A total of 356 undergraduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) completed research-driven, professional-level projects that apply science and technology to address an important societal need or issue.
Known as the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), this project is a core part of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI. Centered around project-based learning, this hands-on approach offers students opportunities to help develop thoughtful solutions to open-ended problems. These real-world problems affect the quality of life for people in the communities where students work, giving students a chance to make a difference in the world before they graduate. About two-thirds of WPI students complete their IQPs at one of the university’s 50+ off-campus project centers located in more than 30 countries around the world.
“The WPI project-based curriculum’s focus on global studies brings students out of the classroom and their comfort zones and into the global community to apply their knowledge and to solve problems,” said Professor Kent Rissmiller, professor of International & Global Studies and associate dean of The Global School. “Students are immersed in all aspects of a different culture-from the way people live and work to the values they hold to the foods they eat, all valuable perspectives for surviving and thriving in today’s global marketplace. They also learn the meaning and magic of teamwork; make a real and meaningful difference in their host community; and gain a competitive edge for any resume, or graduate or professional school application.”
The following students were part of a team that completed an intensive project:
Matthew Hybertson from Kingston, class of 2026, majoring in Mechanical Engineering, completed a project titled Exploring History Through SantaFe.live’s Interactive Archive.
Colby O’Connell from Kingston, class of 2026, majoring in Aerospace Engineering, completed a project titled Evaluating Nordural’s School of Heavy Industry.
WPI is a top-tier STEM-focused research university and a recognized pioneer and global leader in project-based learning. WPI was founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems.
, WPI’s continued mission is to transform lives, turn knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionize STEM through distinctive and inclusive education, projects, and research. WPI’s project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. Today WPI offers more than 70 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 18 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. To help address ongoing challenges, improve lives, and help create a more sustainable world, WPI faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research in such areas as the life sciences, smart technologies, materials and manufacturing, and global initiatives.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has opened a Public Comment Period for the MBTA Communities Act now through Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
To access the public comment form online, go to https://www.mass.gov/forms/mbta-communities-regulations-public-comment-form
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) had filed emergency regulations with the Secretary of the Commonwealth to support ongoing implementation of the MBTA Communities Law.
The filing came six days after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion affirming that the state’s MBTA Communities Law is constitutional. The decision affirmed that under the law each of the 177 communities included in the MBTA Communities Law must have at least one zoning district of reasonable size where multifamily housing is permitted as of right. It also affirmed the Attorney General’s right to enforce the law.
As part of the opinion, the court wrote that the previous administration did not correctly advance the guidelines for the law’s implementation. The court directed EOHLC to publish the law’s guidelines in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act in order for the law to be enforceable. Emergency regulations are in effect immediately and for 90 days. EOHLC intends to adopt regulations permanently following a public comment period.
“These regulations will allow us to continue moving forward with implementation of the MBTA Communities Law, which will increase housing production and lower costs across the state,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These regulations allow communities more time to come into compliance with the law, and we are committed to working with them to advance zoning plans that fit their unique needs. We look forward to soon celebrating more communities joining the 116 that have already said yes to housing.”
“Firefighters, teachers and essential workers deserve to live in the communities they serve,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Cities and towns that have taken action recognize that the MBTA Communities Law creates housing opportunities for their residents, and we look forward to supporting communities who have yet to act and help them come into compliance.”
The emergency regulations do not substantively change the law’s zoning requirements and do not affect any determinations of compliance that have been already issued by EOHLC. The regulations do provide additional time for MBTA communities that failed to meet prior deadlines to come into compliance with the law.
“We want to make sure these communities have adequate time to develop their zoning, conduct public engagement activities and bring that zoning to their local legislative bodies,” said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “Local involvement is critical in developing zoning districts that put multifamily housing where communities have determined are the best locations.”
Communities that did not meet prior deadlines must submit a new action plan to the state, outlining their plan to achieve compliance, by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2025. These communities will have until July 14, 2025, to submit a district compliance application to the state.
Communities designated as adjacent small towns still have a Dec. 31, 2025, deadline to adopt zoning.
A total of 116 communities have already adopted multifamily zoning districts as a result of the law and more than 3,000 housing units are already in the pipeline to be built in adopted districts.
The MBTA Communities Law (Section 3A of the state Zoning Act) was passed near-unanimously in 2021 by a bipartisan Legislature with the intention of removing exclusionary zoning barriers to housing production. The law requires 177 communities to zone for multifamily housing. It does not require development.
