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.â€
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
June 23, 2007
WELLESLEY
Residents living near the Route 16 bridge across Route 9 in Wellesley will soon be serenaded to sleep by “all-night pile driving,” warned town executive director Hans Larsen during a recent Board of Selectmen meeting.
Larsen said that work on the bridge, which resumed this month after a long stoppage while the state replaced its original contractor, will also require diverting traffic around the bridge beginning at around 10 p.m. each night.
Michael Pakstis, director of the Wellesley Department of Public Works, said the new contractor will soon shift the two-way traffic on the bridge to the newly constructed north side lanes in order to demolish and reconstruct the south side. Pakstis said that all of the remaining work is expected to take another two years.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 07:03 AM
June 20, 2007
WELLESLEY
A Wellesley teen will appear in a Vermont court in August after getting caught driving 100 mph on I-89 Sunday.
Caleb Henry, 19, was driving through a construction zone with grooved pavement at the high speed, Vermont state police said.
-- Adam Sell
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:04 AM
June 12, 2007
(Photo by Lisa Keen for Globe West Updates)
Traffic over the Route 16 bridge in Wellesley will soon shift over to the two westbound lanes as a new contractor prepares to finish work on the project.
WELLESLEY
The bridge project that is all too familiar to Wellesley drivers is finally under way again.
Construction work to shore up the Route 16 bridge began in August 2003 and was supposed to be finished the following year. Initially, delays were blamed on difficulties with relocating various utility lines but late last year the state highway department declared the contractor on the job to be in default.
State Representative Alice Peisch says a new contractor has been hired and is preparing to finish the work. Traffic is expected to be shifted soon to the two westbound lanes of the bridge.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:47 AM
June 4, 2007
WELLESLEY
Two meetings are scheduled this week to determine how best to renovate Wellesley High School, one meeting for parents, the other for the community at large.
The first meeting Wednesday, June 6, is with the Parent Teacher Organizations and on Thursday, June 7, anyone from the public is invited to express their views.
The parent-oriented meeting will be held at the Wellesley Middle School at 9 a.m.; the community meeting will take place in the library of the Wellesley High School at 7:30 p.m. The Thursday meeting will include another review of the options being considered.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:42 AM
June 1, 2007
Superintendent of Schools Matthew King
(Globe staff photo by Matthew J. Lee)
WELLESLEY
Still trying to quell voter anger over last year’s 8.5 percent raise for Superintendent of Schools Matthew King, the School Committee is slated to discuss a proposal to involve people outside the committee in decisions on raises and bonuses for administrators.
King's raise -- which was approved by the committee after voters agreed to a tax increase for what town officials said was a bare bones budget -- prompted scores of complaints. The new proposal, outlined by Committee Chairman Michael Young last week, would seek feedback on the superintendent’s performance from parents, principals, selectmen, and other town officials.
“It can’t just be what the five of us think,” said Young, referring to the committee. “We have to reach out.”
Discussion on the proposal will take place during the School Committee’s last regular meeting for the year on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Wellesley High School library.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 07:13 AM
May 31, 2007
(Globe archive photo)
WELLESLEY
Babson College hopes to put 400 kids with bikes on the streets of Wellesley this Saturday. The event, billed as the “First Annual Wellesley Kids Ride,” will raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund.
The money will be contributed through the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, the 27-year-old cancer fundraising event that annually draws more than more than 5,000 adult cyclists who ride across the state every August. The Wellesley kids' ride will feature different bike routes suitable for children ages 3 to 14, organizers said.
Registration for the kids’ ride costs $10 and begins at 9 a.m. Participants are asked to raise a minimum contribution depending on the child's age: $25 for toddlers and children up to 6, $50 for kids 7 to 11, and $100 for kids age 12 to 14.
Anyone seeking more information is urged to visit the event site online.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:48 PM
May 30, 2007
(Globe staff photo by John Bohn)
WELLESLEY
Madeleine K. Albright, the first female U.S. Secretary of State, comes to town tomorrow to deliver the commencement address at Wellesley College, her alma mater.
The event, which will be the college's 129th graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m. on the campus’ Severance Green.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 11:40 AM
May 25, 2007
WELLESLEY
The Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a lower court ruling that allows the Archdiocese of Boston to keep the property and assets belonging to St. James the Great parish in Wellesley.
In an opinion issued today, the state's highest court upheld a 2006 superior court decision to throw out the case, saying it has no authority to rule on a fiduciary relationship between parishioners and their church.
Catherine Maffei of Wellesley sued the Archdiocese, claiming it was not entitled to keep the building and 8-acres of valuable land along Route 9 after deciding in 2004 to close the parish. Members appealed the closing to the Vatican, and continued to worship there.
Attorneys for the family argued that the property was given to the church in 1948 by Waldo Maffei on the condition that is would ``forever'' house St. James.
The case was watched closely by several other Boston-area parishes in the midst of their own court battles over who is entitled to keep the assets from closed churches.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 10:59 AM
May 25, 2007
WELLESLEY
The town plans to survey its senior citizens for ideas on how to use an $825,000 bequest made by a long time resident who passed away two years ago.
Mary Esther Tolles, known by many as “Billie,” died at age 94 after many years of activism on behalf of the town’s seniors. A room for seniors at the town's Community Center already bears her name.
