Taunton retail pot dispute lands in Supreme Judicial Court's lap

Kristina Fontes, The Taunton Daily Gazette
·2 min read

Good morning, Taunton! Today is Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. We're in for some chilly weather this weekend, so bundle up if you're going out and get cozy if you're staying home.

Wood stove in cozy living room.
Wood stove in cozy living room.

Now, let's start the weekend with today's top stories:

Taunton retail pot dispute heads to Supreme Judicial Court

The state's highest court will take up a lawsuit against the City Council over its handling of recreational marijuana licenses. The Supreme Judicial Court has scheduled arguments for April 6 in Bask Inc. v. Members of the Taunton City Council. The case centers on efforts by Bask to open a retail pot shop at 400 Winthrop St., which is currently a convenience store. Gazette Reporter Chris Helms has the story here.

Chill to start the weekend, followed by storm

Strong wind and arctic air will combine to produce dangerous wind chills Friday into Saturday before a storm that's likely to start as snow before changing to rain Sunday into Monday, according to the National Weather Service. See what's on deck for this weekend's weather, right here.

Hospital capacity amid Mass. COVID surge

Hospitals across Massachusetts are once again sounding the alarm over critical bed capacity compounded by a staffing crisis, as the state's COVID cases surge and community infection rates climb. Hospitalization rates are passing previous pandemic highs — higher than at any point since May 2020 — and that's combined with healthcare staffing shortages, exhausted employees and an overall increase in seriously ill patients, not just those battling COVID. This is how hospitals are faring in our region.

Weather

Your three-day forecast.
Your three-day forecast.

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Check out all these stories and more at TauntonGazette.com. As always, we thank you for reading. Have a great weekend, everyone!

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton Daily Gazette Daily Briefing newsletter Jan 15 2022