Charter raises cable rates in Berlin

Berlin's only cable television provider, Charter Communications, has informed the town that it will raise its monthly rates in March. The increases will range from a few cents to up to $4, depending on the service. The company's least-expensive cable television package, offering its basic lineup of channels, will increase from $59 to $63 a month, for example, according to a letter sent to the Board of Selectmen last month. The cost of Charter's most expensive package, which includes premium movie channels, will increase from $81.99 to $85.99. Installation fees largely remain the same or increase slightly. In the letter, Charter says the rate increases are necessary because of improvements the firm has made to its cable network in town. - John Dyer

REVERSE 911 EXPLORED - Selectmen are looking at adopting Reverse 911, an emergency notification system that Worcester is offering to surrounding communities, said Town Administrator Jodi Ross. Reverse 911 allows police to notify residents in an emergency by blanketing areas of town with automated calls from a dispatch center. Worcester would provide the service to Bolton through its police station. Ross was uncertain how much the service would cost the town. - Matt Gunderson

VOTES ON NEW LIBRARY - Selectmen have scheduled a Special Town Meeting for March 3 and a town election for March 5 on a proposal to build a new library on the town's Hillside property, according to Boylston Public Library director Nick Langhart. The cost of the new library is expected to be around $5 million; officials plan to embark shortly on fund-raising efforts to help reduce the amount needed from Boylston taxpayers, Langhart said. The project will not receive state reimbursement, since the state is no longer offering financial assistance to library projects, he noted. - Matt Gunderson

DEVELOPMENT JOB OPEN AGAIN - The town is starting over in its search for a new director of community and economic development, after a finalist for the position recently withdrew, said Town Manager Julian Suso. "There were personal reasons, but I don't know the details," Suso said. "These things happen from time to time." Kathy Bartolini, who had been the town's planning director since 1999, retired in August. Suso said an advertisement for the job will be posted on employment websites and in local newspapers over the next two weeks. The annual salary range for the position is $89,188 to $107,722.

- Tanya Pérez Brennan

SUPPORT FOR CELL TOWERS - Members of the Hudson Planning Board are likely to approve cellphone towers proposed for Saratoga Drive and Crestview Drive during their Jan. 29 meeting, said Town Planner Jennifer Burke. Last summer, Omnipoint Communications negotiated with the town to lease the parcels where the two 100-foot-tall towers would be located. The meeting would be the last opportunity for residents to voice their opinion on the towers to the Planning Board. If Omnipoint receives the board's approval, the company would need to obtain a special permit covering wireless communication facilities from the town's Zoning Board of Appeals, Burke said. - John Dyer

NOMINATIONS FOR MARCH ELECTION - The town has announced that nomination forms are being accepted for several positions on the March 31 election ballot. The available slots include moderator and town clerk, and seats on the Board of Assessors, Board of Health, and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee. For more information, call the town offices at 781-259-8850. - John M. Guilfoil

HELP CLEAR SCHOOL BUS STOPS - Just because we had a little warm spell, don't think the snow is over. The city's Department of Public Works is asking residents to help remove snow from area school bus stops. The DPW is not responsible for clearing snow from the thousands of bus stops, according to an announcement by its commissioner, Ron LaFreniere. Without help from the public, students could be forced to wait in roadways with high snow embankments that can block motorists' views, he said. For information on dealing with the snow, contact the DPW at 508- 624-6910, ext. 7300. - Lisa Kocian

DIP IN PARKING TICKET REVENUE - It varies from year to year, but receipts from parking tickets handed out in Maynard fell in the fiscal year that ended June 30, said Ken DiMaris, the town's finance director. Receipts gathered in fiscal year 2007 were $75,054, while motorists who violated the town's parking rules had paid $83,838 in the previous year, he said. - Matt Gunderson

HEARING GRANT REQUESTS - Proposals to preserve Colonial-era town documents, to purchase affordable housing and to build more hiking trails will be among the requests weighed by members of the Community Preservation Committee during two special hearings this month, said Northborough's town planner, Kathy Joubert. Local residents and town groups submitted 16 applications for grants drawn from the $700,000 overseen by the committee. The meetings, to be held Thursday and on Jan. 31, will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Town Hall. Committee members will discuss the proposals and hear comments on them from residents. The committee will likely decide next month which projects to support for grants, Joubert said. Town Meeting voters in April will have the committee's recommendations for guidance in deciding how the money is distributed, she said. - John Dyer

HISTORIC TAG FOR SCHOOLHOUSE - The Shrewsbury Historical Society hopes to gain a spot on the National Register of Historic Places for the old District No. 5 Schoolhouse. Built in 1828, the schoolhouse served students in grades 1 through 9 for nearly 90 years, according to Kristine Gustafson, a member of the society's executive board. To drum up support, the society will make a presentation at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Jan. 28, to begin at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. The schoolhouse, on a corner of Old Mill Road and West Main Street, is owned by the society, which is working on restoration plans, Gustafson said. The society plans this spring to submit its application to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which must approve it before it goes to the National Register for consideration, she said. For more information, e-mail the society at shrewsburyhistory@townisp.com. - Lisa Kocian