An attorney for Tolles' estate, Gail Kingsley, told the town's selectmen this week that the bequest is conditional – it must be used to provide a facility for seniors, including offices, class and meeting rooms, recreational space, and dining facilities. Selectman Harriet Warshaw said the survey was suggested by members of a study committee formed help determine how best to meet the conditions of Tolles' bequest.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:01 AM
May 24, 2007
WELLESLEY
Local photographer Andrew Kessler's new exhibition is inspired by websites such as MySpace and YouTube. His "(I Am)...project" features 57 fifth-graders from Wellesley's Hunnewell Elementary School who were asked by Kessler to get into a refrigerator box alone and take a self-portrait by releasing a camera shutter with their feet.
"The idea was that if they were in this box alone, they would potentially get creative and act more themselves. And they did, to my very pleasant surprise," Kessler said. The results of the refrigerator-box photo shoot will be up today through May 31 at the Wellesley Free Library.
Kessler has displayed the shots on 6-foot silk banners with captions underneath that explain how the children define themselves.
-- Mark Griffin
Posted by Martin Finucane at 05:00 PM
May 24, 2007
Needham High's new rallying cry: "We're No. 1,028!"
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
DOVER/SHERBORN/WELLESLEY/WESTON/
NEWTON/WAYLAND/NEEDHAM
Six schools in Globe West have made Newsweek’s newly released 2007 “America’s Best High Schools” list, including Dover-Sherborn High School, which ranked second highest in the state.
Of the over 1200 public schools on the list, Dover-Sherborn ranked 127th, Weston High School 186th, Wellesley High School 487th, Wayland High School 686th, Newton South High School 714th, and Needham High School 1028th. The state’s highest ranking school was Boston Latin School, which at 76th was the only Massachusetts school to make the top 100.
Rankings are based on only one factor: the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Newsweek reports that while some critics consider the criteria too narrow, research studies have shown that passing scores on AP exams are a predictor of college success.
Scores from 27,000 public schools were reviewed, meaning schools included on the list are in the top 5% of public schools nationally. Three schools fell off the list from last year: Hopkinton High School, Newton North High School, and Holliston High School.
-- Denise Taylor
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 06:46 AM
May 22, 2007
Just think of it as a two-week time-delay fuse.
(Globe archive image)
WELLESLEY
The parade was cancelled, the fireworks fizzled, but next Sunday, June 3, they'll give it another try.
The town's annual Veterans’ Parade was rained out last Sunday, but organizers announced this week that Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, and Shrek will march along with fire trucks, marching bands, clowns, and the other staples of a small town parade. The parade will start near the junction of Routes 16 and 9 and end at Wellesley Square and will happen from 1 to 3 p.m.
Also rescheduled because of rain, the annual fireworks display – which was billed this year as the “biggest ever” -— will be launched at dusk from Hunnewell field.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 03:49 PM
May 15, 2007
WELLESLEY
Voters in Wellesley approved $31 million in temporary tax hikes on Tuesday by a 2-to-1 ratio, according to unofficial results from the town clerk's office.
About 32 percent of registered voters -- nearly 5,000 people -- turned out for two debt exclusion overrides of Proposition 2 1/2, both set to expire after 10 years.
Sixty-seven percent of voters approved $18 million to pay for health benefits for retired employees. That will add about $165 annually to the average homeowner's tax bill.
The second question, $13 million to pay for school repairs, storm drainage projects and improvements to Morses Pond, was approved by 70 percent of voters. That will cost homeowners about $25 per year until 2010, when the bill rises to $175 annually, gradually tapering off by 2017.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 08:54 PM
May 10, 2007
WELLESLEY
Wellesley College announced today that a Yale biologist and deputy provost will be its 13th president.
Kim Bottomly, a Montana native who specializes in the biology of the immune system, will start her duties on August 1, overseeing the 2,300 student campus. She replaces Diana Chapman Walsh, who is retiring on June 30 after nearly 14 years as president.
"I am excited about assuming the leadership of an institution known for educating women who become leaders in all fields of human endeavor," Bottomly said in a statement.
-- Jamie Vaznis
Posted by Martin Finucane at 12:38 PM
May 3, 2007
A moderate-sized hot toddy and Irish coffee
(Globe file photo)
REGION
New research from Wellesley College has found that drinking a lot of alcohol over a long period of time may decrease brain volume.
The research was unveiled at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th, which is under way this week in Boston.
Researcher Carol Ann Paul used MRI scans of 1,839 people from the Framingham Offspring study, ages 34 to 88, the academy said in a statement.
"Research has shown that there is a beneficial effect of alcohol in reducing incidence of cardiovascular disease in people who consume low to moderate amounts of alcohol. However, this study found that greater alcohol consumption was negatively correlated with brain volume," Paul said in the statement.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 06:19 PM
May 3, 2007
WELLESLEY
A local high school student was named a 2007 Presidential Scholar, the highest achievement for graduating seniors that the federal government gives, the Globe reports.
Mari K. Oye, a Wellesley High School senior, assembled a project that organized fund-raisers for social issues affecting Afghanistan. She also participated in the school's cross-country running and skiing teams.
Of the 3 million students expected to graduate high school this year, only 2,700 qualified for the program.
-- Richard Thompson
Posted by Martin Finucane at 02:17 PM
May 3, 2007
WELLESLEY/NEWTON
Wellesley Superintendent of schools Matthew King has accepted the position of head of school at The Rashi School in Newton.
He was chosen unanimously by Rashi's Board of Trustees, said board president Cynthia Janower. King spent 11 years a the top school official in Wellesley before announcing plans to step down this year, and worked also as a superintendent and principal in Lincoln-Sudbury and Carlisle.
