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I'm Claire Healy and you're watching the Amherst weekly report from Amherst media We're breaking down the news in Amherst, Massachusetts for you every Friday at 6 p.m. A new business has opened in downtown Amherst Powerhouse nutrition a smoothie and juice bar was opened by Gloria Valentine on October 2nd and aims to serve nutritious smoothies and teas to the community Her motivation for opening a business focusing on nutrition is to promote healthy options and lifestyles at first I started, you know wanting to have a healthier lifestyle For my family and not only for myself, but also show my family that this is a lifestyle and we can all eat healthier Valentin who is from Chicape said that she immediately felt at home in Amherst She wants community members to make themselves comfortable in the juice bar and when asked her favorite item on the menu Says she has three favorite smoothies. She rotates between so I searched and I searched and I found this location And it felt instantly like home. So that's why I opened up in Amherst We I walked in and I said all this is definitely the place where I feel myself being here for many years and creating a family and Community and all this bond. They are going to always expect a smiling face even though we're high It's hidden under a mask right now. They are always welcome like this is their home to sit and They will never be disappointed and always if something's not to their liking We will always be more than happy to remake it. We will never leave unhappy a freshman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Dylan Jacobs Created a petition for students to return to campus in the spring He said he believes that input was taken from residents of Amherst labor unions and professors, but not from the students He also said that students would be safer on campus citing on-campus protocol and low COVID-19 numbers among on-campus Students in comparison to those living off campus The petition has around a thousand two hundred signatures. I don't think anyone really reach out to the students And it's sort of the effects that we have on them academically and socially Online classes aren't even close The experience or quality of an in-person class Going on a zoom call Isn't the same as going to a lecture And there's no ability to work with assignments on a without other students on assignments And socially as a freshman, it's hard to make friends Especially from out of state and there's not a lot of kids around me who go to UMass Most of my other friends are back at school. So it's tough On campus everyone's wearing a mask and getting tested twice a week Social distancing when they could And off campus at school just can't enforce it as much I hope they're taking input from a lot of different sources for the spring and when they come off this plan in a week or two Hopefully it works to the best interest of everybody On October 13th, the town of Amherst announced in a press release that it has received $34,051 to secure safe and secure elections The nonprofit grant came from the nonpartisan Center for Tech and Civic Life Which according to their website specializes in fostering a more informed and engaged democracy and helping to modernize US elections According to acting Amherst town clerk Sue Audette The grant program will aid in securely opening an adequate number of voting sites Setting up a drop box installing hand sanitizing stations providing PPE for poll workers and enhanced outreach initiatives The town has also received a $130,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation as part of the shared streets and spaces program To improve pedestrian and bicyclists safety expand outdoor dining space and outdoor dining period Promote bus ridership and create a more inviting streetscape in downtown Amherst This is all according to an October 13th press release Which also specifies that the grant money will be used to purchase outdoor heaters for restaurants new downcast streetlights to illuminate pedestrians Two new heated bus shelters, ADA improvements to curb ramps Handwashing stations, planters and plants and picnic tables for the north commons In COVID news as of October 14th, 63 communities in massachusetts are now designated high risk for COVID-19 infections Amherst has had 92 confirmed cases in the last 14 days as of Wednesday evening Amherst works to reduce the spread of COVID-19 using testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine and education According to an October 9th press release by UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumball Subhaswamy and Amherstown manager Paul Backelman Last week on the show we interviewed Jen Supernaut food and pantry manager for the Amherst survival center This week we're featuring another survival center new hire Philip Avila, the community meals coordinator for the Amherst survival center Avila is in charge of planning prepping and cooking the hot meals provided by the survival center on Mondays Tuesdays Thursdays and Fridays The meals feed about 200 people Avila is originally from southern california and moved to western massachusetts two years ago He has about 15 years of experience in the restaurant business and is bringing his expertise to the survival center Here's Avila on his favorite thing about working at the Amherst survival center I really like how it's just community oriented and you can see that the people the participants that come to the center are very much so just amazing people and just seeing them get their food and everything else that comes with the center of We have our pantry, which I know you guys did an interview with Not too long ago, but through that and just the experience of knowing that Good work is being done That's all for this week. Thank you for tuning into the Amherst weekly report from Amherst media I'm Claire Healy and we'll see you again at the same time next week