Town has super website

The Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government has given Needham's municipal website a designation of "Superstar" for 2008. The website, needhamma.gov, earned the classification because town officials have made it easy for residents to access online government records - such as meeting agendas, budget information, and Town Meeting warrants. The site also provides zoning information and a calendar of community events. The Campaign for Open Government is a project of Common Cause Massachusetts, a nonpartisan organization that scrutinizes openness in government.

- Laura Colarusso

ONE TRAIL OBSTACLE CLEARED - The long-delayed plans for a biking and walking trail that runs along an abandoned rail line between Waltham and Berlin are now facing one less barrier. City Councilor at Large Patrick O'Brien said he is celebrating the MBTA board of directors' approval of a 99-year lease for the right of way along the railbed. O'Brien, a major proponent of the Wayside Rail Trail, said the board's decision comes after more than a half-decade of wrangling. A May 1 announcement by the MBTA said the lease with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation covers a 26-mile stretch that will eventually be part of the Mass. Central Rail Trail, which would span 104 miles between Waltham and Northampton when completed. O'Brien said Waltham's Community Preservation Committee has already approved $150,000 for soil testing and design of Waltham's section of the rail trail, and the project could go out to bid within the next couple of months. The city's principal planner, Ted Fields, said the trail construction could also be eligible for federal funding. "We've always structured the next critical path items based on getting the lease signed. Now we can go forward with funding for various phases," said Fields.

- Stephanie V. Siek

SOBER TALK ON TEEN PARTIES - With the arrival of prom and graduation season, Watertown officials are teaming up with local social service agencies to host a discussion for parents about the health risks and legal liabilities they may face if their teenagers throw parties where alcohol is served. The Wayside Youth Coalition and Wayside Multi-Service Center and the town's school district, Police Department, Board of Health, and the Watertown High School Parent Teacher Student Organization have invited a Middlesex assistant district attorney, Kerry Aleman, and lawyer Richard Campbell to talk about the issues involved in hosting a party for teens. The free discussion will be held May 21 at Watertown High School from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For details, call 617-926-3600, ext. 307. - Christina Pazzanese

DOLLARS FOR TURF - A private fund-raising effort to pay most of the cost for improvements at Sprague Elementary School's sports fields has collected "more than half" of the $1.5 million it promised to raise, said Selectman Gregory Mills. Serving as liaison between the selectmen and the task force that is overseeing the improvements, Mills said last week the fund-raisers have set up a nonprofit organization for the effort and are focusing on soliciting major contributions from individual donors. The town expects to award a contract this week to a company to do the work. Ground-breaking could begin soon after school is out next month. The two synthetic-turf playing fields may be ready for use this fall, said Mills, but the natural turf fields will probably not be available until next spring. - Lisa Keen

WINE ON TOWN MEETING MENU - When Town Meeting opens tomorrow night, key topics early on should include whether to allow the sale of wine at food stores in town, and possible appropriations for a new Department of Public Works building. The meeting begins at 7:45 p.m. in the Weston High School auditorium. On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Town Meeting voters are slated to zero in on appropriating money for designing historically sensitive adaptations of the Old Library and Josiah Smith Tavern so they can be used as multipurpose space and a restaurant, respectively. Voters will also decide whether to petition the Legislature for the ability to issue a nontransferable liquor license for the restaurant that would eventually operate in the Tavern. The entire warrant is available at Town Hall and on the town website, weston.org. - Stephanie V. Siek

NEW FACES IN OFFICE - Tuesday's vote brought several new faces to elected office. Challenger Dick Benka, a 27-year member of Town Meeting and various volunteer committees, topped the ticket for selectman with 5,201 votes by the unofficial count, unseating 12-year incumbent Gil Hoy. He will serve with incumbent Nancy Daly, who came in second with 5,042 votes. Hoy lagged behind with 4,381 votes. "I am humbled, and looking forward to getting to work," Benka said at his after-election party Tuesday. "It was a good race," Hoy told the Globe, "and I wish Nancy and Dick well." In Precinct One, where 11 candidates competed for five Town Meeting seats, the progressive Precinct One Coalition won all five seats. The more conservative slate on the ballot had most of the well-known names, including incumbents Peter Ames and Michael Robbins and former Town Meeting members Fred Lebow and Barbara Ludeke. And Susan Wolf Ditkoff, who has served as a School Committee appointee since February, handily beat Town Meeting member Arthur Conquest.

- Andreae Downs

WI-FI CATCHING ON - The roll-out last July of wireless Internet in Brookline has attracted more residents than originally estimated, according to Bob Carp, president of Galaxy Internet Services. The Newton-based company has been "pleasantly surprised at the numbers" of new subscribers to its paid high-speed access in town, which he estimated at "in the thousands." Even more people log in daily for free at several hotspots in town, according to Carp. Police have been testing security software and the network's speed before using Wi-Fi for cruiser communications, according to Scott Wilder, the department's technology guru. - Andreae Downs

FOR THE BIRDS - If you've been wondering what the early-morning clamor outside your window is about, the National Park Service and Brookline Bird Club will be happy to show you. A free guided bird walk, starting at 7 a.m. next Sunday, will follow the Muddy River/Riverway, rain or shine. Meet up at the Longwood MBTA station on Chapel Street, wear sturdy shoes and bring binoculars to catch better views of warblers and other spring migrants. Those who want more than a 90-minute look can continue to Hall's Pond. For more details, call 617-566-1689, ext. 216.

