Matty in The Morning Just Quit On Air

Baker-Polito Administration to Lift COVID Restrictions May 29, State to Meet Vaccination Goal by Beginning of June Commonwealth Will Adopt CDC Face Covering Guidance

BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that the Commonwealth is on track to meet the goal of vaccinating 4.1 million residents by the first week of June and all remaining COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted effective May 29.
 
The Commonwealth’s face covering order will also be rescinded on May 29. The Department of Public Health will issue a new face covering advisory consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance. Face coverings will still be mandatory for all individuals on public and private transportation systems (including rideshares, livery, taxi, ferries, MBTA, Commuter Rail and transportation stations), in healthcare facilities and in other settings hosting vulnerable populations, such as congregate care settings.
 
Governor Charlie Baker will end the State of Emergency June 15.
 
The Administration also announced updates that will be effective May 18 to revise face covering requirements for youth and amateur sports and other guidance relating to childcare programs and K-12 schools. The Administration will release updated guidance for summer camps effective May 29.
 
The Administration is able to take these steps to reopen the Commonwealth’s economy because Massachusetts is on track to meet the goal set in December to fully vaccinate over 4 million individuals by the first week of June. The Commonwealth leads the nation in vaccinating residents, with 75% of adults receiving at least one dose. To date, over 4 million residents have received a first dose, with 3.2 million fully vaccinated.
 
New cases have dropped by 89% since January 8. COVID hospitalizations are down 88% since January 1 and the positive test rate is down by 88% from peaking at 8.7% on January 1 to 1% today.
 
Effective May 29
 
Effective May 29, all industries will be permitted to open. With the exception of remaining face-covering requirements for public and private transportation systems and facilities housing vulnerable populations, all industry restrictions will be lifted, and capacity will increase to 100% for all industries. The gathering limit will be rescinded.
 
All industries will be encouraged to follow CDC guidance for cleaning and hygiene protocols.
 
On May 18, 2020, the Administration published the reopening phases, which called for ending restrictions when vaccines became widely available. Today, there are over 975 locations for Massachusetts residents to access vaccines without delay.
 
Face Covering Guidance
 
In line with updated CDC face covering guidance, the Administration will rescind the current face covering order and issue a new face covering advisory effective May 29.
 
Non-vaccinated individuals are advised to continue wearing face masks and to continue distancing in most settings. The advisory will also recommend fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a face covering or social distance indoors or outdoors except for in certain situations.
 
Face coverings will still be required for all individuals on public and private transportation (including rideshares, livery, taxi, ferries, MBTA, Commuter Rail and transportation stations), healthcare facilities and providers, congregate care settings and health and rehabilitative day services.
 
Face coverings will also remain required indoors for staff and students of K-12 schools and early education providers.
 
Link to mask guidance
 
Youth and Amateur Sports Face Covering Guidance
 
Effective May 18, the youth and amateur sports guidance will be updated to no longer require face coverings for youth athletes 18 and under while playing outdoor sports. Effective May 29, all youth and amateur sports restrictions will be lifted.
 
Link to youth sports guidance
 
K-12, Early Education and Summer Camp Guidance
 
Effective May 18, guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Early Education and Care will be updated to no longer require masks for outdoor activities like recess and to allow for the sharing of objects in classrooms, in both K-12 and childcare settings. This guidance will remain in effect beyond May 29.
 
The Administration will release updated guidance for summer camps, effective May 29, which will include no longer requiring masks for outdoor activities.
 
Link to DESE guidance
Link to EEC guidance
 
State of Emergency Order
 
Governor Baker will end the State of Emergency​ June 15, and the Administration will work with legislative and municipal partners during this period in order to manage an orderly transition from emergency measures adopted by executive order and special legislation during the period of the State of Emergency.
 
 
Restaurant Revitalization Fund Webinar:

On Thursday May 6th we partnered with the SBA, The Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and Discover Gloucester to hold a webinar on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.  Please see the link below for the recording. 

