BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — It may have been a week of heated worldwide protests amid a global pandemic, but as always, there were also plenty of positive news stories that made headlines.
In case you missed them, here's your weekly dose of good news from WBZ NewsRadio.
A Lowell Teen Raised Thousands Of Dollars For Local PPE
According to the Eagle Tribune, a teen from Lowell who is going into in his senior year at Providence College lead an effort to purchase and deliver protective masks to medical personnel across the region this week, including to first responders in Haverhill and Lawrence.
"We raised an initial amount of $40,000 through donations by professors at the college which allowed us to donate 10,000 surgical masks, with 20,000 more still to be distributed throughout the northeast," Perez said.
"Personally, I have been lucky enough to deliver 1,000 masks each to Lowell General Hospital and Lawrence General Hospital, and 500 masks to Trinity EMS in Haverhill, where a cousin of mine works as an EMT."
Massachusetts COVID Health Metrics Continued To Decline
Based on the coronavirus data collected over the first week of June, Gov. Baker said the state is ready to move into Phase Two of its economic reopening plan starting on Monday, June 8th.
According to the DPH, several important coronavirus health metrics have been steadily lowering over the last 30 days in Massachusetts.
That includes the 7-day weighted average rate of positive tests which has dropped 82 percent, the number of hospitals using surge capacity which has decreased 81 percent, and the 3-day average of COVID-19 deaths which has fallen 75 percent.
Northampton Protest Turned Into A Street Party
Thousands of protests happened this week throughout the nation in response to the death of George Floyd. Dozens of those marches and rallies happened in Massachusetts, including one in Northampton on Saturday which turned into a party on the street.
According to MassLive, after an anti-racism protest of 4,500 people in the afternoon, about 500 people stuck around outside the police station on Gothic Street.
There, the group were met by a line of officers wearing standard-issue uniforms, without helmets or the long batons seen in Monday’s protest. MassLive says the police "moved back to the station, seemingly to deescalate rising tensions in the crowd of protesters. As police moved, the tone of the protest shifted. Chants turned to music and dancing on Main Street."
Northampton PD said there were no incidents of violence, and no arrests were made.
A Drive-Thru Graduation In Lexington
Although many new grads have had to forgo the ceremony, a class in Lexington, Mass. were able to receive there certificates while remaining socially distant.
CBS Boston reports that seniors from Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School lined up in their vehicles this week to take part in an isolated graduation ceremony outside the school.
After music played and words of wisdom were spoken about the difficulties they’ve endured, one-by-one, the 121 seniors drove up, got out of their vehicles, walked to get their diplomas, and posed for a picture. All the while, teachers who they haven’t seen in person for months, were cheering them on.
Minnesotans Came Through For Each Other
Earlier this week, a middle school in Minneapolis put out a call for 85 meal kits to help support students and families who had been directly hurt by looting amid mostly peaceful protests.
According to CBS, faculty and families were pleasantly overwhelmed on Sunday, when they found Sanford Middle School's front lawn "completely covered with bags of food and household goods."
School officials called it "an incredible overflow of donations" from a seemingly endless line of cars, causing traffic backups all day. Video online showed piles of bags, full of food and other supplies, ready to be delivered to the families in need.
Permanent Protections For Part Of Zion National Park
Thanks to the non-profit The Nature Conservancy, the ecosystem in a 419-acre section of Zion National Park in Utah will be protected indefinitely.
This week, the charitable organization purchased a 2-mile stretch on the Virgin River, a pristine area relied upon as a water source by both endangered wildlife and nearby residents of Washington County, for around $4.3 million.
According to The Spectrum, the land purchase "was part of an increased effort by advocacy organizations to buy up private property outside the park and protect it from development." Now, several endangered species in the area will get a much better chance of survival.
A Beer-Drinking/Hiking Job Position Is Available
Thousands of Americans may have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, but there were also thousands of new job postings out this week, some of which sound like a lot more fun that the usual office 9 to 5.
A brewery in Virginia has announced they have an opening for a very important role; "Chief Hiking Officer."
According to Devil's Backbone Brewing Co., they are looking for the perfect candidate who they can fly out to the Appalachian trail head for a 2,200-mile hike from May to September 2021.
The brewery says the Chief Hiking Officer needs to be social media and blog-savvy. The person who gets the job will be outfitted with all the necessary equipment, and they will be treated to "some big ol' beer parties along the way."
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