- Andreae Downs

THEY LIVE AMONG US - In response to a growing problem with invasive plant species, town officials have created an online educational resource offering information, disposal guidelines, and event and workshop opportunities for local residents. There are ecological, financial, and cultural reasons for controlling the invasive species, officials said. A link to the resource can be found on the town's website, www.lincolntown.org. - John M. Guilfoil

MAKING A SCIENCE OF WINNING - The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School National Ocean Science Bowl team and coach Doug Grant returned from Alaska last week with their second national championship in as many years. - John M. Guilfoil

SENTENCED FOR FALSE PRESCRIPTIONS - A Marlborough woman pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court last week on charges of identity and health insurance fraud in connection with "a scheme to fraudulently have prescriptions for painkillers and other medications filled," according to an announcement by the state attorney general's office. Ellen Frangules, 46, was sentenced to serve two and a half years in the Suffolk County House of Correction, with 30 days to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended for a period of five years, according to the announcement. She also was sentenced to serve five years on probation, to run concurrently with the suspended sentence. Frangules was also ordered to undergo intensive supervision during her probation, and she must undergo drug treatment and random drug testing, the attorney general's office said. According to authorities, Frangules obtained stimulants and painkillers between 2004 and last year by using fraudulent prescriptions in Massachusetts and Connecticut pharmacies. - Lisa Kocian

TALKING ABOUT ALCOHOL, DRUGS - The Northborough/Southborough Student Safety Network and Algonquin Regional High School's chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions will present a panel discussion on alcohol and drug use Tuesday for middle and high school students. Entitled "Not My Kid," the event will feature counselors, recovering drug users, law enforcement officials, and educators. The discussion will take place in Algonquin Regional's theater at 7 p.m. - John Dyer

PROGRESS ON SENTENCING BILL - State Representative Karyn Polito, a Shrewsbury Republican, recently announced that some version of her bill to strengthen mandatory minimum sentencing for child rape is expected to go to the House floor for a debate and vote before the end of the month. Her bill, originally filed in June 2006, would create mandatory minimum sentences for child rape, setting the threshold at 10 years for the rape of a child under 16, 20 years for the rape of a child under 16 with the use of a weapon, 20 years for the rape of a child under 12, and 25 years for the rape of a child under 12 with the use of a weapon. - Lisa Kocian

OK FOR EMERGENCY SYSTEM - Residents approved a new emergency "reverse 911" notification system and new air-conditioning for the police station at the first night of Town Meeting on Monday. The reverse-notification system, which will cost $5,500, allows officials to leave a voice message with information about a local emergency at every telephone number in town. Town Meeting agreed to spend $9,000 for the police station's new air-conditioning system, replacing one that had been experiencing problems in the last year. - Matt Gunderson

UPDATE ON RAYTHEON SITE - Raytheon Co. representatives will present an update on the ongoing cleanup of its former site at 430 Boston Post Road on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the large hearing room of the Wayland Town Building. The area, formally a research and design facility now being used as an office park, takes up 83 acres, including 32 acres of wetlands and 41 acres of undeveloped grass and woodlands adjacent to the Sudbury River. At the meeting, Raytheon will discuss its proposed ground-water remediation plan and wetland restoration for areas polluted by its former operation. More information is available online at ermne.com (username: raytheon, password: wayland, all lower case).

- John M. Guilfoil

WATER GOOD, BUT ONE TEST MISSED - The town's Public Works Department failed to sample the public water system for the chemical perchlorate in a timely manner last September, according to the department's recently released annual drinking water quality report. The department does not know whether the system at the time contained the chemical, which is harmful to children and people with hypothyroid conditions. By November, when the water was tested for the chemical, no harmful levels were detected, the report said. Otherwise, the town's water was well maintained and healthy, it said. The document can be viewed under the DPW's News & Updates link on the town website, www.town.westborough.ma.us.

- John Dyer

NEW RULE ON SEX OFFENDERS - Level 3 sex offenders - those deemed most likely to reoffend - are banned from living within 1,500 feet of any school, playground, day-care center, park, or recreational facility in town. The Town Council approved the restriction last week. The new rule doesn't apply to the half-dozen Level 3 offenders living in town, unless they move from their current residences, according to Councilor Kevin Whitaker. He said the original proposal restricted nearly the entire town.

- Johanna Seltz

Correction: Because of a reporting error, a Community Briefing item for Weston in Sunday's Globe West incorrectly stated the timing of a vote on whether to finalize approval for wine sales at a food store. It was on the town election ballot Saturday, when it was approved, 1,184 to 580.

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