Planning Board to Conduct Series of Legacy Farms Reviews
Public
encouraged to attend
January 24, 2008 — The Hopkinton Planning Board will be conducting a
series of public information review sessions on the
Legacy Farms Master Plan for the former Weston Nurseries property,
proposed by Boulder Capital, LLC. The land subject of the Master Plan is
located off East Main St., Wilson St., Clinton St., Curtis Rd. and
Frankland Rd., and encompasses approximately 733 acres.
The first meeting
will be held on February 4, 2008 at the Hopkinton High School Auditorium
at 7:45 PM. A schedule of successive meeting dates is posted at
www.hopkinton.org
or available by contacting the Hopkinton Planning Department at
508-497-9755. Each meeting date will have specific Master Plan topics
covered. This series of public information review sessions will run from
February through April, 2008. The topics scheduled for the Feb. 4
meeting are: General overview of Master Plan design; general overview of
approval process; open space design and uses; Landowners Association
structure and responsibilities; and trail map.
The draft Master
Plan is available at
www.legacyfarms.com
or at the Planning Department. The purpose of the meetings is for the
Planning Board to continue its outreach to citizens on planning issues
and to ensure that future growth and development reflects the desires of
the community. Public participation is necessary and very important in
this process. This is not a public hearing on a submitted application to
the Town, but an opportunity to continue planning efforts that mold and
implement a shared vision. This is a continuation of Town-initiated
Master Plan and East Hopkinton Master Plan listening forums held since
2005, and activities such as the appointment of a diverse group of
individuals to the Zoning Advisory Committee, which has worked with
Boulder Capital to develop the zoning for Legacy Farms.
Mark A. Abate
Chairman
All
Invited to St. Paul’s Ash Wednesday Services February 6
January 24, 2008 –
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will mark the beginning of the Lenten Season
with two special Ash Wednesday services on February 6. At 12:00 noon
there will be Imposition of Ashes and at 7:30 p.m. there will be
Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist. Every Wednesday thereafter
during Lent there will be Holy Eucharist services at 7:30 p.m., preceded
by a small gathering in the clergy office to Pray the Psalms at 6:30 p.m.
All are welcome to attend these services during this period of
self-examination and self-discovery.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is located at 61 Wood Street
(Rte. 135) in Hopkinton.
H
O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H
O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
Swingin'
Tunes
January 23,
2008 — The Holliston Senior Band played for their counterparts at the
Hopkinton Senior Center on Wednesday afternoon. The Hopkinton seniors
have their own chorus, a member of which joined the Holliston group
yesterday. Check out member Paul Doherty's (Angel's Garden
Center) envious Irish tenor voice in the video.
You may need to click twice to play. Some users may need to "allow
blocked content" to see the video player. Firefox users may
click here to open
a Windows Media Player.
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
ESL
to Hold Auditions for Death of a Salesman January 28,
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat February 3
January 23, 2008 – Enter Stage Left Theater
Workshop Inc. will be hosting auditions for two productions in the next
two weeks. Death of a Salesman auditions will be held on Monday, January
28 at 7:00 p.m., and auditions for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat will be held on Sunday, February 3 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Both
auditions will be held at ESL’s studios at 30 Main Street in Hopkinton.
See the Auditions Page.
Death of a Salesman Auditions
Auditions for this play by Arthur Miller will consist of readings from
the script, although prepared monologues are also welcome. The cast will
consist of seven men and two women of various ages. The production will
be directed by Paul Champlin and performances will be on April 11, 12,
18 and 19.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Auditions
Adults wishing to audition for this musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber are
asked to prepare 16 bars from the show. Children (ages second to eighth
grade) can sing 16 bars from any song. Teenagers are also encouraged to
audition. There are 12 men and 12 women in the show, plus a narrator,
adult ensemble, and children’s chorus. Callbacks will be on February 4
at 7:00 p.m. This production is being directed by Kelly Grill and Mary
Scarlata-Rowe and performances will take place on May 16, 17, 18, 23,
and 24.
