Responses included chocolatiers, bakeries and cafes in Boston and far beyond it. But there was one clear fan favorite. Here are your top spots, plus a few honorable mentions.
Your top favorites
L.A. Burdick
Boston, Cambridge and Brookline
More than 50% of respondents said L.A. Burdick was their favorite place to grab hot chocolate in the area. L.A. Burdick’s thick, rich hot chocolate is made with milk and blended with dark, milk, white or spicy dark chocolate. Readers say it’s a decadent, European-style drinking chocolate, almost like drinking a melted chocolate bar.
“The cocoa is of incredibly high quality, and they make it with whole milk, which is very rich and creamy,” said Emily Bono . “They have their own cocoa blends, which are great, but also a variety of single source options that illustrate just how diverse chocolate can be.”
“In addition to tasting like heaven, we once put a leftover half-cup in the refrigerator overnight, and the next morning it had set into excellent chocolate pudding,” Lori Gayle shared.
Flour Bakery
Ten locations across Boston and Cambridge
Readers say they love the sweet, velvety hot chocolate at Flour Bakery. You can grab a cup of this cocoa all over Boston and Cambridge (they’ll even be popping up on the Common this summer). And for 50 cents extra, Flour will make your hot chocolate “fiery” with a dash of cayenne pepper.
“The cayenne and chocolate combination is rich, creamy, not too sweet and just a little addictive,” Kalli Catcott shared.
Kakawa Chocolate House
173 Essex St, Salem
Kakawa Chocolate House’s Salem shop is its first and only location in New England. (They’ve got three others in New Mexico.) Cori B. says their authentic sipping chocolate comes with a variety of spices you can add, like cinnamon, ginger, mint and cayenne. Dominique Hayes added that the “wonderful variety” is “all very yummy.”
Sweetie’s in Roslindale
48 Corinth St., Roslindale
Sweetie’s primarily sells ice cream, but you might want to visit for the hot chocolate, too. Kris Liberman shared its “rich and cream, with a choice of toppings.” There are also dairy and non-dairy options for your drink, and Leah Boylan says Sweetie’s offers imaginative cocoa flavors (think tahini dark chocolate) and tasty add-ins, like flame-broiled marshmallows, ice cream and whipped cream.
Other honorable mentions…
Massachusetts
State police say Friday’s storm caused 200 crashes across Massachusetts
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