The Commonwealth leads the nation in vaccinating residents, with 75% of adults receiving at least one dose. To date, over 4 million residents have received a first dose, with 3.2 million fully vaccinated. On Monday, May 17, Governor Baker, Lt. Governor Polito, Secretary Kennealy, and Secretary Sudders announced that all remaining COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted effective May 29.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will issue a public health advisory effective May 29 that advises all unvaccinated residents to continue to wear face-coverings in indoor settings and when they can’t socially distance. The advisory will also recommend that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a face-covering or social distance indoors or outdoors except for in certain situations.

With that information, North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard announced that North Adams City Hall will reopen to the public effective Tuesday, June 1, 2021. City offices will be open during the following hours:

8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Friday (through September 3)

The City of North Adams will follow the CDC/MassDPH mask guidance, unvaccinated individuals should continue to wear face-coverings in indoor settings – including all City buildings – and when they can’t socially distance. Following the reopening, anyone who has concerns about their personal health should feel welcome and supported in continuing to wear a mask when interacting with the public or with city staff.

Mayor Bernard said,

“Like many people in our community I have mixed emotions about this lifting of restrictions and return to standard operations. I still will be watching public health data carefully and working with the health department and board of health to review operations and make adjustments in response to local conditions. Overall, though, my overwhelming response is one of immense gratitude for the team working in City Hall, and throughout the city, and for all the members of our community who have played a part in our public health response, including first responders and our professional educators and school employees. These past 15 months have been incredibly challenging. I thank you all for rising to the many challenges we have faced together, and I look forward to seeing members of our community around the city as we carefully and cautiously return to the rhythms and routines of summer in North Adams and the Northern Berkshires. Finally, if you have not already been vaccinated, I encourage you to do so. Visit https://getvaccinatedberkshires.org/ or https://www.maimmunizations.org/ for information.”

Following the public reopening of City Hall, city staff remains available to the public by phone and email, and members of the public are encouraged to continue scheduling appointments with city staff to minimize wait times and delays when visiting City Hall. For convenience and safety, payments will continue to be accepted by mail, online at www.northadams-ma.gov, or may be dropped off in the secure drop boxes installed at each entrance to City Hall. For questions regarding payments, please contact the Treasurer’s Office at 413-662-3000 extension 3044 or email bcooper@northadams-ma.gov.

The central office for North Adams Public Schools, located on the second floor of City Hall, will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday until June 11, 2021. After this date, the central office will be open for summer hours from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Fridays until September 1.

The North Adams Public Library also will reopen with regular hours on June 1. Appointments will no longer be required for in-person browsing, borrowing, and timed computer use. Group meetings and gatherings and other uses, including extended visitation, still will not be permitted for the time being.

The Mary Spitzer Senior Center will continue to offer limited hours and programming by appointment and reservation, with plans to reopen fully later in the summer following the completion of planned renovations to the senior center building.

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LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli

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