Verizon FiOS arrives
Verizon has launched fiber-optic service in Needham. The company's FiOS technology offers cable television, higher Internet speeds, and interactive features that provide local weather and traffic information. The television package includes 180 digital channels, 28 high-definition channels, and 47 music channels. A bundled package with FiOS TV, Internet, and unlimited telephone service is available for $104.85 a month. The service is also available in Wellesley, Marlborough, Lincoln, and Hopkinton. -- Lauren K. Meade
CONSTRUCTION FUNDING TO BE DISCUSSED -- Selectmen Tuesday will start discussing how to fund some 60 construction projects, including roads, sewers, and schools , according to chairman John H. Cogswell . Among the big-ticket items is a $13 million renovation of the High Rock School to handle middle school overflow. Selectmen unanimously supported the reconstruction at Town Meeting last month, though the board still must vote this spring whether to put a debt exclusion override question on the April ballot, said vice chairman Gerald A. Wasserman . Other items on the top of the capital request list include $1.1 million in road construction and $4 million for a Senior Center at Ridge Hill. Wasserman said that selectmen will have to decide whether to include the $5 million field upgrades at DeFazio and Memorial Parks. -- Lauren K. Meade
Newton
HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT HAS DEADLINE -- The city has to make "substantial progress" on building a new Newton North High School by July 1, 2009, or face the loss of $46.5 million in state aid. "We want to reserve the right to take that money back," said Katherine Craven , director of the state's School Building Assistance Program. "If this thing drags on to June 30, 2009, and someone has a ceremonial shovel in the ground, I don't think that's going to cut it." Craven said that if the city fails to meet the deadline, it would have to reapply for funds. That could mean a longer wait and possibly less money. Craven is scheduled to appear tomorrow night before the Board of Aldermen. The site plan is up for a vote on Jan. 23. -- Connie Paige
ENERGY USE MAY BE ASSESSED -- Support is growing for the city to hire an energy services company to assess its energy use, suggest conservation measures, and oversee their implementation. The measures could include automated lighting and electrical controls; better heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment; water conservation; and insulated windows . Two grass - roots groups, Green Decade Coalition/Newton and Stand for Children, initially proposed hiring a consultant. Mayor David B. Cohen has appointed a group to explore the idea, which also has the backing of many aldermen as well as Jeff Seideman , president of the Newton Taxpayers Association. -- Connie Paige
ACCIDENT SITE EXAMINED -- The city says it will address safety problems at Woodland Road, site of a fatal pedestrian accident in September . Some 50 residents at a meeting last week complained of poor lighting and speeding traffic. The city will present its plans at a follow - up meeting in February, spokesman Jeremy Solomon said. Lasell College student Kevin Flaherty , 22 , died early on Sept. 22 after being hit by a car while crossing the road. -- Connie Paige
PROGRAM FUNDS UNCLAIMED -- As of midweek, no one had applied for a new program that gives as much as $90,000 to residents wishing to create accessory apartments in their homes that will be affordable for low- and moderate-income tenants. The money can be used to offset the cost of surveying, designing, and constructing the apartment. Approved last summer, the program also provides assistance in applying for the money, hiring an architect, getting building permits, and finding a tenant. The money will be either a loan or grant, depending on how long the homeowner is willing to commit to the program. For details, contact Kevin McCormick at 617-527-6576 . -- Connie Paige
WALTHAM
HOSPITAL GARAGE TO EXPAND -- The Waltham campus of Children's Hospital of Boston has received permission from the city to add two levels to its parking garage, but with conditions attached. The new levels will add 313 parking spaces for a total of 908. The City Council approved the hospital's request at its meeting Monday. The hospital is required to pay $20,000 to cover the cost of a traffic study that will examine how the anticipated increase in traffic will affect congestion in the South Street neighborhood and how it might be remedied. In November, Children's Hospital of Boston announced plans to expand its number of beds systemwide by one-third, which would result in an additional 11 beds at the Waltham campus. Hospital officials said they want to shift as much non critical care as possible to suburban locations in Waltham and Peabody. -- Stephanie V. Siek
WATERTOWN
VOLATILE CHEMICALS REPORTED -- Sulfuric acid, diesel fuel, sodium hydroxide, and cyclohexamine. These are just some of the potentially dangerous chemicals that are being used by businesses in town. Nine companies, including Barclay Water Management,
FORMER FIRE CHIEF REMEMBERED -- The town will dedicate a new flagpole in front of the firehouse in Coolidge Square to Robert O'Reilly , the late fire chief. O'Reilly, a Watertown native and the grandson, son, and brother of firefighters, joined the department in 1953 and became chief in 1971. He established the town's first emergency medical service. He retired in 1987 and died at his home in Florida on Oct. 29. His son, Stephen, is a lieutenant in the department. The Town Council issued a proclamation praising O'Reilly's service to the town at last week's meeting. -- Christina Pazzanese Wellesley
BULLET MYSTERY SOLVED -- A middle school student came forward Monday and acknowledged dropping two live 9 mm bullets in the auditorium lobby last week. According to Wellesley Police spokeswoman Marie Cleary , the student admitted responsibility shortly after police officials assured parents at a meeting the previous week that no criminal charges would be lodged if the student came forward voluntarily. Neither Cleary nor school Superintendent Matthew King would identify the student or say even what grade he is in, but Cleary said the student told officials the bullets dropped out of his backpack accidentally. Cleary said the student said he brought the bullets to school to impress friends and that he had no intention of harming anyone. "There will be significant consequences within the school system," said Cleary of what will happen to the student. "But the police and school departments agreed to 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
BUDGET PROPOSAL NEAR GUIDELINE -- School Superintendent Matthew King proposed a fiscal year 2008 operating budget Tuesday night that comes close to the guidelines set by the Wellesley Advisory Committee in September. King recommended a 5.98 percent increase over the current year; the committee suggested an increase no greater than 5.5 percent for the schools. The School Committee has averaged an increase of about 7 percent a year over the past 11 years, said King, and last year the committee recommended a 10 percent increase. One reason the budget is not rising so much this year, said King, is that several special education students are graduating and no new special ed students are expected to enroll. The schools have also locked in some savings in utility costs. King said the committee could meet the 5.5 percent goal by cutting back on the hours of staff workers, saving $223,000 . -- Lisa Keen
WESTON
ELLISTON NAMED TO AGRICULTURAL PANEL -- Leila Orell Elliston has been appointed to the Weston Agricultural Commission for a term that expires in June 2008. The volunteer board administers the town's farm preservation bylaw and also mediates agriculture-related disputes among neighbors. Elliston is a past executive director of Land's Sake. She holds a doctorate in environmental biology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and owns a farm that sells organic cut flowers to wholesalers. Selectmen approved her appointment Tuesday. -- Stephanie V. Siek 