Jeff Johnson and Wade Hasty defeated Tony Boskovich ’74 and Albert Cummings IV after a hotly contested campaign in yesterday’s double-header Select Board election. Johnson and Hasty were informally aligned in a progressive-leaning slate that emphasized the need for racial justice in the Town.

Ninety-six percent of students living on campus have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a Record survey sent to the entire student body on Saturday estimates. Only 9.6 percent of the 751 on-campus students who responded, however, are fully vaccinated, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines as occurring two weeks after the final required dose.

As Election Day fast approaches, the Record spoke with three Select Board candidates, as well as local advocates and activists, to better understand the dynamics of two races that will define the Town government for years to come.

Gov. Charlie Baker on April 27 announced an order, effective April 30, to lift the state’s mandate requiring masks outdoors at all times. The College, however, will likely continue to require outdoor masking for the remainder of the semester.

Goodrich, the popular student-run coffee bar, has reopened for takeout orders during the first three weekends of May after being closed since the pandemic began. Demand for the Goodrich offerings was so high that on the coffee bar’s second day back in business — Sunday, May 2 — the online ordering software crashed.

The owners of the now-closed Sweet Brook Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Williamstown reached a settlement last month of $110,000 with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after repeated allegations of failure to care for residents.

1:19 p.m. Morgan Hall: A student called Campus Safety and Security (CSS) to report an odor of incense. An officer arrived and verified a very strong odor of what could be described as incense. 

The Select Board reviewed proposed articles in the draft warrant that will be presented at the annual Town meeting on June 8. The board also heard updates on the searches for the permanent town manager and interim police chief.

The College will mandate that students get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Aug. 1 unless they receive a medical or religious exemption.

After a turbulent year for Williamstown marked by reports of police misconduct, the continued hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resignation of several Town officials, Williamstown voters will go to the polls on May 11 to vote for two new members of the Williamstown Select Board alongside several other local races.

At least a dozen colleges and universities across the U.S. have said they will require students planning to enroll in the fall to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

On April 12, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Christine Wormuth ’91 to serve as Secretary of the Army. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to serve in this role.