Multifamily zoning district design is a locally controlled process. More information on community categories, deadlines, and zoning requirements can be found on the Mass.gov website under “What is an MBTA Community”?

Plympton Town Clerk Tara Shaw has announced that nomination papers for the town’s annual election of officers are available during regular town clerk hours, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The last day to submit nomination papers to the Board of Registrars is Friday, March 28, 2025.
Positions for election include one Selectman for three years, one Board of Assessor member for three years, one Board of Health member for three years, one Constable for one year, two Finance Committee members for three years, two Library Trustees for three years, one Library Trustee for two years, one Moderator for three years, one Planning Board member for five years, one Plympton School Committee member for three years, and one Silver Lale Regional School Committee member for three years
Town election will be held Saturday, May 17. Residents may cast their ballots from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Route 58, Plympton.
If you are not registered to vote, the last day to register to vote for the Annual and Special Town Meetings is Friday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The annual town meeting will be held at the Dennett Elementary School, 80 Crescent St., on Wednesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. The Special Town Meeting, within the Annual Town Meeting, will be Wednesday, May 14, at 8 p.m.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The Selectmen had an appointment with Mike Martin and Health Agent Bob Valery to discuss Hemlock landfill repair options. Martin, who has been working on monitoring the landfill since 2008, is a Project Environmental Scientist and Senior Program Manager with TRC Companies, Inc. He said that in 2021 he began noticing additional erosion which has continued to worsen since then.
As far as what has been done in 2024 with the landfill, Martin said that in February there was drone imaging completed and in March they developed landfill repair and expanded solar concept. In June of 2024 the wetland delineation was completed and in July they completed a site walk with MassDEP. Finally, in September they met with the Town Administrator and Board of Health in Halifax regarding next steps.
Martin also walked through a brief history of the landfill saying that from the 1930’s to 1971 it operated as a burn dump. From 1971 to 1977 it operated as a municipal solid waste landfill. He said that doing repair work every few years will, in the long run, cost as much or more than doing one major repair to deal with the problems in their entirety. He said that this kind of “patchwork” is not addressing the overall erosion problem.
Martin presented the first repair option with an associated cost of approximately $40k. This would include removing sediment from the drainage swale and culvert, removing a portion of the swale that has collapsed, and regrading erosion areas. Martin noted that this option does not address the underlying issues that are causing the erosion. He said that the erosion is occurring somewhere in the range of 4-10 years.
Option 2 includes rebuilding the entire side slope at a much higher cost. The benefit would be that it would be a long-term solution. “How is it we can charge the construction company to bring soil in for a government project?” Chair John Bruno asked. Martin explained, “MassDep back in 2013 and 2015, they issued some soil policies… they have a lot of excess construction soil out there that contractors have to get rid of… so when they go to get rid of it, they pay a fee so they have these facilities that take that clean soil and charge a nominal fee depending on the level of contamination.” He said that all of the construction costs would be covered by the soil. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that based on MA General Law they may have to appropriate the funds before being reimbursed.
Selectman Jonathan Selig asked what type of soil would be being brought in and was told it was typical of what you would naturally find in a residential environment. “We’re not looking at any type of contaminated soil or anything like that?” Selig asked and was assured that was not the case. Martin was also asked about the pesticide used to kill invasive species and was told that it would be injected directly into the ground rather than being sprayed.
Bruno asked if they even had enough money to fund option one and Haddad said they would need to make a capital request and bring it to town meeting. Bruno said that they would need to do some research regarding the project as well as financing for either option. Bruno said he would also like to take a tour of the area to better understand.
The Selectmen also met with John Guiod regarding an appointment to the Conservation Commission. Guiod was a firefighter for 23 years and currently works part-time as a paramedic. Asked about what sparked his interest in the Commission, he said, “It starts with living on the lake and, of course, having 250 acres of water in my backyard, it raises some interest in that.” He also said that he is at Burrage several times a week. Guiod also said that he recently joined the Monponsett Watershed Association. “I would encourage independent thinking which I think is important for any Board or Committee or Commission; some voices are louder than others and I would just encourage you to stay the path and keep your own voice,” Selectman Thomas Pratt said. Pratt also asked if Guiod had any close personal relationships with existing members of the Commission and was told he did not.
