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Weston Nurseries – Now We Need to Work Together
by Muriel Kramer, Chair, Board Selectmen
Editor's Note: Mrs. Kramer sent this letter to the community through multiple news outlets. |
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HOPKINTON’S ANNUAL RUMMAGE SALE
Stop in at the |
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Thank You! Thanks to our advertisers for helping us keep at least two shifts going to cover the daily news and events, and thanks to our readers for making HopNews the go-to place for up-to-date information. And thanks to the contributors, paid and unpaid, who offer the superb context that we see every day. In the past year, we have invested much in camera and video equipment, as well as personnel assets, increasing our need for advertising revenue. The graph above is just a snapshot of the last week — weekends are less busy — but are part of a trend toward increasing readership and interest. Please understand that what we represent are actual visits to the first page, not hits. HopNews has had over 2.5 million hits in the last seven days, but visits are what really count, and are a good gauge of readership. To reach the HopNews readership with your commercial message, please call 508-435-5534 to see if you qualify to be an advertiser. |
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Real Estate Transactions for Hopkinton, Massachusetts Most recent first, updated June 20, 2007 Compiled by Eric Montville for HopNews.com
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June 20,
2007 — As the school year draws to a close,
the Hopkinton Music Association (HMA) would once again like to
thank all who supported our successful calendar fundraiser.
Through the efforts of our music students (grades 4 thru 12),
along with support from parents, community, and local
businesses, we raised over $11,000 to be used towards music
enrichment. Monies will help pay for lesson scholarships,
students’ transportation to music competitions, band and chorus
uniforms, and enrichment programs. |
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Fifteenth Annual
Metro Boston, 7:30am- 12:00 pm, Saturday, June 23, Hopkinton
State Park, Hopkinton, MA |
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Manage the Process Professionally Dear
Editor, |
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Selectmen Meeting Selectmen Vote Unanimously to Waive 61A Rights Weston Nurseries, Boulder Capital can now move forward with p&s
by Robert Falcione June 19, 2007 — The words of Mike Shepard, "I move that we waive our 61a rights to purchase the Weston Nurseries property," led to a 4-0 vote, and ended the shortest public session of the Board of Selectmen in recent memory, as well as a twenty-day campaign by abutters and their supporters aimed at rallying the town to purchase the 705 acre Weston Nurseries property. Many of those supporters of a buy-all scenario had previously supported a partnership with the Trust for Public Land, which had been expected to partner with the town in a purchase that could have cost the town as little as $3.2 million in borrowing for about 420 acres, and a plan that had proposed about 2/3 the amount of units as currently proposed.
However, when three members of the Community Preservation Committee
voted in a 3-3 tie to use CPA It was the next week that TPL withdrew, with its representative, Badge Blackett, agreeing that it was the CPC refusal to pony up the $2 million that was the final straw in a process that showed the majority of the boards being unsupportive. The evening before the withdrawal, Weston Nurseries abutter Christopher Barry (File photo) of Clinton Street said at the Selectmen's meeting that he would lead an effort for the town to purchase the property in its entirety, something that had little support until the next day, when TPL fortuitously pulled out. However, the clock was still ticking with Special Town Meeting on June 11, giving Mr. Barry and his supporters only ten days to devise and execute a strategy. It was the lack of a definitive plan, said many voters at Monday's election, that caused them to vote against the town gaining the property. The Special Town Meeting vote fell three votes short of the necessary 2/3 super-majority, but enough to motivate the buy-all faction to expect the possibility of a simple 50% majority win at the ballot on June 18. At a the Public Hearing on June 14, attorneys for the town presented scenarios that encouraged the group of supporters in attendance that if they won at the ballot, another Special Town Meeting could be called, giving the proponents another bite at the apple. FULL STORY |
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Truck vs. Motorcycle
June 19, 2007 — According to witnesses, the lone male operator of the motorcycle in the background of the photo attempted to pass a pickup truck that had swung wide to make a turn into its driveway, striking it. The operator was taken to Metrowest Medical after a LifeFlight helicopter was cancelled. |
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Ed Thompson News Tip
Workers found body in trash
"This has been a challenging case from the very beginning," Mr. Early
said. "However, after dozens of interviews and an extensive
investigation by the Medical Examiner's Office and a neonatal
pathologist from Massachusetts General Hospital, we presented the case
to the grand jury." |
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6:36 pm A caller from Cross Street reported that her neighbor had inappropriately attempted to pursue relations with her...
