New England News Collaborative

Stories published by WBUR in partnership with members of the New England News Collaborative.

A section of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where PCB-contaminated sediment was excavated and removed. (Nancy Eve Cohen/NEPM)

EPA asks court to dismiss environmental groups' appeal to Housatonic River cleanup plan

A plan to clean up the Housatonic River is getting push back from two environmental groups, which say the EPA should send all PCB-contaminated waste to an off-site facility, rather...

For two N.H. kids, collecting frog eggs leads to published research paper

Sisters Ava and Izzy of Hanover, New Hampshire, were curious as to why frog eggs that they found near their home had different colors on them. Maybe this would affect...

A warm start to winter adds to challenges for Vermont’s logging industry

Loggers rely on frozen ground to access certain forested areas, but that’s been difficult so far this year. And the warming climate is just one of the challenges the industry...

As LEGO looks to Boston, Connecticut leaders concerned about fate of 700 employees

The mayor of Enfield, Connecticut, says LEGO has provided the building blocks of the community for 50 years, and he is saddened at the company’s plans to depart. He hopes...

Trump speaks at state GOP convention in first visit to NH since launching 2024 campaign

New Hampshire Republicans gathered in Salem, New Hampshire, this weekend to elect new leaders, and to hear from an old one: former President Donald Trump. In an hour long speech,...

In hands of Andrew Bird, Dickinson's 'Funeral, in my Brain,' becomes an indie pop ballad

An English major might find it sacrilegious to even try, but singing an Emily Dickinson poem to the theme from "Gilligan's Island" is known as sort of party game. Indie...

This Maine home can stay 70 degrees without a furnace, even when it's freezing outside

What's known as the passive house concept came to the United States in 2006, and is being used to construct buildings throughout the U.S. In Maine, there are over 100...

Persistent seal wanders ashore from Maine coast three times during snowstorm

In Cape Elizabeth, authorities found a seal far from the ocean and throughout the day worked to bring it back to the beach. Winter storm or not, the seal had...

Harvard completes repatriation of Native remains to Wampanoag tribes

The Harvard University's Peabody Museum and Warren Anatomical Museum has completed the legal process for return the remains of 313 Native people from eastern Massachusetts to Wampanoag communities in Mashpee...

Arts & Culture

Jan 24, 2023

Scallops dying off in Long Island are 'a cautionary tale' for New England

A study by Stony Brook University that measured the heartbeat of scallops found massive die-off in places like Long Island since 2019. As the entire Northeast warms, as much as...

Environment

Jan 23, 2023

Inside MGM Springfield. (Don Treeger/The Republican/Masslive.com)

MGM boss: Not realistic for Springfield casino to get to 3,000 employees

The president and CEO of MGM Resorts said Friday it's "not a real notion" to expect its Springfield casino to return to its originally promised number of 3,000 jobs.

Business

Jan 22, 2023

Harold Davis stands on his snow plow truck, which he bought this fall. (Mara Hoplamazian/NHPR)

‘You can’t plow a puddle’: How warmer winters are changing snowplowing

As climate change warms up winter, there are more and more days when it’s not cold enough to snow, according to one climatologist. And that's slowing down some snow plow...

Local Coverage

Jan 19, 2023

Attorney General John Formella announced a civil complaint had been filed against NSC-131 during a press conference in Portsmouth on Jan. 17. (Todd Bookman/NHPR)

Newburyport man, leader of hate group, charged for racist banner in N.H.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office filed a civil rights case against the hate group NSC-131, as well as its purported leader, Christopher Hood of Newburyport, Mass., and another member...

Local Coverage

Jan 18, 2023

Beachgoers enjoy Sand Beach in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Despite staffing challenges, 2022 was the second-busiest year for Acadia National Park

Last month marked two consecutive years of record-breaking visitation at Acadia. But the latest numbers are shadowed by staffing challenges fueled by a lack of affordable housing in the area.

Local Coverage

Jan 17, 2023

Michael He Crow, 60, stands on the road in Ogala, South Dakota that leads to the cabin where he grew up, on Dec. 27, 2022. (Nancy Eve Cohen/NEPM)

Ahead of ceremonies at Wounded Knee, items returned to Lakota from New England museum bring hope

As people on Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota this week prepare for the annual remembrance of the massacre at Wounded Knee, they’re reflecting also on items that were returned...

Local Coverage

04:29Dec 30, 2022

Christopher Britt cleans a chimney from inside the house, but goes up to the roof to inspect it after he's finished. (Mara Holpamazian/NHPR)

Chimney sweeps are in hot demand as some turn to wood stoves with an expensive heating season

Two in five New Hampshire residents use heating oil, which has hit a three decade high. Natural gas, propane, and electricity are also exceptionally expensive. New England is reliant on...

Local Coverage

05:12Dec 29, 2022

Massachusetts General Hospital. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Research center in Boston aims to jumpstart precision psychiatry

One goal is to develop new drugs to treat psychiatric disorders, as the field still uses meds that went on the market decades ago. But scientists say the complexity of...

Health

04:33Dec 28, 2022

The outline of electricity cables stretch across a gloomy winter sky. (In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images)

New England’s grid is expected to be reliable this winter, but a cold snap could cause issues

The grid operator says they do not anticipate calling for any controlled power outages – or “rolling blackouts” – this winter.

Local Coverage

Dec 6, 2022

Snowmaker Lincoln Faria moves a water hose to prevent it from getting buried in the snow at the Blue Hills Ski Area in Canton, where snowmaking on the slopes began early in the morning to allow for skiing over the weekend on Dec. 14, 2017. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Snowmaking helps ski season start at some western Massachusetts facilities

Some ski areas in western Massachusetts have been open limited hours even without much in the way of natural snow and are hoping for some help from Mother Nature to...

Business

Dec 6, 2022

Volunteers help out at the Sean Powers Wood Bank annual work day. (Rosalie Smith/NHPR)

With high heating costs, demand for assistance, firewood, and chimney sweeps is up in N.H.

About 1 in 14 households in New Hampshire use wood as their main source of heat, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s four times the national average. As more...

Local Coverage

Dec 6, 2022

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EPA asks court to dismiss environmental groups' appeal to Housatonic River cleanup plan

For two N.H. kids, collecting frog eggs leads to published research paper

A warm start to winter adds to challenges for Vermont’s logging industry

As LEGO looks to Boston, Connecticut leaders concerned about fate of 700 employees

Trump speaks at state GOP convention in first visit to NH since launching 2024 campaign

In hands of Andrew Bird, Dickinson's 'Funeral, in my Brain,' becomes an indie pop ballad

This Maine home can stay 70 degrees without a furnace, even when it's freezing outside

Persistent seal wanders ashore from Maine coast three times during snowstorm

Harvard completes repatriation of Native remains to Wampanoag tribes

Scallops dying off in Long Island are 'a cautionary tale' for New England

MGM boss: Not realistic for Springfield casino to get to 3,000 employees

‘You can’t plow a puddle’: How warmer winters are changing snowplowing

Newburyport man, leader of hate group, charged for racist banner in N.H.

Despite staffing challenges, 2022 was the second-busiest year for Acadia National Park

Ahead of ceremonies at Wounded Knee, items returned to Lakota from New England museum bring hope

Chimney sweeps are in hot demand as some turn to wood stoves with an expensive heating season

Research center in Boston aims to jumpstart precision psychiatry

New England’s grid is expected to be reliable this winter, but a cold snap could cause issues

Snowmaking helps ski season start at some western Massachusetts facilities

With high heating costs, demand for assistance, firewood, and chimney sweeps is up in N.H.