``Dr. King has been recognized for leading each of these high-performing schools to new heights,'' Janower said in a statement. We are delighted that he will be bringing his talents as a leader, educator, thinker and collaborator to Rashi.''
Rashi is in the midst of a $30 million capital campaign to build a permanent campus in Dedham, which includes a partnership with Hebrew SeniorLife for multi-generational programming.
Rashi, a Reform Jewish day school, was founded in 1986 and enrolls 300 girls and boys in grades K-8.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 09:44 AM
April 25, 2007
WELLESLEY
Two students at Babson College were killed in a fiery crash in Wellesley overnight when their car veered off the road and hit a tree, according to police and school officials.
The students, whose names were not released, were driving a Porsche Cayman south on Forest Street at about 11:30 p.m., according to a statement from Wellesley police. A preliminary investigation found that the car was traveling too fast on a road where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour, police said.
The Porsche hit a tree near the intersection with Berkshire Road. When police arrived, flames had engulfed the car. Both students died at the scene.
A spokesman for Babson College confirmed that the passengers in the car were students.
-- Andrew Ryan
Posted by Martin Finucane at 09:41 AM
April 11, 2007
WELLESLEY
An effort to revive a proposal for artificial turf playing fields at Sprague Elementary failed at Wellesley Town Meeting last night.
Town Meeting member Jane Batista asked fellow members to reconsider the votes they had cast Monday, when the proposal had failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority.
She said a letter from a former National Football League player that was read before Monday’s vote did not indicate that the player’s negative experience with artificial turf involved Astroturf and not the particular new generation of synthetic turf which Wellesley has been considering.
But the proposal to reconsider the artificial turf item, which also required a two-thirds majority, failed to pass on a 94-94 vote.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:08 PM
April 10, 2007
WELLESLEY
After months of hearings and more than four hours of discussion, the Wellesley Town Meeting voted last night to install artificial fields near Sprague Elementary School.
But the proposal won 133 of the 206 votes cast, falling short of the necessary two-thirds to gain Town Meeting approval. Some residents said still had reservations about health hazards, like scraped arms and legs.
The turf idea will probably go back for another vote at Town Meeting again tonight. So may another proposal to hold off on the turf until there is more study of safety concerns.
- Lisa Keen
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 11:11 AM
April 5, 2007
WELLESLEY
Babson College president Brian Barefoot will step down in June 2008, the school announced today.
Barefoot, a 1966 graduate of the prestigious business college, was named the school's 11th president in July 2001. He had served as chair of Babson's Board of Trustees from 1996 to 2001.
By announcing his intention to step down now, Babson will ``have ample time for a thorough search to find the right next president,'' Barefoot said in a statement.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 10:55 AM
March 28, 2007
WELLESLEY
Lamont ``Len'' Seipel Jr., chair of Wellesley's Library Board of Trustees, collapsed and died last night outside Town Meeting, town officials said.
Seipel, 61, had been scheduled to present a library budget presentation. He was rushed to Newton-Wellesley Hospital after suffering an apparent heart attack in the parking lot.
Seipel was a 28-year resident of Wellesley. He was a realtor, member of the Wellesley Players and past president of the Rotary Club.
``He was a wonderful guy. He was very dedicated to the club and to the town and he will be much missed,'' Rotary member Tory DeFazio said today.
Funeral arrangements were not yet final Wednesday afternoon.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 03:41 PM
March 20, 2007
WELLESLEY
The Wellesley School Committee is holding a special meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m., making good on its promise to hold a public discussion of how it decides administrative salaries and bonuses.
Member Marlene Allen called on the committee last fall to give the public an explanation for why it announced an 8.5 percent raise to retiring Superintendent Matthew King, only weeks after voters approved a Proposition 2 1/2 override for the schools.
The School Committee initially said it would discuss the salary issue last fall, then postponed the matter until January. In January, the committee put the discussion off again, this time saying it wanted to wait for the election of a new committee member.
The discussion did not come up at last week’s meeting when the new member, Christopher Guiffre, came on board. Committee chairman Michael Young told the Globe, however, that the committee would hold a special meeting this week to tackle the subject before Town Meeting.
Young said the committee would also discuss publicly the details of the salary and compensation package for the new superintendent, Bella Wong.
-— Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:10 AM
March 9, 2007
WELLESLEY
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will deliver Wellesley College's 2007 commencement address on June 1, the college announced today.
Albright, who graduated from Wellesley in 1959, served as the nation's first female secretary of state from 1997 to 2001.
Albright's last campus appearance was in 2001, when she and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, a 1969 Wellesley alum, delivered the keynote speech for the college's 125th anniversary.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 02:57 PM
March 7, 2007
WELLESLEY
Last night's election results are in, and public policy expert Gregory B. Mills has won the race to fill the Selectman’s seat being vacated by Vincent Juliani Jr.
According to town clerk Kathy Nagle, Mills won 86 percent of the vote, compared to 14 percent garnered by businessman Lewis Zafferes.
Mills, while acknowledging the need to focus on town finances, emphasized a desire to maintain the quality of town services. Zaffres focused on a desire to fend off Proposition 2.5 overrides. Asked whether the overwhelming support for him says anything about where voters’ priorities are, Mills said, “I hope so.”
Fewer than 10 percent of registered voters turned out for Tuesday’s elections. Mills will be sworn into office Wednesday night at town hall and take his seat with the next Selectmen’s meeting Monday, March 12.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by Martin Finucane at 09:39 AM
March 6, 2007
Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman astronaut, gave a talk at Wellesley College this weekend. Photographer Aram Boghosian caught Jemison, who flew on a September 1992 shuttle flight, in a lighter moment.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 07:23 PM
March 6, 2007
Alan Greenfield and his wife Claudia in front of their Needham home.