9:10 pm A Lumber Street resident reported having an altercation with his neighbor who threatened him over putting up a political sign...
10:02 pm A caller reported that a group of youths were partying behind Amherst Road on North Pond...
9:51 pm A resident from Oakhurst Road reported that her ex-husband broke into her apartment, grabbed her and then left... |
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Colonel Mark F. Delaney,
Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, announced that a
“Sobriety Checkpoint” will be implemented by the Massachusetts State
Police on a
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Today at 8:26 a.m., a tractor trailer
hauling trash rolled over blocking all lanes on the ramp from Route 1
North to Route 95 North in
Travelers are advised to seek alternate routes as the traffic congestion is expected to be heavy until the truck is removed and the lanes of travel are re-opened.
State Police Step Up Patrols on Esplanade - Seek Public's Help
The
State Police has significantly increased patrols along the Esplanade in
The sexual assault on a female jogger on late Saturday evening remains under investigation by Troop H Detectives. All of the Troopers assigned to both the Esplanade and the surrounding patrol areas have been and will continue to be briefed by the Detectives as the investigation continues.
Saturday night’s assault took place at approximately 11:00 – 11:15 pm
on the western peninsula of the Esplanade approximately ¼ mile west of
the
Anyone who may have information about this crime or the identity of the
assailant is asked to contact the State Police Barracks in
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Boulder by a Landslide
Above, Boulder Capital President Roy MacDowell, surrounded by family, friends and associates, shows no emotion upon hearing the results of today's voting.
by Robert Falcione June 18, 2007 — Boulder Capital was the big winner this evening as Question #1, the vote calling for a debt exclusion to fund a purchase of Weston Nurseries by the town of Hopkinton, was shot down by 3034 votes against, to only 1646 in the positive, a nearly 2-1 margin. Boulder President Roy MacDowell said that this was only the first step in a process that would be followed by developing a Master Plan for the property that would require zoning changes and a 2/3 vote at a future Town Meeting. The most visible proponent of the "Buy-all" faction, Liisa Jackson, said after the vote that she hoped to be working with Mr. MacDowell in the future to help develop a trail system on the land. Question #2 passed by nearly the same amount that the first vote failed, 2861- to 1744. Dr. John Phelan said prior to the announcement of the vote that if it did not pass, then the money would come out of the school budget instead. The money is for compliance with ADA requirements to bring some areas up to standard for mobility-impaired students. Tomorrow evening the Selectmen will reconvene a Public Hearing at 7:00 p.m. in the Middle School Auditorium as the last step in the process in the matter of purchasing the nursery's land. The Selectmen voted in a 2-2 tie at the recent Special Town Meeting, which would have the effect of a negative vote if they vote the same. However, due to the overwhelming rejection by the voters, it is likely the Selectmen will vote in a block, 4-0, to unify the town and reflect the will of the voters. Here is a short Video of Ms. Jackson and Mr. MacDowell speaking in the early afternoon. |
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"Good times never felt so good..."
