Local

Three local theaters that recently received a total of $238,000 from the federal government’s Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant have been able to reopen, staging a Beach Boys tribute concert and paying operating expenses.

Little Theatre of Manchester received $123,000, CAST Children’s Theatre in Manchester received $60,000, and Opera House Players in Enfield received $55,000.

Two Connecticut universities have committed to helping people fleeing the chaos in Afghanistan.

In a letter to President Joe Biden sent Thursday, leaders of Goodwin University in East Hartford and the University of Bridgeport offered Afghan refugees assistance with language skills and access to work and career programs.

The University of Bridgeport also agreed to allow refugees to temporarily stay in a 140-bed dormitory that is not currently occupied by students.

The West Hartford Fire Department will be able to accelerate its training of fire officers thanks to a grant of more than $350,000 from the Department of Homeland Security’s Fiscal Year 2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program (AFG)  announced last week by the office of U.S. Rep. John Larson.