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
NEEDHAM/WELLESLEY/NEWTON/REGION
Alan Greenfield's one-man crusade to save Darfur has graduated from placing signs to public speaking.
The Needham man, who initiated a sign campaign to raise awareness of genocide in Darfur will speak in area towns over the next few weeks about the ongoing genocide in the war-torn region of western Sudan.
Greenfield formed the Needham Darfur Initiative, and has paid for more than 20 banners and more than 200 lawn signs to be placed on churches, synagogues, schools, businesses and houses in is hometown of Needham, where he runs a dog-walking business.
Now Greenfield has joined the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur as a speaker, to talk about how one person came make a difference. Greenfield is scheduled to speak to students at Wellesley High School next Wednesday, March 14; serve as a panelist in forum hosted by a group called “Discovering What’s Next” next Thursday, March 15 at the Newton Free Library; and share his story with Congregation Bnai Shalom in Westborough at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23.
-- Jennifer Rosinski
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:14 AM
February 27, 2007
WELLESLEY
A Wellesley College professor has been awarded a prestigious prize for his poetry, the Bloomberg news service reports.
Frank Bidart, an English professor who has been at the school for more than 30 years, won the Bollingen Prize in Poetry for 2007. The prize is awarded biennially by Yale University and comes with a $100,000 award. Bidart is currently editing a collection of poetry by Robert Lowell, along with teaching poetry workshops and 20th century poetry.
-- Adam Sell
Posted by Martin Finucane at 11:00 AM
February 25, 2007
8:35 p.m.: Child Life Specialist Kim Gannon blows bubbles for for 19-month-old Ben Wertheim, who came into the Pediatric Emergency Department with a high fever, as he sits on his mother Jodie's lap.
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
NEWTON/WELLESLEY/REGION
A large hospital is like a city within a city. It has its own rhythms, a workday, a night life, and a vast array of citizens -- from professionals to floor cleaners to engineers to volunteers, from wealthy to poor, and, of course, from the sick and the healthy.
Globe West reporter and web producer Ralph Ranalli and photographer Bill Polo spent 16 hours at Newton-Wellesley Hospital earlier this month, capturing the sights, sounds and stories of a typical day in a story and an audio slideshow.
A Day in the Life of a Hospital is the third in Globe West's yearlong Day in the Life Series.
In the fall, Ranalli and Polo captured the music and art and passion that occur during A Day in the Life of a Cultural Center at the Newton Cultural Center in Newtonville.
Last summer, Ranalli, Polo, and fellow photographer Josh Reynolds chronicled A Day in the Life of a Park at Albemarle Park, the hub of swimming, baseball, summer camp and other hot-weather activity in Newton.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:38 AM
February 22, 2007
WELLESLEY
One of the most wanted men in Massachusetts is behind bars in New Hampshire.
Police in Pelham, N.H. arrested 29-year-old Ryan Papillon Wednesday on fugitive charges. He's wanted in Massachusetts for thefts from churches in Woburn and Wellesley. He had been living in Pelham, on the Massachusetts border.
In addition to the Bay State charges, Papillon is accused of stealing a video projector from Saint Patrick's Church in Pelham. Police say while they were booking Papillon on the Massachusetts charges, they got a call from Saint Patrick's reporting the theft. They confronted Papillon and say he admitted the theft.
Police say Papillon has an extensive criminal record in the Boston area and is a member of the "Bloods" gang.
-- AP
Posted by Martin Finucane at 04:22 PM
February 21, 2007
Needham's historic Upper Falls Schoolhouse
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
NEEDHAM/WELLESLEY
The Needham and Wellesley Historical Societies are hosting a workshop this weekend in which historians Gloria Greis of Needham and Beth Krimmel of Wellesley will discuss the proper handling, storage and display of antiques, heirlooms and other treasures for future generations.
The workshop takes place this Sunday at 2 p.m., in the Needham Historical Society’s Upper Falls Schoolhouse on 1147 Central Avenue.
Refreshments will be served. Admission is free for Needham and Wellesley Historical Society members; tickets cost $5 for non-members. Anyone interested in attending is urged to call the Needham Historical Society at 781-455-8860.
-– Lauren K. Meade
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:02 AM
February 16, 2007
WELLESLEY
Bella Wong was offered the job of Wellesley superintendent this afternoon after a unanimous vote by the School Committee.
Wong, 46, has been assistant superintendent in Wellesley for six of the last nine years. Calling her a better fit, four of the five committee members said she was their first choice over the other finalist, Christopher Martes, who is Framingham superintendent.
Marlene Allen switched her vote after more than an hour of discussion to make the decision unanimous.
“I was hoping for a breath of fresh air,” said Allen, who added that there would likely be an “uproar” from the community over the process.
Member Suzy Littlefield said she was concerned about how long Martes would stay in the job, as his track record was four years in most posts.
Wong, who lives in Weston and served on the School Committee there from 2003 to 2006, practiced law before she switched into education. She would replace Matthew King as of July 1. Details of her salary still have to be negotiated.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Wong, about an hour after being offered the job. “I really love the community.”
–- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Lisa Kocian at 07:06 PM
February 15, 2007
WELLESLEY
Hans Larsen, executive director for the Wellesley Board of Selectmen, says the town will be able to balance its fiscal year 2008 operating budget without asking voters for a tax increase.
