Due to the recent significant increase in cases nationally and locally, we are providing you with a weekly snapshot of current metrics - please click on the button below for national, state, county and city/town data. 

For additional information related to the COVID-19 pandemic, please see the "COVID-19 Updates" section below.

Governor Baker announced this morning that beginning this week, and continuing through March, Massachusetts will receive a total or 26 million rapid antigen COVID-19 test kits. The Governor also announced that the Department of Public Health has also issued updated guidance on when to get tested. To view the Governor’s press conference, please click here. To see the latest guidance from DPH please below.

Celebrate our 100th year with us! We’re safely gathering with Greater Cape Ann’s business leaders and local, city, and state officials at the beautiful Beauport Hotel to enjoy delicious food, great company, and dance the night away on Thursday, March 10. Tickets are now available and going fast. See the registration page for Covid protocols. 

Gold: Beauport Hospitality Group, Beauport Financial Services, Cape Ann Savings Bank, National Grid

Silver: Happy Valley, BankGloucester

Winter Birding Boat Trip 

Saturday, March 12 | 8 AM - 1 PM

Magnolia's newest cafe, Happy Humpback, opened its doors last week and is quickly becoming a popular place to grab a bite to eat. If you haven't already, check out their social media to see what's cooking and stop in and sample their exciting menu.

Cazeaeult Solar & Home will be one of the featured contractors on This Old House next week. The segment airs on PBS on January 13 at 8 PM. This Old House is a nationally televised home improvement show that has been running for over 40 seasons. Tune in next Thursday to see Cazeault Solar & Home!

Make a donation to SeniorCare's Meals on Wheels program before February 9, 2022, and a Valentine will be delivered to a North Shore elder in your name. Join Us Online on Feb 14, 2022, at 10 AM for a special photo montage of past breakfasts

We all want to live on our own terms and be in control of our own futures. The time to start planning is NOW- don’t wait until crisis strikes! Diligent and detailed planning now can help provide invaluable peace of mind in the future for both you and your loved ones. Having the proper documentation in place now enables you to have a say over your future care and finances even if, God forbid, you should no longer be able to dictate your wishes and goals due to health issues, incapacity etc.

The Gloucester Rotary has produced a beautiful 2022 calendar, featuring scenic photography from local artists. In addition to the calendar, each purchase enters the buyer into a weekly raffle. $50 prizes will be drawn each week with two bonus prizes-- a $250 prize in June and a $500 prize in December. Calendars are $25 each, and proceeds from the sale of calendars will be used to support the many projects of the Gloucester Rotary.

The calendars are available for purchase online or in person at the Weathervane Gift Shop, located at 153 Main Street in downtown Gloucester (978-281-1227), at BankGloucester, located at 160 Main Street in downtown Gloucester (978-283-8200), and from any Gloucester Rotary member.

A two-hour guided walk organized by the Brookline Bird Club and led by local birding expert Peter Van Demark. About 1.5 miles, over easy to moderate gravel roads and trails in search of seasonal specialties. Boots advisable. Restrooms are available.

Gloucester's oldest cemetery, First Parish Burial Ground, reflects the city’s 400-year history. A dedicated group of volunteers has worked to restore and preserve it for many years. Join Carol Kelly of Gloucester Cemetery Committee for a (virtual) stroll through this historic space. Registration is not required.

Join this workshop followed by dune hike to learn tracking basics and identification skills allowing you to experience the outdoors in a new way. Enjoy a presentation on tracking at the Casino at Castle Hill, then reconvene at Crane Beach for a guided dune walk, investigating the trail for footprints, scat, burrows, and other signs left behind by dune dwellers. Via our observations, we will collect clues as to what animals are using this habitat. Bring your sharp senses and observation skills for this learning adventure.

Race relations in Gloucester, including findings of a new community survey, will be the focus when the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation conducts its annual observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, on Monday, January 17, 2022. Three local organizations have been invited to take part in a forum titled “The Racial Climate in Gloucester: What Lies Ahead,” beginning at 2 PM that day.

Montserrat College of Art Gallery will present Samuel Bak and the Art of Remembrance, from January 19 to March 5, 2022, at 23 Essex Street. Presented in cooperation with Pucker Gallery, Boston, this exhibition presents a selection of paintings by the acclaimed artist and Holocaust survivor. A public reception will be held on January 27 from 5 - 7 PM. It is free and open to the public.

