Mask Confusion May Be Coming To North Shore On May 29: Patch PM

PEABODY, MA — It's Thursday, May 20. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Framingham City Hall employees have filed eight complaints since 2018 against District 4 Councilor Michael Cannon alleging a range of misbehavior from gender bias to bullying, according to internal records and interviews with employees.
• A lengthy and at times contentious public comment session at Tuesday night's City Council meeting focused largely on issues of race and racism in Medford, particularly when it comes to the much-criticized process of renaming Columbus Elementary School.
• A Massachusetts jail that has drawn complaints of inhumane conditions will no longer be used to detain immigrants, the Biden administration said Thursday.

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

Today's Top Story

When Gov. Charlie Baker said on Monday the date for removing all statewide coronavirus-related business restrictions was being shifted up from Aug. 1 to May 29, there was plenty of enthusiasm from those celebrating the demise of face masks, social distancing and the general detachment that has encompassed the past 15 months.

Yet, while the thought of seeing the smiling face of a barista, bartender or your local grocery store clerk may be refreshing for some, it may leave others with trepidation and a touch of confusion as — in many cases — each business in each community is left to determine whether to dip their toes back into open society or dive in headfirst.

While the Salem Board of Health will meet on May 25 to determine whether it "should enact further restrictions to the opening guidance or timeline." Peabody Health Director Sharon Cameron said that city will leave it to businesses to decide their own protocols.

A brewery in Peabody and a fitness boutique in Beverly shared some of their plans and hopes for the reopening that will include a full Fenway Park.

Read the full story.

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Thursday's Other Top Stories

City councilor accused of gender bias, bullying: Framingham City Hall employees have filed eight complaints since 2018 against District 4 Councilor Michael Cannon alleging a range of misbehavior from gender bias to bullying, according to internal records and interviews with employees. The complaints have spurred two separate inquiries by an independent investigator who specializes in workplace harassment.

Medford split on renaming Columbus Elementary School: A lengthy and at times contentious public comment session at Tuesday night's City Council meeting focused largely on issues of race and racism in Medford, particularly when it comes to the much-criticized process of renaming Columbus Elementary School. Many residents spoke in defense of the late educator Jean Barry-Sutherland, including her husband and sister, after a social media post from an unnamed member of the Renaming Advisory Committee purportedly questioned her treatment of students of color.

Also on Patch: Columbus Renaming Committee Member Resigns

Jail loses federal contract: A detention facility in Georgia where women claim they were subjected to unwanted medical procedures and a Massachusetts jail that has drawn complaints of inhumane conditions will no longer be used to detain immigrants, the Biden administration said Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security said it would terminate contracts with the local government agency that runs the detention center in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and with the private operator of the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia.

Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.

Picture This

Fair returns after COVID hiatus: Cape Cod's biggest outdoor celebration will make a comeback. After a pandemic year without concerts, fairs and other large gatherings, the Barnstable County Fair will return to East Falmouth from Monday, July 19 to Sunday, July 25, organizers announced Thursday. (Photo: Dave Copeland/Patch)

They Said It

"This is probably the most expensive elevator in Melrose, but worth every penny to make our building accessible to more people."

• YMCA of Metro North CEO Kathleen Walsh on a new, $1.5 million elevator at the Melrose YMCA. The project came in over budget and behind schedule, but officials were celebrating an addition to the building, which opened in 1890, that has been discussed for more than five decades.

In Case You Missed It

Matty back, a day after "quitting": Matt Siegel was back in the host's chair of his popular "Matty In The Morning" show on KISS-108 Thursday, a day after he ended an on-air rant by saying he was quitting. "I had long, long conversations yesterday with the company, and the company said 'Listen, man, do your thing. We'll get out of your way'," Siegel, 71, of Newton, said. "I didn't expect that and, so, I'm back." He then went on to make a joke about Demi Lovato —the same kind of joke that prompted the reprimand that led to Wednesday morning's blow up.

Ex warned of Hopkinton girl's mental state before death: The ex-girlfriend of a Hopkinton teen who was found dead in April warned a school guidance counselor about the 16-year-old's mental health days before her death. A state medical examiner has said Mikayla Miller died by suicide, but activists and her mother have rejected that determination. "She's been crying and having panic attacks all weekend and she normally never does," the email to a Hopkinton High School guidance counselor from Miller's ex-girlfriend said.

By The Numbers

$400 million: The amount the state House of Representatives approved for overhauling the Holyoke Soldiers Home. The House also approved $200 million for state-wide long-term veterans care.