122nd US Open To Happen In MA, Tickets To Go On Sale: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Thursday, June 17. Tomorrow much of the state will be celebrating Juneteenth. But, here's what you should know this afternoon:

• There will be detours on the Mass Pike on weekends this summer as MassDOT works on a bridge repair project.
• Although it's a year away, tickets to the 122nd US Open at the Country Club in Brookline are set to go on sale Friday.
• The state legislature approved Aug. 14 and 15 for this year's sales tax holiday, when purchase up to $2,500 would be exempt from the state's 6.25% sales tax.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Although it's a year away, tickets to the 122nd US Open at the Country Club in Brookline

are set to go on sale Friday

The golf major set for the week of June 13, 2022, will be the fourth time it will be held at the Brookline golf course. But it's been a while: It will be the first time in more than three decades the US Open will be held at the Country Club, which is one of the USGA's five founding clubs

One of the most famous moments for The Country Club (aside from that time they denied Tom Brady membership) was in 1913, when Francis Ouimet, a 20-year-old amateur and former club caddie, defeated British professional stalwarts Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole playoff.

Nearby News

• Newton Race For Mayor Takes Shape: Amy Mah Sangiolo Declares Run
• Waltham Health Department Thanks Residents
• Brookline Nixes Two Community-Based Police Programs
• Brookline Eyes Redesign Of Jack Kirrane Ice Skating Rink
• Chelmsford's Pink Bag Textile Recycling Program To Change

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Thursday's Other Top Stories

Project means tough summer on Mass Pike: Over eight consecutive weekends this summer starting June 18, MassDOT will replace eight outdated bridges along the Mass Pike in Southborough and Westborough. That will mean weekend-long traffic alterations with the freeway cut down to two lanes in either direction between Framingham and I-495. Traffic will also be pushed to one side of the freeway.

Buildings go 0-2 vs. cars on Cape Cod: An SUV crashed into Cape Cod Gold and Silver Coin in Falmouth Wednesday, causing "significant" damage and leaving shattered glass all over the sidewalk. And in Orleans, one person was taken to the hospital after a building collapsed when a car crashed into it Thursday morning.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

In Case You Missed It

State trooper in death investigation had previous complaint: A Norwood mother in 2020 filed a complaint about a state police investigator assigned to the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office — the same trooper who a Hopkinton mother has said made an inappropriate comment about her daughter, who was found dead in a wooded area in April after an apparent suicide. State police Sgt. Sean O'Brien, a member of the Middlesex State Police Detective Unit (SPDU), was one of the first troopers on the scene when Mikayla Miller was found dead on April 18. Miller's mother, Calvina Strothers, has said O'Brien told her the teen's "sexuality would be exposed" if Strothers alerted the media about the death.

TikTok challenge leads to teen's death: A Massachusetts middle schooler died this week after suffering fatal injuries from attempting a viral TikTok challenge. According to a GoFundMe page set up by a relative, Nate Squires was found unresponsive in his home June 12, and succumbed to his injuries June 14. He was 13. Now family members of Squires want to bring awareness to the deadly "Blackout Challenge," a game on TikTok that dares those who participate to choke themselves until they lose consciousness.

Nearly 4K MA Residents Got COVID-19 After Vaccinations: About one out of every 1,000 Massachusetts residents who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus have tested positive for COVID-19 after they received their shots. There were 3,791 of the so-called breakthrough cases as of June 12, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, up 4.1 percent from 3,641 one week earlier.

By The Numbers

$38 million: The amount of tax revenue Massachusetts lost during its tax holiday weekend in 2018. The state legislature on Thursday approved Aug. 14 and 15 for this year's sales tax holiday, when purchase up to $2,500 would be exempt from the state's 6.25 percent sales tax.

Eat Mass: Court Ruling Cuts COVID Funding For Massachusetts Restaurants

It's time for the third edition of Eat Mass, Patch's weekly round up of food and restaurant news in Massachusetts. This week's issue includes:

• This week's restaurant openings and closings in Massachusetts.
• A federal court ruling last month means the U.S. Small Business Administration has to halt payments to 2,965 business owners who had already been approved for loans under the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
• Most — but not all — Boston-area food halls have reopened as the pandemic winds down.
• Which pandemic food shopping trends are here to stay?

And more. Read it now.