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Dracut

Editorial: Dracut’s football quandary a sign of declining times

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Pending approval by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, Dracut High will indeed play football this season.

For a while last week, it didn’t seem likely. That was before high-school administrators came up with a plan to put a team on the field despite its low numbers.

In a joint statement released Sept. 1, Dracut Athletic Director Paula Chausse and Principal Richard Manley announced the school had submitted an application to the MIAA to form a one-year cooperative team with Innovation Academy Charter School of Tyngsboro.

“While final approval is forthcoming, we have no reason to believe there will be any difficulties,” the statement read. “This arrangement will provide advantages to our school and to our student-athletes. Our Middies football team will continue to play at Beaudry Field at Dracut High School in Middie Blue in front of our community.”

Dracut initially enrolled 28 football players for the upcoming season, a barely sufficient roster to field a team. However, as of last Thursday, that number was reduced to 20, with only 17 physically cleared to play.

Innovation Academy doesn’t have a football team, but 13-15 students expressed interest in playing football when an initial merger was proposed.

The announcement capped a rollercoaster week of emotions for players, parents and fans.

Players were first notified by school administrators on Aug. 29 that their season was in serious jeopardy, prompting parents Jenn Wakefield and Neala Richardson into action. The football moms helped organize a rally Thursday in front of the high school. The assembly drew over 150 people, including players from Dracut Pop Warner.

The Middies’ once proud football program has fallen on hard times the last few seasons. A member of the highly competitive Merrimack Valley Conference, they finished 2-10 last year, and have gone 13-33 over the last five seasons.

Even with the MIAA’s approval, Dracut’s combined team will need time to jell, necessitating changes to its schedule, slated to begin Friday night against North Andover.

Because of that uncertainty, league rival Lowell has opted to play Milford instead of Dracut on Oct. 13.

School districts teaming up to play sports happens occasionally, especially in ice hockey, which involves unique demands of time and financial commitment.

Whether Dracut High football’s 11th-hour rescue plan allows the school to play for time and build a solid foundation for future years remains to be seen.

But its situation aligns with a nationwide decline in football participation.

As reported by US News and World Report earlier this year, 11-player tackle football continued to trend upward until the 2009-10 academic year, when enrollment began to wane, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations’ Athletics Participation Survey.

The shift corresponded with heightened public awareness in 2009 regarding head injuries among former professional football players, including a congressional hearing featuring NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in front of the House Judiciary Committee, and subsequent adjustments to league rules.

So, it’s no coincidence that much of the concern over both amateur and professional football player safety surrounds head injuries. A study published in 2018 by The Journal of Pediatrics identified a concussion incidence rate of 5.1% per season among youth football participants ages 5 to 14, with half of players who suffered concussions still symptomatic three weeks later.

Those concerns have undoubtedly contributed to football’s declining numbers.

The latest survey release from the NFHS – the first since 2018-19 – shows that the 2021-22 school year was the first on record with fewer than a million players participating in 11-player high school football since the turn of the century. The reported total of 976,886 participants represents a 12.2% decrease from its 2008-09 peak.

And as 11-player tackle football popularity has decreased, participation on smaller teams has increased. In 2021-22, around 8,500 more high-schoolers played on teams of either six, eight or nine players than in 2008-09.

Trends among younger players point to even less enthusiasm for the traditional 11-team concept.

According to the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, younger ages have seen an even steeper decline in tackle football participation.

Based on data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the institute’s State of Play report shows that from 2020 to 2021, participation in tackle football for kids ages 6 to 12 declined nearly 18%.

Since 2016, the institute says, tackle football participation rates for this age group have decreased 29%, while flag football rates have gone up 15%, with flag football players exceeding tackle football players by more than 300,000 in 2021.

Dracut certainly won’t be the last team in our area to face this crossroads. Based on those youth football statistics, fewer youngsters will enter high school intending to play under those Friday Night lights.

That will either force high schools – as Dracut did – to form teams with charter schools or other communities, or simply abandon the sport entirely.

Absent some dramatic rule changes designed to promote further player safety, that tough decision will become a reality.

