Building blocks in Burlington

BULKY TRASH BANNED - The city recently announced that bulk household items will no longer be collected curbside by the city’s trash disposal contractor. Although a city ordinance forbids it, curbside disposal of bulk items - those weighing more than 50 pounds or that cannot fit into a regular trash container - has been a common practice. After the city was billed $100,000 for excessive tonnage, Mayor Carlo DeMaria directed the City Services Department to enforce the rule. DeMaria plans to work with city councilors and city departments to develop an alternative system for residents to properly dispose of large items. Meanwhile, the city is holding its annual Independence Day celebration today from noon to 5 p.m. in Glendale Park. The event will include a concert, amusement rides, a petting zoo, face painting, food, and games. There will also be a children’s “fun run’’ race, and bike and doll carriage decorating contests. - John Laidler

YOUTH FESTIVAL NEXT WEEK - The Highlands Coalition is inviting local young people to a “Peace in the City’’ Youth Fest next Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at High Rock Park, on Circuit Avenue. The event, free and open to all, will feature live entertainment, including music, dance, poetry reading, and comedy, focused on the theme of preventing domestic and gang violence in the city. There will also be food concessions, mural displays, and arts and crafts for children. The event is being organized with the help of youth hired through a grant from the state Workforce Investment Board to support summer employment for low income high school students in Lynn. The Highlands Coalition is an organization of community groups serving the Highlands neighborhood, located in downtown Lynn. - John Laidler

ART COMPETITION - Youth ACT - Activism Coalition Trust - on Saturday will host the 2009 Urban Art Competition, where young artists will show off their skills and talents in various art forms. The group aims to wipe out graffiti and vandalism with artistic expression. The event will run from 1 to 5 p.m. at Lincoln Commons on Cross Street. A panel of five will judge the contest. - Kathy McCabe

SENIOR HOME CARE SERVICES - Visiting Angels, a national network of senior home care agencies, could be coming to Medford. On Tuesday, the state Division of Occupational Safety will hold a public hearing on the application of Hurwitz Home Care LLC for a license to open a Visiting Angels office at 100 George P. Hassett Drive in Medford. The hearing will be held at 11 a.m. at Charles F. Hurley Building, 19 Staniford St. in Boston. - Kathy McCabe

SUMMER LIBRARY HOURS - The public library started its summer schedule on July 1. It is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday. The Summer Reading Club started on June 24 and will run through Aug. 14. The children’s program will feature weekly prizes. The young adult club will feature special prizes for teenagers every Thursday. Participants may drop the name of a book they’ve read into a deposit bin, and try to win a T-shirt in weekly drawings or a gift basket at the end of the program.

STREET FAIR PLANNED - Town officials are accepting applications to participate in the first Reading Fall Street Faire, which will be held in downtown Reading on Sept. 13. The event hopes to provide exposure to local businesses and spotlight the progress of the downtown streetscape project. Merchants can reserve a 10-by-10-foot space at the event for $100. Scheduled entertainment includes live music and an antique car show. For information, contact Sheila Clarke of the town’s Economic Development Committee at smwclarke@verizon.net.

BUDGET PLAN FINALIZED - The annual Town Meeting, concluding its business last Monday, approved an approximately $70 million budget for fiscal 2010. The final plan adds an extra $100,000 to the School Department budget, according to Town Manager Andrew Bisignani. The Town Meeting had tabled action on the budget the previous week, asking that Bisignani and the Finance Committee seek ways to provide the School Department the additional $450,000 needed to maintain existing services. Bisignani, who had opposed the additional spending, said he agreed to propose $100,000 as a compromise. He said the money became available when the final state budget included higher local aid figures than the town had projected. - John Laidler

CITY FESTIVAL - Dreaming about the Somerville of the future? You’re in step with the Somerville Arts Council. This year’s annual ArtBeat festival features visions of the city to come, including a robot island, a time capsule, and a parade of wind-powered vehicles, on July 17 and 18. That’s added to the usual assortment of food stands, 100 craft vendors, and bands. Musicians include the Brazilian group Choro Democratico, Balkan dancers Lludo Mlado, and rock acts Magic Magic and You Can Be a Wesley. For a more old-school experience, Somerville’s youth troupe the Sunsetters will perform Broadway and pop songs. Kids can create futuristic costumes for the parade, pinwheels, and materials for the time capsule. The event uses no city funding, said arts council program manager Rachel Strutt. Visit www.somervilleartscouncil.org for more information.

