Let the sun shine on public meetings

In the interest of greater transparency for all public decisions, meeting reports and agendas may soon join meeting notices on the town website. Town Meeting voted almost unanimously this month to pass a proposal by Martin Rosenthal of Precinct 9 to extend the state's Open Meeting Law. Now agendas, meeting notices, and reports on actions taken will be posted online - if enough town workers can be found to upload the documents. Rosenthal said his article would "increase the quality of citizen participation." Stanley Spiegel - speaking for the Advisory Board, a group of document junkies if there ever was one - called the measure "a model for the state" and "the obvious thing to do."

Graffiti is generally nasty, Town Meeting members agree. The issue for the last three meetings has been just how to enforce a bylaw against it. Since people are rarely caught in the act, removing tags and other offending marks becomes the responsibility of property owners. But many Town Meeting members feel it unfair to penalize the victim of the crime. So Town Meeting this month, on its third try, passed a bylaw that includes smaller penalties for owners who don't remove the graffiti, and increases the amount of town aid for removing graffiti to $200 a year. "Vandalism is degrading to neighborhoods," said proponent Harry Bohrs. "This bylaw is an incentive to do cleanup."

Got a news item for Brookline? E-mail Andreae Downs at andreaedowns@yahoo.com.

City councilors voted Monday to prohibit commercial and residential use of leaf blowers between June 15 and Sept. 15. The council discussed a number of topics concerning regulation of leaf blowers, but voted on only a few provisions before sending the proposal back to the city manager's office to review additional regulations on the devices. During the meeting, Cambridge's chief public health officer, Claude-Alix Jacob, and the director of environmental health, Sam Lipson, offered testimony on research regarding the impact of leaf blowers on health. While the noise and debris of leaf blowers can make some people miserable, scientific data to prove this case are scarce because there is little research on the topic, Lipson said. Public input advocated strongly for the ban, with speakers alleging physical health hazards from carrying leaf blowers, as well as noise pollution caused by their use. Councilor Henrietta Davis said she wished the ban period were longer, but added, "We'll have quiet summers."

The last Friday of every month is the Cambridge-based Green Streets Initiative's Walk-Ride Day, when residents are encouraged to "go green" and local businesses reward them for their efforts. Customers who wear a green article of clothing or who use a green mode of transportation - anything but a single-occupancy vehicle - are eligible for discounts at stores and restaurants in the city; perks, including hot-fudge topping on ice cream at Herrell's; and freebies, such as a fridge magnet at Made By Me. The initiative's backers have launched a website (gogreenstreets.org) that has more details on the offers. Green Streets director Janie Katz-Christy says that Walk-Ride Day draws enthusiastic participation by students who make their way to school using pogo sticks, scooters, and unicycles. Going green, she says, does not require drastic action. "People can even just walk part of the way, a few blocks," to their destination.

Against the dramatic backdrop of gray rocks and coarse rope ladders - the set for performances of "The Tempest" at the American Repertory Theater - Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (left) spoke last Wednesday about the role of morality in international relations and public affairs. Outside the theater, a protester stood in the rain declaring, "Tutu is a war mongerer," as people denied entry to the packed auditorium filed past. Tutu, who has been criticized for comparing apartheid with Israel, spoke mostly on the subject of US foreign policy, drawing applause when he suggested that an incoming president "would be surprised at the reaction of the world if he or she were to say to the world, 'We made a big mistake over Iraq. Sorry.' " He said he believed that goodness and justice, as exemplified by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Mother Teresa, will prevail. "This is a moral universe," he said. "Right and wrong do matter."

Got a news item for Cambridge? E-mail Victoria Cheng at xvcheng@fas.harvard.edu.

Did you spend November slaving over a hot laptop, with only a short break for turkey and stuffing? The online literary journal, Meeting House, has invited local participants in National Novel Writing Month to read excerpts from their dashed-off masterpieces Saturday at The Burren in Davis Square. E-mail meetinghouse@newenglandfiction.com to sign up. If you didn't finish, organizers want to know how far you got. You might try make the final push to the deadline at the bar over a pint.

Former Somerville police officer Keith Winfield was convicted in Middlesex Superior Court Nov. 15 of raping and assaulting a 23-month-old girl. Winfield was taking care of the girl at his house in Melrose in October 2005 when he sexually assaulted her. The girl's mother received 90 days of probation for an unnamed offense. Sentencing of Winfield is scheduled for Dec. 11.

Eighty Somerville High School seniors have won John and Abigail Adams Scholarships for their performance on the 10th grade MCAS exams. Each winner scored in the top quarter of the advanced category in either English or math and ranked at least proficient in the other. The scholarship waives tuition at state colleges and universities for up to eight consecutive semesters, as long as the student maintains a 3.0 average. According to the district, the percentage of the graduating class receiving scholarships increased to 23 percent from 17 percent last year.

Got a news item from Somerville? E-mail Danielle Dreilinger at djdreilinger@comcast.net.