There was good news for Harvard in the annual state budget that Gov. Maura Healey sent to the Legislature last week. The administration’s decision to appropriate more money to Massachusetts cities and towns in fiscal 2027 will, if the Legislature approves, provide Harvard more in state aid than forecast.

People around town are talking trash. The quiet decision of the General Store to discontinue stocking the town trash bags, used at the Transfer Station, has sparked conversations that made it all the way to the Select Board.

Harvard’s new director of public works experienced a trial-by-fire, or rather, ice, in his first few weeks on the job when the town had its largest snowstorm in over four years on Jan. 25 and 26. The official total for Harvard was 17 inches, a depth not seen since the January blizzard of 2022.

Music, theater, photography, history, art, and more—the Harvard Cultural Council’s recently announced list of grants has something for nearly everyone. The wide range of programs lives up to the council’s stated purpose: “to promote and support the vitality of the cultural resources within the Harvard community.”

When a bevy of black SUVs appeared on a local road earlier this month, several Harvard residents called police, expressing fears that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) had come to town. In fact, the vehicles were part of a Make-A-Wish Foundation project to take several children to a Celtics game.

Harvard homeowners could see their residential tax rate drop by nearly $4 per $1,000 of assessed value if the town resumed jurisdiction over its historical lands in Devens, according to financial projections unveiled Tuesday night by the Harvard-Devens Jurisdiction Committee.

With the snow piled high outside, Harvard’s May 5 Town Election seems remote. However, nomination papers for the town’s four elective boards are already available from the town clerk.

Harvard’s Community Preservation Committee voted last week to recommend the expenditure of $676,750 to support five town projects, ranging from a conservation restriction to new flooring for the town library, with decisions on two additional projects deferred to a Jan. 28 meeting.