REQUEST FOR SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS - Rising tuition bills are outpacing the fund-raising of the Southborough Scholarship Committee, according to a statement issued recently by its members. A town panel that gives grants to local students heading for college, the committee is seeking additional donations from residents and local businesses. The committee has awarded $110,200 in scholarships since its founding in 1988. Donations can be added to the quarterly payments of property taxes to the town, the members said, or checks payable to the Town of Southborough may be mailed to the Town House, 17 Common St., Southborough, MA 01772, with "Scholarship Fund" written on the envelope and the check. - John Dyer

DENSE MIXED-USE ZONING - The Planning Board will float a proposed bylaw at Town Meeting in the spring that would allow for a new type of development in the Lower Village area, said Karen Kelleher, Stow's planning coordinator. The bylaw would allow a dense mix of office space and residential units in the downtown area, said Kelleher. A "transition zone" would be on the outer edges of the village, which would be primarily residential, she said. Plans are also taking shape to create a similar zoning district at Gleasondale center, but that proposal would probably not be voted on in the spring, Kelleher said. - Matt Gunderson

SPRING ELECTIONS - Town Clerk Rosemary Harvell has announced the details of the March 31 town elections. There will be 13 positions on the ballot, including a three-year Board of Selectmen slot and openings on the Board of Assessors, Board of Health, Planning Board, School Committee and the Park and Recreation Commission. March 11 is the deadline to register to vote. For more information, visit the town clerk's office at Town Hall, 322 Concord Road. - John M. Guilfoil

HELP IS AVAILABLE - The town reminds residents that the Wayland Charitable Committee can provide immediate, short-term assistance in times of financial hardship. For residents who have lived in Wayland for at least a year, assistance could be provided toward a number of expenses, including utilities, rent, prescriptions, and food. For more information call 508-358-3624. All names are kept confidential. - John M. Guilfoil

CRACKDOWN ON BICYCLISTS - The Police Department is cracking down on bicyclists who ride on sidewalks in the town center, Chief Alan Gordon said recently. The Board of Selectmen directed Gordon to monitor the center more closely for bicyclists after residents and shop owners in the area complained about the dangerous practice by some riders, he said. State law allows bicyclists to use sidewalks only in an emergency; otherwise, they must walk their bikes while on sidewalks. His officers will issue $20 fines for violations, Gordon said; the law also allows police to confiscate a bicycle for up to 15 days. - John Dyer

SUPERINTENDENT FINALISTS - The two finalists for the position of Natick's next school superintendent, Christine Tyrie and Peter Sanchioni, went through a series of interviews with parents and town and school officials last week. Tyrie is superintendent in Henniker, N.H., and Sanchioni is the head of the Millis school system. This week, School Committee members are scheduled to visit their home districts, the school department said. Natick officials have said they plan to announce their choice for the new superintendent by Jan. 23. - Erica Noonan

ELECTION, RECOUNT INQUIRY - The Town Council will investigate the handling of the Nov. 6 election and the Nov. 30 recount despite a Middlesex Superior Court judge's finding that he saw "no evidence that fraud, negligence, or any significant problems with the ballots." The Jan. 3 ruling by Judge Isaac Borenstein, who denied former councilor John Donohue's request to review ballots in two precincts and hold another election, left Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney as the winner of the fourth and final at-large seat on the ballot. Council president Clyde L. Younger said that once a 30-day appeal period has expired, he intends to go forward with the examination into how the election and recount were conducted, and what role town officials and volunteers played in the subsequent legal battle. To quiet allegations made by Donohue and others about the supposed lack of training received by election workers, Younger said he will ask the secretary of state's office to help train volunteers before the Feb. 5 presidential primary. - Christina Pazzanese

NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT ADVANCES - A group of neighbors on Denton Road has made its deadline for getting 80 percent of nearby residents to sign a petition seeking to establish the town's first neighborhood conservation district. Now the group is preparing to go before a joint session of the Planning Board and Wellesley Historical Commission, where it must gain the support of both boards to take its proposal before Town Meeting in March. The conservation district program, approved by Town Meeting last spring, enables residents in distinct neighborhoods to set guidelines for home exteriors and landscapes to "preserve the distinctive characteristics" of their section of town. The idea was prompted after several older homes were demolished and replaced with what many consider unusually large houses that are out of character with their neighborhood. The joint session and public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 4 as part of a public hearing on several zoning-related issues coming before Town Meeting this spring. - Lisa Keen