WESTBOROUGH — The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) has launched a public comment period to gather feedback about the state’s Internet for All Plan.
To distribute more than $145 million toward broadband and digital equity that was allocated to the state through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, MBI is gathering input from residents, municipalities and organizational stakeholders both online and by mail.
Residents are encouraged to review the plans and provide direction, suggestions and data in response to future digital equity efforts and community investments. The summary of these plans is available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Simplified Chinese.
To provide input, it is recommended to read the summary. After reading the plan documents, residents can submit comments electronically or submit typed or written comments using the printable form. The printable form can be mailed to Massachusetts Broadband Institute, Attn: MBI Public Comment, 75 North Drive, Westborough, MA 01581.
For more information regarding these plans and the public comment process, visit broadband.masstech.org/mainternetforallplan. The public comment period ends on Dec. 15.
Retired longtime Greenfield Recorder reporter and editor Richie Davis will offer three readings from his new book, “Flights of Fancy, Souls of Grace,” in Franklin and Hampshire counties and the North Quabbin region.
The schedule is as follows:
■Athol Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 10:30 a.m. Registration is required. Register at athollibrary.org or by calling 978-249-9515.
■Greenfield Public Library on Monday, Dec. 4, at 6:30 p.m.
■Forbes Library in Northampton on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. This will be Davis’ last public reading of the season.
All readings, where Davis’ three books will be available for sale and signing, are free to attend.
Davis, who covered energy, the environment and a host of other regional and local issues from 1976 until his retirement in 2019, issued his two prior collections of Recorder feature stories, “Inner Landscapes” and “Good Will & Ice Cream,” in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Each book in the trilogy highlights what Davis calls “true tales from extraordinary lives” that convey the region’s unique character.