Hopkinton Today: Wednesday, Jan. 20

by Jerry Spar | Jan 20, 2021 | Hopkinton Today

Good morning, Hopkinton! Welcome to the daily update we call Hopkinton Today — a quick recap of yesterday’s news, highlights of what’s on tap, and a video or two to brighten your morning.

Health Department director Shaun McAuliffe, during his update to the Select Board on Tuesday night, said the town has had a rough couple of weeks dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic but appears to be “trending back downward.” “We’re coming off what I hope to be one of the worst two weeks of the pandemic in Hopkinton,” he said, noting there have been 172 cases in the last month, and last week the town’s positive rate was a record-high 5.95 percent.

Growth Study Committee chair Fin Perry appeared before the Select Board on Tuesday night to encourage the establishment of an Economic Development Office at Town Hall “to call attention to the fact that Hopkinton is more than a bedroom community.” And town manager Norman Khumalo shared some details from a recent pre-construction meeting for the Main Street Corridor Project.

The Zoning Advisory Committee put the final touches on its proposed commercial ground-mounted solar bylaw at its meeting Tuesday night, working with town counsel to tweak the wording before unanimously voting to send it to the Planning Board for eventual submission to Town Meeting.

Democrats Muriel Kramer and Irfan Nasrullah announced Tuesday that they have launched their campaigns for the two available Select Board seats in the May 17 Town Election.

Town meetings tonight include the Capital Improvement Committee (6) and Growth Study Committee (7).

Photo of the Day: The sun sets on one of the Hopkinton High School athletic fields.