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5 Things You Need to Know Today in Worcester – Dec. 11, 2019

By TWIW Staff | December 11, 2019
Last Updated: February 2, 2021

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 — Wednesday, Dec. 11 — look ahead to the Kelley Square Improvement Project (in other words, “what’s next?”), the state handed out its “Leading by Example” awards, a Clark University professor’s work is in the Arctic Report Card, there are scholarships available for MetroWest students and Salisbury Mansion’s got a gorgeous, decorated tour going on led by the Worcester Historical Museum. 

Put on your Bi-focals: Looking Ahead in the Kelley Square Improvement Project 

The MassDOT wants to remind you that businesses in and around Kelley Square remain open and accessible during construction, and there is a heck of a lot of it. The community should also note that heavy snow or extreme cold may cause changes to scheduled activities. But you know that, of course. 

Here are the travel impacts of the project. Over the next week, motorist and pedestrian traffic on Madison Street will be shifted to the north side of Madison Street to open a work zone on the south side of the road. Two-way traffic will be maintained with a single lane in each direction and one pedestrian sidewalk. Temporary signage and a mix of traffic cones and drums will be used to direct traffic.

Three crews are working all week, too, and this work takes place during the day (7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Contractors will be installing site lighting and traffic conduits in the area of Madison, Vernon and Harding streets and drainage improvements on Harding and Green streets and full-depth excavation, drainage and conduit work, as well as fence removal, on Madison Street. Got all that? It means guys in hardhats will be swarming the area with lots of big, loud equipment. This work takes place through Dec. 13. 

In the past week, the contractor has made progress on drainage improvements in the Harding Street North and Kelley Square area. Despite the snowstorm delaying some work on Madison Street, the contractor opened up the sidewalk on the north side of Madison Street and set it up for Stage A. In preparation for holiday activities, the contractor removed snow and prepared the Christmas Tree. 

If you just can’t get enough of all the goings ons of the project, go here.

 

State Announces 13th Annual Leading by Example Awards

The Baker-Polito Administration on Tuesday recognized eight Massachusetts state agencies, public higher education institutions, municipalities, and public sector individuals for their leadership in promoting clean energy and sustainability initiatives at the 13th annual Leading by Example Awards. Awardees were honored for policies and programs that advanced or brought about significant energy and emissions reductions, renewable energy installations, increased energy efficiency, waste minimization, sustainable transportation, and a host of initiatives that reduce environmental impacts associated with state and municipal operations and lower operating costs.

The Leading by Example (LBE) program is administered by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER). 

“Through collaboration between state and local leaders, Massachusetts remains a national leader in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Individuals, communities, institutions and agencies across the Commonwealth continue to take meaningful steps in sustainability that has a strong environmental impact across the state.”

Leading by Example efforts across state government are directly reducing energy and environmental impacts and lowering operating costs. State agencies, authorities and public higher education campuses have collectively reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 26% from a 2004 baseline, installed more than 27 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity on state lands, reduced heating oil use by 82%, eliminating the use of more than 18 million gallons of fuel, installed 148 electric vehicle charging stations, and converted more than 118 acres of lawn on state properties into productive pollinator habitats. 

LBE awards were presented to the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Department of Correction and in the state agency category, Berkshire Community College and UMass Lowell in the public higher education category, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and the City of Worcester in the municipal category, and Jillian Wilson-Martin of the town of Natick and Claudine Ellyin of the MA College of Art and Design in the individual categories.

Battle it Out! $13,750 in Scholarships Up for Grabs for High School Students

The Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce is dishing out a total of $13,750 in scholarships to graduating high school students. To apply for the scholarships, students must be a graduating high school senior who meets a minimum of two of the following criteria:

  • Reside in one of the Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber’s core towns of Westborough, Northborough, Southborough or Shrewsbury
  • The child of any person who is employed by a Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce member 
  • Plan to major or minor in business (i.e. finance, hospitality, entrepreneurship, marketing, communications, trades, etc.)

The applicant, too, has to be pursuing an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree or trade certification.  Awards will be granted based on achievement, leadership, work and/or internship experience, financial need, appearance of application, and a personal interview.  Only semi-finalists for scholarships will be invited for a personal interview.  

The application deadline is Thursday, Jan. 9..  Applications postmarked after the deadline date will not be considered and are to be delivered or mailed to: Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce, 30 Lyman St, Suite 6, Westborough, MA, 01581.

For any questions or to receive a copy of the application, email Karen Chapman at [email protected] or call the office at 508-836-4444.

 

Clark U. Polar Scientist Contributes to 14th Annual Arctic Report Card

The year 2019 was a solemn one for whales, seabirds and ice seals in the Bering Sea, and Clark University polar scientist Karen Frey predicts the future looks bleaker for these sea dwellers and the human indigenous communities that depend upon them as our waters continue to warm, threatening our marine ecosystems, according to an announcement from Clark University. 

Frey, who is an associate professor and associate director of Clark’s Graduate School of Geography, is lead author of “Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity: The response of marine algae to climate warming and sea ice decline,” a chapter in the 14th annual Arctic Report Card released this by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.  Compiled by 81 scientists from 12 nations, the 2019 report recounts the many ways that climate change has continued to disrupt the Arctic over the past year, with near-record high air and ocean temperatures, massive melting of the Greenland ice sheet, record low sea-ice extents, and major shifts in the distribution of commercially valuable marine species.

 “The vast majority of the Arctic Ocean has experienced clear, long-term trends of warming over the past several decades, leading to declining sea ice and increased marine plant growth,” said Professor Frey. “The Bering Sea, in particular, has experienced unprecedented declines in sea ice over the last two years, with resulting changes in algae growth to include observations of the presence of harmful algal blooms.”

 A nationally-recognized expert on polar ice melt, Professor Frey has served as lead author of the Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity chapter each time it has been included in the Arctic Report Card, beginning in 2011. Last year she was one of four scientists who announced the 2018 Arctic Report Card; the report was covered by more than 700 media outlets and reached an audience of an estimated 655 million people worldwide. Throughout her career, Professor Frey, together with her research collaborators, has received funding totaling more than $19 million. In April, she received a 5-year, $571,649 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue her collaborative research, “The Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO): A Change Detection Array in the Pacific Arctic Region.”

Professor Frey joined the Clark faculty in 2007 and has made frequent research trips to the Arctic with her students. 

 

Step Back in Time with Winter Whimsy at Salisbury Mansion 

Through Jan. 5 from 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, visitors are urged to stop in to the Salisbury Mansion, which is expertly decorated, room by room, with a “Winter Whimsy” theme. 

Here’s the breakdown of the room themes: 

Southeast Chamber/Dollhouse Room: “Toyland, Toyland” 

Middle Chamber: “Christmas on Pointe” 

Southwest Chamber: “All That Glitters is Not Gold…it’s MICA” 

Northwest Chamber: “Festive Worcester” 

Parlor: “O’Tannenbaum, O’Tannenbaum “

Front Drawing Room: “Over the River and Through the Woods” 

Back Drawing Room: “Joy and Wonder on Christmas Morning” 

Library: “Homemaid Christmas” 

Hallway: “Deck the Halls” 

On Friday evenings, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., there is also a candlelight tour at the Salisbury Mansion. That adds some extra pizzazz to the event. 

Go here for more info. 


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