The Selectmen and Haddad also discussed Haddad’s performance review as they approached the anniversary of his hiring. While Haddad received high marks across the board, the area where there was room for greatest improvement was transparency. Haddad said he attempted to provide outreach to the community through things like Cody’s Corner online. Pratt said that his marks were more geared toward what he sees as a lack of trust between the public and the Selectmen and Town Administrator in general. “I don’t think it’s reflective of effort and I don’t put him [Haddad] alone on it either; I put us on it as well. And I don’t think it’s a transparency thing, I think it’s a disconnect,” Pratt said.
Later in the meeting when discussing the procurement of energy resources Haddad said, “we are not part of an aggregation, so a lot of communities team up with other communities and then they go out as a conglomerate and buy electricity for the residents at kind of a bulk rate and Halifax was not part of that… I worked with Colonial Power and we locked in a rate… I’m happy to share that this past quarter we saved the community, as a whole, $71,000 and over the past five quarters we’ve saved Halifax residents just over $500,000.” Bruno referred back to the transparency issue saying, “I would like to see this kind of information better broadcast… maybe the social media thing needs to have a little bit about this.” Haddad said that he was working to condense and consolidate the social media piece.
The Selectmen also took up an amended Host Community Agreement with Elevated Roots. The State has mandated that the three percent impact fee be removed though Haddad noted that they still get the three percent local tax. The Selectmen voted to approve the updated agreement.
They also took up an employment contract with Kathy Evans for a Public Health Nurse. Haddad said that it was through the Public Health Excellence Grant. “It’s six communities that are part of this; we get a substantial amount of money from the State that fully funds it and basically it allows for each of the six communities to provide public health services above and beyond the bare minimum,” Haddad said.
Evans would serve as a nurse for all six communities at no cost to those municipalities. Selig asked if her being a member of the Conservation Commission would be a conflict of interest. Haddad said she would need to submit a form to be hired as a special municipal employee which would be approved by the Selectmen. Pratt asked about what her hiring process was like and Haddad said that several applicants were brought before Valery and the rest of the hiring committee. Pratt asked how many applicants there were and Haddad said he didn’t have that information. They said that they would vote to approve the contract at a subsequent meeting.
The Selectmen did approve a number of other contracts including one with Paul S. Kapinos & Associates, Inc. as well as the Lakeville Animal Shelter.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Jan. 6. The Selectmen voted in favor of an Issuance of Boston Post Cane to Inez Murphy. The awarding of a Boston Post Cane to the oldest resident in a town in New England dates back to 1909. Selectman Mark Russo explained, “It wasn’t until 1930 that the tradition was extended to include women, so far enough back that things were pretty different.” Murphy was born on March 1, 1928 and will be 97 on her next birthday. Selectmen Chair John Traynor said, “Inez sits on the Council on Aging. She’s always fun to be around. She’s just one of those people that’s very upbeat and she’s older than I am.” The Selectmen decided to invite her to a meeting around Memorial Day. “We want to know her secrets,” Russo said.
Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte attended the meeting to give a departmental update for the Highway Department. Firlotte said that all the necessary equipment was up-to-date for snow removal. “With our snow contractors, the contracts/insurance binders have been signed, received, and copies have been sent to the Treasurer’s office as well as contracts for sand, salt, and the liquid ice melt,” Firlotte said.
Regarding Chapter 90 funds, State funds to assist in improvement of local public ways, Firlotte said they received just over $111k for fiscal year ’25. Firlotte said that their RDP (Recyling Dividends Program) earned $4,200 which they will use for cameras at the Transfer Station. “We’ve had some issues with waste management leaving the gate open, backing into the gate, and costing us repairs so it will be nice to have everything under surveillance,” he explained. He noted that they’ve had to pay up to $1,800 for gate repairs in the past.
Traynor said he would like to see a buzzer system implemented especially for seniors who may need assistance at the Transfer Station. Firlotte said that sticker sales for the Transfer Station have begun and will go through the end of March.
Firlotte told the Selectmen that he had his second meeting with Mass DOT regarding the numbered roads program for Route 106. He said they began discussing scope of work and will have another meeting shortly. Traynor asked when work would begin and was told the spring with it hopefully being completed by July. The hope is to address drainage issues. Firlotte said that they plan to address an area that causes puddling where there was a fatal accident about a decade ago.
Russo asked about the Pay as You Throw program which he noted was started two years ago and met with quite a bit of resistance and concern from the townspeople. Firlotte said, “It’s been going very well… it saves a good amount of money; I think $60 grand last year.” He continued saying, “It was change and a lot of people don’t like change but since then our tonnages have decreased on solid waste and it has decreased our operating cost which is huge.” Russo said, “That’s kind of a case study in how to present it and how to wrestle or deal with resistance and that’s a success story.” Before Firlotte left, Selectman Dana Smith said his only recommendation would be to have the Transfer Station hours and other pertinent information posted on social media.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy provided a town update. She said that there was a recent heating issue at the library but said that it has since been resolved. She said that they got a lot of “great support” from their vendor Energy Source. She also gave a special shout out to Ross MacPherson of the Town Properties Committee for his help in the matter.
