Virginia, Winchester | featured news

Editor's note: All of our coronavirus stories are being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. For more coverage, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoronavirusMassachusetts/.The novel coronavirus pandemic has hit many industries hard, including the restaurant business.But despite the challenge of not being able to host sit-down customers due to [...]

Residents of Winchester will be seeing a 12 % increase in their water and sewer rates beginning this summer. The Select Board approved the measure at the April 6 meeting, in order to address a deficit of $1.3 million in water and sewer revenue.A proposal for the creation of a storm water utility unit was rejected by Town Meeting in 2019, necessitating a bump in rates in order for Winchester to be comparable to neighboring towns, according to Select Board Chairman Michael Bettencourt. [...]

APRIL 3, 2020.....Massachusetts officials will launch a large-scale contact tracing program with the help of a nonprofit health organization, aiming by the end of April to have about 1,000 people investigating and recording every instance of potential coronavirus transmission at a time when cases across the state are expected to soar into the tens of thousands.Public health experts at the state and local level are already working to track who might have been exposed to patients [...]

APRIL 6, 2020.....People across Massachusetts started wearing masks in public in noticeable numbers Saturday, adjusting to the latest aspect of the new COVID-19 normal a day after new federal guidance recommended "simple cloth face coverings" in public settings.The Centers for Disease Control said cloth face coverings could 'slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others." The government said coverings could be [...]

All of our coronavirus stories are being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. For more coverage go to winchester.wickedlocal.com/topics/coronavirus. Please support your local journalism and subscribe to the Winchester Star at https://explore.mypapertoday. [...]

The Winchester Public Library is located at 80 Washington St. For information, call 781-721-7171 or visit http://winpublib.org.Digital services during closureIf you’re looking for access to ebooks and audiobooks, try out some of these options:Hoopla (hoopladigital.com)• Free with your library card• Stream movies, ebooks, audiobooks, music, and [...]

A notice of cancelation was mailed last week and should now be received by all households. The Select Board voted unanimously to hold the election from 7 to 8 a.m. Saturday, June 20, 2020. The polling locations will be the standard locations:Precincts 1 & 2: Muraco SchoolPrecincts 3 & 4: McCall Middle SchoolPrecincts 5 & 6: Vinson-Owen SchoolPrecincts 7 & 8: Lynch SchoolDue [...]

The En Ka Society has made the difficult and disappointing decision to cancel this spring’s En Ka Fair, originally scheduled for the weekend of May 15-16. The decision was made both for public health reasons and because of impossible logistics due to mandatory closures. This is very sad news for our members, volunteers and our entire community who look forward to this annual tradition that began in 1935. We want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who have [...]

APRIL 7, 2020....In preparation for the potential that hospitals may run out of life-saving supplies to treat every COVID-19 patient that shows up at their door, state public health officials released guidance Tuesday to help providers make the grim choice about which patients to prioritize, advising the doctors treat the young and most likely to survive first.The recommendations were published by an advisory committee of medical experts and ethicists from Massachusetts convened [...]

State Rep. Mike Day of Stoneham has announced that his top aide has taken a new job with the state's Department of Public Health.Day made the announcement on April 6 that Ryan McGeown-Conron, his legislative chief, is leaving."It is with mixed emotions that I share with you all the news that my right hand, Ryan McGeown-Conron, has accepted a new position and will no longer be working as my legislative chief," Day said. "While we are very sad to lose Ryan, it should come as no [...]