In this workshop, participants will learn about building flavor through stock, as well as using what’s in season to capture the flavors of winter in New England. Appleton Farms vegetarian cook Tom Bush will lead a hands-on soup making demonstration using vegetables from the farm. All participants will share a role in the making of a hearty winter soup to enjoy, with fresh bread made from scratch in the Appleton Farms kitchen, as well as a quart of soup to take home.

Please join us as we listen to respected artist Brian Rutenberg discuss his artistic journey. This exciting talk is free and open to the public! All are welcome! Widely considered to be one of the finest American painters of his generation, Brian Rutenberg has spent forty years honing a distinctive method of compressing the rich color and form of his native coastal South Carolina into complex landscape paintings that imbue material reality with a deep sense of place.

After winning a Grammy for his soulful ballad “Walking in Memphis,” Marc Cohn solidified his place as one of this generation’s most compelling singer-songwriters, combining the precision of a brilliant tunesmith with the passion of a great soul man. Rooted in the rich ground of American rhythm and blues, soul and gospel and possessed of a deft storyteller’s pen, he weaves vivid, detailed, often drawn-from-life tales that evoke some of our most universal human feelings: love, hope, faith, joy, heartbreak.

At the end of January, the Cape Ann Museum is partnering with cultural institutions and businesses across Gloucester including Art Haven, Movement Arts Gloucester, MA (MAGMA), Maritime Gloucester, Dogtown Books, Discover Gloucester, the Gloucester Cultural Council, and the Cape Ann Makers Market to celebrate the Fish City’s recognizably salty character with Gloucester’s So Salty. Inspired by our friends down in Salem and their annual Salem’s So Sweet event, Gloucester’s two-day event will include ice sculptures on display, salty sweets for sale, free kids art activities, and much more.

Beth Israel Lahey Health and its member hospitals are conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment to better understand the most pressing health-related issues impacting the people living and working in the communities they serve. Please join them to hear key themes from our assessment, share your perspective, and discuss potential solutions.

Join Greenbelt and meet local trail runner Kyle Robidoux, and hear about his journey overcoming the continuing challenges of running while visually impaired. Kyle has now completed over 25 marathons and ultramarathons, including five Boston Marathons and three 100-mile races.

Happy 2022! Design of Mine says thank you for such an amazing year! To show their appreciation, Design of Mine is having a 40% discount January 12th-16th.

Misselwood is ready to ring in the new year with an amazing limited-time special! Take your team out of the office and join us on campus.

Book your corporate meeting during our semester intersession dates and receive 50% off the facility rental. Call 978-232-2128 or email misselwoodevents@endicott.edu to start planning your meeting today.

Local Sales, Discounts & Promotions

The new Creative County Initiative website is user-friendly and beautiful. Over the next two months, website developers would like to collect at least 200 Artist and Organization Profiles, and populate the events page with as many live and virtual events, workshops, and opportunities as possible. Organizers plan to launch a major promotional campaign in March as they build public awareness of this amazing resource.

Work has begun on constructing a temporary bridge. Please see below for a general timeline of the Essex bridge replacement project over the next three weeks. Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

On December 13, the Governor signed a $4B COVID-19 spending plan to support continued recovery across key priority areas, making substantial investments in housing and homeownership, healthcare, workforce development, premium pay for essential workers and infrastructure. The funding, first proposed by the Baker-Polito Administration in June of 2021, will put to work a portion of the Commonwealth’s direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Read more about the bill – including its support for housing, small business, and the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund – in the press release below.

Mass Growth Capital Corporation has matching grant funds to help eligible small businesses develop digitally. With Empower Digital, qualifying businesses will receive advisory support and funding for hiring, equipment, software, and more.

For more information about Empower Digital and Biz-M-Power grant opportunities, please visit the website below.

PCR testing site will soon open in the Stage Fort Park parking lot. Testing will be by appointment only, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM Monday – Saturday. More information will follow from the Gloucester Board of Health.

CDC now recommends that adolescents age 12 to 17 years old should receive a booster shot 5 months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series. Data show that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen protection against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. ACIP reviewed the available safety data following the administration of over 25 million vaccine doses in adolescents; COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

Based upon review of current COVID-19 caseloads, testing positivity rates, average daily

incidence rates, regional hospital capacity and the rise of variants with increased infectiousness, the Gloucester Board of Health has found that there exists in the community a disease and cause of sickness that is dangerous to public health and that action is necessary to minimize the further spread of that disease.