Dennehy also said that department budgets are beginning to roll in to her. She said that she planned to meet with the schools as well as the Halifax and Kingston Town Administrators. Traynor said it was going to be a tough year between “the supplies in the school, the firehouse coming.” He continued saying, “It’s going to be an interesting town meeting.”
The Selectmen voted to open the warrants for acceptance of articles for the special and annual town meetings. The warrants will close the end of March.
Per tradition, the Selectmen ended the meeting with their raves. Russo said, “though the holidays are wonderful, I’m kind of glad they’re over. It’s good to get back into a regular cycle of getting to work and I think that combined with the warrants opening, it’s that time of year when we earn our keep so looking forward to getting the work done.” Traynor said that his rave was for the Santa Clause that the Fire Department does every year. “Kudos for George Colby and his wife Sandy for doing that; it’s always a hit,” he added.

Author James Parr will discuss his book “World War II Massachusetts,” on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Adams Center, 33 Summer St., Kingston, at 6 p.m.
Over 500,000 Massachusetts residents responded to the call of military duty during the Second World War, while many of the commonwealth’s citizens fought the war on the home front. Everyone around the state – including pets – found creative and essential ways to contribute to the war effort.
Thousands worked in factories, volunteered for Civil Defense, watched for enemy aircraft, and took part in salvage collections and bond drives, all while dealing with rationing, blackouts, rumors, and a host of other wartime inconveniences. Numerous more served on its military bases that were crucial to the nations defense. Parr reveals the stories of these brave and dedicated citizens – from the famous to the ordinary – as they faced wartime challenges.
Parr taught elementary school in Malden, Needham, and Framingham for 34 years before retiring in 2022. He has been a long-time volunteer at the Framingham History Center, where he created popular programs such as the Haunted Halloween Trolley Tour. His other History Press titles include, Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown, Framingham Legends and Lore, and Murder and Mayhem in Metrowest Boston (with co-author Kevin A. Swope).
To register for this event, please visit our website at kingstonpubliclibrary.org. For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at [email protected].

EASTON – North Easton Savings Bank proudly announces that it is ranked one of the Top Places to Work for 2024 in the mid-size business category by The Boston Globe. This is the 3rd consecutive year the Bank has been recognized by The Boston Globe as a Top Places to Work.
This 2024 Top Places to Work award arrives at the end of an award-winning banner-year for the Bank: Previously winning USA Today’s Top Workplaces USA, Boston Business Journal’s Corporate Citizenship, and Financial Services Industry Top Workplaces Awards in 2024.
The annual study bases the awards solely on employee feedback and surveying and recognizes the most admired workplaces in the state. The survey measures employee opinions about their workplace’s direction, leadership, pay and benefits, commitment to employee well-being, and professional growth, among other criteria.
Rankings are broken into four size categories with North Easton Savings Bank in the mid-size business grouping. The Bank has achieved a top 50 rank each of the past three years.
“For the third year, we are honored to be included on this esteemed list,” said Rich Spencer, President & Chief Executive Officer of North Easton Savings Bank. “Our bank is known for valuing its employees and the diverse perspectives and backgrounds they bring to the team – all with the common goal of helping our customers thrive.”
Added Spencer, “Heartfelt gratitude to our incredible employees across the organization who every day, diligently support our customers and the communities we serve. I thank them for their camaraderie, mutual support of one another, and for creating an exceptional environment where building a career is truly rewarding.”
North Easton Savings Bank offers a full slate of comprehensive benefits, including tuition reimbursement and professional development, employee recognition programs, and an employee assistance program. The Bank has also instituted formal employee feedback loops, multiple annual employee events, and employee led social clubs.
About North Easton Savings Bank
Recognized as the leading alternative to using a big-bank, NESB is an award-winning local bank with over $1.6 billion in assets. Founded in 1864, North Easton Savings Bank has a proven track record of growing the community through fair banking practices, local reinvestments, and philanthropy. All deposits are insured in full at North Easton Savings Bank. North Easton Savings Bank is insured by the FDIC and the DIF and is also an Equal Housing Lender. For more information, please visit NESB.com.