‘Whiplash’: Local farmers say heavy rains, inconsistent weather have impacted crops

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One does not need to be a weather scientist to know that New England has been subject to unusual and inconsistent weather for this part of the country this year.

To many the weather, marked most notably by heavy, persistent rain, may seem a welcome change in 2023 after 2022 saw the worst drought the region had experienced in years.

For local farmers, who are of course always in need of water for their crops, the rain and inconsistent weather posed unique challenges this year, and in many cases resulted in the significant loss of some crops.

Dave Dumaresq runs Farmer Dave’s in Dracut, Tewksbury and Westford, with fields totaling about 100 acres across all three growing sites. For his farm, “whiplash” was the best way he could describe the experience of growing food this year.

“Last year was our worst drought in about 20 years, and that drought continued well into this spring,” Dumaresq said Thursday.

Dumaresq and his more than 80 employees prepared for this year’s planting seasons as if 2023 was going to be another drought, and they began irrigating certain crops in April and May to get them to germinate. Then the rains arrived in bulk.

“There has been whiplash, total extremes from last year to this year,” said Dumaresq.

The soil in his farms ended up being the main saving grace, due to their sandy composition that makes it easier for water to drain. But Dumaresq — like other farmers in New England — still experiences crop loss due to the excess water. In some lower lying parts of his fields, particularly among his rows of potatoes, Dumaresq is faced with crops that have simply been drowned. In just one potato field in Dracut, Dumaresq estimated that he will lose about 30,000 pounds of yield from the crops and land area lost due to pooling water.

“We have these low spots where we lose corn and we lose potatoes because it all pools up,” said Dumaresq. “And in general we were a little delayed on some of our harvests due to the cooler, cloudy weather.”

A mitigating factor for Dumaresq and other farmers is to diversify. One can do that, he said, by having a large variety of crop types and having diverse compositions of land.

That diversification didn’t help a lot of farmers in New England this year, however, when it came to some kinds of fruits.

“You will not find a peach in Massachusetts this year,” said Dumaresq.

In addition to vegetables, Farmer Dave’s is also home to various fruit trees like apples and peaches. Many such orchards were wiped of their fruit yield this year, but it had nothing to do with the rain. In early February and again in mid-May, there were two nights where the temperatures reached unseasonable lows, which killed off most peaches and many apples when the fruits were still young, leaving the region basically without local peaches for the year.

“It took us a little while to emotionally get past it,” said Ed Herdiech, who owns Autumn Hills Orchard in Groton with his wife, Kim Herdiech.

Autumn Hills Orchard lost their entire crop of stone fruit, peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots during the early February deep freeze, Ed Herdiech said, and they were lucky enough to not lose the rest in May. Thanks to the fact that their apple trees and other fruits are up a hill from the rest of the orchard, the temperatures stayed just high enough to prevent damage from the cold, which would have likely killed those fruits as well if they were at a lower elevation.

The trees that have survived the bitter cold and inconsistent heat, Herdiech said, actually have benefitted from the high rainfall the region has seen.

“Besides making it a little soggy around the orchard, it has benefited our business,” said Herdiech. “Unlike last year, when it never rained.”

In Leominster, Gove Farm owner Paul Gove said that there is always expected to be variation in the amount of rain and type of weather seen by a region from year to year.

“Maybe not quite this extreme,” Gove said Thursday.

Like the others, Gove lost his entire 700-tree peach crop in February, and the rain has been a constant barrier to planting in his fields.

“The rain has affected us both in yield and just being able to get onto the field,” said Gove. “I have corn fields, which are the wettest fields right now, and we haven’t put a tractor on it since we got one stuck in the mud in June.”

Of the 48 batches of corn that were planted at Gove Farm this year, Gove said at least half a dozen have been lost because the rain prevented them from properly taking care of the plants.

“We are battling more weed pressure because we can’t get on the field with herbicides,” said Gove.

Gove said that he feels as though the climate is changing, as climate and weather are something people like him need to pay attention to, if for no other reason than because it is integral to their business. He said he did not feel qualified to take a position on whether the changing climate is something caused by humanity, or if it is part of natural, long-term weather cycles.

“But it is changing,” said Gove.

