MA Ed Chief Wants Mandatory Masks In Schools This Fall: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Friday, August 20. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Meteorologists are still trying to predict the exact track of Tropical Storm Henri, but with each new forecasting model it seems more likely Massachusetts residents should expect for a wet day on Sunday with high winds.
• Nurses in Worcester have agreed to accept a proposal from St. Vincent Hospital to end the six-month strike, but a new issue has emerged keeping the two sides apart: how to return striking nurses to their previous roles.
• A Braintree woman filed a lawsuit against Walmart after saying she suffered serious injuries when the top of a travel mug she bought exploded in her face.

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

Today's Top Story

The state is on the verge of revising its coronavirus masking guidance in public schools — at least temporarily — and mandating that all students and staff wear masks indoors to begin the school year this fall regardless of vaccination status.

State Board of Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said Friday morning that he is asking the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for authority to require all students and staff at public school to wear masks through at least the month of September "to ensure schools fully reopen safely and to provide time for more students and educators to get vaccinated."

The policy would then stay in place for all districts until 80 percent of students and staff are vaccinated.

Read the full story.

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Latest On Henri

Meteorologists are still trying to predict the exact track of Tropical Storm Henri, but with each new forecasting model it seems more likely Massachusetts residents should expect for a wet day on Sunday with high winds.

Henri was still classified as a tropical storm early on Friday afternoon and on the verge of being upgraded to a hurricane as wind speeds picked up. National Grid, the state's largest utility, said it already had 3,100 workers ready for emergency line work.

“As always, we’re monitoring the forecasts closely and we’re securing hundreds of additional crews to assist in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to respond as quickly and safely as we can,” said Michael McCallan, vice president of New England electric operations.

In addition to the potential for downed power lines, the National Weather Services says the storm carries an increased risk of flash floods in most parts of the state.

Friday's Other Top Stories

Striking nurses agree to offer: Nurses in Worcester have agreed to accept a proposal from St. Vincent Hospital to end the six-month strike, but a new issue has emerged keeping the two sides apart: how to return striking nurses to their previous roles. The two sides met in secret over four days this week, and negotiations ended with the nurses accepting an offer to boost staffing inside the hospital. But when the talks turned to returning the nurses to work, the two sides could not agree, according to dueling statements released Thursday.

Lawsuit over exploding mug: A Braintree woman filed a lawsuit against Walmart after saying she suffered serious injuries when the top of a travel mug she bought exploded in her face. Attorneys Eric Parker and Susan Bourque filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Boston on behalf of plaintiff Emily Hoard. In the complaint, Hoard claimed losses related to personal injuries because of a breach of warranty and negligence from Walmart.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Picture This: Once In A Blue Moon Happens Sunday

A blue moon will adorn the night sky on Sunday. The last seasonal blue moon occurred on Halloween in 2020. Unfortunately, Sunday's forecast is calling for lots of rain as the remnants of Tropical Storm Henri sweep by Massachusetts. If you miss this weekend's blue moon, you'll have a chance to catch the next one in just three short years.

In Case You Missed It

Tornado touches down in MA: The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed a tornado hit Clinton on Thursday afternoon as tropical storm Fred marched across the state. The weather service issued a tornado warning just after 1 p.m. Thursday for Clinton and a swath of central Massachusetts northeast to Acton and Ayer. Photos and videos captured scenes of whipping wind. The tornado left a path of downed trees and property damage across the town.

Life in prison for convicted cop killer: A Somerville man who fatally shot-and-killed Yarmouth police Sgt. Sean Gannon was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder Friday. Thomas Latanowich, 32, shot and killed Sgt. Sean Gannon and wounded his K-9 partner Nero in the attic of a Marstons Mills home on April 12, 2018. Gannon and six other officers were serving a warrant at the home when Latanowich opened fire, shooting Gannon in the head and hitting Nero in the face and neck, prosecutors said.

By The Numbers

15.3 percent: The increase in median sales price for homes sold in greater Boston in July 2020 from a year earlier. The media sales price in Boston last month was $640,000.