Enter Stage Left Theater, Inc. is a non-profit, performing arts center
in Hopkinton offering theater education, training and performances for
students of all ages. For more information call 508-435-2114 or visit
www.enterstagelefttheater.com
EMC
Announces Sponsorship of Ricoh Japan Opening Series
2008,
Partnership with MLB Japan
TOKYO - January 23, 2008
— EMC
Corporation, the world leader in information
infrastructure solutions, today announced a
new partnership as an Official Sponsor of Major
League Baseball (MLB) Japan, and an expanded
partnership with the 2007 World Series champion
Boston Red Sox, to support the Ricoh Japan
Opening Series 2008. The event marks the official
opening of the 2008 MLB regular season. The
announcement was made by EMC Japan President Toshio
Morohoshi and Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino
at a news conference this morning in Tokyo.
When the Boston Red Sox begin their defense of the
2007 World Series title at the Tokyo Dome against
the Oakland A's on March 25 and 26, they will
commemorate the event with specially designed sleeve
patches featuring the EMC and "JAPAN 2008" logos,
marking the first-ever corporate logo on the Boston
Red Sox uniform. The colorful patch will be affixed
onto the uniforms of all Red Sox players, coaches
and Field Manager Terry Francona. The EMC patch will
also be on all Boston Red Sox Opening Series replica
jerseys sold in Japan by MLB. In addition to the
patch sponsorship, EMC will host hundreds of
customers, partners and employees at the games in
March.
I Want to
Fly Away
January 23,
2008 — This turkey buzzard decided not to have his photo taken, and flew
in the opposite direction today in the Downtown, showing the underside
of his silky, cupped wing.
Selectmen Limit Boulder Discussion to Negotiating Team
"They will be talking
out of school" Mike Shepard
by
Demian David Tebaldi
January 22, 2008 —
Board of Selectmen Chair Muriel Kramer Tuesday evening's meeting with a
congratulatory nod to the organizers of Hopkinton’s Martin Luther King
Jr. Day festivities, stating that the event was “absolutely phenomenal -
exceptionally well organized and exceptionally well attended.” She then
turned the floor over to Bob Bushway, Principal Assessor for the Town of Hopkinton, and Ms. Cindy Chesmore, Director of Senior
Services for the HopkintonSeniorCenter, who together gave a PowerPoint
presentation to the Board concerning tax relief possibilities for town
citizens. Mr. Bushway outlined a variety of tax abatements, exemptions
and deferrals, ranging from just over $200 to $1,000, which primarily
benefit seniors, veterans and the blind.
“Is that money then reimbursed to the town by the state?” asked
Selectman Brian Herr, regarding the various deferments.
“The state exemptions, yes, otherwise the exemption is made up for by
other tax payers in town,” replied Mr. Bushway.
Among the programs offered, according to Mr. Bushway, is the Circuit
Breaker, "a refundable tax credit for eligible seniors, age 65 or older
whose property tax payments exceed 10% of their annual income."
Interested people may call the DOR at 617-887-MDOR or 800-392-6089.
The presentation given
to the Board will be repeated on February 12, 2008 at 10:00am at the
HopkintonSeniorCenter.
During the Town Manager’s Report, Mr. Anthony Troiano indicated that
Boulder Capital, LLC — the developer responsible for the 900+ unit
Legacy Farms housing development planned for a portion of what was once
land belonging to Weston Nurseries — and Hopkinton’s negotiation team,
comprised of Mr. Troiano, Town Planner Elaine Lazarus and Town Counsel
Ray Miyares, were nearing completion of the agreement that will
ultimately provide the basis for interactions between the two in the
future. Prior to the agreement being finalized, Mr. Troiano wanted to
ensure that the negotiation team had the full and unequivocal support of
the Board of Selectmen, and specified several points on which he
required that support. Most important to Mr. Troiano and the
negotiation team was that any conversations between representatives of
Boulder Capital, LLC and the Town of Hopkinton either take place
through and with the oversight of the negotiation team, or not be
engaged in at all.
