Information on local farming in Needham

The Green Needham Collaborative has posted a wealth of information about local farming on its website, www.greenneedham.org. The posting is running alongside videos from a local-access cable television show, "Your World . . . Bringing it Home," which focused its premiere episode on "the importance of supporting local farmers and eating local produce," according to the collaborative's website. The online posting includes videos from Volante Farms in Needham, Powisset Farm in Dover, and the Needham Community Farm. - Lisa Kocian

TIPS ON TENANT ADVOCACY - The Waltham Alliance to Create Housing is offering advice on tenant-advocacy issues on Mondays and Thursdays (except for national holidays) from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at its 517 Moody St. offices. The free drop-in clinic offers information to residents on topics such as eviction, rent hikes, housing search, pest problems, and income-based Section 8 housing vouchers. Tenants may also call in questions to the clinic hotline, 781-891-6689, ext. 203. The tenant advocacy clinic is a project stemming from a partnership between the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing and Brandeis University.

- Lisa Kocian

KOUNELIS TO DROP NEIGHBORHOOD POST - District A Town Councilor Angeline Kounelis said last week she's stepping down as the president of the East Watertown Betterment Association. In an interview, Kounelis, who has headed the neighborhood watchdog group since 2002, declined to say when or why she's leaving a post with which she's so closely identified. Kounelis said the organization still exists, but its activities have been largely dormant for some time. Kounelis first rose to political prominence as the association's president during the early days of the Coolidge School Reuse Committee. In 2005, she unseated longtime Town Council incumbent Salvatore Ciccarelli for the district seat by a three-vote margin after a recount was held. Last year, she ran unopposed for reelection. - Christina Pazzanese

MORE FAMILIES VISIT FOOD PANTRY - The Watertown Food Pantry has seen a steep increase in the number of people coming in for help in recent months. Deb Kaup, who runs the pantry, housed at St. John's Methodist Church on Mt. Auburn Street, estimates demand is up at least 20 percent over last year. She's noticed more families with young children needing assistance than ever before. "We've been quite busy," she said, noting about 200 families are now pantry regulars, many of them non-English- speaking immigrants. Kaup speculates the high cost of food, workers losing their jobs or having hours cut back, and the spike in heating bills and other utilities are the primary causes. While the pantry is well-stocked right now and able to handle holiday demand, Kaup said, she is worried that it won't be able to raise enough money to pay for food in February and March, when demand is expected to spike even higher because of rising unemployment and when contributions typically decline. Financial contributions can be made to Watertown Food Pantry, 30 Common St., c/o the Phillips School, Watertown, MA 02472. - Christina Pazzanese

HEARING ON SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION - The School Committee is wrestling with the issue of how to get students to and from the high school during construction of its replacement. The committee is considering a proposal that calls for increased busing and has no provision for student parking. Although there has been considerable support for making the new high school as environmentally friendly as possible, there also has been consternation over the loss of student parking during construction. The School Committee last week decided to hold a public hearing on Dec. 16 to get more public input on how to promote bus use and pay for it. The hearing will take place at Town Hall, starting at 7:30 p.m. -Lisa Keen

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING - The town will hold a Special Town Meeting on Dec. 1 to consider a number of spending requests and legal issues. The warrant includes a proposal to update computer networking and data communications in the schools at a cost of $300,000. The School Committee says the existing equipment is outdated and not sufficiently reliable or secure. It is the first phase of what is expected to be a series of technology improvements at three or four schools over the next five years. Town Meeting also will consider buying a $400,000 pumper truck to replace a 17-year-old vehicle that was taken out of service last year. The Fire Department had been borrowing trucks from Brookline and Lincoln since then, but those are no longer available. Also on the agenda is a recommendation to change the town clerk's job from an elected to an appointed position. If it passes, the change would require approval by the state Legislature and the governor, followed by a townwide vote. Next week's Special Town Meeting is to convene at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Weston High School. Copies of the warrant are available at Town Hall, the Kendal Green railroad station, and the town's transfer station, and it is also posted outside the high school gym. - Christina Pazzanese

PLANS FOR FIELD SCHOOL - In the coming months, the town will have a better idea of what could become of the Field School. Superintendent Cheryl Maloney formally asked the Massachusetts School Building Authority this month to consider paying for a portion of either a new or renovated Field School. A committee has been studying the feasibility and likely costs of both options for the aging school, which serves fourth- and fifth-graders. The state authority is scheduled to evaluate Weston's request in January and will work closely with school and town officials on what to do, said study committee member Court Chilton. The panel will discuss its findings at the School Committee meeting scheduled for Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.

