December 3, 2007
WELLESLEY
Two-term Selectman David Himmelberger announced this week that he will not seek re-election to his seat on the Wellesley Board of Selectmen.
Himmelberger's seat -- and that of Selectman Katherine L. Babson Jr. -- are up for voting in town elections in March. Babson has said she will run.
Himmelberger, who has two young daughters at home, says he's taking a break from town duties to spend more time with his family and focus on his law practice.
"I've been involved in town activities for two terms as a Selectman and was on the Advisory Committee before that -- so for nine years," said Himmelberger. "It's time to step back."
Himmelberger said he will, however, be on the ballot in March 2008, hoping to retain his seat as a member of Town Meeting, representing Precinct B.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 11:54 AM
November 15, 2007
Rachel Carson in 1951
(Globe archive photo)
WELLESLEY
The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a pioneer conservationist who was once named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
A National Book Award winner and contributor to the New Yorker magazine, Rachel Carson won acclaim for drawing attention to the dangers of DDT and other chemical pesticides in the 1950s, when the federal government was endorsing their widespread use.
The commission celebration will include a short talk and documentary film about her life, as well as a discussion of how to reduce pesticide use on lawns today. The presentation will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Wellesley Free Library.
Coffee and (pesticide-free) refreshments will be served.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:09 AM
November 15, 2007
WELLESLEY
An 11th-hour agreement has headed off a conflict over the future of Wellesley's senior center, a controversy that many people expected would be the most contentious issue at last week's Special Town Meeting.
One group of senior advocates wanted to consider building a new center, while others wanted to renovate the Wellesley Community Center to improve upon space already in use by seniors. Selectmen Harriett Warshaw announced during the town meeting that the selectmen and the trustees of a bequest to provide $825,000 for a new senior center agreed to work together on a plan to renovate the existing community center space to meet program needs of the town's senior population.
If they come up with a plan that both sides agree upon, Warshaw and bequest trustee Gail Kingsley said, the selectmen will decline the bequest and the money will be used for the renovation. If they are not able to agree upon a plan, the selectmen will accept the bequest and return to town meeting next spring for permission to proceed with a study for turning the current American Legion hall on Washington Street into a new senior center.
The $825,000 bequest was made by long-time resident Mary Esther Tolles, who died in July 2005 at the age of 94.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:08 AM
November 13, 2007
WELLESLEY
New York Daily News sports columnist Mike Lupica will visit the Wellesley Free Library on Friday to introduce to introduce his latest two novels for teenagers: "Two-Minute Drill" and "Hot Hand." The reading will begin at 4 p.m.
On Sunday, author Walter Carter Ford will discuss his book, "No Greater Love, No Greater Sacrifice: A Son's Journey to Normandy."
The work is a collection of reflections upon a journal and letters written by his farther, an Army surgeon, about his experiences at Omaha Beach in Normandy in 1944.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:49 AM
November 7, 2007
The ultimate donation
WELLESLEY
Every School Committee meeting, the members approve a list of the usual contributions from local parents and residents - trumpets, audio-visual equipment, money for playground improvements, etc. One recent list, however, included a highly unusual item: a 1996 BMS 325.
The car was donated by Susan and Carl Bell, Wellesley residents with children in each level of the public schools. Susan Bell said she read the high school auto shop needed a used car for students to practice on, and she was looking to get rid of the old BMW.
School Committee chairman Michael Young said the car will be refurbished by the high school auto shop and sold to benefit the school.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:53 AM
October 27, 2007
WELLESLEY
A mother confronted by police in September after she left her child unattended in a parked car in downtown Wellesley for 12 minutes has been given a second chance.
The woman, who police have declined to identify because she wasnt arrested, appeared in Dedham District Court on October 22 for allegedly violating a state law that prohibits adults from "consciously disregard[ing] a substantial and unjustifiable risk" that could result in "serious bodily injury" to a child.
The 18-month-old infant was sleeping in a car that had the windows down far enough that police were able to gain access to the child. Wellesley police spokesperson Marie Cleary said the court officer decided that, if the woman is involved in no other infractions during the next six months, the charge against her will be dropped.
Since May 1999. Wellesley police have issued only one other summons on a charge of reckless parental behavior, Cleary said. In that instance, a woman who allowed her seven-year-old child to sleep in her car outside her place of employment in Wellesley for about two hours every morning in December, failed to appear at her first court appearance and is awaiting a hearing early next month.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:34 AM
October 24, 2007
WELLESLEY
A 20-year-old student at Wellesley College was charged yesterday with breaking into a dormitory at MIT and stabbing her former boyfriend seven times as he slept, according to police and prosecutors.
