 This program is brought to you by cable franchise fees and generous donations from viewers like you You're watching the Amherst weekly report from Amherst media I'm Claire Healy and this is the news out of Amherst, Massachusetts from this past week President Biden has issued a number of executive orders since being sworn into the Oval Office That personally impact a large portion of the country and undo a number of Trump era policies Regarding immigration, he ended former President Trump's ban on US entry from majority Muslim countries and incorporated undocumented immigrants into the census He also strengthened deferred action for childhood arrivals or DACA and issued a proclamation pulling funds from the border wall In an effort to more vigorously combat the pandemic, he issued an executive order coordinating a government-wide COVID-19 response and he made mask-wearing and social distancing in all federal buildings mandatory He created the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force to address inequity within the COVID-19 pandemic through providing recommendations on allocation of resources and funding Regarding the economy, he issued an executive order promoting a bi-American agenda President Biden also focused a lot on issues of equity and human rights He addressed a number of assistance programs, expanding food assistance programs and investigating Trump era housing policies He issued an executive order banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation and ended the ban barring transgender people from joining the military Focusing on the climate crisis, he rejoined the Paris Climate Accords and ended the Keystone Pipeline of Project He issued an executive order supporting the reopening and continuing operation of schools and continued the freeze on student loans These are only a few of the many executive orders and proclamations that the President has issued to address the climate crisis, inequity and COVID-19 The year 2020 was full of both inspiring and catastrophic worldwide events With so much going on in only a year, people turned to books to become more educated or escape the difficult reality of the pandemic Amherst Weekly reports field correspondent Rebecca Duffy went to Amherst Books in search of the books that shaped 2020 as a year 2020 was certainly a year to remember with a worldwide pandemic, protests surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and many other historical events But for those who may forget, there are books that influence 2020 that may help them remember Co-owner of Amherst Books, Shannon Ramsey sat down to discuss some of the books that influenced 2020 You can't talk about 2020 without talking about how to be an anti-racist by Ibram Exkendi I think this book is like 2020 in a nutshell During the protests of George Floyd's murder last June, anti-racist books became bestsellers, including this one After George Floyd's murder, a lot of the conversation turned towards listening to Black voices, and that's when this book really exploded Shannon also picked out some children's books Stamped is a book about the history of racist ideas in the United States written for children It's starting to really just become a really big influence on how we talk to kids and what's important to tell kids of all colors about racism in this country It is nearly impossible to talk about 2020 without mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic One book written about the pandemic is And The People Stayed Home by Kitty Omira It really just gently explains the pandemic and it really struck a hopeful note about the pace of everything slowing down And it's just a lot of, it's captured a lot of people's hearts and imaginations Other books Shannon selected are Untamed by Glen and Doyle A memoir about how women can become untamed from the patriarchy And Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry A touching father-daughter story about grief and familial love If you are looking to read these or any other books, you can go to Amherst Books for curbside pickup Or the store will be open after February 16th of this year For Amherst Weekly Report, I'm Rebecca Duffy An Amherst development team is preparing to build a four-story mixed-use department building at 348 Northampton Road According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the building will feature 72 apartments on the upper floors And an ophthalmologist practice on the ground floor Nine of the studio and one-bedroom apartments will be affordable housing U Drive South LLC is leading this project after acquiring two properties for $2.45 million In the past two weeks, Massachusetts has begun vaccinating both staff and inmates at Department of Correction facilities This accounts for roughly 22,000 inmates and correctional facility workers statewide, according to numbers from the Boston Globe So far, as of this week, only around 1,400 people held in DOC facilities have been immunized, as well as roughly 1,600 doses given to staff according to reporting by WBUR Yet fears remain among those who qualify due to misinformation and distrust surrounding the vaccine Unlike many other states, Massachusetts has placed both correctional staff and incarcerated individuals within Phase 1 designations for vaccines These types of environments, similar to long-term care facilities for the elderly, pose a higher risk of viral transmission, both within the facility and the wider community due to their density Those within them are also more likely to have pre-existing conditions, which leave them more vulnerable to severe complications of COVID-19 Former UMass Minutemen ice hockey star and local resident John Leonard recently made his NHL debut on the San Jose Sharks earlier this month The Amherst Weekly reports Chris McLaughlin spoke with Alyssa Leonard, John's older sister who works as assistant athletic director for sales and fan experience for UMass athletics Before the coronavirus pandemic, the sibling pair worked side by side John helped lead the Minutemen to the team's first NCAA men's hockey championship game in 2019 And Alyssa works to promote and market UMass's varsity sports programs Alyssa described how when her first current role with UMass athletics opened up, it gave her a chance to return to her hometown while at the same time John's hockey career was rising at UMass John's first year at UMass, I was watching every game I could on TV, but being in athletics, there were very often times my schedule conflicted with what his games were So getting the chance to come home and watch him in person and be part of it with my family was so special My first year back was that national tournament run where they made it all the way to the national championship And that was the biggest blessing for me just to be able to say hi to John after every game and be in the stands with our family cheering him on So like I said, our family is very close and all three of us and my parents included couldn't be prouder of him and are so happy that he played his college career here so we could be part of it Alyssa also spoke about the significance of the Leonard's being a local family and how appreciative and humbled they are by the support of the community We moved here in 2001 so John was just three years old so this is really kind of the only home that he knows And just having him be that hometown kid has just been so special, he has so much pride in being from Amherst and the 413 and he's built such a life here with so many friends in the hockey world Playing starting in Amherst hockey all the way up to junior Falcons and all the way up through cathedrals So yeah John just has so much pride in being from here in the local area and being the marketing director of hockey When he was here all of these elementary schools when we were trying to work things out with hockey team appearances they were like hey can John Leonard come? He's the local kid and there were a lot of opportunities actually where we got him to be able to go back to Fort River elementary school which is where we all went to school And he was back in the classrooms that he was in telling the kindergartners like hey when I was five years old I had a dream and I wanted to go to the NHL And at that point he still had a lot of work to do to get there but now it's a reality and he's just so proud to be from here Again this has been his dream since he was five years old and you know our family there was never a doubt he was gonna find a way to do it because he just He has that drive that determination that work ethic you know both on and off the ice that you need in order to make this your life and you know I can say that he's done that and it seems like he's still doing that out in San Jose I would just say that our entire family is just so grateful for everyone's support in the area You know the night he had his debut you know parents of kids that John played with way back in the day you know to everyone we know in town like it's just It's been so humbling to receive everyone's support and we are so grateful and you know there's a lot of people that made this possible Despite successfully joining the NHL John Leonard's road to San Jose was not without difficulties according to Alyssa John's college career ended on March 13th 2020 when the NCAA tournament was canceled due to the pandemic Yet a silver lining came on the same day when San Jose asked John to sign a contract However with restrictions imposed by the pandemic San Jose based their training camp out of Arizona and uncertainty remained about when they would be able to return to San Jose It took from March when he you know was about to sign that contract until the end of November when he was able to get out to San Jose but you know he never let it be a downside I can tell you that you know he used the extended period of time he had over the summer to just train as hard as he could and do every single thing that he could to put himself in the best situation to you know make his debut this season He's very easy to root for I know I may be a little biased and that he's my little brother but he does everything the right way you know like I was saying All summer he was out the door probably you know between six and six thirty a.m. to drive down to Aguam and train and then he would stay out there and do some skating at Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield So you know he does everything he needs to Thank you for watching the Amherst Weekly Report at Amherst Media. I'm Claire Healy and we'll see you at the same time next week