Deadly Chelmsford Fire + Westford Extends School Mask Mandate

Good morning, people of Westford! It's me again, Annie Sandoli, your host of the Westford Daily.

First, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy and breezy. High: 59 Low: 55.

Here are the top stories in Westford today:

1. Arlington nurse quit ICU job; after fall, she's a patient (YourArlington.com)
2. 1 Dead, 2 Injured Following Mobile Home Fire In Chelmsford (Chelmsford Patch)
3. Westford's Coalition for Non-Violence seeks support to keep victims of domestic abuse safe (Wicked Local)
4. LexArt exhibit celebrates 18th century Black Lexington woman (Wicked Local)
5. Fitchburg Cultural Council awards $53,000 in grants to local artists and organizations (Sentinel & Enterprise)
6. Leominster offering Restaurant Week and school vacation events (Sentinel & Enterprise)
7. Penny Pritzker '81 to Serve as First Female Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation | News (Harvard Crimson)
8. Westford needs to take big steps to tackle racism (The Boston Globe)
9. Update - Superintendent Search (sau81.org)
10. City Council approves Community Preservation Act awards (Lowell Sun)
11. Concord K-12s move to optional mask policy March 7, town rescinds mask policy Wednesday (Wicked Local)
12. Nashua mayor projects growth, but says cost of housing and state policy could hobble the city (The Union Leader)
13. Exploring the history of vaccines at first Public Health Museum (WCVB Boston)
14. Somerville MA Shooting: 3 Taken in Custody, 2 Still on the Loose (NBC10 Boston)
15. Judge blocks Michelle Wu’s Boston employee vaccine mandate, orders injunction (Boston Herald)
16. BEST WINTER EVER: Tubing is easy at the Nashoba Valley Tubing Park (WFSB)
17. Wynn Resorts announces sale of Encore Boston Harbor; will continue to operate casino, hotel (WCVB Boston)
18. The Five Minute Read (Lowell Sun)
19. Tyngsboro High announces January Students of the Month (Lowell Sun)
20. Woburn Parent Suing After Teen Allegedly Attacked By Teammates At High School (CBS Boston)
21. Harvard professor, Democratic candidate Danielle Allen drops out of Massachusetts governor's race (WCVB Boston)
22. Boston Sports Club will refund thousands of customers their membership fees in Waltham and Canton (MassLive.com)
23. Two-alarm fire in Lowell displaces five (Lowell Sun)
24. Westford police hold 'learn to skate' event (Wicked Local)
25. State board denies Framingham's bid to fund new southside school (MetroWest Daily News)
26. With divided vote, Westford school board extends mask mandate through March 4 (Wicked Local)

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Today in Westford:

• Economic Development Committee - Town of Westford (8:15 AM)
• Human Rights Club ADL GSA - Westford Academy (2:00 PM)
• Board of Health - Town of Westford (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Westford Police Department: "Today is National School Resource Officer Day (SRO) and here at the Westford PD we are extremely lucky to have two exceptional SRO’s. Det. Eracleo is the SRO assigned to the Nashoba Valley Technical High School, and Det. Bernadin is the ..." (Facebook)

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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with another update.

— Annie Sandoli

About me: Annie has been a Boston-based writer since 2018, after graduating with her BA in Social Thought and Political Economy from UMass Amherst and ALM in journalism from Harvard University. She has worked as a freelancer throughout Massachusetts and as part of an editorial team in London, UK. Her interests include music and the arts, creative writing and literature, and topics of social and political justice. Annie covers Brookline, Newton, Waltham, Chelmsford and Westford. Email news tips to annie.sandoli@patch.com.