The impact of unusual weather in farming can also extend beyond the availability of certain fruits and vegetables on the grocery shelves. Warren Shaw, owner of Shaw Farm in Dracut and president of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, said that the heavy rains have had a great impact on his ability to feed his dairy cows.

“It has probably been the most devastating weather we have had consistently of my entire lifetime,” Shaw said Thursday.

Things could certainly be much worse, Shaw said. In places like Western Massachusetts and Vermont, flooding devastated local farms this year in a part of the region with a far higher farm density than Eastern Massachusetts.

“It has cost the industry millions, no question about it,” said Shaw.

Still, the consistent rain has had its impact on this side of New England. Shaw said that because of the amount of rain, one cannot get onto farmland to plant and work the soil at the times one should to maximize their crops.

“When growing crops for cows, they have a certain timeline when they have to be harvested or they lose their nutritional value,” said Shaw.

The reality of the situation, Shaw said, is that the climate is changing, and it is already at the point of affecting our ability to grow food.

“Whether you believe that is a natural change of weather patterns, or is caused by humans, isn’t as important as it is that this is climate change, and it is not going to go away,” said Shaw.

Pride Month takes Greater Lowell, celebrating LGBTQ+ history, identities

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The commonwealth, country and world are painted in rainbows every June, marking the start of Pride Month and an effort for LGBTQ+ people to be seen and heard in their identities.

But Pride encompasses more than the grandiose parades and large-scale parties and celebrations. Towns and communities across Massachusetts are recognizing and holding space for their own residents in different ways, in solidarity, collaboration and validation.

Here’s a look at the upcoming LGBTQ+ happenings this month in Greater Lowell and beyond.

Lowell

Taffeta, a new music venue out of Western Avenue Studios, will be creating “all around queer vibes” on Trans Tuesday, an event featuring performances from local trans artists and a live DJ, on June 6 from 8-11 p.m. Portions of the proceeds will be donated to Trans Resistance MA, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

Food trucks will be stationed outside, and drinks will be served. Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door.

For a thorough look at drag itself, the Pollard Memorial Library — in partnership with the Wilmington Memorial Library — is inviting Matthew Wittmann to cover the United States history of drag performances in a Zoom lecture June 8 from 7-8 p.m.

Wittmann, curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection, will utilize photographs and primary source materials from the Houghton Library at Harvard University. Registration for the virtual session is open on the library’s events page.

At the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, literary scholar Heather Barrett and historian Resi Polixa will walk through local LGBTQ+ history, weaving in stories of the city’s immigrants and mill workers of years past. Interested parties can join the walk June 10 from 10-11:30 a.m.

And following Billerica’s recent proclamations in support of LGBTQ+ rights, Billerica Access Television is holding an art installation and reception at the historic Howe School at 390 Boston Road June 10 from 2-5 p.m. The mixed media art will honor and celebrate community pride and allyship, with remarks from guest speaker Kelly Jenkins at 3:30 p.m. and a film screening from Elliot Gale.

Chelmsford

The party continues in Chelmsford, where residents can prepare “to dance, sing, cheer, and slay” at the Chelmsford Center for the Arts’ “Celebration! A Drag Show” June 10 from 7-9 p.m. In partnership with Chelmsford Community Services, the night of performances is only open to adults 21-plus — though will be “family-friendly” — and there will be a cash bar.

Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for seniors, and they can be purchased through the CCA’s website or by contacting the box office at 978-250-3780 or cca@chelmsfordma.gov.

Beforehand, the town will host a handful of free activities and resources for families at the Market on the Common from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Every June, Rainbow Merrimack Valley — formerly Rainbow Chelmsford — distributes rainbow flags to allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community by request through an online portal, as well as in person outside the CCA on Saturdays. Those interested can email rainbowchelmsford@gmail.com or access the contact form on the organization’s website, rainbowchelmsford.com.

For the education-seekers, SpeakOUT Boston — speakers who address discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community — are visiting the Chelmsford Public Library to teach attendees how to be allies for transgender people.

The event is part of the library’s Compelling Questions lecture series, which seeks to hold discussions around challenging topics with a current day impact.