After some debate by the board as to the exclusive nature of that
request and the propriety of same, it was advanced by Selectman Mike
Shepard that a letter be drafted by the Board of Selectmen, addressed to
all Town departments and to Boulder Capital, outlining exactly what the
communication policy in the future would be. Such policy would include,
by necessity, a list of those individuals aside from members of the
negotiation team, if any, who may discuss Legacy Farms business with
representatives of Boulder Capital.
“That way, at the very least, [Boulder Capital] will know that if anyone
else is talking to them, they are talking out of school,” said Mr.
Shepard.
Boulder Capital will be expected to pay up to $150,000 in fees for "peer
review" of the data collected by Boulder's experts in the fields of
fiscal impact, well development, water, wastewater, traffic,
conservation, etc., to be reviewed by experts working for the town, but
paid for by the developer.
Legacy Farms Project manager Steven Zieff noted after the meeting that
the scope of the peer review would be an important factor in a meeting
scheduled for Thursday at the Boulder office with Judi Barrett of
Community Opportunities Group, which has done reviews for the town in
the past, and will be reviewing fiscal impact conclusions made by John
Connery on behalf of Boulder. The scope, Mr. Zieff said, would determine
how deeply the peer study would be.
"An audit is not a duplicate study of an entire activity," he said. "You
would look at samples from here and there to make a determination."
"It's all about the scope," said Mr. Troiano.
Conceptual
Plan For New Building Unveiled
To be
built behind the Dynasty
January 22,
2008 — Appearing before the Design Review Board Tuesday evening,
Paul Mastroianni, owner of 77 West main Street where the Dynasty
Restaurant is located, unveiled the above conceptual 10,000 ft² building
plan and answered questions and concerns of the Committee.
The building is planned for behind the existing building, where a
parking lot now exists.
"Main Street Pediatrics wants to takeover the whole building," he said.
Board member Ria MacNamara said, "I'm surprised you did something so
differently."
"Actually, the architect kept much of the original. It just doesn't have
the retail overhang, because it's an office building," Mr. Mastroianni
said.
Ms. MacNamara said she was concerned about the "connection to the two
buildings," referring to a the lack of a designated walkway through the parking lot from one
building to
another.
Board member Claire Wright had previously expressed similar concerns
at an informal meeting at the Planning Board.
"I'm still bothered. It doesn't seem to correlate with the other
building. It looks like it was dropped there," said Mrs. Wright.
Mr. Mastroianni will will make some changes to his plan and return to
the Board.
Developer Ron Roux began his process over after resubmitting
plans last week to the Planning Board for an approval of his project
behind 25 and 35 West Main Street that got shot down by the Board of
Appeals.
Mr. Roux said, "The ZBA [Board of Appeals] was great. By Friday morning
they filed the Decision with the Town Clerk," he said, an act that
allowed him to speed his reapplication. The Board had overturned the
Planning Board's approval, because it was contingent upon changes that, when finally
completed, would not be subject to a rightful Public Hearing process.
Mr. Roux went through each page of his plan showing the completions that
were now added.
Member Claire Wright, speaking as a member of the Historical District
Commission, reminded Mr. Roux that there must be no traffic signs at the
entrance or exit of the project. Instead, he was allowed to paint
one-way arrows on the pavement.
The Board of Appeals Decision,
which can be read here, says in part: "Whereas the Planning Board’s
decision of November
1, 2007
contained conditions which required modification and additional
regulatory approval of the site plan after “Final Action”, which was
outside the procedures for a public hearing pursuant to Zoning By-law
210-135, and which provided no remedy in the form of appellate rights
for parties aggrieved by such additional regulatory decisions, the
Planning Board exceeded its authority when it imposed such conditions.
Such conditions are not appropriate when regulating a “use by right”
under site plan review."