- Christina Pazzanese

CAMERAS ON THE STREET - On Tuesday, police will unveil a draft policy on how to use video cameras trained on "critical intersections" in town. Part of a regional security initiative to ease traffic in case of an emergency evacuation, the cameras are to be networked with others in and near Boston, and are already installed in several communities. But because they will be on 24 hours a day, the cameras could also be used to catch or deter criminals or to document the circumstances of an accident. Brookline police will also be able to monitor cameras in Cambridge, Chelsea, and Boston. "The potential for solving crimes, linking crimes, and removing dangerous criminals from our streets is huge," Chief Daniel O'Leary wrote to the selectmen last month. The hearing on the camera policy will start at 7:30 p.m. in the selectmen's hearing room at 195 Boylston St.

- Andreae Downs

SELECTMEN LOSE COVERAGE - Town Meeting voters Tuesday night yanked health benefits for members of Brookline's Board of Selectmen. Arguing the cost of the benefit now exceeds compensation (board members are paid a stipend of $5,000 a year, its chairman $7,500), and its continuance into retirement could add up to $1 million or more per selectman taking a family plan, the town's legislative body nixed the six-member body's health insurance option. According to town officials, three selectmen currently use the benefit, for which the town pays 75 percent, or about $5,000 for an individual, $15,000 for a family. Another argument for cutting the benefit: Officials on other elected or appointed boards do not receive town health insurance. - Andreae Downs

HIGH-TECH CHECK-OUT STILL ON - Proponents of holding onto $465,000 allocated in May for a high-tech system for handling library materials lost a vote on the idea Tuesday night. Town Meeting members decided to allow Town Librarian Chuck Flaherty to steam ahead with plans to purchase a radio-frequency identification, or RFID, system to speed the process of checking in or checking out books and other items in circulation. - Andreae Downs

ADULT ZONES GAIN GROUND - Town Meeting members last week approved a pair of new adult entertainment zones on Allied Drive and University Avenue. A study committee to explore locations that could potentially be better also was formed with the proviso that any recommendations would be made public at least two months before spring Town Meeting. The panel will include two members each from the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, and Planning Board, along with one member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and two people appointed by the town moderator. The town's former adult-use zone, on the Boston and Canton borders, also was rescinded. - Michele Morgan Bolton

LEGACY FARMS HEARING - The Planning Board will hold a public hearing Dec. 1 on Legacy Farms, the 733-acre proposed development on the former site of Weston Nurseries. The hearing will be at 7:45 p.m. in the Senior Center. After the public hearing, the Planning Board has 90 days to decide whether to issue a master plan permit to the developer, Legacy Farms LLC of Weston. If the master plan is approved, the developer would apply for additional permits for each of the mixed-use proposal's nine distinct areas. If approved, the development would be built over a 10- to 12-year span and include up to 940 residences as well as retail and office space and extensive recreational-use land. -Megan McKee

CALL FOR SEPRACOR TAX BREAK - The City Council's Finance Committee will present a proposal to the full board tomorrow night to give a Marlborough-based pharmaceutical research company, Sepracor Inc., a $3.8 million tax break in exchange for creating 250 jobs. The committee last week voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal. Sepracor is in the midst of one construction project and has plans for another at its headquarters on Waterford Road. The tax break would apply to both projects. City Council chairman Arthur Vigeant said that without the tax break, the city would see roughly $9.5 million in added tax revenue. With the tax break, the city will take in roughly $7 million. But, he said, the aim of the incentive is to spur business growth in Marlborough. The City Council is slated to vote on the proposal at its following meeting, Dec. 1. - Julia Rappaport

FAY SCHOOL PLANS - The Planning Board is scheduled tomorrow to continue its review of the Fay School's proposed expansion on Middle Road. A private institution that has day students in grades 1 through 9 and boarders starting in Grade 6, the school wants to renovate and incorporate its two-story Goodnow House into a 29,800-square-foot complex for prekindergarten, kindergarten, and expanded first and second grades. Town Planner Vera Kolias said a chief concern is the additional traffic, with more students being dropped off. The school's finance director, Gary Reed, said the project would likely reduce traffic on Middle Road, but might increase it on Main Street (Route 30). - James O'Brien