 This program is brought to you by Cable Franchise Vs and generous donations from viewers like you. This is the Amherst Weekly Report from Amherst Media, Friday, April 9th, 2021. I'm Claire Healy and I'm Rebecca Duffy. These are the stories from this past week. The Town of Amherst has launched a new online engagement platform for community members. The platform, called Engage Amherst, allows people to offer input on local projects and initiatives. You can log on to EngageAmherst.com to provide insight and ask questions surrounding important town issues. The platform currently has engagements for Pomeroy Village Intersection Improvements, the North Amherst Library Building, and financing the Capitol Buildings in Amherst. According to the Amherst Town website, new projects will be discussed on the platform soon. Beginning April 5th, the state of Massachusetts has expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to individuals 55 and over and those with one qualifying medical condition. This expansion means close to 1 million more Massachusetts residents are now eligible to receive a vaccine before April 19th, when access is set to become available to the general public aged 16 and older. Locally, those eligible can book a first dose vaccine appointment at the Bangs Community Center with openings for appointments occurring at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays online. Those eligible and affiliated with UMass Amherst can sign up when new appointments open on Fridays at 4 p.m. on their vaccine clinic website. Eligible residents are also encouraged to pre-register at a mass vaccination site and will be notified when an appointment becomes available. While closer vaccination sites are available, the nearest site for pre-registration is at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has revoked an air permit for the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy biomass plant in Springfield following years of controversy surrounding its construction. The permit was revoked because it had been issued nearly nine years ago and little progress had been made in the proposed plant's construction since. This was coupled with growing concerns and opposition from the local community for the health of residents and the environment. The proposed plant would burn tons of wood per hour and emit large amounts of particulate matter as a result. The Asmone Allergy Foundation of America has previously labeled Springfield as the asthma capital of the nation. The Amherst Town Council voted on Monday evening to move forward with a $36.3 million project to expand and restore the Jones Library. After much conversation, the counselors voted 10 to 2 to be able to borrow $15.75 million for the renovation. Construction could begin as early as March 2022 and according to the Amherst Bulletin, the original 1928 structure would be rehabilitated and the addition completed in 1993 would be replaced. It will transform from 48,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet and will reopen in fall of 2023. Five large stone plaques commemorating Amherst Civil War soldiers have been relocated to the Bangs Community Center. They include the names of 300 Amherst soldiers who fought in the Union Army. They include the names of 21 Black residents, among the members of the famous 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. This was one of among the first African American regiments during the Civil War. These plaques received renewed interest thanks to descendants of some of the soldiers. Amherst Weekly reports Chris McLaughlin has more. Thanks Claire. The tablets have largely been out of public display for over two decades. Now a new effort is being made to have them back on prominent display here in Amherst. Well when I first came in and saw these tablets it just brought tears to my eyes and I felt my father, who was standing next to me, because he's the one that started wanting these to be on display and worked very hard and raised money and when he passed away they were put back in storage and when my daughter and I came back my daughter Anika Lopes, when we came back to Amherst she made it her mission, we both did, but she worked very hard to make sure that she was going to finish what her grandfather started and it just, it gives me goosebumps standing here to know that it's finally come to fruition what my grandfather really wanted and it's just, it just like I said it just makes my heart soar to know that I know he's watching and saying it's about time. There are many names on these tablets that are my relations, the 54th Regiment, many names in Amherst of course that I went to school with but especially the 54th Regiment which was the Volunteer African American Regiment and on the 5th Calvary my great great great grandfather Christopher Thompson was actually at Juneteenth in 1865 in Texas to let people know that they were free two years after the fact that they didn't know so he's with the 5th Calvary so that's an amazing thing to find out which I did not know so it's just like I said when you look at these names and you actually touch the names of your family members and again it electrifies and it just feels wonderful. Recently the town manager Paul Vakaman has asked me to work with a small working group we're calling it some of whose members are