Wellesley started the 2008 planning in January with a $3.3 million gap between expected revenues and spending. But good news on revenues and costs -- most recently health insurance premium increases that came in at 10 percent instead of the anticipated 14 percent -- have allowed officials to lower the deficit number to $985,000.
Larsen says that can be covered with money from the town’s reserve.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 05:01 PM
February 14, 2007
WELLESLEY
Jessica Freeman, a 16-year-old Newton resident and junior at Dana Hall School in Wellesley has parlayed the sales of Valentine’s Day chocolates into something sweeter: helping a community in Zambia transport water from the local river into their village.
On a recent trip to Africa, Freeman visited a village made of mud huts that had no running water. Villagers needed water rollers, a wheelbarrow-like device, priced at $150.00 each to retrieve water from the river is with water rollers
Freeman launched an effort to raise money for them and sold 650 bags of Hershey’s Hugs yielding $650, or 4 water rollers for the Zambia Water Project.
-- Erica Noonan and Susan Lebovits
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 09:23 AM
February 9, 2007
WELLESLEY
With the two finalists for school superintendent due to appear at forums next week, the Wellesley School Committee this week felt the heat from some parents for not including a third: Middle School principal John D’Auria.
A group of parents showed up at Tuesday night's meeting to show their support for D'Auria. School Committee chair Mike Young defended the process, saying his panel thoroughly interviewed and considered all the candidates.
“We hold our Middle School principal in the highest regard,” Young told the audience. D'Auria has since indicated he would probably take a position in another town.
Next week, the public can question the finalists at separate forums to be held at the high school library. Framingham Superintendent Christopher Martes appears at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Bella Wong, an Assistant Superintendent in Wellesley, appears at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by smaas at 04:20 PM
February 9, 2007
WELLESLEY
Two years ago, the Wellesley School Committee rejected a contribution of almost $400,000 from parents seeking to preserve a Spanish language program. The committee rebuffed the spontaneous fundraising effort, saying they didn’t want affluent parents to be in a position of controlling the curricula.
But earlier this week, the School Committee approved a $9,000 contribution to fix up the teachers lounge at Wellesley High School.
School Superintendent Matthew King said the Wellesley High School Parent-Teacher Organization asked him for ideas on projects they might fund at the school, and he pointed out that the teachers’ dining lounge was “shabby.”
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 02:36 PM
February 8, 2007
WELLESLEY
Journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault will speak at Wellesley College next Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in Tishman Commons, Wang Campus Center.
Her talk,``Black Economic Empowerment,'' is hosted by the campus group Ethos in honor of its 28th annual Quintessence Day, which honors outstanding black women.
A longtime correspondent for NPR and CNN, Hunter-Gault is the winnter of two Emmy awards and two Peabody awards, inclduing one for her work on “Apartheid’s People,” a PBS NewsHour series about South African life during apartheid.
She is also the author of In My Place, a memoir of the civil rights movement and her experiences as the first black woman to attend the University of Georgia.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 04:00 PM
February 8, 2007
St. James the Great Parish
(Globe Staff photo by Barry Chin)
WELLESLEY
Attorneys for St. James the Great in Wellesley planned to argue today before the Supreme Judicial Court that the Archdiocese of Boston has no right to sell off church land.
Lawyers will claim that that the Maffei family, who sold the eight-acre parcel along Route 9 for $12,000 in the 1940s, did so because they believed it would always be a church.
The Archdiocese announced plans to shutter St. James, along with dozens of other churches in 2004, as part of a large-scale reconfiguration. Since then, parishioners have held a vigil to keep St. James open.
``The bishop is only a trustee of his parishes. They are not his ATMs and he cannot convert them to his personal advantage,'' Peter Borre, co-chair of the Council of Parishes, told The Associated Press.
-- Erica Noonan
Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West at 10:15 AM
February 2, 2007
WELLESLEY
A Wellesley stockbroker was charged yesterday in federal court with stealing more than $400,000 from one of his elderly clients through a variety of fraudulent schemes, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan announced.
Stephen J. Toussaint, 43, was charged with 11 counts of fraudulent activities, including securities fraud, wire fraud, making false statements to federal agents, and manipulating accounts to evade reporting requirements.
The indictment targets transactions made by Toussaint between October 2002 and February 2004.
-- Globe City & Region staff
Posted by Martin Finucane at 10:25 AM
January 31, 2007
NEWTON / NEEDHAM / WATERTOWN / WELLESLEY
Newton, Needham, Watertown, and Wellesley are among 27 greater Boston communities that are the best prepared to respond to epidemics and natural or man made disasters, a national public health organization has determined.
The cities and towns singled out by the National Association of County and City Health Officials were rated on their their response readiness, planning, workforce competency, and emergency exercises, officials said. Greater Boston was also cited for its overall readiness, one of only six regions in the nation to receive such the recognition, said Newton Health and Human Services Commissioner David Naparstek.
"The bar is set very high for public health groups to meet this standard,” Naparstek said.
-- Connie Paige
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:49 PM
January 29, 2007
WELLESLEY
Computer laptops, audio-video equipment, and cash were stolen from the Wellesley Middle School over the weekend, according to an email sent out to parents by Principal John D’Auria.
Police spokesperson Marie Cleary said there were no signs of forced entry and it could not be determined what day the theft took place or how many people were involved.
She said at least eight laptops were stolen, as well as one projector, and an undetermined amount of cash from several desks throughout the school. D’Auria asked parents to contact him or the police if they have any information about the crime.
The middle school houses about 980 students in grades 6 through 8.
