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Happy Friday and welcome to our first Amherst weekly report I'm Claire Healy and I'll be going through the news out of Amherst, Massachusetts from this past week First off Amherst Cinema has announced its intention to reopen in late September The cinema closed its theaters in March following the onset of the pandemic and moved its facilities to a virtual cinema with ticket sales supporting the cinema directly Amherst Cinema set in a statement released July 8th that they expect to set the opening date towards the end of the summer and will continue monitoring public health guidelines So that their opening complies with the safety regulations Ahead of the reopening the cinema will undergo a lobby renovation as well as seat replacements for three of its theaters The cinema is also campaigning to raise funds for their renovations Allowing people to name seats with custom plaques as part of the fundraising effort in-person reopening is is Is a challenging one and we're taking it, you know, very seriously And it's not something that we're just gonna do because we can We're gonna do it because we it's the right thing to do a number of population would be considered high risk So we we took we took that threat seriously You know, we do always try to position ourselves and as a responsible, you know, public citizen And we do feel strongly about our mission and what we do and the importance of Independent cinema and filmmakers You know potential to effect change and to change people's lives and to entertain people Especially in a difficult time like this COVID-19 emergency rental assistance is available to residents in Amherst experiencing a loss or reduction of income due to complications from the pandemic The town of Amherst in the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund will be providing these funds in a three-month period to eligible residents chosen through a lottery The allocated funds amount to around $250,000 in emergency rental assistance Preference will be given to families with children under age 18 and will only be available to residents who meet a select set of requirements These requirements include Amherst residency Loss or reduction of income as a result of COVID-19 and a demonstrated inability to cover rent during a three-month period Furthermore, the household annual gross income cannot exceed the 80% area median income The town website lists exactly what this means in numbers for income limit as varied by numbers of people in the house For example, if you are one person living in your household, your income limit is $47,850 Households living in state or federal subsidized public housing or residents already participating in a local state or federal rental assistance program are not eligible Neither households made up of entirely college students with some exceptions Residents must apply by August 6th and can do so on Community Action Pioneer Valley's website at communityaction.us slash Amherst rental assistance Last September residents of North Village and Lincoln Apartments were officially notified by the University of Massachusetts Amherst That their housing complex was going to be demolished to make way for new graduate housing North Village is a housing complex created in 1971 for graduate students and their families The Lincoln Apartments are also a graduate housing complex, but they are located on campus In the initial notice the University said that graduate students had to move out by June 2020 And that they would be given priority in the new housing complex, which they project projected to finish by fall 2022 The notice said that rent would stay the same for families who agree to move to alternative housing provided by the University The University has said that in in the place of these two housing complexes. They will build another two student complexes In a recent article by the Gazette Residents describe this foreclosure as a blow to their unique tight-knit community and a loss of this diverse international space in Amherst On July 10th Amherstown manager Paul Backelman expressed his concern about the University of Massachusetts Amherst's reopening plan in a letter to UMass Amherst Chancellor Subhaswamy Backelman said that the Chancellor's reopening plan caused for some concerns for the safety of Amherst residents Monday, July 21st the Town Council discussed this letter and what the fall may look like as students come back to the valley admits the COVID-19 pandemic Backelman said that he was worried about the possible strain on local hospital capacity increased tension over student gatherings and Potential friction if police are responding to complaints of student gatherings. We worry about If there is an outbreak our our biggest concern is in the public health of our of our community We we are concerned is that there will be spread of the disease that if the disease spreads at a Very large rate we worry about the capacity of our local medical facilities to handle that kind of surge We worry about any kind of spread community widespread on our K to 12 school system And And then I think well, we will notice most likely and we're already starting to see it that many of our year-round residents are seeing Smallish parties and by Amherst standards But people are starting to call and say there's a party on this at this private house and they're not social distancing They're not wearing masks. That's going to create additional Drain on resources for the town and responses because we respond to every call One request by council members was that the university tree on campus and off-campus students the same in terms of their expectations and their health care The council asked the quarantine spaces be provided to all students as well as a mandatory a quarantine period upon arrival U.S. Is expecting to have around 7,000 students living on campus approximately 50% of their normal population Meanwhile Amherst College is expecting around 1,200 students Around 60% of their normal occupancy The chancellor responded to the council's concerns in a press conference Town manager Backelman said that while they have more to discuss. He felt like the university heard their concerns The Amherst town council passed a resolution on June 29th condemning any anti-asian sentiment or xenophobia in and around the town of Amherst This action follows similar ones around the country that have been put in place as a reaction to the rise of anti-asian sentiment and rhetoric during the pandemic The resolution acknowledges this explicitly saying that the use of terms such as the quote Chinese virus or the quote Wuhan virus have contributed to an environment of xenophobia In addition to condemning anti-asian xenophobia in actions The resolution calls on town public officials to combat misinformation and discrimination That puts Asians and Asian Americans at risk Amherst town council has approved the budget for the 2021 fiscal year for a total sum of 68.27 million This budget reflects town manager Paul Backelman's recommendation for cuts to the budget following financial strain as a result of the pandemic The finance committee's proposal passed with a 12 to 0 vote and one member absent Before passing the budget the council passed a motion to not fill two vacant positions in the police department's budget Without fully considering the alternatives in consultation with the town council and the residents of Amherst They have to do so no later than January 31st 2021 The budget that passed on Monday, July 20th keeps the existing police force intact Turning down a push from the racial equity task force and defund 413 Amherst to cut the police budget by 52 percent The budget also added an additional $80,000 to quote engage the community as we explore identify and implement strategies to confront systematic racism a New playground has opened in Amherst at Groff Park following a socially distant ribbon-cutting ceremony To remain the standard six feet apart each official and committee member received their own ribbon to cut Instead of the traditional one ribbon This is a beautiful park It's been made even more beautiful by what has been done with the contributions of so many people Both their time and the money I'm here on behalf of a lot of other people who put a lot of work into this It's been a five to seven year effort to make this a reality Let's hear the other day and a lot of seniors who are here sitting on this little swing because it's really pleasant And so it's not just for kids. It's for anybody of any age The playground features climbing structures slides and swings as well as decorative sculptural elements When electrical components delayed by the pandemic are accessible Likely in August the town's first spray park will open next to the playground where there used to be a waiting pool There are also plans for a path to be built on East Hadley Road that will run from nearby apartment complexes straight to the playground and Finally at the beginning of July for eight days International students around the country didn't know if they would be able to remain in the US if their classes are online this fall The US Immigration Customs and Enforcement Agency does not allow international students to take more than one online course However in the spring following the start of the pandemic they allowed students to do so and still keep their visas However, July 6th, they rescinded that exception which meant that international students whose colleges were moving online this fall Would lose their student visas and have to leave the country or face deportation This did to impact international students in the five college system with F1 and M1 visas The exception being Hampshire college students who are returning to an in-person class schedule However following national outrage and a number of lawsuits including one led by Massachusetts Attorney General Mara Healy The Trump administration allowed a stay on this rule meaning the March exception is back in place That's all for this evening. This has been the Amherst weekly report. I'm Claire Healy have a wonderful weekend And we hope you will join us at the same time next week