Anna Tang was ordered held without bail after her arraignment this afternoon in Cambridge District Court on charges of armed assault with intent to murder and home invasion, staff writer Maria Cramer of the Globe's City & Region section reports.
Suzanne Kontz, an assistant Middlesex district attorney, said in court that the victim, a 19-year-old student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, woke up to Tang stabbing him seven times. The couple had been romantically involved for eight months but broke up three weeks ago and the relationship took a violent turn, Kontz said.
Kontz said that Tang sent the victim threatening e-mails and then broke into his dorm room today at about 6:30 a.m. Tang was arrested by Cambridge police inside the dormitory on Memorial Drive. The name and condition of the victim were not released.
John Valerio, an attorney who represented Tang, described his client as a "meek and mild mannered" young woman who had been taking classes at MIT. Valerio said he will investigate the accusations.
The victim identified Tang as a suspect, according to a statement released by the office of Middle District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. Investigators found Tang's jacket covered with blood and a black folding buck knife was found in her backpack, according to the statement.
"We allege that the defendant traveled to MIT last night, entered her ex-boyfriend's dorm room, and then stabbed him multiple times while he was in his bed," Leone said. "We believe this to be an isolated incident done with specific intent to critically harm the defenseless victim."
Tang is scheduled to return to court for a dangerousness hearing on Oct. 30.
Read more about the stabbing on the Local News Updates blog.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:23 AM
October 17, 2007
WELLESLEY
The town has negotiated a deal to purchase just under one acre of land near the high school for a total of $3.6 million.
The Wellesley Board of Selectmen Monday night gave its approval for the purchase of three residential properties on Seaver Street. The purchase price is almost $800,000 above what town officials had appraised the properties for.
Selectman Katherine Babson, however, praised the three individual homeowners for their willingness to sell the properties to the town, despite the fact that two families have young children and one house was built just two years ago.
The town is purchasing the properties in order to provide more space for a new or renovated high school building. The proposal now goes to the next month's special town meeting, where it will need a two-thirds majority votes to gain approval.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:12 AM
October 5, 2007
WELLESLEY
The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission will vote next Thursday on whether to accept a new, temporary ice skating rink as a gift from Citibank.
The rink would be set up on the existing basketball courts at Warren Park once the weather has turned cold enough, Commission Executive Director Janet Bowser said. Bowser said the rink would be primarily for young children and their parents but would include one afternoon per week set aside for hockey play.
Bowser said Citibank, which is opening a new branch in downtown Wellesley, is making the donation as a goodwill gesture toward the community. The Commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the police station.
If it accepts the gift, the Board of Selectmen will weigh in next. The Commission will also be discussing the proposed development of 27 Washington Street and its hopes for maximizing open space and ensuring trail connections and wetlands protections there.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:20 AM
October 4, 2007
REGION
The state will begin feasibility studies for local school projects about a month earlier than anticipated, potentially allowing some projects to be ready for Town Meeting votes next spring, staff writer James Vaznis of the reports in the Globe's City & Region Section today.
On Nov. 2, the state School Building Authority will decide which school districts' proposed projects to study first. Other districts will be selected on a rolling basis after that.
Being selected for a feasibility study doesn't automatically guarantee construction funding, but it is a prerequisite. More than a dozen school districts west of Boston are among 161 districts statewide competing for about $500 million in construction funds this year, the first time in four years the state is doling out school construction money.
In choosing which feasibility studies to pursue first, the state has been dispatching inspection teams to analyze building conditions and enrollment trends, visiting 90 districts so far. Those districts include Berlin-Boylston, Franklin, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Maynard, Nashoba, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, Shrewsbury, Wayland, and Wellesley.
The resulting studies, which should be completed this winter, will give the state the first glimpse of how much it could potentially cost to do all the projects. In all, 161 districts have expressed interest in 422 school projects.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:51 AM
September 30, 2007
WELLESLEY
The sound of a distant train whistle can deliver a pleasant feeling of nostalgia for many people, but when the whistle’s blowing at frequent intervals in close range in the middle of the night, the spell is quickly broken.
