AMHERST — Amherst College is one of just two colleges and universities across the country, the other being Wagner College in Staten Island, that has received a perfect A++ score for its COVID-19 online dashboard.
Yale University professors created the ratings for how various campuses are disseminating statistics about the transmission of coronavirus and have reviewed the information about COVID-19 cases at 349 campuses.
The information is at https://www.ratecoviddashboard.com/ratings.
Amherst College’s dashboard, according to the ratings, was easy to read, updated daily, and provides a detailed daily compilation about positive tests among students and staff and those who are in quarantine.
Howard Forman, who directs the Health Care Management program in the Yale School of Public Health, is part of the team that put together the ratings system.
The University of Massachusetts received a B and Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges both got B- scores for their dashboards.
ValleyBike is allowing people to continue to use the bicycles for the winter in a limited capacity, with a four-month pass being offered.
The all-electric assist bike share program involves Amherst, UMass, Northampton, Easthampton, Holyoke, South Hadley and Springfield.
Some of the stations will be closed, including one near Amherst Town Hall, along with all of Springfield’s sites. All sites will close when the weather is deemed unsafe for biking.
For more information, go to www.valleybike.org
Amherst’s municipal website at amherstma.gov was recently overhauled, going live on Monday.
The revamped website prominently features a graphic stating “welcome to Amherst” with large photos, including ones of Town Hall and an aerial view of downtown. Links to access town government, police and fire services and parking information are highlighted at the top of the page.
Communications manager Brianna Sunryd said the refreshed website retains all of the content from the previous pages, which were pulled over. The hope is that the redesign will make the site easier to use.
“Our goal is to make it timely and topical without having to dig too deep,” Sunryd said.
A recent reappointment to the Personnel Board, recommended by Town Manager Paul Bockelman, was confirmed by the Town Council, but not without questions about the process used.
At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke expressed concern that D. Anthony Butterfield, chairman and member for 14 years, would continue to serve until 2023, and whether Bockelman publicized that possible opening as a requirement of the town charter adopted in 2018.
“I am really disappointed we’re not advertising the position and kind of keeping the old boys network, because that was not the point of the charter,” Hanneke said.
As vice president of the Charter Commission, Hanneke said put in a requirement to notice vacancies so that “insiders” are not repeatedly appointed.
Bockelman defended the selection, observing the Personnel Board is different from other committees in that it serves in an advisory role to the town manager and human resources director.
District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis also worried that a different set of rules are in place for the committee. “You need to come up with real criteria and say to the council this is the criteria I will use,” DeAngelis said.
Closed captioning is now available for Town Council meetings broadcast on Amherst Media.
The town recently hired Ai-Media to do the live transcript of the meetings on a trial basis.
“We hope one day that will be built into Zoom,” Sunryd said.
MONDAY: Public Art Commission, noon, and Town Council, 6:30 p.m., both virtual meetings via Zoom.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