The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program provides restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. Dan Martiniello, Lender Relations Specialist of the SBA’s Massachusetts District Office has provided information regarding eligibility and application guidance for the Restaurant Revitalization program in his presentation. 

Link to recording: https://vimeo.com/546045124 

Program Guide: Restaurant Revitalization Funding Program: Program Guide as of April 20th, 2021 (sba.gov)

Important Message: 2021 Bluefin Blowout Tournament

Good day to all our Captains, crews, fans and sponsors:

As restrictions due to the Covid pandemic loosen up, it is apparent that we have to make a decision based upon current conditions facing the tournament.  Presently, we understand that NOAA regulations are very restrictive for a weekend tournament and there are changes proposed that would make the tournament very difficult to pull off. Staffing throughout Massachusetts and Cape Ann is precarious with not enough help available to support a first class event.  Our home away from home, the Cape Ann’s Marina Resort has minimized activities this summer at their location and they are faced with staffing problems as we are in the auto industry.  Most importantly, the easing up of restrictions just came too late for Cidalia, Kruti, Drew and our volunteers to perform at the level we expect, and I’m sure our competitors do as well.  This all said, we will not be holding the Bluefin Blowout in 2021.  We hope to support any and all other charity based tournaments that will occur in the Northeast this summer and into the fall. Thank you all for your support and communication.  The decision was not an easy one.

Warren Waugh

Bluefin Blowout Producer

Managing Partner

The Lyon-Waugh Auto Group

GloucesterCast 502 Livestream With Donna Ardizzoni, Michael Dekoster, Scottie Mac, Pat and Jim Dalpiaz and Joey C Taped 5/19/21

GloucesterCast 502 Livestream With Donna Ardizzoni, Michael Dekoster, Scottie Mac, Pat and Jim Dalpiaz and Joey C Taped 5/19/211

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Topics Include:
 
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You Don’t See This Every Day

It looked like the remains of the filming of a heist film when we visited the Paint Factory recently. You never know what you will find. I love Gloucester.

Sawyer Free Library Launches New Resources for Job Seekers

Sawyer Free Library's avatarCape Ann Community

The Sawyer Free Library is pleased to announce the launch of their new Job Seekers Resource Program to assist job seekers throughout the Cape Ann community gain a competitive edge. Targeted to the needs of today’s job hunter – the new program supports people in discovering a new career path, gain new job skills, find job opportunities, and more. 

The program features expert-led virtual workshops, one-on-one resume sessions, and a new dedicated webpage, available in over 100 world languages, with extensive resources specially curated by Library staff.  All resources are free and accessible to those in the Gloucester community and beyond. 

“Our goal with this new Job Seekers program is to provide a combination of programs, informational resources and knowledge about local opportunities so that everyone in our community, regardless of income, age, education, or language, can acquire new skills and have the support they…

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Ticks are bonkers this month!

Friends have been comparing notes on ticks. Have you been finding many this spring?

[Dog tick pics: in the car, in the grass, on the sheets hanging on the clothesline, on the rocks at the beach. They move surprisingly fast. Deer tick pics next.]

Gallery 53 on Rocky Neck Opens for the Season on May 28, 2021

The Rocky Neck Art Colony is pleased to announce that Gallery 53, at 53 Rocky Neck Avenue, is opening its doors for the season on Friday, May 28. The gallery was last open in 2019. Gallery 53 is open daily, May 28 to June 30: Mon-Thu, 11am to 3pm, Fri-Sat 11-7, Sun 10-6;

For more summer hours see below. The gallery kicks off the season with a Gloucester-appropriate themed show: FISH. In this multimedia exhibit, many talented G53 members interpret these aquatic gill-bearing animals with whimsy, realism and humor.

