Back To School? Districts May Have No Choice: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Wednesday, March 3. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• It's all about schools today. Massachusetts accelerated its plan to vaccinate teachers, and the state education commissioner is seeking emergency authorization to force more districts into in-person learning.
• In Worcester, the City Council has taken an initial vote on removing school resource officers.
• One construction worker is dead and another critically injured after a stairwell collapse in an East Cambridge parking lot.

Scroll down for those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Wednesday’s Top Story

A full-time return to in-person learning looks to have gotten a lot closer Wednesday.

Educators across Massachusetts will be able to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting next week, news that comes on the heels of CVS opening appointments to teachers overnight.

Gov. Charlie Baker, acting under pressure from teachers' unions, parents, state lawmakers and now the president himself, announced all educators would be able to book appointments on the state website beginning March 11.

Shortly after Baker's announcement, the State House News Service reported the state Board of Education will vote this week on whether to grant the state education commissioner emergency authority to determine when hybrid and remote models will no longer count toward required student learning time hours.

Read the full story

Nearby News

• Framingham City Hall To Fully Reopen — Again
• Marlborough Hospital Moves Coronavirus Vaccinations To Marriott
• New Framingham District 2 School Committee Member Picked
• Wayland Firefighters Respond To Fire In Garage

Today’s Other Top Stories In Massachusetts

Expelling police?: The Worcester City Council took a first swing at a package of police reforms proposed by the city manager including an initial vote on a recommendation to remove school police officers. In a 6-5 vote, the Council sent that item to committee for further debate.

Indigenous Peoples Day: After an election in Wellesley on Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly elected to create a day marking the heritage of pre-colonial people. The ballot measure had been opposed by Italian-American groups in town.

Construction worker dies in stairwell collapse: One construction worker is dead and another critically injured after the stairwell they were working in collapsed in an East Cambridge parking garage. The workers were restoring the stairwell when it collapsed, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan's office said.

Looser restrictions pumping up gym owner: Nearly a year into the coronavirus health crisis — and seven months after his two Mass. Blink Fitness locations reopened in Beverly and Medford — Steve Stabile is starting to see some older, familiar faces once again. "Now that they've gotten vaccinated, they feel more comfortable and are excited to get back to the gym," he said. "They missed it."

They Said It

"The reporting party informed the officers this frightened her and pointed out the alleged Satan."
—Police about a T rider who said his "I am Satan" message was actually a pickup attempt.

By The Numbers

32 — That's how many years Darrell Jones spent in prison for a 1985 murder he didn't commit. Now Jones is suing the City of Brockton, its police department and nearly 20 former police officers.

Other local stories

• Lemonheads' Dando Plays Surprise Performance At Falmouth Store
• Salem Driver Charged In Death Of Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty
• Middlesex League Says State Education Plan Lacks Guidance
• As Town Moves To Buy, Milford Water Co. Valued At $66.3 Million