In today’s daily 5 Things You Need to Know feature, ThisWeekinWorcester.com explores five important items and stories that Worcester and Central Massachusetts residents should keep a close eye on.
These five things can cover a whole range of subjects and issues that we feel are pertinent to understanding what’s going on in the city and the cities and towns surrounding Worcester.
In today’s edition – Friday, October 21 – Worcester to ceremonially name a street for former city manager Ed Augustus, newly unionized nurses at UMass Memorial Hospital ratify a contract, the Worcester Public Library honors its volunteers, Cornerstone Bank donates to a group supporting upgrades to parks in Spencer and a new study ranks colleges and universities across the country.
Ceremonial Street Dedication for Former City Manager Augustus
The City of Worcester will hold a ceremonial street dedication for former City Manger Ed Augustus on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 8:30 AM. Library Lane, which is from Salem Street to YMCA Way and runs parallel to the entrance to the Worcester Public Library, will ceremonially be known as Ed Augustus Way.
Augustus was Worcester city manager from 2014 until 2022 and prioritized investments into the library, including renovations that opened the entrance facing Worcester Common, improving the children’s area, and other upgrades.
Augustus is now Chancellor at Dean College.
MNA Nurses at UMass Ratify New Contract
A group of 2,770 nurses and healthcare professionals working in hospitals owned and operated by UMass Memorial Health Care, have ratified a new contract.
The workers unionized earlier this year with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).
According to the MNA, the new contracts include wage increases that range from 8% and 19..5%, and workplace improvements.
MNA Nurses have ratified contracts with four UMass hospitals since June; Umass Chan Medical School, UMass Memorial Hospital, Marlborough Hospital and Clinton Hospital.
Worcester Public Library Celebrates National Friends of Library Week
The Worcester Public Library (WPL) honored the Friends of the Worcester Public Library with the help of Mayor Joe Petty and Acting City Manager Eric Batista on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The Friends received a proclamation from the Mayor during their monthly meeting, proclaiming the week of Oct. 16, 2022 to be Friends of Libraries Week in Worcester, MA.
The Friends of the Worcester Public Library is an organization of volunteers who help enhance the library’s services to the people of the Worcester area. They raise money to support programs and events at the library, including the popular museum pass program. They also advocate to help ensure the library continues to get the resources needed to serve the public. They are one of the oldest Friends groups in Massachusetts, and were established in 1956.
Membership in the Friends of WPL is open to all members of the community, and costs as little as $15 per year. Membership benefits include 20% off purchases at the Friends Bookstore, tax-deductible membership dues, invitations to special events, volunteer opportunities, and the satisfaction of helping to improve Worcester’s quality of life.
Cornerstone Bank Donates $5,000 to Spencer Exchange Club
Cornerstone Bank, a community bank with 10 locations throughout Central Massachusetts, has donated $5,000 to the Spencer Exchange Club to help support their 2022 Fall Food Comedy Festival. The event is back in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Proceeds from the event will go towards improving the parks and recreation areas in the town of Spencer.
The comedy festival is at the Spencer County Inn, at 50 Main St. in Spencer, on Nov. 5.
New Study Ranks Area Colleges and Universities
A new study of colleges and universities across the country ranks the best institutions in the U.S. as well as each region of the country.
The study found the top 10 institutions of higher learning in Massachusetts are:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Harvard University
- Wellesley College
- Amherst College
- Northeastern University
- Tufts University
- Boston College
- College of the Holy Cross
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
MIT was also ranked the top school nationwide.
Of the top 30 universities in the country, seven are in New England.
- 1 – MIT
- 2 – Yale University
- 5 – Harvard University
- 13 – Brown University
- 18 – Dartmouth College
- 26 – Wellesley College
- 27 – Amherst College
The following local schools were ranked in the northern region.
- 27 – College of the Holy Cross
- 53 – Clark University
- 99 – Worcester State University
To see the full results of the study, visit Wallethub,com.