NINE GRANTS AWARDED - The Stoneham Business and Community Education Foundation has awarded nine grants totaling just over $8,000, money that was raised at events including the Trivia Bee, the Pumpkin Fest, and the Trolley Ride with Frosty. The grant money was awarded to the Stoneham Public Library and the town’s public schools to bring music therapy, dance, storytelling, and opera to children through a variety of programs. The local education foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to encourage innovation in education by covering the cost of programs and projects not typically funded by the district. For more information about the group, visit the education foundation website at www.sbcef.com.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION STARTS - Starting tomorrow, the section of East Street from Maple to Livingston streets will be closed to traffic for about two weeks to allow contractors to replace an underground culvert. Detours will be in place, but town officials encourage motorists to seek alternate routes. East Street is the major roadway for traffic going from Tewksbury to Interstate 93. It is tentatively scheduled to reopen July 18. Nardone Contracting, of Wakefield, is undertaking the construction work, which is designed to ease chronic flooding. A hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is funding 75 percent of the cost of the $401,000 project. - John Laidler

SEAT OPEN ON GAS AND LIGHT PANEL - The Board of Selectmen and the Municipal Gas and Light Commission on July 13 will consider a joint appointment to fill a vacant seat on the commission. The seat became open with the resignation of Gilbert McCarthy, which was effective last Tuesday. McCarthy had served on the commission since 1980. The two contenders for the seat are former selectman Kevin T. Haggerty and former Municipal Gas and Light Commission member James H. Murphy. The appointment will be through the 2010 annual town election. Since McCarthy’s term would have expired in 2010, voters at that time will elect someone to a full three-year term. - John Laidler

JOBS PROGRAM STARTS TOMORROW - The town is participating in a seven-week summer employment program managed by the Metro North Regional Employment Board, said Mary Ellen Lannon, town clerk. Seven students from Winchester will be employed in various town departments including the DPW, Town Hall, Council on Aging, and the Department of Recreation. Starting tomorrow, the students will attend orientations and workshops. Staff from the Metro North Regional Employment Board will be available to evaluate the students and offer consultation and career guidance. The program is federally funded. For more information, contact Mary Ellen Lannon at 781-721-7130. - Bella Travaglini

STREET TO BE NAMED FOR VETERAN - A new street in Woburn will bear the name of a city resident who died serving in World War II. The Planning Board last month voted to name a new subdivision roadway Robertson Way in honor of Charles Robertson, an Army corporal who was killed in action July 27, 1944, while serving in Saint-Lo, France, part of Normandy. A 1989 city ordinance requires all new streets in the city to be named after Woburn residents killed in action while serving in the military. Robertson Way is being constructed as part of Pond View Estates, a subdivision off Water Street, according to the city’s planning director, Edmund Tarallo. According to Ralph Garvey, the city’s director of veterans services, Robertson enlisted in the Army in January 1941, and saw action in North Africa, Sicily, and France, taking part in the D-day invasion of Normandy.

TRAINING FOR JOBS - Northern Essex Community College is scheduled to host an information session later this month to discuss careers in the human services sector - from case manager to social work assistant and mental health aide - and how students can train for them at Northern Essex, pairing classroom studies with internships to gain real-world work experience. Human service workers, particularly those who are bilingual, are in high demand, according to Jane Gagliardi, coordinator of the human services program at Northern Essex. The information session is slated to run July 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room A124 in the library on the community college’s Haverhill campus at 100 Elliott St. For more information, visit the program website at www.necc.mass.edu/programs/humanservices. - Brenda Buote

LOOKING INTO WIND POWER - Encouraged by Governor Deval Patrick’s goal to develop 2,000 megawatts of wind power in the state by 2020, Councilor William Martin recently presented a motion to determine the feasibility of erecting a turbine at the capped landfill. The council referred the motion to City Manager Bernard F. Lynch, who told the council the wind atop the landfill was not strong enough to produce sufficient wind power, said City Clerk Richard Johnson. - Katheleen Conti

FARMERS’ MARKET RETURNS - A venerable Salem tradition has recently been revived. For much of its nearly four centuries, Salem has had a farmers’ market, with the first one established in 1634. At one time in the 1930s, the weekly market attracted 40 vendors and as many as 10,000 buyers. With the advent of supermarkets, that market declined in popularity and was discontinued in the early 1970s when Derby Square - the area the market had operated - was reconfigured. The market will operate every Thursday from 4-7 p.m. at Derby Square on Front Street through Oct. 29. In addition to fresh produce from local farms, the market features seafood, fresh-baked goods, and a number of other local products. - John Laidler

HARBOR FESTIVAL SATURDAY - The annual free Swampscott Harbor Festival, postponed earlier this year because of a forecast of inclement weather, was rescheduled to Saturday. The Swampscott Yacht Club will hold the Blessing of the Fleet at 2 pm., and a teen band concert sponsored by the public library will begin at 3 p.m. and run into the evening, followed by a bonfire on the beach at 9 p.m. Bands scheduled to play include Red Rock, Anything Goes, and The Ones on the Left. The Harbor Festival will be held at Fisherman’s Beach, 425 Humphrey St. The public is invited, and admission is free. For more information, call the Swampscott Public Library at 781-596-8867.

WINEMAKING COMPETITION - The Topsfield Fair announces its fourth annual winemaking competition for amateur winemakers. Professional judges will evaluate the wine on appearance, taste, finish, and overall quality. Entry forms and details are available at the Topsfield Fairgrounds administration building on Route 1 in Topsfield, or at Alfalfa Farm on the Rowley Bridge Road in Topsfield. The deadline for entries is Aug. 12. Forms can also be downloaded, and further information is available at the fair’s website, www.topsfieldfair.org, or call Ann Savage at 978-887-5000. - David Cogger