So it is in Wellesley these days as CSX is performing maintenance on its tracks from Allston to Framingham. MBTA and other trains passing through town have blasted their whistles repeatedly while passing through work sites at night -- a required warning to protect the crews working on the tracks.
Selectman David Himmelberger, whose office and home are located near the tracks, has been a critic of the CSX policy concerning train whistles at night in town. Those whistles weren’t required until 2003, he said, when a lookout man working with a snow removal team at the Wellesley Farms station was struck and killed by a freight train passing through.
CSX spokesperson Robert Sullivan said the whistles are necessary for crew safety. He said the work is taking place at night in order to avoid disrupting commuter train service during the day. The increased frequency of whistles at night, he said, are also due in part to the fact that freight trains run at night so as to alleviate rail congestion during the day. Sullivan said the work on the rails in Wellesley should be complete this week.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:37 AM
September 26, 2007
WELLESLEY
The town’s 12-member School Building Committee is taking a methodical approach to the largest, costliest building question in town history: what do about Wellesley High School’s aging building. They’ve boiled the challenge down to two main strategies: either build a new high school building or renovate and add onto the existing 1938 structure.
To help with the decision, committee members toured 10 area high schools that used one of the two approaches to build or renovate their own schools.
The members will share their experiences and findings with the public at an open forum on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at town hall.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 07:22 AM
September 25, 2007
WELLESLEY
The Wellesley Board of Selectmen has sent a letter last week opposing the proposed mixed-income development at the corner of Hillside Road and Washington Street.
The letter states that, while the state Chapter 40B law is intended to encourage the building of homes affordable to people with low to moderate incomes, the Board does not believe affordable housing is developer Michael J. Connolly's motivation in using the law to seek a state waiver of single residence zoning restrictions to build a multi-unit development.
Instead, the letter charges that Connolly has engaged in a "manipulative use" of the Chapter 40B law to build in excess of the single family density zoning.
Connolly, however, fired back in a recent interview, saying that there couldn’t be anything further from the truth.
"I’ve been insistent from the start," he said Connolly. "If we are able to do affordable housing, then let’s do it."
A spokesperson for MassHousing, which is considering Connolly's request, said it typically takes about 90 days to grant or deny an application.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 06:13 AM
September 23, 2007
Tina Fisher holds a picture of herself, pre-surgery. (That's her on the right. Honest.)
(Globe staff photo by David Kamerman)
NEWTON/WELLESLEY/REGION
The findings - released last month from long-term studies of 20,000 dangerously overweight people in Utah and Sweden - were stunning.
Obese patients who had undergone stomach reduction surgery were up to 40 percent more likely to live longer, 56 percent less likely to die of heart disease, and 92 percent less likely to die from diabetes than those who tried diet and exercise alone.
Yet for Tina Fisher, program coordinator for the new Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, the studies only confirmed what she already knew. In the six years since her own gastric bypass surgery, the 30-year-old nurse practitioner has lost 137 pounds. She exercises four times a week, can fit into a standard movie theater seat, and sometimes forgets what her old life was like, staff writer and web producer Ralph Ranalli reports in today's Globe West.
A roller-coaster enthusiast, Fisher used to watch her husband ride alone because she was worried whether the seat belt or safety bar would fit around her 297-pound frame. She also suffered from the litany of health woes common to the very overweight diabetes, joint problems, and sleep apnea, a disorder in which a person literally stops breathing repeatedly during sleep.
"Patients come back and tell me about their experiences, like the first time they didn't have to go into a plus-size clothing store," she said. "And I think, 'Oh yeah, I remember that.' "
Thanks to stories like Fisher's, officials at Newton-Wellesley said they were convinced that gastric bypass operations represent a sound medical option and were aggressively expanding their weight loss surgery practice even before the new findings were released. Last year, the hospital's bariatric surgery program was accredited to operate on even the most severely obese patients, and in June, the program was elevated to a full-fledged department and renamed the Center for Weight Loss Surgery.
As it turns out, the timing of the hospital's push could not have been better, officials said.
Read more about how bariatric surgery is changing lives in the online edition of today's Globe West. While you're there, you can also view an audio slide show about Tina Fisher's experience with the surgery and losing 137 pounds.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:48 AM
September 18, 2007
Ming Tsai is looking to expand in Wellesley
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
WELLESLEY
If you were flipping through your cable channels and saw celebrity chef Ming Tsai was on cable television last night, you probably thought it was his public television show, "Simply Ming."