– Lisa Kocian and Lisa Keen
Posted by Martin Finucane at 03:51 PM
January 27, 2007
Yuck.
(Globe Staff photo by Bill Greene)
NEWTON
Route 9 commuters better watch out. The state’s highway department is set to start this spring repaving the already busy highway on both eastbound and westbound sides from the Newton border to High St. in Brookline.
The $5.2 million project will include resurfacing, guard rail replacement, reconstruction of the median, and drainage improvements, said Erik Abell, a MassHighway spokesman. Construction crews will work only at night, from Sunday through Thursday, 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., he said.
Contractor Aggregate Industries will restrict construction during Red Sox games, to ease traffic before and after, Abell said. The project is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2008.
-- Connie Paige
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:15 AM
January 26, 2007
MEDFIELD/WELLESLEY
A principal's gamble pays off: After declining an offer to become principal of Franklin High School earlier this week, Medfield High School Principal Andrew Keough sent an e-mail to parents today to announce that he has accepted the position of principal at Wellesley High School.
Keough, 44, a Sherborn resident, said in his letter that it was a difficult decision to leave Medfield. He said moving to Wellesley would ensure long-term security for him and his family. His contract with Medfield is set to expire June 30.
In a telephone interview, Keough said Wellesley offers new challenges after his four years in Medfield.
Citing Wellesley High School's bigger school population, wider variety of courses, and upcoming accreditation process, he said he's not one to stay in one school system for decades. "I perform better when faced with big challenges," he said. "I prefer to continue to challenge myself."
-- Alison O'Leary Murray
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:57 PM
January 18, 2007
Gene Whitman
WELLESLEY
In the hands of Gene Whitman, impropriety was a tool he used to pry open doors that stood between him and opportunity.
As an investment banker, he often found himself in the unenviable position of trying to reach a key official in a company, someone he had never met. The road to success led through blockades of receptionists, secretaries, and assistants.
"He'd reach a secretary who would say, 'Does he know the nature of the call?' And my father would say, 'How would he know the nature of the call, I haven't spoken to him yet,' " Chip Whitman said of his father's phone technique. "By the end of the call, he would have the secretary setting up the meeting."
Mr. Whitman, who lived in Wellesley Hills and kept homes in South Dartmouth and in Sarasota, Fla., died of a heart attack on Jan. 7 at a dinner dance in Sarasota. He was 71.
Read more of this obituary in today's Boston Globe.
-- Bryan Marquard
Posted by Martin Finucane at 06:11 PM
January 11, 2007
Dr. Michael Jellinek
(Photo by Sarah Brezinsky for the Boston Globe)
NEWTON
The statistics are sobering: More than 800,000 teenagers in the US suffer from depression each year and more than 500,000 make a suicide attempt that requires medical attention. Often, experts say, those teens have been experimenting with or using drugs and alcohol.
To shed more light on the problem, a panel of speakers will share information on this topic next Thursday at a free Newton-Wellesley Hospital forum. The speakers will include:
* Dr. Michael Jellinek, an expert on child psychology and president of Newton-Wellesley Hospital;
* Jeffrey M. Young, Newton school superintendent;
* Nadja Reilly, director of a depression prevention initiative at Children’s Hospital;
* Chris Fortunato, vice president of teen and adult programs at Newton Community Service Center.
The forum will be held at 7 p.m. in the hospital's Shipley Auditorium.
-- Ralph Ranalli
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:38 PM
January 9, 2007
Newton-Wellesley Hospital Emergency Department chief Dr. Mark Lemons tours an exam room during construction.
(Globe Staff photo by Bill Polo)
NEWTON
Ever craved a chance to see an emergency room without having to be bleeding profusely or nursing a fracture? Sunday is your chance.
Newton-Wellesley Hospital will hold an open house from 11 am to 2 pm to show off its new $80 million emergency department facility. Refreshments (jello?) will be provided ... and don't worry, the facility doesn't open for medical business until next Wednesday, the 17th.
The new department, named in memory of Newton resident and philanthropist Maxwell Blum, is designed to meet a growing suburban emergency room demand. Annual visits to the hospital’s emergency room are projected to climb from 35,000 in 1999 to a 55,000 by 2008, according to a hospital spokesman.
-- Connie Paige
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 03:55 PM
January 7, 2007
WELLESLEY
Leo Troy recalls five years ago when the pastor of his church invited parishioners to the front pews to discuss revelations that the Boston Archdiocese had covered up decades-long abuses by pedophile priests.
The Roman Catholic church, he said, didn't usually air its problems publicly. So along with feeling angry because of the scope of the abuse, Troy also felt empowered.
"It really moved a lot of people to talk about it more," he said. "It's a worldwide problem. That's why this organization came together."
Voice of the Faithful is marking its fifth anniversary this weekend. What started as a handful of outraged parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Church in Wellesley has grown to an international organization that claims tens of thousands of members, the AP reports.
-- AP
Posted by Martin Finucane at 11:36 AM
January 5, 2007
WALTHAM/WELLESLEY
How warm was it today? It was a day for outdoor cafes. That's how warm it was.
Susannah Pugh of Waltham, and her father, Jim Pugh of Wellesley, have lunch outside in downtown Boston today in this photo by Globe staff photographer David L. Ryan.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 02:25 PM
January 3, 2007
WELLESLEY
Phil Hamilton pondering his vlogging successes
(Globe Staff Photo by Bill Polo)
When Phil Hamilton started making videos for the web, he wasn’t sure who - if anyone at all - would bother watching them.
He doesn’t have to wonder any longer.
