Nathan MacKinnon’s Nova Scotia childhood and family support shaped his NHL ambitions: How it paved the wa - The Times of India

“Healthy reefs are home to a lot of biodiversity, a lot of species that we don’t yet fully understand, and potentially a lot of compounds — chemicals that could prove to be enormously useful for medical applications or other applications in the future,” he said. “That is something we can’t quantify very well because we haven’t completely explored all of those possibilities yet. But if reefs were to die, and those species and those ecosystems disappeared, then we would have lost the opportunity to potentially learn of that value and make use of it in the future.”Get Rhode MapA weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter EmailA breakthrough at Roger Williams University’s Center for Economic and Environmental Development is giving scientists more time to study coral by establishing a standardized method for spawning, breeding, and culturing the organism. Koty Sharp, director for the school’s Economic & Environmental Development, and associate professor of biology, marine biology, and environmental sciences, talked to the Globe about how the new discovery could advance coral research worldwide.

Before McKee ordered the pause, four Rhode Island communities — South Kingstown, Narragansett, Glocester, North Kingstown — voted to cancel their Flock contracts. The Tiverton Town Council, by contrast, voted in July to approve four cameras that have not yet been installed. Get Rhode MapA weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter EmailThe Woonsocket City Council on Sept. 17 gave first passage to an amended ordinance regulating its 15 Flock cameras, with a second vote required. In Providence, three City Council members were scheduled to introduce an ordinance Thursday to ban the technology and require its deactivation. The city’s police chief, Colonel Oscar Perez, said in a statement Thursday he respects elected officials’ authority to set policy but would have welcomed the opportunity to weigh in before the legislation was drafted, citing the potential consequences for police operations and criminal investigations.

Click the + Icon To See Additional Sharing OptionsKirksville captured the Buddy and Karla Hannaford Sweepstakes Award at the Missouri Days Marching Festival on Saturday in Trenton, earning the festival’s top combined honor for performances in the parade and field show competitions. The sweepstakes award recognizes the band with the highest combined score from parade and field show judging. Kirksville competed in Class 4, finishing first in both events to secure the overall championship. Kirksville also earned first place in Class 4 field show auxiliary and indoor color guard competitions, along with a second-place finish in indoor drumline. A total of 29 bands entered the Missouri Days Marching Festival for evaluations across several competitive events. Only five schools participated in both the parade and field show, making them eligible for the Hannaford Sweepstakes Award. In overall field show competition, first-place honors went to North Harrison in Class 1, Harrisburg in Class 2, Richmond in Class 3, Kirksville in Class 4, and Park Hill South in Class 5.

Write to us at startingpoint@globe.com. To subscribe, sign up here. TODAY’S STARTING POINTA Starbucks sign is seen outside the coffee company's global corporate headquarters in May in Seattle. Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo/Lindsey WassonIn my tiny New England town, there wasn’t much to do growing up. We hung out in the woods and did questionable things around bonfires. But then we got a Starbucks. At 12, I’d meet friends there over sugary Frappuccinos and gab for hours. As I got older, my drink graduated to a mocha with actual espresso. I’d watch the grown-ups around me tap on their laptops and think, Oh, that’s what cool, successful adults do. They held meetings with important-looking people, made answering emails look glamorous, and, of course, drank copious amounts of coffee. I wanted to be like them. (How naive I was.)My father worked in manual labor; my mother cooked in the middle school cafeteria. To me, Starbucks was a window into a bigger world. It became more than somewhere to escape, but where I could dream of the future I wanted. That was the magic of Starbucks. It wasn’t just a place to buy a cup of Joe; it was selling a place to go.