Gov. Maura Healey traveled to Ayer Town Hall Tuesday morning to attend a meeting of the group tasked by her administration with rebuilding the emergency services and regional health care system disrupted by Steward Health Care.

Passage of Ballot Question 2 would end the current requirement that a student must pass the 10th-grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to graduate from high school. If Question 2 is defeated, the requirement will stay in place.

Question 5 on the Massachusetts state ballot asks voters to decide if the minimum wage for tipped employees should be raised from $6.75 per hour to the state’s minimum hourly wage over a five-year period.

For the past five years, the town has had two sessions of Town Meeting—one in the spring and one in the fall. At the Oct. 15 Select Board meeting, Town Administrator Dan Nason proposed returning to a spring session only, with a Special Town Meeting in the fall if needed.

Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart is leaving Harvard Nov. 1, but he had two final capital requests for fiscal 2026 and some good news to share with the Capital Planning and Investment Committee at its Oct. 17 meeting.

The stakeholder committee convened five years ago to study options for the future governance of Devens has received a $300,000 grant from the state to support its work, thanks to an application filed on behalf of the committee in June by the town of Ayer.

Harvard’s forests are home to an abundance of wildlife, and its sprawling nature trails welcome avid hikers. But as the cool autumn weather draws out animals in search of food before winter, the season also brings out the town’s hunters.

Sitework has begun for the construction of 12 duplexes on Old Mill Road, which when complete will consist of 24 two- and three-bedroom units. Building will start soon, according to the developer of the 11-acre parcel.