Good morning and happy Friday, Burlington!

I had a great time as a member of the press corps (fancy! ) at the BCAT candidate debates last night for the School Committee and the Board of Health. Thanks so much to BCAT for hosting, to Alan Foulds for moderating, to Chris Flaherty for being a great co-panelist, and to all the candidates for coming and being such gracious guests.

The true star of the show, though, was COVID-19. From lessons learned to emergency preparedness for the future, from mask mandates to socioemotional health and learning loss, the pandemic came up in many questions during both debates. Other questions for School Committee candidates involved racial disparities in education outcomes and tension at School Committee meetings; Board of Health members fielded questions about climate change and the influx of biotechnology businesses into town.

Are the replays ready yet? Well, yes, they are! You can find them (along with all BCAT’s election coverage) in the BNEWS Election Center. I’ll also link them below for ease of access. They’ll be begin airing on BCAT starting Monday!

School Committee Debate

Board of Health Debate

There’s nothing on the town calendar today, so just a quick announcement and some more weekend watch recommendations, and then I’ll leave you alone.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection is April 2 from 8:30 to noon at Francis Wyman Elementary School!

BCAT producer Chris Flaherty did an interview with Mike Espejo for Select Board,

And also with Nick Priest for Select Board! Click the links to watch, and look out for my interviews with Planning Board candidates next week!

The link to Linda McNamee’s interview with me on her show, Something to Talk About, is here! Have a watch if you want to know more about me, the Buzz, and what else I get up to.