Instead Tsai was on local access, making a command appearance before the Wellesley Board of Selectmen, seeking a modification of his license to operate his popular restaurant, Blue Ginger, near the center of downtown Wellesley. Tsai said he has acquired space adjoining his current site on Washington Street and will use it to create dining rooms for private parties, expanding the seating capacity by 20 or 30 seats, from its current 120. Tsai said he also hopes to double the patio space in front of the award-winning restaurant for outdoor dining.
Two residents who live nearby expressed concerns about potential problems with sewer back-ups, noise, and parking congestion. Another expressed support for the business, which has attracted attention and publicity for downtown Wellesley since 1998.
The Selectmen agreed to postpone its vote for one week in order to assess the impact of the expansion on the sewer system.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 07:36 AM
September 11, 2007
WELLESLEY
Police have identified a 39-year-old homeless man currently jailed in Worcester as the chief suspect in the Aug. 31 robbery of the TD Banknorth branch on Route 9 near the Wellesley-Natick border. Wellesley went eight years without a bank robbery then recorded two in barely a month's time, police say.
Richard Piper, who was arrested in connection with bank robberies in Worcester and Westborough, admitted to the Wellesley robbery and several others and was arraigned last Wednesday in Worcester District Court, according to Worcester Police Detective Bob Johnson.
Piper is being held in Worcester County House of Corrections until his arraignment in Dedham District Court for the Wellesley incident, police said.
Like Piper, the man arrested in connection with the July 27 robbery of a Bank of America branch in Lower Falls was suspected in connection with a series of bank robberies. That suspect, 32-year-old Errol Sullivan of Waltham, was arrested in Providence on Aug. 2, police said.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 01:19 PM
September 3, 2007
WELLESLEY
The principal of Wellesley Middle School says that the newly-renovated building will not be ready to open on the first day of school tomorrow.
School Committee officials expressed optimism earlier in the week that the necessary permits to occupy the entire building would be granted in time for the schedule opening. But Adam Blumer has told Globe West that a "pretty significant chunk" of the school, including the fitness center, gym, industrial room, and art room, has not cleared the permit system yet.
Blumer declined to elaborate. According to his e-mail, school officials hope to open by Wednesday.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:09 AM
August 31, 2007
WELLESLEY
Wellesley expects its town meeting members and residents to study through more documents than any other town, and should consider ending its policy of mailing every household a copy of the advisory recommendation book prior to each town meeting, a key town official says.
At a recent Selectmen’s meeting, town Executive Director Hans Larsen last spring’s advisory book ran 245 pages and cost more than $30,000 to print and mail. The town also mails an even thicker and more costly annual report to each town meeting member, Larsen said, and the expenses are “hurting us financially.”
A study committee appointed by the town moderator is planning to consider whether to change the bylaws requiring the printed books be mailed to each of the town’s 8,800 households. That committee meets Sept. 19 to decide whether to put the proposed change before the fall town meeting -- via the big book -- in November.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:45 AM
August 30, 2007
WELLESLEY
The Board of Selectmen and the Wellesley Planning Board will hold a special town forum on Thursday, Sept. 6, to discuss a proposal for the development of the former Grossman's hardware property at 27 Washington St.
The new owner of the property, National Development, will present its proposal for a retail and office building and two residential buildings on the currently vacant lot in Lower Falls.
The five-acre site has been vacant since 1994, when the Stop & Shop grocery chain obtained a long-term lease in hopes of building a 50,000-square-foot store there. Town officials and local residents objected to the size of the project and refused the necessary permits, prompting Stop & Shop to file suit. The property has been inactive for 13 years, except as an unofficial overflow parking lot for local business patrons.
This spring, National Development of Newton Lower Falls purchased the property from the Truman Realty Trust and promised to work with town officials to develop a proposal that the town can support. The company will present its proposal at the forum, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at town hall.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 11:55 AM
August 28, 2007
WELLESLEY
Do a better job.
That was the message sent from to Wellesley Board of Selectmen to Keyspan this week.
Keyspan Permit Representative Francis X. O'Leary was before the selectmen seeking routine permission to extend a gas main on Marshall Road for a single residence, but board Chairman Owen Dugan took the opportunity to voice the town's concern about the company's workmanship in closing up trenches in street surfaces after they make such installations.
Dugan said the utility's work was "not up to standards."
"We don't want to dig into your bond to fix this, we want you people to do it right the first time," he said.
