Michael Melia, Author at Daily Hampshire Gazette

This image taken from video shows damage to the World War II-era B-17 bomber that crashed on takeoff Oct. 2 at Bradley International Airport.

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NTSB: Weather fine, fuel not contaminated in B-17 crash in fatal B-17 crash

by Michael Melia Associated PressOctober 16, 2019

HARTFORD, Conn. — The weather was calm and clear at the time of a deadly B-17 crash at a Connecticut airport, and tests on the airplane’s fuel did not turn up any sign of debris or contamination, federal investigators said Tuesday.A preliminary…

In this May 8, 2019, photo, third-grade student Miles Stidham uses an East Webster High School laptop to do homework in Maben, Miss. The Stidhams are unable to get internet at their home in the country, so they take advantage of the internet in the school's library. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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As homework moves online, millions lack home internet

by Michael Melia Associated Press, Jeff Amy Associated Press, and Larry Fenn Associated PressJune 10, 2019

Science teacher Sarah Ott speaks to her class about climate literacy in Dalton, Ga., April 25. Teachers across the country describe struggles finding trustworthy materials to help them teach their students about climate change.

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Many online climate change lessons contain misinformation

by Michael Melia Associated PressMay 16, 2019

Gordon Caplan of Greenwich, Conn., walks out of federal court Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in New York. Fifty people, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were charged Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation's most selective schools. Caplan, who is co-chairman of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, was accused of paying $75,000 to get a test...

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Coaches, parents in college bribery scheme find jobs in danger

by Michael Melia Associated Press, and Andrew Dalton Associated PressMarch 14, 2019

FILE - In this June, 3, 2017, file photo, the sun sets behind Georgia Power's coal-fired Plant Scherer, one of the nation's top carbon dioxide emitters, in Juliette, Ga. As climate change becomes a hotter topic in American classrooms in 2019, some politicians are pushing back against the scientific consensus that global warming is real and man-made. (AP Photo/Branden Camp, File)

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Climate-change doubters target school lessons

by Michael Melia Associated PressMarch 7, 2019

Tom Dubis shovels off the steps at the Paciorek Funeral Home In Adams, Mass., Thursday. The Berkshires in western Massachusetts received 12 to 32 inches of snow overnight.

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Northeast tries to dig out, power up after latest storm

by Dave Collins Associated Press, and Michael Melia Associated PressMarch 8, 2018

This Dec. 13, 2017 photo, shows the exterior of the board of education headquarters in Cheshire, Conn. Schools in the town have suspended use of the Summit Learning program, a go-at-your-own-pace personalized online learning platform built by a California charter school network with help from Facebook engineers. Parents who organized against it said there was no need to change what's worked in a town with a prized reputation for good schools. Superintendent Jeffrey Solan said he accepted the change was too much for some, and announced the program would be suspended. (AP Photo/Michael Melia)

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School ditches online learning program after parents revolt

by Michael Melia Associated PressJanuary 16, 2018

In this Nov. 6, 2017, photo, campus monitor Hector Garcia greets students as they get off the bus at the start of the school day at West Elementary School in New Canaan, Conn. Garcia and the district's other campus monitors — all former police or corrections officers — were among a wave of security officers hired in the aftermath of the deadly school shooting in nearby Newtown on Dec. 14, 2012.

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Sandy Hook’s legacy: More security in elementary schools

by Michael Melia Associated PressDecember 10, 2017

In this Friday, Sept. 29, 2017 photo, Elionet Saez Martin, of Puerto Rico, works at his desk in his kindergarten class at Chamberlain Elementary School in New Britain, Conn. As Hurricane Maria churned toward Puerto Rico, his mother put him and his 9-year-old brother, Eliot, on a plane to be with their grandfather in Connecticut. The brothers are among the first of what is expected to be large numbers of Puerto Rican children enrolling in school districts on the U.S. mainland. AP Photo/Jessica Hill

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US school districts prepare for students from Puerto Rico

by Michael Melia Associated PressOctober 1, 2017

In this June 27, 2017 photo, Osborn Correctional Institution inmate Edward White discusses the Skills of Socialization program in Somers, Conn. The peer-to-peer counseling program was set up by inmates with long sentences to help reduce recidivism. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb)

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In Connecticut prison, it’s the inmates leading counseling

by Michael Melia Associated PressJuly 4, 2017