Hopkinton Cancels Flock Safety Camera Contract, Orders Removal
HOPKINTON — Hopkinton has canceled its contract with Flock Safety and will have the company's license-plate reading cameras removed from town, following mounting privacy concerns, according to a report from CBS News Boston. The move puts Hopkinton among a growing number of Massachusetts communities pulling back from the surveillance technology in recent months.
TOWN HALL The Department of Public Works issued a road work notice for Wood Street, with work set to begin Tuesday, Aug. 26; drivers should expect delays in the area. The town manager also posted a weekly written update to residents on Aug. 20, part of the office's regular cadence of project and operations updates.
SCHOOLS Hopkinton Public Schools' back-to-school calendar kicks into gear this week. Ninth grade orientation is set for Aug. 26, followed by orientation sessions for international students and transfer students on Aug. 27. Those sessions lead into a stretch of professional development days for staff starting Aug. 31 and the first day of classes for students on Sept. 2.
COMMUNITY & ARTS The two-week detour of eastbound Main Street traffic near the library has lifted. The town's Main Street Corridor Project had closed the library's Main Street entrance from Aug. 7 through Aug. 21, routing visitors to the Church Street entrance during construction. Separately, the library hosts an outdoor Drive-In Movie showing of "Cars" from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 22 in the Betty Strong Room, capping a full day of drop-in family activities in the Children's Department that morning.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS "Hopkinton, Massachusetts cancels contract with Flock Safety, wants cameras removed": CBS News Boston reports Hopkinton has terminated its agreement with the license-plate camera company and is seeking removal of the devices, becoming the latest Massachusetts community to reverse course on the technology amid privacy pushback (read it at https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/hopkinton-cancels-flock-camera-contract/).
COMING UP The library offers Unplugged Coding for Kids on Aug. 24 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Children's Programming Room. Baby & Toddler Storytime follows on Aug. 25 from 10 to 10:45 a.m., and the Board of Library Trustees meets that evening, Aug. 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Ellsworth Conference Room.
Compiled from official town feeds, community organizations, and local press. Outside reporting is attributed inline.