2020 Fact BookEdition

Colleges in New England were already on the lookout for an expected drop in high school-age graduates locally, and struggling in some cases to balance high costs with keeping education affordable for students.

Restaurants are bringing in far less money for food and drink during the coronavirus pandemic – and it’s showing both the hit the industry has taken this year as well as the financial toll declining tax revenue will have on cities and towns.

From the high-end Natick Mall to Solomon Pond Mall to the Mall at Whitney Field and elsewhere, retail plazas already struggling with closing chains are now facing an even more uncertain future because of the pandemic.

When it comes to main streets in Central Massachusetts, town officials uniformly agree: A healthy main street is where foot traffic is king.