Lexington to open 1st "parklet" Friday
Friday Lexington will officially open this “parklet," in place of two parking spots in Lexington Center. Photo by Brock Parker.
Lexington will open its first “parklet" in Lexington Center Friday, converting two parking spaces into a small park with seating and bike racks.
The town will hold a grand opening ceremony for the parklet at 1720 Massachusetts Ave. Friday at 9 a.m. in front of the Ride Studio Café, according to the town.
Richard Davey, the secretary of the state Department of Transportation, will be at the opening along with the state agency’s director of sustainable transportation, Catherine Cagle, town officials and State Sen. Ken Donnelly, according to the town.
Lexington’s Economic Development and Planning departments partnered with local businesses to create the semi-permanent structure that has been installed in the parking spots and will be open to the public through Nov. 1.
Boston is also planning to open three parklets this year.
“The goals of the parklet are to create fresh interest in the Center, enhance commerce, as well as encourage alternative modes of transportation through improved accomodations,” said Melisa Tintocalis, Lexington’s economic development director, in a press release announcing the parklet’s opening.
Last year, Lexington set up a bike corral in the same area as the parklet, and the town said it received positive feedback about the bicycle parking. Selectmen then decided to install a more permanent structure this year.
--brock.globe@gmail.com
Arlington cyclist found dead along Minuteman Bikeway in Bedford
Police are investigating the death of an Arlington cyclist whose body was found along the Minuteman Bikeway in Bedford near the Lexington line Sunday.
Perry Stone, 52, of Arlington, was found dead down an embankment along the bikeway Sunday just before 7 p.m., said Bedford Police Detective Lt. Scott Jones.
Jones said a jogger called 911 after seeing Stone along the path near Wiggins Avenue. Bedford Police and State Police responded along with the state Medical Examiner’s office.
Police said there were no signs of trauma. Police are awaiting a determination by the medical examiner’s office for a cause of death.
Lexington Under 14 Soccer Team wins league championship
The Lexington Royals wear champion T-shirts after winning the Boston Area Youth Soccer final Saturday. Photo submitted by the Lexington Royals.
The Lexington Royals defeated Newton Saturday to win the Boston Area Youth Soccer first division championship for boys under 14.
The Royals beat Newton 3-0 at Wheelock field in Medfield and will now advance to the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions June 28 through June 30 at Progin Park in Lancaster.
Two goals by Hagop Kouchakdjian and one by Simon Carruthers led the Royals to victory Saturday. The Royals finished the regular season with a 10-0 record and took first place in the league, which covers 50 towns in the Greater Boston area.
The Lexington Royals 2012-13 Roster is: Nick Barbesino, Michael Bove, James Bruce, Simon Carruthers, Jaeho Chung, Garrett Finucane, Majeed Hallaj, Aramazd Havan, Jordan Idehen, Alfred Joseph, Justin Kaashoek, Hagop Kouchakdjian, Sagan Patarroyo-White, Adrian Porras, Eric Shiple, John Siracuse, Jesse Strod, Adam Winter, Coach Tim Carruthers, Assistant Coach Tom Shiple
Towns issue new map of Minuteman Bikeway
Bicycle advisory committees in Lexington, Arlington and Bedford have issued a new map of the Minuteman Bikeway using funding from a state grant and private funding.
The free map includes the bikeway, along with major roadways, connecting trails, and points of interest along the 11-mile trail from Bedford to Alewife Station in Cambridge.
Peggy Enders, the chair of Lexington’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, said the map was created using about $6,000 of a $37,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation for signage and other improvements for the path.
Enders, who managed the project for Lexington, Arlington and Bedford, said donations from Vistaprint and Friends of the Lexington Bikeway were also used for the map, which was designed by Russ Brami, of SnowyOwlMaps.com. Copies of the map are available at public buildings in the three Bikeway towns, or you can download it at www.minutemanbikeway.org.
Young Lexington musician wins national award
Trumpet player Josh Gilbert, a Lexington native, recently won a prestigious Yamaha Young Performing Artists award, according to a press release from Yamaha. He will join 10 other winners at an all-expenses-paid weekend retreat at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. from June 22-24, where he will participate in workshops and a concert.
Gilbert is currently pursuing a degree in jazz studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studies with jazz legend John McNeil and former Boston Symphony Orchestra member Steve Emery.
He is a member of the renowned NEC Jazz Orchestra, which recently performed with jazz legends Ran Blake, Miguel Zenón, and Randy Weston, the release said.
Gilbert graduated in 2012 from Lexington High School, where he performed in several award-winning jazz and classical ensembles. During high school, Gilbert also performed in small jazz ensembles at the NEC Preparatory School and was a member of the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble, where he toured Germany in 2010 and Poland in 2012.
In addition to becoming a Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Gilbert's other musical accomplishments and awards include being named as an outstanding soloist at the 2012 Charles Mingus Festival, the 2012 Berklee High School Jazz Festival and the 2011 University of New Hampshire Jazz Festival, as well as second trumpet in the 2012 Massachusetts All-State Jazz Band.
He has performed in many iconic venues, including Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, the Regattabar in Cambridge, and Chicago's Orchestra Hall.
Lexington makes pitch to bring gene therapy company to town
Lexington is offering almost $300,000 in tax reductions to lure a Dutch gene therapy company to town.