In addition, Gallery 53 welcomes four talented new members this year:

  • Mixed Media artist, Joan Benotti blends the actual with the abstract in mixed media pieces that integrate memory and story with pattern and place. Born in Boston, Benotti lived on the Bahamian Island of Eleuthera and more recently in South Africa. She now resides on Boston’s North Shore. She studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and printmaking at Montserrat College and received a grant from the Massachusetts State Council on the Arts in printmaking. Benotti was a founding member of the Bromfield Gallery, a Boston based artists’ cooperative, and an associate member of the Kingston Gallery in Boston’s SOWA district.  http://www.joanbenotti.com/
  • Painter Paula Morgan is primarily drawn to color and light situations. She often depicts colorful and calming landscape, dynamic still lifes and marine compositions in juicy, loose strokes. Paula mainly works in oil with an alla prima style and is most influenced by impressionist as well as post impressionist art work. With discovery of the daily painter movement, Paula has ignited a disciplined approach to her art and has been refining her creative focus. http://www.paulammorgan.com/
  • Weaver Fran Osten is inspired by the New England landscape and the ever-changing ocean cove immediately outside her studio. She works on multi-shaft looms, including a computerized dobby loom that allows her to escape the orthogonal grid on which much traditional weaving is based. Color and a sense of movement are important to her designs. Using primarily silk, cotton and Tencel yarns, which are hand-dyed, she creates wearables and other handwoven pieces that display great depth and richness.  Each piece is one of a kind. https://www.danforthweavers.com/
  • Ceramic artist Diane Slezak’s pottery reflects the shapes and textures of the natural world and highlights the organic qualities of the clay. Depictions of flora and fauna are a reminder of their importance to the beauty and environmental balance in our world. Working mostly in thrown, functional stoneware, the clay surface becomes her blank canvas to carve, pierce, impress and create tactile quality. Multiple glazing techniques enrich her work. Slezak remarks “Taking a lump of clay from mud consistency to a durable, fired work of art is very satisfying. Enhancing my work with designs that reflect my respect for the world around me is essential.” https://www.covetocoastpottery.com/

Images and Captions:

Through the mysterious alchemy of glass, Ellen Garvey successfully fashions a fish that looks like water itself. 

Jeweler Katherine Bagley fuses metals in her earrings,  creating brass fish on an oxidized sterling silver background.

Boatbuilder Richard Honan’s driftwood assemblage, Do Fish Have Lips?, displays a marvel of craftsmanship.

About Gallery 53

A Fine Art and Craft Gallery, Gallery 53 is housed in a historic 19th century building on the water at 53 Rocky Neck Avenue. In addition to providing a place for talented Art Colony members to exhibit, the gallery provides the community with thought-provoking rotating exhibits and a place to purchase unique local art in a variety of price ranges. Paintings, jewelry, pottery, wood, glass, mixed media, hand-pulled prints, and photography are thoughtfully displayed in the gallery with new artists and media added each year.

Gallery 53 is open daily, May 28 to June 30: Mon-Thu, 11am to 3pm, Fri-Sat 11-7, Sun 10-6;

July 1 to Sept. 6: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thu 10-8; Sat 11-7, Sun 10-6;

Sept. 7 to Oct. 11: Mon-Thu, 11am to 3pm, F-SAT 11-7, Sun 10-6.

For more information call 978-515-7004 or visit rockyneckartcolony.org. See Gallery 53 on Rocky Neck on Facebook and Instagram. For more information about Gallery 53 call 978-515-or visit rockyneckartcolony.org/gallery53.

About the Rocky Neck Art Colony

The Rocky Neck Art Colony, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, nurtures excellence in the arts through exhibitions, workshops, residencies and vibrant cultural events for its members and the public. Long renowned for its luminous light, this harbor and coastal location has been a magnet for some of the most revered realist paintings in American art and a catalyst for the progressive ideas of artists such as Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Milton Avery, and Nell Blaine, among many others. Today Rocky Neck continues to attract artists and art lovers to a thriving creative community. For more information about the Rocky Neck Art Colony visit rockyneckartcolony.org or call 978-515-7004.

We Will Be Livestreaming GloucesterCast 502 Livestream With Donna Ardizzoni, Chris McCarthy, Scottie Mac, Pat and Jim Dalpiaz and Joey C Wednesday Morning At 9AM

Donna will be joining us remotely fresh out of open heart surgery!