descendants of some of those Civil War veterans and folks who served us during that period and we are working to find a permanent location for the tablets. Our short term goal is to work with community members to have them displayed on Juneteenth this year as part of the acknowledgement and celebration of that important date. As you may know the Jones Library is in the midst of a capital campaign and a campaign to expand their building and the trustees a few years ago voted to support having the tablets in a permanent fixture as part of their special collections and what would go on display in the Jones Library so we're going to explore that further now that the Jones Library recently as recently as Monday night got an affirmative vote from the town council to move forward with their project. We have short term goals of getting these ready with temporary interpretive materials for Juneteenth and then we're looking longer term to say to our community and to work with the trustees to say is the best place for these to be in the Jones Library. Well exact specifications are still being solidified. The continued effort of members of the local community makes the tablets display a greater reality. For the Amherst Weekly Report I'm Chris McLaughlin. During a weekend in April the Amherst town council is hosting an anti-racism workshop for its 13 council members the town manager and the council clerk despite reservations. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette council members will be spending one weekend covering each portion of the virtual training from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. after their work week. However removing any of the modules makes the training less effective according to District 2 counselor Pat D'Angeles. Some counselors believe the timing for the training is wrong as new counselors will be elected this November. The hope is to make Amherst an anti-racist community. The country has seen a rise in anti-transgender legislation by Republican legislatures since the beginning of the year. According to the Human Rights Campaign at over 80 bills 2021 surpassed 2020 as the year with the highest number of anti-transgender bills in history. Al Jazeera reports that there are over 170 anti-LGTBQ bills going through state legislatures across the U.S. The majority of the bills fall under two categories those denying gender-affirming healthcare and those banning trans girls from playing sports. Monday one such bill passed in Arkansas after the Arkansas legislature overrode the governor's veto of the bill. This is now the first in the country to outlaw gender affirming treatment for trans youth. The Arkansas bill was called quote the single most extreme anti-trans law to ever pass through a state legislature by Chase Strangio. He is the deputy director for transgender justice at the American Civil Liberties Union LGBT and HIV project. And now we have some very exciting news. The UMass Amherst Cranberry Station is receiving $5.75 million in state funding to support the ongoing improvements of its facilities. Located in East Wareham, Massachusetts, the Cranberry Station has been a leader in cranberry research since 1910 and supports local growers and their bogs. UMass Amherst previously committed $2 million in 2018 for necessary maintenance projects bringing the total cost of the project to approximately $7.75 million. The Cranberry Station will use the funds to quote modernize and expand its research facilities, improve the environmental profile of the facility. It will also provide the tools needed to support programs in cranberry water, pest and nutrient management. Two new laboratories, additional office spaces and a new meeting room will be created as part of the developments while existing laboratories will also be renovated. The project is expected to be a 12 to 16 month operation but is projected to be completed by the summer of 2022. Amherst College has pledged to fully divest its $2.5 billion endowment from fossil fuel investments by 2030. Board of Trustees Chairman Andrew J. Nussbaum announced the decision which hopes to bring the college closer to its sustainability goals. The college is also pledging to make no new investments in gas and oil and anticipates that current investment levels will be reduced by 60% by 2025. According to Nussbaum the school has quote, neither held direct investments in fossil fuel companies nor made new commitments to fossil fuel funds in over two years. Amherst College students have been pushing for divestment since 2012 but no real progress was made until 2019's climate action plan. The plan sees the college fully transitioning its campus towards renewable energy. This will include the use of electric heat pumps and an investment of $80 million to switch their power plant to run entirely on geothermal energy. The climate action plan additionally sped up the college's expected deadline for committing to achieving carbon neutrality by five years from 2035 to 2030. Similar actions to divest fossil fuel investments have been announced at both Smith College and UMass Amherst over the last few years. That's all for this week. Thank you for watching the Amherst Weekly Report from Amherst Media. Once again, I'm Rebecca Duffy. And I'm Claire Healy. We'll see you at the same time next week. Have a good night.