Hopkinton
54, Millis 46
January 22,
2008 — Above, Nicole Driscoll fires one to Corinne Ellis as they prepare
to charge down the parquet as the Girls hosted Millis on Tuesday night.
H
O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H
O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
Building a Strong Community
To
the Editor:
Something really special took place in Hopkinton
yesterday when hundreds of young people and adult volunteers from
numerous community groups joined together to participate in Hopkinton’s
first annual MLK Day of Giving Back; instead of a day off, they all had
a day “on” in service to their community. Organizers from the Youth
Commission and the BeFree coalition are to be congratulated for
organizing such a terrific event that put fun and meaning into a day
spent working together—shoulder to shoulder, the young and the not so
young, from all corners of Town—working together to build a stronger
community for all.
FULL LETTER
Editor's
Note: Letters to the Editor may be accompanied by a photo. If we have a file photo, we
will use it. If you wish to send one to accompany your letter, please do
so. If you wish no photo be displayed, please specify.
A Video Valentine
Click play twice to
see an invitation from HCAM-TV Station Manager Jim Cozzens to take part
in their increasingly popular Video Valentines.
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
EMC Unveils
Software-as-a-service Strategy and Its First
Enterprise Offering, MozyEnterprise
EMC Forms Business Unit
for New SaaS Offerings
HOPKINTON, MASS
- January 22, 2008 —
EMC Corporation (NYSE:
EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure
solutions, today unveiled its software-as-a-service
(SaaS) strategy and the release of
MozyEnterprise™ powered by
EMC Fortress™ for online backup of desktops,
laptops and remote Windows servers. EMC also
announced several new reseller agreements with
business partners to offer MozyEnterprise online
backup services to their customers. Additionally,
EMC is expanding its relationship with Verizon
Business to offer this new set of SaaS capabilities.
"Our strategy is focused on bringing new
software-as-a-service offerings to market, powered
by EMC," said Tom Heiser, Senior Vice President and
General Manager of EMC's new Software-as-a-Service
Business Unit. "We've introduced EMC Fortress, a
secure, multi-tenant, scalable SaaS delivery
platform providing customers with centralized
billing, management and metering. EMC has more than
25 years of information infrastructure management
and protection market leadership, and has brought
this continued innovation in infrastructure
solutions to bear on delivering a new class of SaaS
solutions designed to support the enterprise IT
needs for customers of all sizes."
MozyEnterprise automates secure online backup and
recovery over the Internet for consistent and
reliable off-site data protection for remote
desktops, laptops and branch office servers. It is
the first EMC SaaS application to be built on EMC
Fortress, a secure, hardened enterprise-class
platform for SaaS delivery. EMC's SaaS strategy
calls for the delivery of additional IT-based SaaS
applications built on the EMC Fortress platform over
time, in key areas such as trusted data services.in: 0 10px">
Today more than 500,000 business and consumer users
trust the Mozy technology to back up their
information, including General Electric, Pariveda,
NTG Systems, Vanderbilt University and Free The
Children.
Boulder Capital Offers More Access
Library now
has documents available
January 21,
2008 — HopNews readers have had the benefit of the reporting of the
formation of the OSMUD, Open Space Mixed Use Development, a set of
zoning bylaw changes for the 940 residential unit, and 450,000 ft²
commercial/retail development called Legacy Farms. Boulder Capital and
the Planning Board would like to present their collaborative plan to
Town Meeting on May 5, 2008.
To help residents understand their proposal, Boulder has set up a
website which is clickable on the very top of HopNews at all times. In
that interactive website are extensive documents, maps, and conceptual
plans of the proposal, as well as a list of all of the relevant
partners. But not all people have access to the internet.
HopNews encourages readers to copy and print these documents for loved
ones or neighbors who do not have internet access and would like to
become well informed Town Meeting voters; or simply well informed
participants at the upcoming Public Hearings. And now, Boulder has made
it even easier for those who cannot read online.
Hopkinton Public Library has made available a significant collection of
those current Legacy Farms documents in a portable presentation. Please
ask Library Director Rownak Hussain or inquire at the desk.
