Massachusetts

Sandra Birchmore: 5 things to know about Massachusetts woman at centre of Matthew Farwell’s murder trial

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Prosecutors and witnesses are revisiting Sandra Birchmore’s life, her relationship with Matthew Farwell as the federal murder trial begins. (Facebook | Melanie Vasquez)

The federal murder trial of former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell has brought renewed attention to the life and death of Sandra Birchmore. Birchmore was a a 23-year-old Massachusetts woman whose death was initially ruled a suicide but is now the subject of a federal homicide case. Prosecutors and witnesses are revisiting Sandra Birchmore’s life, … Read more

A Massachusetts dairy farmer nearly sold an unfarmable slice of his land to Walmart, but put an 11-acre solar field there instead; the lease paid $1,000 a week while rooftop panels erased a $1,400 monthly power bill

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A Massachusetts dairy farmer nearly sold an unfarmable slice of his land to Walmart, but put an 11-acre solar field there instead; the lease paid $1,000 a week while rooftop panels erased a $1,400 monthly power bill

A Massachusetts dairy farmer once considered selling an awkward, hard-to-farm patch of his property to Walmart. Instead, he turned the 11-acre slice into a solar field that now provides a steady lease income, while rooftop panels have nearly wiped out the farm’s $1,400 monthly electricity bill. The story was told by John Nagy in Notre … Read more

After more than six generations of family ownership, a Massachusetts nonprofit raised over $4.9 million to buy 5.23-acre Holly Hill Farm and permanently protect the centuries-old piece of farmland

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After more than six generations of family ownership, a Massachusetts nonprofit raised over $4.9 million to buy 5.23-acre Holly Hill Farm and permanently protect the centuries-old piece of farmland

For generations, Holly Hill Farm belonged to the same family. Now, after more than six generations of White family ownership, the 5.23-acre Massachusetts property has been secured for the future as a working farm, thanks to a fundraising effort by Friends of Holly Hill Farm (FHHF), according to a report by Cohasset Anchor. The nonprofit … Read more

A Massachusetts farm stayed under one family’s care for a century and was cultivated for more than 200 years; a 2025 conservation purchase protected over 120 acres of farmland and forest for the future

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A Massachusetts farm stayed under one family's care for a century and was cultivated for more than 200 years; a 2025 conservation purchase protected over 120 acres of farmland and forest for the future

More than 120 acres of historic farmland and nearby woodland in Essex, Massachusetts, have been permanently protected from commercial housing development after a major conservation deal was completed in early 2025. According to project details published by the Essex County Greenbelt Association, the regional land trust worked with local town leaders and state environmental agencies … Read more

A 1914 Massachusetts mansion built after a high-society scandal is listed for $3.5 million; the 10,269-square-foot estate has 12 bedrooms, Italian gardens and a 39-foot ballroom

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A 1914 Massachusetts mansion built after a high-society scandal is listed for $3.5 million; the 10,269-square-foot estate has 12 bedrooms, Italian gardens and a 39-foot ballroom

A Gilded Age mansion built after a scandal that shook early 20th-century American high society has gone on the market for $3.5 million. The estate, known as The Crossways, stands on Adin Street in Hopedale, Massachusetts. The street was once called “Millionaire’s Row” because of its many grand homes built by industrialists who ran the … Read more

Nor’easter map, tracker and power outage updates for Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maryland and NC

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A powerful nor'easter is causing widespread flooding and power outages across the northeastern United States. (AFP)

A powerful nor’easter is bringing heavy rain, strong winds, coastal flooding and power outages across parts of the US East Coast this weekend. Coastal areas from North Carolina to Maine are seeing some of the biggest impacts, with flooding, rough surf and travel disruptions. A powerful nor’easter is causing widespread flooding and power outages across … Read more

Nor’easter Massachusetts tracker: What we know about alerts, power outages, flight disruption and flooding

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Nor'easter Massachusetts tracker: More than 40 million people in the northeastern United States braced September 25 for heavy rain and strong winds as an unusually powerful storm for the season was forecast to crash into the region. (AFP)

Over 4,000 residents experienced power disruptions on Saturday morning as a severe nor’easter swept across Massachusetts. Nor’easter Massachusetts tracker: More than 40 million people in the northeastern United States braced September 25 for heavy rain and strong winds as an unusually powerful storm for the season was forecast to crash into the region. (AFP) According … Read more

Massachusetts is turning a retired cranberry bog into the final restored link along Red Brook; the project is designed to protect a rare brook trout that moves between freshwater and the ocean

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Massachusetts is turning a retired cranberry bog into the final restored link along Red Brook; the project is designed to protect a rare brook trout that moves between freshwater and the ocean

Century Bog was previously a working cranberry bog. (Photo: Cape and islands) Massachusetts is restoring a former cranberry bog in Plymouth and Wareham to complete protection of Red Brook from its headwaters to salt water. The Century Bog project will turn the retired cranberry farm into a functioning wetland and stream channel, creating a more … Read more

For half a century, Massachusetts’ Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

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For half a century, Massachusetts' Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

For decades, a stretch of Mill Brook in Athol, Massachusetts, was hidden beneath asphalt, largely out of sight beneath what had become a downtown parking area. This month, the small central Massachusetts town celebrated a very different landscape: the stream is flowing in the open again, new wetlands surround it and much of the former … Read more

At 18, Pat Lightizer joined a Massachusetts company where letters were still drawn by hand; 53 years later, she retired and her colleagues surprised her with a font bearing her name

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At 18, Pat Lightizer joined a Massachusetts company where letters were still drawn by hand; 53 years later, she retired and her colleagues surprised her with a font bearing her name

Lightizer joined the company’s type division straight out of high school at age 18. At the time, the business was known as Compugraphic Corp. For most people, retirement comes with a card, a cake or perhaps a watch to mark the occasion. For Pat Lightizer, it came with something far more fitting: a typeface with … Read more