SpeakOUT Boston encourages attendees to “Ask Us Anything” in an effort to combat misinformation and increase understanding. Registration is open on the library’s website for the event, which will be held June 21 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Acton

The Pride party kicks off June 16 with the Acton Pride Weekend! Drag Show Event. Drag performers will take the stage at the outdoor Thomas E. Tidman Amphitheater at NARA Park from 8-10 p.m.

Audience members should bring blankets and chairs, as well as their own food and drinks. Food and alcoholic beverages will be sold on the premises. Tickets for those 14-plus are $10 on Eventbrite and $15 at the gate.

Dracut

Readers can find their next summer page-turner at the Parker Memorial Library’s Virtual LGBTQ+ Book Club, where attendees can discuss author Ashley Herring Blake’s “Delilah Green Doesn’t Care” and “Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail” that may serve “as a springboard to discuss the challenges,” the event description states.

The book club is open to teens, adults and seniors who are interested in exploring books with LGBTQ+ themes alongside LGBTQ+ librarians. The Zoom runs June 26 from 7-8 p.m., and more information is posted on the library’s website.

Fitchburg

NoWoCo Pride — a group representing LGBTQ+ residents and allies of North Worcester County — is organizing its first annual Pride Parade at Fitchburg City Hall July 22, starting at 2 p.m.

It’s just one of several events in the county this and next month continuing the Pride celebrations, which includes a Pride Paint Party at Main Street Studios June 18 from 1-3 p.m., a Gardner City Hall Lighting July 16 and NoWoCo Pride’s fifth anniversary gala July 19. Tickets to paid events can be purchased through NoWoCo’s website.

And for the pet lovers, NoWoCo is inviting furry friends to participate in a Paws Up for Pride at the Fitchburg Dog Park July 20 at 7 a.m. There will be vendors and a pet costume contest.

Lori Trahan celebrates service academy nominees

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LOWELL — Each June, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan’s office begins the process of accepting, vetting and nominating 10 applicants each to four of the nation’s five U.S. service academies — West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy.

Monday night, Trahan recognized the 24 nominees from her office in a ceremony held in the venerable Hall of Flags at Lowell Memorial Auditorium, celebrating what she called, “this remarkable group of young adults.”

They ranged across the 35 3rd Congressional District communities, hailing from Pepperell, Lancaster, Acton, Clinton, Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Concord, Dracut, Carlisle, Westford, Lowell and Tyngsboro.

Trahan made her remarks standing at the front of a room lined with flags depicting Veterans’ Council organizations, early American history and the state flag. She cited the hall’s significance as a place of honor dedicated to the men and women veterans of Lowell, especially those who died during time of war.

“As your representative in Congress, my role in this process — nominating the students to our world-class service institutions — is one of my greatest honors, and it’s a responsibility that everyone on the team takes very seriously.” Trahan started her congressional career serving on the Armed Services Committee.

That team included Air Force veteran and Trahan’s Director of Constituent Services Jorge Morales-Lopez, who told the crowd that a service academy education is “rooted in leadership, discipline and the skills necessary to become an officer in the armed forces.”

The application season opens on June 1 and ends Oct. 31. Students must submit three letters of recommendation, a resume of extracurricular activities, an official high school transcript, SAT and/or ACT scores and a 500-word essay on attending a service academy.

“As officers in the U.S. military, you will form the ‘tip of the spear’ in that effort,” Trahan said. “Seeing the drive that got you here, and the courage you have shown in taking this step, reassures me that America’s best days are ahead.”

A nine-member Service Academy board of past and present military, recommended the nominees on behalf of Trahan’s office. Both U.S. Army Sgt. First Class (Ret.) John Moses, of Chelmsford, and former U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Marine David Cote, attended the event representing the board.

“We don’t just look at your grades or your SAT scores,” Trahan said. “We look for students rich in character and leadership, and with unwavering enthusiasm and determination, driven by the steadfast commitment to serve our country and our common good.”

The Air Force Junior ROTC honor guard from Lowell High School opened the ceremony, presenting the flags that flanked the stage and later became a backdrop for family photos with Trahan and military leadership.

