Editorials
When the news first broke that UMass Memorial would be opening a satellite emergency facility in Groton, many of us felt the sting of loss. With Nashoba Valley Medical Center closing, the word “satellite” sounded like a consolation prize — a scaled-down substitute for a real hospital.
But the...
This is the final piece in a five-part series on the chronic underfunding of regional school districts in Massachusetts — and what must be done to change it.
By now, the pattern is painfully clear:
• Regional school districts are underfunded.
• The cost of education has risen dramatically.
• ...
This is the fourth in a five-part series on why Massachusetts continues to underfund regional school districts and why the system is built to delay reform.
By now, the pattern is clear: the problem is known, the damage is ongoing, the Legislature promises to study it — and little changes. If...
This is the second in a five-part series on why Massachusetts has failed to fix the chronic underfunding of regional school districts — and who holds the power to change it.
In Massachusetts, power doesn’t work the way most people think it does.
We have a Legislature with 160 elected members....
When dozens of Groton families learned their wells were contaminated with PFAS, the stress was immediate and personal: bottled water, health worries, and uncertainty about the future. Then came the town’s plan for connecting those households to safe municipal water — but with a catch. Families were...
Now it came to pass in the days of continual tempests, that Patriot dwelt in a town by the sea, whose people had grown weary of their charge. For atop the Hill of Vigilance there stood a Lantern, set there by the Elders in ancient days, to give light unto the mariner and warn of peril. But the path...
A printed weekly is to a community what a vinyl record is to music lovers. A digital song might be more convenient, but the exquisite experience of dropping the needle and listening with intention is something else entirely. It requires presence. So does a printed newspaper.
At the national...
The Destination Groton Committee was formed by the Select Board to encourage tourism and support economic vitality. But at the May 23 Planning Board meeting—covered in our May 30 issue—the Destination Groton committee presented a broad downtown vision that raised important questions. Among them: Is...
Groton’s official motto—“Faith and Labor”—is emblazoned beneath a plow on the town seal, evoking a legacy of hard work, self-reliance, and quiet perseverance. But lately, we’ve been thinking: maybe it’s time to update the motto. Something like, say—“Faith, Labor, and Love?”
We’re not being...
What’s more dangerous to democracy: bad ideas—or empty chairs?
Groton is facing a quiet but serious civic crisis. Too many seats on our elected and appointed boards go uncontested. Some remain completely vacant. This slow hollowing of local government may not make headlines, but it weakens the...