Town Meeting members Monday night approved the terms of a tax increment financing agreement with uniQure that offers almost $285,790 in tax savings to the company over a 10-year period if it opens a manufacturing facility on Hartwell Avenue in Lexington.
Stephen Gorgol, a consultant for the uniQure, said the company is in negotiations to sign a lease at 113 Hartwell Ave., where the company hopes to eventually produce Glybera, which treats a rare condition called lipoprotein lipase deficiency that causes inflammation of the pancreas.
The gene therapy was approved by the European Commission in November, according to the company’s website. Gorgol said uniQure is hoping to receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Glybera by late 2014.
The company would create about 90 jobs in Lexington and would move into about 52,000 square feet of space in an existing building during the third quarter of 2014, said Selectman Joseph Pato.
The town expects to net about $1.25 million in taxes paid by uniQure after subtracting the $285,000 in tax relief over the 10-year period.
Pato said Lexington has been trying to find ways to attract businesses to the Hartwell Avenue area, where the vacancy rate has ranged from 25 to 28 percent.
The tax break for the company was not without some opposition Monday. Some Lexington Town Meeting members said the town was basically giving money away even though the savings uniQure would realize may not even influence whether the company comes to town.
Bonnie Brodner, a town meeting and school committee member, said the town needs tax revenue for many capital projects and she said she wouldn’t support the tax break for uniQure.
“They very well may still come to Lexington,” she said.
Town Meeting approved the tax increment financing agreement by a voice vote.
Distrigas awards scholarships to Everett students, honor 32 local students for science fair projects
Science fair dinner: Noreen Colannino, Everett Science Department Head; Tony Scaraggi, Director, Operations, Maintenance, and Regulatory Affairs for Distrigas; and Charlie Obremski, Everett Public Schools Assistant Superintendent honor Gabriel Simao of the Parlin School in Everett. Gabriel won first prize in the Grade 6 City-Wide Science Fair and is seen here at a dinner sponsored by Distrigas.
Science fair dinner: Tony Scaraggi, Director, Operations, Maintenance, and Regulatory Affairs for Distrigas; Noreen Colannino, Everett Science Department Head; and Charlie Obremski, Everett Public Schools Assistant Superintendent honor Christopher Boucher of Everett. Christopher won first prize in the Grade 7 & 8 City-Wide Science Fair and is seen here at a dinner sponsored by Distrigas.
Somerville, Melrose, Lexington high schoolers among finalists for DA's PSA project
A competition to create a youth public service announcement for the Middlesex County District Attorney started with more than 50 entries and has been narrowed to five.
Entries from Lexington High School, Melrose High School, Nashoba Valley Regional Technical High School, and two from Somerville High School are among the finalists, according to an announcement from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
Middle school and high school students will view the final videos and vote to select the winning video, which will air in Greater Boston.
- “Words” Lexington High School
- “Words” Melrose High School
- “Speak Up” Nashoba Valley Regional Technical High School
- “Speak Up – The Movie” Somerville High School
- “Don’t be a Bystander: Do Something” Somerville High School
Jarret Bencks can be reached at bencks.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter @JarretBencks.
Local high schoolers chosen as finalists in PSA Project
Live from the red carpet, it's Lexington's Prom
Before they hit the dance floor, students at Lexington High School will strut their stuff on the red carpet this afternoon as local access channel LexMedia hosts live coverage and interviews of students attending the prom.
From dresses to their dates, LexMedia hosts Colleen Smith and Petra Hoffman will interview students on the red carpet as they depart from Lexington High School for their prom at the Danversport Yacht Club this evening.
It’s the first year LexMedia is offering live red carpet coverage, and third year the local access channel has covered the prom.
Smith, who gets her hair done and wears a gown for the program, said her first year hosting the coverage she had to beg students to walk down the red carpet for an on-camera interview. By last year, the idea had caught on.
“We had to cut it off because there was so many kids,” Smith said.
Florence DelSanto, the executive director of LexMedia, said students all come to Lexington High School before departing on buses to the prom, and the local access channel puts out the red carpet to interview the students as they prepare to depart. DelSanto said the program is good for parents who would like to see some of their prom, even if their kids don’t want them there.
Smith said she bought the red carpet online, and she asks the girls about their dresses and their dates, and ask the guys what they think of their date’s dress. She brought in Hoffman, who just opened a new boutique called Petra!, to help with the interviews this year.
Some students are more talkative than others, and some giggle or blush, and DelSanto said if the students don’t want to appear on television they can simply bypass the red carpet.
Smith said some of the guys don’t want to be interviewed, so the girls will come with each other to be interviewed. Other guys are enthusiastic, and some even coordinate the colors of their tuxedos with their date’s dress.
“They are all very excited,” Smith said.
The live coverage of the Lexington High School Prom red carpet will appear on LexMedia Thursday from 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. on LETV Channel 13 on RCN, Channel 9 on Comcast and Channel 36 on Verizon.
The red carpet coverage can also be viewed online using the LexMedia app for iPads and iPhones or LexMedia’s website at here.

Lexington REAL ESTATE
161Homes
for sale31
Rentals available48
Open houses this week4
New listings this week