Among that group was cadet and nominee Kaiden Man, of Lowell, who attended the ceremony with his family. He said his parents “nudged” him to join the high school’s ROTC program four years’ ago. Although he did not receive an appointment to a service academy, Man said he was going to continue a military path by enlisting upon graduation in June.

Six women were among the nominees, which Trahan said reflects the commitment of the Board to nominate students representative of the 3rd District.

Sophie Russell, of Chelmsford, received nominations to West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy. She’ll report to Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island. Service runs in her family, she said.

“My mother, my father and all of my grandparents were in the military, so I wanted to follow in their footsteps,” Russell said. “I was in the Air Force auxiliary for two years. I found out in January that I was nominated.”

Another legacy of family service was reflected in Elizabeth “Lisa” Fitzgerald’s decision to apply to and receive an appointment to the Air Force Academy.

“Both my parents went to the Air Force Academy, and served in the military,” the Concord resident said. “I found that inspiring. My three older siblings — two sisters and a brother — also went to the academy. That motivated me to pursue a life of service.”

Of the 24 nominees, eight received an appointment to a service academy, with Morales-Lopez noting that, “Receiving a nomination is in of itself an accomplishment.”

Lars Jansson, of Tyngsboro, knows both sides of the nomination process. Jansson was a nominee last year, but did not receive an appointment to a service academy. He enrolled in UMass Francis School of Engineering, and applied again this year, receiving an appointment to West Point.

“We nominate the students,” Morales-Lopez explained. “But the academy’s make the final determination on admission. He did not receive an appointment last year, but I encouraged him to come back and apply.”

After the speeches recognizing their accomplishments, Trahan, Col. Taona Enriquez and Chief Master Sgt. Alan Weary conferred the certificates upon the nominees. Afterwards, Trahan spoke again to highlight the impact the young people had on her work in Congress.

“We have a collective duty to secure our future and our children’s future by defending our values wherever they are challenged aboard or at home,” Trahan said. “As officers in the U.S. military, you will form the tip of the spear in that effort, and seeing the drive that got you here, and the courage you have shown in taking this step, reassures me that America’s best days are ahead.”

She wished the nominees the best of luck on their future endeavors, and thanked them for the honor of nominating them. “I’m so present for this moment, looking into your faces knowing that our best days are indeed ahead with you at the helm.”

The nominees who received appointments are:

West Point

• Adrien Lam – Groton, United States Military Academy Preparatory School.

• Lars Jansson – Tyngsboro, University of Massachusetts, Lowell – Francis College ofEngineering.

• Anthony Petracca – Lancaster, Trivium School.

Naval Academy

• Fiona Cullen – Andover, Austin Preparatory School.

Air Force Academy

• Zachary Aster – Fitchburg, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

• Elizabeth Fitzgerald – Concord, Austin Preparatory School.

•Keira Lonadier – Concord, Concord-Carlisle High School.

Merchant Marine

• Robert Baum – South Hamilton, Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School.

Santander Bank to close 19 branches in Massachusetts, online banking a factor in the decision

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As more people shift to handling their finances online, an increasing number of banks are doing away with their brick-and-mortar branches, including one that just announced it’s shuttering 19 branches in the state.

Boston-based Santander Bank company alerted the Treasury Department last week about its plans to close 19 branches across Massachusetts in the coming months.

“Like many industries, our customers’ preferences have changed, with more customers choosing to bank with us online,” the company said in a statement. “Therefore, we are reimagining the customer and employee experience by simplifying our processes, refining our branch footprint, and increasing our investment in digital capabilities to align with the evolving needs of our customers.”

Boston will be seeing the most number of Santander branches close, with seven shutting their doors. The closures will take place in late July and early August. Affected locations include 585 Columbia Road in Dorchester; 67 Beacon St. on Beacon Hill; 31 St. James Ave. in the Back Bay; 6 Francis St. in Brigham Circle; 287 Hanover St. in the North End; 521 Tremont St. in the South End; and 176 Federal St. in Downtown.

Also closing are branches in Ayer, Bedford, Braintree, Chestnut Hill, Dracut, Holliston, Lawrence, Marlboro, Needham and Weston.

Customers at these locations have received notices in the mail with area branches that will act as “receivers.”

