Group Raises Money To Plant Trees For Every COVID Death: Patch PM

Teachers Blast Updates To Vaccination Plan:NEWTON, MA — It's Tuesday, Jan. 22. The temperature rose above 34 degrees in greater Boston so that's a win. Here's what Patch has been covering in greater Boston and across Massachusetts today.

Many people have been struggling to handle the magnitude of the loss of so many as the pandemic has swept through the country and into their backyard. One young Newton woman didn't want those lives to be forgotten, so she came up with an idea.

"I was upset about all the people who had lost their lives and wanted to see if we could do something," said Elizabeth Sockwell.

As she thought about how to memorialize their lives, she got the idea to plant something beautiful, as a growing memorial that wouldn't just disappear. She reached out to an organization and some people who know a thing or two about greening the city, and now, they've raised enough money to plant more than 60 trees. But so far, 170 people have died related to the coronavirus in town, so they still have a ways to go. Read the rest of the story.

Elsewhere in greater Boston

Boston Marathon Officials Set Date For 2021 Marathon: Boston Marathon officials announced the fall 2021 date for the famous road race with "cautious optimism."

Don't Call Brookline Health Department About Vaccine: As with pretty much every health department out there these days, Brookline's health department has been inundated calls about the vaccine. It's causing such a disruption to regular work, they've opened a COVID-19 vaccine call center to field questions.

10 Complaints Against Newton Police In 2020: A man accused a Newton police officer of "escalating" a traffic interaction when he told the man he shouldn't swerve into his lane.

Arlington Vaccine Supply Comes Up Short: The town said it received fewer doses of the vaccine than it requested and can only offer Wednesday's clinic to a limited amount of workers.

Charges Against Man Who Hit, Dragged Man With His Car Upgraded To Murder: The man accused of fatally crashing his car into Henry Tapia, who was Black, and then using a racial epithet in Belmont last week is now facing a murder charge.

And in case you missed it: Popular Brookline Coffee Shop To Close

Across Massachusetts

They were in line first: Massachusetts teachers are upset after Gov. Baker bumped people over the age of 65 ahead of them on the priority list for getting the coronavirus vaccine.

"The Baker administration must do a better job," the head of the state's largest teachers union said blasting the latest update to the state vaccination plan.

Having trouble reading this? It may be because of a widespread internet outage affecting the U.S. People posting on Twitter reported having issues connecting with various online services in a geographic area stretching from Washington to Boston. Disruptions to internet services are always a hassle, but have become even more excruciating as the pandemic forces millions of people to work from home and students to attend school remotely.

And finally today:

Let it snow: Much of Massachusetts will see snow this afternoon and into Wednesday, with the eastern parts of the state looking at a dusting to three inches. But a bigger storm could be taking shape and hit us on Sunday.

Got a tip? Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.