H
O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H
O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
H O M E S
Obsolescence
and Progress
January 21,
2008 — It wasn't that long ago in human history, that the dog in he
photo would have been in front of the sled, working, along with other
dogs, pulling it instead of playing. The invention and development of
the internal combustion engine over 100 years ago has led to the
replacement of most work animals by machines in the developed world.
Photo taken this morning on Lake Maspenock, also known as North Pond.
Collective Social Conscience
To
the editor:
I had to laugh the other day when I saw in the police blotter that some
individuals had gone to the police station to complain that an
individual with a white station wagon was photographing their car on
Main Street.
FULL LETTER
Middlesex
County Crime and Justice
Arrests Already Made In Connection
With Two of Sunday’s Lowell Area Homicides
LOWELL
– Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Lowell Police
Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee informed the public today that an arrest
has been made in connection with the murder of Jose A. Villanueva in
Lowell
early yesterday morning.
Last evening, Lowell Police and Nashua Police arrested Malein Meas, 24,
of Lowell,
at a Red Roof Inn in Nashua.
Police had applied for and been granted an arrest warrant for Meas on a
charge of first degree murder in Lowell District Court yesterday
afternoon. Meas was arrested in Nashua
on a fugitive from justice complaint as a result of the outstanding
arrest warrant. READ MORE...
A Day of
Giving Back
January 21,
2008 — Ron Burton Jr. spoke to a group of nearly 400 interested people
at St. John's Parish Center this morning about his life of giving back,
one of several messages he got from his father, whose strong-willed
tenacity got him a spot on the New England Patriots, formerly the Boston Patriots.
The Hopkinton Youth Commission, BeFree Project and several other groups
organized to make this Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday, a day of
giving back to the community.
NOTE: To
see a few minutes of the keynote speakers, choose the player, and adjust
the volume when necessary. If there is no player to the left, you may
need to choose "Allow blocked content" near the top of the browser
window. To see a larger video,
choose this version.
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
FOOD
Today, January 21, 2008
12:00 am A
caller requested a well being check for his son because his ex-wife was
not answering the phone...
11:34 pm A
caller reported that a wolf was walking on Main Street near the Police
Station...
10:16 pm
There were multiple calls regarding a male wearing a red cape walking
down the middle of Hayden Rowe Street...
1:16 pm A
caller reported that two horses were running loose on North Mill
Street...
Choose the title bar above
for the complete news.
Real Estate
Transactions for Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Compiled by Eric Montville for HopNews.com,
January 21, 2008
January 17, 2008 — The National Honor
Society, Communiteen, Best Buddies, the Youth Commission Club, Senior
Citizens,
the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Cub Scouts, the Women’s
ESL
to Hold Auditions for Death of a Salesman January 28,
new partnership as an Official Sponsor of Major
League Baseball (MLB) Japan, and an expanded
partnership with the 2007 World Series champion
Boston Red Sox, to support the Ricoh Japan
Opening Series 2008. The event marks the official
opening of the 2008 MLB regular season. The
announcement was made by EMC Japan President Toshio
Morohoshi and Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino
at a news conference this morning in Tokyo.
Appeals.
Mr. Roux said, "The ZBA [Board of Appeals] was great. By Friday morning
they filed the Decision with the Town Clerk," he said, an act that
allowed him to speed his reapplication. The Board had overturned the
Planning Board's approval, because it was contingent upon changes that, when finally
completed, would not be subject to a rightful Public Hearing process.
To
the Editor:
solutions, today unveiled its software-as-a-service
(SaaS) strategy and the release of
MozyEnterprise™ powered by
EMC Fortress™ for online backup of desktops,
laptops and remote Windows servers. EMC also
announced several new reseller agreements with
business partners to offer MozyEnterprise online
backup services to their customers. Additionally,
EMC is expanding its relationship with Verizon
Business to offer this new set of SaaS capabilities.
Boulder Capital Offers More Access
the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Cub Scouts, the Women’s