O'Leary replied that, sometimes, there is settlement in the pavement that cannot be prevented, but he said he would "take it back to the people that work in the district and tell them what the problem is." He suggested that the town give Keyspan a list of streets where problems exist and that the utility would "go out and address them."
Selectmen ultimately approved the Marshall Road permit on the condition that Keyspan meet with town engineers to discuss the problems, but voted to withhold action on a second permit request for Wellesley Avenue at the Wellesley Country Club until after the meeting.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:08 AM
August 27, 2007
WELLESLEY
For years, Wellesley has prided itself on its forethought and success in growing the town's retirement funds with investments so successful the town hasn't had to appropriate money to cover retirees benefits.
But now, the town's Retirement Board has proposed moving those investments into a pool of state and local employee benefits managed by a state board under the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (PRIM).
While the current Wellesley-managed fund is a "top performer," said town Executive Director Hans Larsen, the PRIM fund has "outperformed us." The larger pool also has greater flexibility in investment vehicles and the ability to hire more investment advisers.
Selectmen will weigh in on the proposal at their regular meeting, Monday tonight and the Retirement Board is expected to vote on the idea Wednesday. The town has between $125 million and $150 million to invest in the fund.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:22 PM
August 18, 2007
WELLESLEY
The Bad News: Fifteen young people were arrested for alcohol violations during fiscal year 2007, according to Wellesley officials.
The Good News: That’s a big drop from the 66 who were arrested in the previous fiscal year.
Although the number of arrests have fluctuated in recent years, police said they believe the recent drop is due at least in part to a three-year-old program it conducts in conjunction with the town’s Youth Commission.
The program sends officers and Youth Commission Director Maura Renzella to talk to middle school and high school students about alcohol laws and safety. Among other things, it advises them that, if they host a party while their parents are away and police find alcohol anywhere on the premises, they can be arrested even if they don’t personally have alcohol in their possession.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 05:16 AM
August 15, 2007
WELLESLEY
Despite reports and rumors, officials are denying that a recent traffic jam on Route 9 was caused by an exploding manhole cover.
Wellesley Police Chief Terrence Cunningham told a recent Board of Selectmen's meeting that said police responded to a report that a Municipal Light Plant manhole cover on Route 9 near Emerson Street "blew off" on Monday, Aug. 6.
But Richard Joyce, director of the plant, said the cover did not really “blow off” but simply “became dislodged.” Although traffic was backed up into Newton, there were no accidents or injuries reported as a result of the incident, Joyce said.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 11:52 AM
August 14, 2007
WELLESLEY
Wellesley police helped snare a serial bank robber in the area within days of his hit against a Lower Falls bank, officials said.
Deputy Police Chief William Brooks said Wellesley detectives Stan Dunajaski and Bob Gallagher joined Federal Bureau of Investigation officers and others this month, in arresting the suspect, Errol Sullivan.
Brooks said Wellesley officers noticed a similarity between photos of suspects at several area banks and the suspect of the robbery at the 35 Washington Street Bank of America branch late Friday afternoon, July 27. Brooks said that the robbery in Wellesley was the first the town has had in eight years.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:29 AM
August 10, 2007
WELLESLEY
Some home builders in Wellesley are concerned about a proposal that would require an additional review process for plans to build homes over a certain size.
The threshold for triggering that review has not been determined but the proposal suggests it would involve such details as how tall the house is and its cubic footage.
Planning Director Rick Brown said a number of builders expressed reservations about the proposal during the board’s July 30 meeting and said more than a dozen have signed onto a petition promising to voluntarily stay under the town’s current maximum footprint-to-lot-size ratio of 25 percent.
Brown said he expects the discussion to continue during a meeting on Aug. 13 as well. The Planning Board meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Planning Office on the lower level of Town Hall.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:25 AM
July 31, 2007
(Wellesley Free Library image)
WELLESLEY
One of the two Wellesley branch libraries that were closed due to lack of funding last year will soon be reopening its doors, official say.
Wellesley Free Library Director Janice Coduri gained the Selectmen’s approval last week for a plan to allow a nearby day care center to lease some space in the Fells Branch library building near the Hardy Elementary School.
Coduri said the short-term lease will enable the library to raise enough money to re-open part of the Fells Branch as a library as early as January. Originally build in 1858 as a one-room schoolhouse, the Fells Branch is the oldest public building still in use in the town of Wellesley.