The videos created by this 17-year-old Wellesley High School senior are drawing national attention, and his weblog, “Phil Hamilton Hits The Big Time,” won an award at the first annual Vloggies, honoring the best independent video-makers on the Web.
The Vloggies were the brainchild of the PodTech Network, a Palo Alto, Calif. company that's building a network of audio and video programs for Web broadcast.
Hamilton snagged the People’s Choice Award in the kids and teen category. The Vloggies drew 600 nominations and were awarded in 35 categories, ranging from teaching cooking to stirring controversy. Among the sponsors were tech giants Yahoo! and Intel.
Hamilton has been a fan of video blogs -- or vlogs -- for more than two years.
“It was a really nice community, and after a while I wasn’t satisfied from just being an observer,” he said in telephone interview. “I wanted to have a voice in that community.” ...
Read more about Phil Hamilton in tomorrow's Globe West.
-- Emily Sweeney
Posted by Martin Finucane at 07:05 PM
January 3, 2007
WELLESLEY
A car hit a middle school bus this afternoon, but school officials said there were no injuries.
Middle School principal John D’Auria e-mailed parents this afternoon, assuring them that each student on the bus had been checked by the school’s head nurse.
D’Auria said the bus was able to leave the scene of the accident within about 30 minutes to drop students off at their regular stops.
He said the bus –identified as Bus G—was turning onto Donizetti Street after leaving the school when it was struck by a car.
--Lisa Keen
Posted by smaas at 05:21 PM
January 3, 2007
WELLESLEY
Catherine Masson and her husband, Claude Beauclair, like to entertain. But while Beauclair is an actor, Masson, a Wellesley resident, entertains guests with her cooking.
Growing up in France, Masson learned from her mother how to find the best quality ingredients for simple meals, she told the Globe. And that skill has never left her.
"I always have an idea of what I'll make for dinner," she says. "But if I arrive at the meat counter and the lamb is not looking the way I want it, I will change my menu." She then winds her way back to the produce area to pick vegetables to pair with the "center of the meal."
Masson, who teaches French and French drama at Wellesley College, said that she likes using local foods to make meals. For example, lobster.
"I'm not doing lobster in France, but here it's such a beautiful product," she says.
Two of Masson's French-influenced recipes can be found on boston.com.
-- Adam Sell
Posted by Martin Finucane at 10:29 AM
December 30, 2006
WELLESLEY
Two Babson College students have won an $11,500 grant from the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance and the Lemelson Foundations to fully develop a running shoe tracking device, the college has announced.
The "Stridekick" developed by the two MBA students attaches to a shoelace and logs the total amount of miles the shoes have been used.
The device also alerts the runner once certain mileage levels are passed, helping the runner to know when it's time to get a new pair of shoes.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:59 PM
December 27, 2006
WELLESLEY
The building when construction was almost complete last year
(Globe Staff Photo by Bill Polo)
Wellesley College announced that its newest building, The Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center, has been named the Boston area’s ‘‘most beautiful piece of architecture’’ of 2006 by the Boston Society of Architects.
The group voted the building —nicknamed ‘‘The Lulu’’-- the annual J. Harleston (cq) Parker Medal for Architectural Excellence, applauding among other features its ‘‘breathtaking views’’ of ‘‘the adjacent wetland valley and woodlands and the more distant lake.’’
The center, which opened in 2005, was designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects of Atlanta.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Martin Finucane at 07:16 PM
December 14, 2006
WELLESLEY
A Wellesley Middle School Student has admitted that he was the one who dropped two bullets in the lobby auditorium last week.
The student, who has not been named, said the bullets fell out of his backpack accidentally.
He told officials that he brought the bullets to school to impress his friends.
He came forward after police gave assurances that he wouldn't face prosecution.
A custodian found the bullets in the late afternoon of Dec. 19. Police searched the building that night and school was cancelled the following day when a more thorough search was undertaken.
“There will be significant consequences within the school system,” Wellesley Police spokesperson Marie Cleary said.
“But the police and school departments agreed no criminal charges because we wanted to get to the bottom of this and get answers to everyone so they could feel safe.”
--Lisa Keen
Posted by smaas at 10:56 AM
December 9, 2006
WELLESLEY
The lights dim, the music pumps up - a steady beat that can be felt in the bones - and Baba Brinkman struts and bounces around the stage, belting out his rhymes about hard living, violence, sex and the secrets to true love, all in a seamless cadence. He gets his inspiration not from growing up in the 'hood, but from the musings of a 14th century English poet.
Brinkman, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia who has a master's degree in medieval and Renaissance English literature from the University of Victoria, has adapted some of "The Canterbury Tales" into rap songs.
"If Chaucer was around today, he'd probably rap," Brinkman told The Associated Press.
Brinkman stopped at Wellesley College during a recent tour of high schools and colleges across the eastern United States and Puerto Rico.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 03:35 PM
December 7, 2006
WELLESLEY
Performers rehearsing for the circus
(Photo courtesy of Matthew Brouillard)
Rather than running away to join a circus, Matthew Brouillard formed his own -- and for college credit, to boot.
With a $1,200 budget, the 21-year-old Olin College student enlisted 20 performers from the Needham college and from Wellesley College to show off their talents in the elaborate juggling act of poi spinning, acrobatics, and aerial silk dancing.
Performances will be held at 5 and 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Richard W. Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College in Wellesley.
Tickets are $10, $5 for students and children. All proceeds will go to
the Sharing Foundation, which benefits Cambodian children.
