AFD's 100th anniversary gala June 17

• Theater

UPDATED June 6: One hundred years ago a group of women from the Arlington Women’s Club decided to form a new group: Friends of the Drama.

The first meeting was chaired by Vittoria Colonna Dalin, wife of the famed Arlington sculptor, and the group performed its first play at Arlington Town Hall in 1923. A year later, the group decided to let men join as well as perform onstage.

Since then, Arlington Friends of the Drama, as it came to be known, has continued to produce season after season of plays, starting with a two-play season, and at times, performing up to five or six.
As a community theater, the efforts are all volunteer. Only directors and musicians get a modest stipend, while performers, costumers, set builders, box office, props people do it for the love of theater.

For any given performance, as many as 100 people may participate -- if one counts all the ushers, audition aides, refreshment sellers, box-office volunteers and those who put posters up around town, in addition to the more obvious folks: performers, lighting, makeup, sound and set designers.

A festive gala to celebrate its centennial is set to take place Saturday, June 17, from 8 to 11 p.m., at Town Hall.

Read more …

Mystic River Watershed Association awarded $90,000 Cummings grant

Fourth-grade students from Jada Simmons-Ononeme’s science class at the George Keverian School in Everett participated in MyRWA’s Storm Drain Design Project for the fourth year in a row.

The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) is one of 150 local nonprofits that will share in $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. MyRWA was selected from a total of 630 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $90,000 over three years, the association said.

The Mystic River watershed is a critical natural system that connects 21 communities to the ocean and provides much-needed benefits to the 600,000 people who live there. Every day, MyRWA works to protect water quality, restore important habitat, build climate resilience, transform parks and paths, and engage youth and community members.

“The Mystic River watershed is an amazing asset for our communities, and it is a great entry point for area youth to learn about science and the environmental issues,” said Patrick Herron, executive director of MyRWA, in a June 1 news release. “Thank you to the Cummings Foundation for recognizing the importance of connecting youth to nature in their backyard.”

Read more …

Minuteman public praises Clement, critiques Dawson, committee

• public schools
• school committee
• education

Superintendent-Director Kathleen Dawson

Principal George Clement

UPDATED June 2: Arlington residents and others the evening of May 25 extolled Minuteman High School Principal George Clement, excoriated district Superintendent-Director Kathleen Dawson and blasted the Minuteman School Committee for allowing the fraught situation to occur. 

The immensely popular Clement has been absent from his office in recent days, his employment status currently unclear. Dawson’s refusal to renew his contract, set to expire June 30, triggered a student walkout covered by three television stations, a unanimous faculty vote of no confidence in Dawson and two ongoing online petition drives on Change.org demanding, respectively, that officials keep Clement and dump Dawson, with total signatures exceeding 2,000.

At the May 25 meeting, in comments on the petition drives and in other ways, many people have suggested that Dawson’s consistently off-putting approach with her subordinates had motivated at least four other high-level managers to resign so far.

Read more …

Case of ex-inspections chief delayed until August

• inspections

The state Ethics Commission case alleging that a former Arlington official was involved in conflicts of interest is expected to be argued in August, not in June, as previously scheduled.

Eron L.A. Hackshaw, presiding officer in the case involving Michael F. Byrne, the town's former inspectional services director, denied a defense motion seeking an indefinite stay. "However, under the circumstances," the May 23 order says, "a reasonable continuance of the proceedings is warranted to accommodate respondent’s scheduled neuropsychological evaluation."

Read more …

New Minuteman Bikeway signs to point toward businesses

• property

Sign designs by Jeff Dawson Associates.

UPDATED May 30: The Select Board at its May 22 meeting unanimously accepted wayfinding signs to be installed along and near the Minuteman Bikeway, donated by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.

In a May 18 memo to the Select Board, former Planning and Community Department Assistant Director Kelly Lynema wrote, “In 2021, Arlington, along with Lexington and Bedford, developed a Local Rapid Recovery Plan (LRRP) for Bedford Center, East Lexington and Arlington Heights. The LRRP was a grant-funded plan to support local businesses in light of the impact of Covid-19, and focused on recommendations to better connect these business districts with their common asset: the Minuteman Bikeway.”

Read more …

Covid incidence May 31: Wastewater number highest of 9 counties reporting but still low

UPDATED May 31: YourArlington continues to report a running tally of Covid-19 incidence regionally based on wastewater analysis by Biobot Analytics. These figures are in reverse chronological order toward the end of this ongoing column, along with an explanation of why most scientists consider wastewater analysis statistics to be valuable data.

This information may be of greater meaning now in mid-2023, as major organizations including many Massachusetts hospitals are ceasing universal masking mandates -- and many other measures of what is no longer officially a pandemic soon may no longer be kept at all.

Based on readings taken May 31, 2023, Middlesex County, where Arlington is located, is down again from the week prior, to 284, making it the highest of the nine counties reporting updated results this week. New numbers are not yet available from Franklin, Hampshire and Worcester counties.

Read more …

Housing Corp. of Arlington's 20th walk raises $48k, includes protesters

• housing
• fund-raiser

HCA walkers support rent control. /Renee Abbott photos

UPDATED May 30: The Housing Corporation of Arlington was the host for a walk on Sunday, May 21, to raise money for affordable housing. Attendees embarked on a three-mile walk and later were joined by members of the Torrington Tenants Association of Arlington protesting their rent increase. 

The event kicked off at noon in the green space between Robbins Library and Town Hall. Attendees got free green T-shirts with a depiction of 117 Broadway, which is part of HCA’s newest property, on the front and a list of event sponsors of the event on the back. People enjoyed the free pizza, coffee, fruits and snacks courtesy of local supermarkets and pizzarias. 

In total, the event raised $48,165 through raffles and a donation box on top of the $47,000 raised through sponsors. Raffle winners could win gift cards to local businesses including Quebrada, The Roasted Granola Café and Arlington Bakery. There was also a kids raffle with prizes for Play Time Crafts and Cookie Time Bakery.

Read more …

ACMi News wins second straight national 'news access' award

• ACMi

ACMi News has won the Hometown Media Nationwide Award in the category of “news access” for the second consecutive year.

Arlington Community Media inc. (ACMi), Arlington’s community-access television studio and a YourArlington media partner, submitted a newscast from Nov. 11, 2022, anchored by James Milan and ACMi intern Summer Maxwell. The 2023 broadcast entry was edited by Jared Sweet.

Read more …

Rat czar? SGAR? People ponder perennial problem of rodent control in Arlington

Residents discuss the rodent problem at May forum. / Jake Bentzinger photosArlingtonians made their voices heard clearly at the "rodent forum" held recently.

They urged the town’s Health Department to step up community outreach efforts and to work with residents to address public health issues caused by rodent control efforts.

According to the town website, “In 2014, The Arlington Health Department began noticing an increase in rodent activity across town. This trend was [also] seen in other areas of the United States, particularly in urban areas.” 

In the most recent six years (2017 through 2022), the Health Department completed an average of 225 rodent inspections per year, health officials said in response to a YourArlington inquiry.

Read more …