Both the Fells and Wellesley Hills branches were closed in June of last year. Town Meeting will need to approve the lease at its gathering in the fall.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:16 PM
July 27, 2007
Wellesley
CONCERNS RISE OVER DETOUR: A proposed detour of Route 9 traffic onto Cedar and Walnut streets is slated to begin Monday, and residents of the area expressed much concern this week that the plan will create both safety and traffic problems.
At a Board of Selectmen’s meeting last week, town executive director Hans Larsen said the detour “will not have a significant impact” on Cedar and Walnut streets traffic, a sentiment echoed by Police Chief Terrence Cunningham.
The detour is needed to help traffic that normally exits Route 9 at the Grantland Road ramp to reach Route 16 while the ramp is closed during final reconstruction of the Route 16 bridge.
A large number of citizens turned out for the Selectmen’s meeting to ask the Board to reconsider the detour or take steps to mitigate the increased traffic along the residential streets. Cunningham and Board Chairman Owen H. Dugan promised residents they would monitor the impact of the detour carefully.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:56 PM
July 26, 2007
WELLESLEY
Addressing what was apparently an acute caffeine shortage in Wellesley, Starbucks is about to open its second franchise in the town and the Exxon Mobile station at the corner of Washington and State streets is preparing to add back a coffee service where it once hosted a Dunkin Donuts franchise.
According to business representatives who met with the Board of Selectmen earlier this week, the new Starbucks will be a 20-seater at 190-A Linden Street and will open in mid- to late-September
The Exxon Mobil will soon begin serving Bengal Traders, a house brew it began selling at its Tiger Markets two years ago.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:50 PM
July 23, 2007
WELLESLEY
Supporters of keeping St. James the Great Church open will soon celebrate their one-thousandth day of staging a sit-in vigil to prevent the archdiocese from locking the church’s doors and selling the property.
This Saturday, the Friends of St. James will hold a celebration marking the vigil, as well as the 60th anniversary of the church itself being was established on the Wellesley/Natick border. Activities will include a lay-led communion at 4 p.m., followed by a barbeque picnic, and celebration of the Feast of St. James holiday.
The church was among many Catholic parishes designated as “suppressed” in October 2004 by the Archidiocese of Boston.
-- Lisa Keen
Read more about parishes in vigil in the online edition of today's Globe City & Region section.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 07:22 AM
July 22, 2007
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
WELLESLEY
Almost seven years after getting clean and sober, 28-year-old Ashley Stanley has to think a moment about where her story really starts.
Was it that one eve of Yom Kippur, when she dissolved into tears in her father's car at the airport and admitted she was an alcohol and drug addict?
Was it after the first relapse and descent into a daily crack cocaine habit, when she returned to rehab for the second time -- the one that ultimately worked?
Or was it actually much earlier, as a teenage soccer star? With 450 saves in her junior and senior years at The Rivers School in Weston, Stanley, who lived in Wellesley, was one of the most gifted goalkeepers in school history and the first female student athlete recruited to a Division 1 college. She was a US Olympic team hopeful, planning for a career in professional soccer, when injuries in both knees abruptly ended her life's dream at age 19.
That's when the old Ashley fell apart, and the struggle that would define her adult life began. That's probably where the story begins.
With soccer out of the picture, there was a huge void. She partied. Hard. At one fraternity party, she tried cocaine. She lost her soccer scholarship to the University of Rhode Island and dropped out of school.
"It was like I disappeared," Stanley said.
Read more about Ashley Stanley's remarkable descent and comeback in the online edition of today's Globe West.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 01:22 PM
July 21, 2007
WELLESLEY
They’re back. All those zoning articles which got taken off the town meeting’s agenda in April are back on the table for active consideration.
There are six in all, said Rick Brown, the town’s Planning Director. They deal with such issues as “mansionization,” off-street parking, site plan approval, and various yard regulations and setback requirements.
The Planning Board is holding a public session Monday, July 30, to give residents a first “citizens speak” opportunity to comment on the proposals. The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.
The text of the proposed articles can be read on the town’s website.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 02:17 PM
July 18, 2007
WELLESLEY
Wellesley will soon hold a lottery for seven condominiums at 12 Russell Road set aside as affordable housing for citizens 55 and older.
Five of the seven condos, are part of a 28-unit development known as Fells Hollow, have two bedrooms. The other two are one-bedroom units. Four of the seven are earmarked for applicants with a Wellesley connection.