-- Lauren K. Meade
Posted by smaas at 02:40 PM
December 6, 2006
WELLESLEY
A custodian at Wellesley Middle School found “live” ammunition near the school’s auditorium at about 4:15 p.m. yesterday, setting off searches by police and prompting school officials to schedule a briefing for parents at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
In an email to parents today, Middle School Principal John D’Auria told parents that two 9mm bullets were found and that “they were not ornamental but genuine.” School was not held today.
D’Auria said he contacted Wellesley police as soon as the custodian turned them over to him and that the “police department conducted a search of the building late last night with a dog that is trained to detect nitrates.” Nitrates are a telltale sign of gunpowder.
Police refused to comment, calling it a "school department issue."
--Lisa Keen
Posted by smaas at 02:24 PM
November 30, 2006
WELLESLEY
Massachusetts Bay Community College in Wellesley spent more than $90,000 in university funds on a week of events marking the inauguration of Carole M. Berotte Joseph , the first Haitian to become head of a US college.
The idea was to promote diversity and reach out to current and potential donors in tight budget times. Some events drew crowds; others were sparsely attended.
The weeklong inauguration in May sparked an investigative report about the spending on WBZ-TV last night, and has caused a stir at the 5,000-student college, the Globe reports today.
Joseph, who became president in March of last year , has sent out e-mail messages defending the inauguration. "The Board of Trustees and I chose to invest in a weeklong celebration to create positive publicity and foster goodwill in the communities we serve," Joseph said. "The funds we spent will help establish MassBay as one of the Commonwealth's premier community colleges."
-- James Vaznis
Posted by Martin Finucane at 09:31 AM
November 22, 2006
WELLESLEY
A 44-year-old defense contractor with ties to Boston's western suburbs has been sentenced to six months in prison for tax evasion, the Advocate of New Haven, Conn. reports.
James E. Stranberg Jr. owns Ace & Co. Inc., a defense contractor that manufactures fiber optic connectors for Army communications and Patriot missile launchers.
He was also fined $30,000 and sentenced to three years probation. The company has agreed to pay $230,000 in restitution to the government and about $900,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Ace & Co., which has a factory in Naugatuck, Conn. was incorporated in Massachusetts. According to documents filed in federal court in New Haven, Stranberg was a resident of Wellesley until he moved to Florida earlier this year.
-- Erica Tochin
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:07 PM
October 25, 2006
NEWTON/WELLESLEY
A dinner with celebrity chef Ming Tsai, public radio host Robin Young, or Nobel-Prize winning MIT geneticist Phillip Sharp – how good is that?
The Second Step, a Newton-based program for survivors of domestic violence, is sponsoring gourmet dinners with a celebrity in 22 private homes, most in Newton, but also one each in Wellesley, Brookline, and Boston.
The Nov. 4 benefit, called Step Up to the Plate, will also feature Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association, legendary Boston restaurateur Michela Larson, and Sam Adams beer CEO Jim Koch. Last year’s event raised $130,000.
For a complete list of dinner parties, visit www.thesecondstep.org. Event tickets are $150. To purchase tickets, call 617-965-2026.
-- Connie Paige
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 07:05 AM
October 22, 2006
WELLESLEY
Sybil and Don Smith had the house with the sprawling yard in Wellesley Hills. But they've traded it in for a three-bedroom duplex in the center -- and they're liking it.
The Globe Magazine takes a look today at people who are finding in an age of McMansions that smaller is better.
The article notes that for some it's the convenience of living downtown, while for others it's a financially smart choice.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 11:05 AM
October 21, 2006
WELLESLEY
Hermann Eilts of Wellesley, a retired diplomat whose rapport with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat helped smooth the way for the 1978 Camp David peace accord, has died. He was 84.
Mr. Eilts was in the Foreign Service from 1947 to 1979. He was named ambassador to Egypt after the United States reestablished diplomatic relations with that country in the early 1970s.
"His perseverance, knowledge, and relationships in the region were instrumental in crafting a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that to this day remains unbroken," former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement.
After retiring from the Foreign Service, Mr. Eilts had been a professor of international relations at Boston University, the Globe reports in an obituary today.
Mr. Eilts leaves a wife, two sons, and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 08:58 AM
October 18, 2006
WELLESLEY
In an open letter to town residents, Wellesley School Committee Chairman Michael Young has apologized for the upset caused by an 8.5 percent salary increase given to outgoing Superintendent of Schools Matthew King.
In the letter, Young acknowledged that the salary increase -- which came one month after Town Meeting agreed to ask voters for a property tax override for the sixth time in five years -- "did not sit well with many people."
"It is clear that we underestimated the public's reaction and the stress our actions would place on the other town boards and department management teams," wrote Young. "For that, we are sorry."
Yet Young does not necessarily believe the increase itself was out of line and he objects to comparisons, made by some critics, between King's new $185,000 salary and the $183,500 salarly paid to the US Secretary of Education.
"I think people who live in this town should see it as a Ph.D running a $46 million high-tech business with 700 employees," Young said in an interview. "Nobody else has the responsibility he has."
After King informed the committee of his intention to retire at the end of this school year, the School Committee voted give him a $10,000 raise, from $175,000 to $185,000. Add to that a $7,000 increase in the town's contribution to his pension annuity, from $26,000 to $33,000, and King's compensation package is $218,000.
By comparison, in Newton, the superintendent's compensation package is $225,000, and in Needham, the package totals $143,000.
The School Committee has put the matter on the agenda for its next meeting, which will be held Tuesday night.
-- Lisa Keen
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 11:21 PM
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