The CDC has updated isolation and quarantine recommendations for the public. These recommendations do not apply to healthcare personnel and do not supersede state, local, tribal, of territorial laws, rules, and regulations.

Effective at 12:00pm, December 31, 2021, face coverings that cover the nose and mouth

are required for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, aged two years and above

in all indoor public spaces, including but not limited to restaurants, retail establishments,

bars, performance venues, social clubs, event spaces, places of religious worship and

municipal buildings, or private spaces open to the public.

The Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea will reinstate an indoor mask mandate at all businesses and public buildings effective at midnight on Thursday, December 30, 2021. The Board of Health voted unanimously in a meeting on December 28 to bring back indoor masking to help mitigate recent COVID variants and prevent further community spread. The mask order will remain in place until further notice.

In response to the spread of the Delta variant and the emerging Omicron variant, the Department of Public Health now advises that all residents, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask or face covering when indoors (and not in your own home). The DPH particularly urges this recommendation if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated.

The Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave law requires employers to provide up to one week of paid sick leave to employees who need leave for a covered COVID-19 related reason. Read the full update below.

There is no cost to the business and no out-of-pocket cost to the recipient. Conley's Drug Store can offer either the Pfizer Vaccine (Ages 12+) or the Johnson&Johnson (Age 18+).

The GCACC serves the 5 Greater Cape Ann communities, including Boxford, Hamilton, Middleton, Topsfield and Wenham. Vaccines are free to all Massachusetts residents age 5 and above. Identification and health insurance is not required. Walk-ins will be accepted while supplies last at each clinic.

MONDAYS

Ipswich: Our Lady of Hope rectory, 1 Pine Swamp Road, Mondays, 2-6 p.m., through the end of 2021. Register for the Pfizer vaccine here.

THURSDAYS

Essex: Town Hall Annex, 30 Martin St., from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register for a dose of the Register for Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen (J&J) vaccine here. (No clinic will be held on Thursday, Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day.)

SATURDAYS

Rockport: Community House, 58 Broadway,

10 a.m.-12 p.m. Register for a dose of the Pfizer, Moderna, or (J&J) vaccine here.

Cape Ann Savings Bank is a $850 million mutual savings bank, serving the Cape Ann Community for 175 years! In 2022, the Bank will be opening the new “Gloucester Crossing Branch” at 4 School House Road in Gloucester. “We are growing and hiring at ALL locations”. Cape Ann Savings Bank prides itself in offering its employees an excellent benefits package that includes health and dental insurance, 401(k), defined benefit plan, life insurance and more! Click below to view their current job openings.

Growing Gloucester CPA firm, is looking for part-time tax preparation and bookkeeping help from January through April. Potential for full time.

Seeking a tax preparer to prepare and/ or review tax returns. Flexible hours. Basic knowledge of Tax returns and forms including W2, 1099s required. Knowledge of Lacerte helpful but not required.  Knowledge of QuickBooks online helpful but not required. Please send your resume to: janselmo@hmpccpa.com

The Executive Director has primary accountability for the accomplishments and fiscal integrity of the entire organization and works with the Board of Directors to determine the focus and direction of the organization. The Executive Director is responsible for the operations of the NBCVB, by acting as its spokesperson and representing it before others.

Anthony & Dodge is a full-service, progressive public accounting firm located north of Boston.

Our firm has been providing consulting, tax, and accounting services to individuals and businesses for over thirty years. We believe in a hands-on approach which translates into an intimate knowledge of our client’s personal and business financial and tax needs. We are currently seeking a self-motivated, highly organized, team player with experience in public accounting to lead tax and accounting engagements.

Iron Tree Service is looking for a ground crew member to join their team. Their ground crew team members receive competitive rates commensurate with your experience. Working with Iron Tree Service is not a job; it’s a way of life. Their team is the heart of their success. They’ve become the fastest growing and highest rated professional tree service company in Massachusetts

Action Inc. has more than 70 current employees. For over 50 years, our staff has been committed to promoting social change and improving our community. Now, we are looking for dedicated individuals – who want to make a difference – to fill the positions listed below. Apply now to join our team!

Senior Care offers ongoing training, supportive supervision, great team relations and a sense of challenging, worthwhile work within the local communities they serve. This position is an important part of an Agency that has been in operation for over 45 years and is devoted to multiple programs supporting people’s ability to live in the setting of their choice as they age.

If you are interested in promoting with the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and sponsoring this newsletter, please contact Ken Riehl at ken@capeannchamber.com