Coronavirus Closes More Bars, Restaurants In Tough Day: Patch PM

Today is Monday, Aug. 31, the latest in a string of difficult days for the restaurant industry.

Several restaurants and bars, including some iconic mainstays home to countless memories over the decades, used the final day of the month to announce they were going out of business.

The Fours said "with heavy hearts" Monday would be the final day for its Canal Street location after 44 years in the shadow of The Boston and TD Garden. That was followed by Cambridge's all-day breakfast spot The Friendly Toast, Somerville's music club Thunder Road and pub Bull McCabe's. Karl's Sausage Kitchen said its Route 1 location in Peabody will also close.

Steve Clark, vice president of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said each closure is a loss on a number of fronts.

"Our industry has been besieged by the pandemic, and unfortunately it appears that more and more will close as the winter months approach," Clark told Patch in an email Monday afternoon. "While some closings get more headlines, each closing is its own individual tale of sadness. Sad for the operators and employees that worked hard everyday to make the operation beloved, sad for guests that loved to patronize these restaurants and sad for the community that loses part of the fabric that brought it together.

"The restaurant industry is resilient and will come back, but on days like today it seems that recovery is a little further away than any of us want it to be."

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Teachers Refuse To Get Into Buildings, Andover Schools Calls It 'Illegal Work Stoppage'

The Andover School Committee will discuss litigation options after teachers refused to enter buildings for the first day of professional development Monday.

The Andover Education Association said Friday its members voted to begin the school year working only remotely in light of the coronavirus pandemic, even after the School Committee approved a plan for some in-person learning at the start. Teachers gathered outside Andover High School Monday morning for what the union called a "workplace safety action."

"The Andover Education Association might believe this is a 'workplace safety action,'" district spokeswoman Nicole Kieser said in a statement. "It is, in fact, considered an illegal work stoppage. The Andover School Committee will meet in executive session at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon to discuss options for litigation, based on today's activity by the AEA. Professional development in our school buildings for our educators will continue on Tuesday, September 1st."

Most Ballots Have Already Been Cast Before Election Day: Galvin

The majority of ballots expected during the state primary have already been cast through the new expanded voting options, Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday morning. Galvin was making the statements one day before Election Day, when still hundreds of thousands are expected to hit the polls in the more traditional sense.

In all, he expects 1.2-1.3 million votes during an election season marked by the first early voting window for a primary and the expansion of mail-in voting. The usual turnout is about 1 million.
Galvin said some 850,000 ballots have already been received, about 768,000 of them Democratic.

'Worchester' Gives Joe Kennedy III Campaign Its Support

This weekend, supporters of U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III did something that many non-Massachusetts residents have probably been doing forever: mispronouncing the word "Worcester."

On Sunday, an ad supporting Kennedy paid for by the IBEW Local 103 union (which is based in Boston, ahem) appeared in the Worcester Telegram. In it, the hometown name is spelled "Worchester."

"For U.S. Senate. For Massachusetts. For Worchester," the ad reads.

It's unclear who made the massive Massachusetts-specific typo. The IBEW told the Boston Herald that the Telegram had apologized to the union for the error. But a Telegram spokesperson, in turn, told the Herald that the paper wasn't responsible for the misspelling.

Massachusetts Fentanyl Ring Disrupted, $1.4M In Drugs Seized

State police on Monday said that a large fentanyl trafficking operation in the Massachusetts was disrupted after arrests that happened around the state late last week.

Across three operations, police seized about 6-1/2 kilograms — or about 14 pounds — of the dangerous synthetic opioid worth about $1.4 million on the street. Police also seized methamphetamine, weapons and $316,000 in cash from a drug trafficking ring that spanned Lawrence to Fall River.

The first arrest happened last Thursday after police seized about 2-1/2 kilograms of fentanyl from a Lawrence man. The drugs were destined for Fall River, police said.

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Encore Casino Lays Off 385 Workers

The casino announced Monday it is letting go of hundreds of furloughed workers, as it does not expect the jobs will return this year.

MBTA Adds More Bus Service In Boston Area Due To Rising Demand

As of Sunday, 23 bus routes are running again for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Chelmsford Bank Robbed At Gunpoint, Cops Investigating

Police said the man fled Eastern Bank on Chelmsford Street on a black Honda CBR motorcycle.

Breakheart Facilities Close After Potential COVID-19 Exposure

The visitor center and bathroom will undergo a deep cleaning after a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was there.