This is not the first time Santander has shut down some of its branches in the Bay State, which has 165 locations currently, according to the company. Figures from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. indicate that the bank has shut down 36 locations in the state since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Santander has recorded the third most branch closures in the state during that time, with Bank of America leading at 41 and Citizens Bank in second at 39, according to the Boston Business Journal, citing data from the FDIC.

“Our employees are valued by customers and the Bank alike,” Santander said, “and we are working wherever possible to connect employees impacted by the consolidations with new roles through our talent tools and focused career sessions.”

Local communities to receive state funding for clean energy projects

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Dracut, Littleton and other area communities were among the 50 municipalities across Massachusetts to receive Green Communities grant funding.

The outgoing Baker-Polito Administration announced Tuesday nearly $6.2 million will be spread across the commonwealth for clean energy initiatives, such as electric vehicle charging stations, upgraded ventilation in municipal buildings and hybrid police cars, among other projects. The grants are distributed through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

Dracut earned $197,610 in funding, which Town Manager Ann Vandal said will go toward installing a new heat pump, water heater and weatherization work at the library and the Council on Aging, as well as adding insulation and making other weatherization updates at the Department of Public Works’ annex and fire stations 1 and 2.

But the bulk of the funding, $85,000, will go toward an LED project at George H. Englesby Elementary School, Vandal said. It’s one of the last buildings to make the switch, Vandal said, and making such changes will hopefully result in savings for the town and reduce its carbon releases.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve done all the LED lighting and all town buildings, and that’s why the we’re only doing the Englesby because we weren’t able to get to that one last time,” Vandal said. “We just put out an RFP (request for proposals) for electric charging stations… We can only do so much with Green Communities each year, so we’re basing our projects on that availability of the grants, and they’ve been great to us.”

Vandal said those projects will likely be completed by the end of June, but that’s dependent on staffing and supply chain availability. After a previous Green Communities grant of about $200,000 around two years ago— which Dracut used to install LED lighting — Vandal said the town is “fortunate” to receive the continued support.

“We’re grateful that we can get these things done,” she said, “and not have to cost the taxpayers a ton of money and use other resources.”

Besides Dracut, other local towns to receive grant funding include Littleton with $74,024, Acton with $100,000, North Andover with $139,993, Bedford with $50,000, Burlington with $129,078, Harvard with $27,173 and Ashburnham with $10,000.

Since 2015, almost $127 million has been awarded to Green Communities grants, and an estimated 36% of the total awards support “building electrification projects,” according to a press release.

Most of the funding allowance in North Andover will be used for door weather stripping, said Director of Administrative Services Laurie Burzlaff, but there’s also new LED lighting and air sealing work to be done at North Andover High School and all four of the town’s elementary schools.

After all the state’s projects are finished, they are estimated to save the equivalent amount of energy consumed by 202 homes in Massachusetts and more than $700,000 in annual total cost savings, according to the press release. They will also reduce emissions equivalent “to taking 374 cars off the road,” the release stated.

“The grants awarded to these 50 cities and towns will help reduce emissions from buildings, make our transportation cleaner, invest in the local economy, and are a further step in helping Massachusetts achieve a net-zero economy,” Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Patrick Woodcock stated.

To qualify as a Green Community, cities and towns must meet a set of criteria, which includes designated zoning, creating an energy reduction plan and adopting a fuel-efficient vehicle policy and the Stretch Code, among other requirements. About 90% of the commonwealth’s 290 towns and cities have been classified as Green Communities.

The maximum grant allowance in this round is $200,000, but can exceed to $500,000 for projects that may take several years to complete.

The largest sums were awarded to Beverly and Westport, which received $500,000 and $467,000 respectively.

Outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker stated the program is one step in helping the state become greener and become more mindful of its energy output.

“The work of our cities and towns to implement these energy efficiency and renewable energy projects supported by the Green Communities Program is crucial to the Commonwealth meeting its climate goals and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050,” Baker said in a statement. “Our Administration has been proud to support municipal projects that reduce long-term energy costs for our cities and towns while making the Commonwealth a cleaner, healthier and more affordable place to live.”