June 18, 2007 — Hopkinton resident Craig Stanley , a student from her first class, escorts Hopkins School Teacher Ellie Porter into the school cafeteria this afternoon to shouts of "surprise" from her students and Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline playing on a boom box for a short retirement party. Above, Mrs. Porter tries to recompose herself after the students' cheers brought a flood of tears, and Mr. Stanley leads her to another former student, Amy Wilson Kent, who was waiting with a bouquet of roses. Mrs. Porter is retiring after 34 years in the profession. "How old are you?" asked one student. "Twenty-nine," she replied. |
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Symbiotic Synergism
June 18, 2007 — Liisa Jackson, a proponent of the buy-it-all option, Roy MacDowell of Boulder Capital spent time chatting early this afternoon at the Middle School entrance during the election. |
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Commentary Thank you, MacDowells
by Robert Falcione June 18, 2007 — Most readers of HopNews know HopNews does not take a stand on political issues. Today's vote on the Weston Nurseries land sale, for the average resident, has to be the most difficult vote they have ever cast. We have heard from both sides of the issue, some with great intentions, others with anecdotal assumptions. Through all of this, Boulder Capital — and we know that to be Roy S. MacDowell, Jr., his family who often accompanies him, and some close associates — has been forthright from the start in the access to their information for HopNews readers. Mr. MacDowell, as well as the Mezitts, have maintained a genteel demeanor throughout the proceedings, some of which have been emotionally charged. If Mr. MacDowell and Boulder Capital do win the prize, I personally cannot think of a developer I would rather see shape that land, especially after he has seen how the politics are played in Hopkinton and still stays in the process. Thank you, the MacDowells, for making our job easier, and for introducing yourselves to Hopkinton. |
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---> VOTE TODAY AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL <--- Polls open until 8:00 p.m. |
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WESTON NURSERIES TIMELINE • Hearing Notice Correction: The Public Hearing on Weston Nurseries will reconvene on Tuesday at 7:00 pm in the Middle School Auditorium READ BALLOT and Presentations (Buy-it-all PowerPoint now online too) |
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A Fish Story
June 17, 2007 — Pedro Romero looks like he is in his native El Salvador, but instead is casting a net at the Hopkinton Reservoir today, while his family had an outing. He hit the mother lode as his net repeatedly found a school of perch, which one of the women in the family planned to clean and cook for a family meal. |
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No Vehicular Movement Editor,
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Three Simple Questions Dear Editor, |
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Sign Wars
June 17, 2007 — Christopher Barry, who resides with his family on Clinton Street across from the former Busconi Farm, which is the background for many Boulder ads, shows off a sign he designed for the benefit of his like-thinking friends. "We are a ragtag group of citizens operating hand to mouth. We seem to have resonated to all parts of the town," he said today in front of his home, as some people honked and a bicyclist gave a thumbs up. Boulder Capital has put up some very large signs. Scroll down or click here to see an unlikely "endorsement" from Saturday. |
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Where are the Warblers? Editor:
I was sad but not surprised by the Boston Globe article, “With development, common bird species are losing ground”. As a birder, I am acutely aware of the serious decline of many bird species. As a child I remember the familiar call of the Bobwhite in the brushy Cape Cod woods. Those brushy woods are mostly gone now, replaced with trophy homes and manicured lawns, and so too is the Bobwhite. Full Letter |
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Click here to make HopNews your default
homepage! <---works with Internet Explorer.
June
20, 2007 — Hopkinton had an extraordinary week and for the most
part handled a stressful and emotional time very civilly while
voting on the potential purchase of the Weston Nurseries Sale
Property. It is fitting that the final decision on the property
came down to a vote of the people at the ballot. We can all be
grateful that such a large percentage of the voters got to the
polls and in the end delivered an irrefutable vote. While it
may be hard for some to accept the result, it should not be
impossible to do so. 
A
Note of Thanks
grade band), Amanda Walsh (5th grade strings), Collin Walsh (4th
grade chorus), and Kryan Schnur (4th grade chorus). 
Massachusetts
Breast Cancer Coalition’s Against the Tide
like.
All funds raised go directly to primary breast cancer prevention
through the advocacy work of MBCC and research initiatives of
its sister environmental organization, Silent Spring Institute.
Registration materials, sponsor information, and fundraising
ideas can be found at
funds in a strategically made positive motion, it had the equivalent
effect of a vote against. CPC member Henry Kunicki said at that time
that because it was a positive motion that he made, that only he,
according Robert's Rules he said, could rewrite the motion.
Milford
Mother Indicted in Death of Baby
State
Police to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint
Traffic
Advisory for Travelers to North Peabody
