BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey signed An Act Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of Emergency.
This legislation will permit state and local public bodies to conduct public meetings in a hybrid or remote format while also allowing participants at town meetings to participate remotely through June 2027.
"This law allows everyone, no matter where they are in our state, to engage in important discussions that affect their lives and makes it easier for everyone to have their voices heard in our government," said Governor Maura Healey. "We don’t want anyone to be held back from attending public meetings because they don’t have a ride or child care or because they have a disability. We're grateful for the partnership of the Legislature and local officials as we work together to increase access to participating in our democracy."
Earlier this year, Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll proposed the Municipal Empowerment Act, which would make hybrid and remote access to public meetings permanent.
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Soccer Hall of Fame Adds Members, Awards Scholarships
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The 2026 CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday.
The Hall of Fame's mission is to preserve the sport's history in Berkshire County, to honor excellence within the game and to make a connection between the generations that bring communities together. With players who last played on a soccer field in Berkshire County in the 1960s to the scholarship winners at the banquet on May 14th who played their last high school game in the fall of last year, we are achieving our goal.
It is worth noting that this class of inductees is stellar. We have four County MVP selections, 14 All-Berkshire selections, eight All-Western Mass selections and, and nine captain honors, five four-year varsity starters and one five-year varsity starter.
The players were introduced by committee chairmen Al Belanger and Patrick West. The scholarship winners were introduced by Chris Dumas, a member of the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame committee. The photographer for the evening was Ricco Fruscio. Over the past 21 years, the scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Berkshire County have topped $250,000.
The 2026 Inductees:
Katie Dumas Sturm (Wahconah 2015) was a hard-nosed, and relentless four-year starter for Wahconah. She was a two-year captain in the middle of the field, scoring and assisting on clutch goals in big games. She was rewarded with being named All Berkshire, and All Western Mass in her senior year. She is married to Brent Sturm (who is also being inducted into the hall of fame this year) and has a son Banks and a 7-week-old Everett Michael. She works at General Dynamics.
Brent Sturm (Wahconah 2009) was named to the All Berkshire Team in both his junior and senior years and won a Western Mass championship during his time at Wahconah. He also went on to have a stellar career at Wentworth Institute. He and his wife, Katie, are the first husband and wife inductees into the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame in the same year. After college, he helped coach the Wahconah Soccer and basketball teams. He works at General Dynamics.
Nicole Gamberoni (Lenox 2019) was an impact player on her team for five years while at Lenox making All-Berkshire teams four times. She was captain twice, finished with 107 points, and was the league MVP two times. She also went on to play soccer at AIC. She is working at Lenox High School while she is getting her master’s degree.
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