An information session on how to participate in the lottery will be held Saturday, July 28, at 1:30 p.m. in the Wakelin Room at the Wellesley Free Library. All applications must be postmarked by August 16 and the lottery will be held August 23.
Officials said that applications can be obtained at the Planning Office at Town Hall, the reference desk of the Wellesley Free Library, or by calling 781-235-4120.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 11:45 AM
July 13, 2007
WELLESLEY
Wellesley’s State Representative Alice Peisch last week slammed the commuter rail service provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as “simply unacceptable.”
In a press release, Peisch said she receives complaints from “many” of her constituents about poor service on the Worcester-to-Framingham line through Wellesley, primarily centering around delays.
In a letter for MBTA, Peisch and nine other state legislators said that, during the week of July 9, “numerous trains… were excessively late with little to no notification of delays.” The legislators asked for a meeting with MBTA authorities to seek improvements in the service.
Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for MBTA, said MBTA does not control the rails, CSX does. He said CSX often slows traffic down during hot summer months as a safety precaution because the heat can cause kinks and bends in the rails.
Pesaturo said, however, that he does not know that to be an issue in last week’s delays. He declined comment on the legislators’ letter, saying the authority had not yet received it.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:56 AM
July 11, 2007
WELLESLEY
FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS: Fifteen news businesses launched by first-year students at Babson College raised $36,225 during the past year and donated the money various local charities. More than a third of the profit was earned by a business called FreshMynts, which sold mints in small packages emblazoned with messages. The company donated its $14,523 to Habitat for Humanity. The businesses are conceived, launched, and ultimately liquidated by first-year students as part of their first year curricula in learning the basics of business practices. Over the past nine years, the businesses have raised more than a quarter-million dollars for various non-profit organizations. Among the beneficiaries this year was the Wellesley Council on Aging, which received $1,910.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:14 AM
July 11, 2007
Wellesley
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS: If you build it, they will scrutinize the details in Wellesley. That’s one lesson learned by the developer who took on the renovation of the historic Walnut Street Firehouse.
In December 2004, town meeting approved the sale of the 1903 brick firehouse for one dollar to New Boston Ventures to create three condominiums-–one of which is designated as affordable.
Although the lottery was held last year for the affordable unit and potential buyers have been scrutinizing the retail units for months, heavy equipment has been back on the property in recent days to stop a leak in into the basement and to comply with details of the landscaping approved by the town.
Wellesley Housing Development Corporation member Bradley Boyd, who is also a neighbor abutting the firehouse, says the project should be able to win approval soon.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:12 AM
July 10, 2007
WELLESLEY
State regulatory officials have taken the unusual step of barring Massachusetts Bay Community College from accepting new applicants in its popular nursing school.
In a scathing letter to the school's president, the Board of Registration in Nursing said the program's lack of leadership and direction threatened its ability to train qualified nurses, staff writer Peter Schworm of the Globe's City & Region staff reports.
The board said the lack of a dean, a nursing program administrator, and several nursing instructors raised "grave concerns" that the school could run an effective program. It also cited the college's provost, saying he tampered with one student's grades and improperly advanced the student through the program.
MassBay's provost, Steve Berrien, said the school is responding seriously to the board, but he disputed the allegation that he tampered with a student's grades.
"We didn't interfere with the integrity of program, its grade policy, or its standards," Berrien said. "It was just one student and one exam, and some of us feel it's been blown slightly out of proportion." He said he anticipates that the ban on admissions will be lifted this week.
However, MassBay faculty members said in interviews that they believe administrators have tampered with other students' grades to keep as many participants as possible in the program, one of the largest in the state.
Read more about the controversy over the MassBay nursing program in the online edition of today's Globe.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:35 PM
July 3, 2007
The Batsmobile
(Photo courtesy of brianlies.com)
WELLESLEY
The world’s leading organization for the protection of bats -- the winged, nocturnal kind -- will be a beneficiary of an unusual event at Wellesley Booksmith this Friday.
Brian Lies (cq), author of an illustrated children’s book, "Bats at the Beach," will arrive at the Washington Street bookstore at 1 p.m. in his eye-catching “batsmobile,” with its 12-foot wingspan.
Lies will be signing books, reading excerpts, and leading games. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of books will go to the Bats Conservation International, a 25-year-old Texas-based organization.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:00 PM
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