The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

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Letter to the editor: can ranked-choice voting strengthen our democracy?

To the editor:

The midterm elections of 2018 have sparked new interest in a process of voting for candidates known as ranked-choice voting (RCV).

An August 7 editorial in the Boston Globe asserts, “The Massachusetts legislature would be wise to adopt ranked-choice voting, coupled with a robust voter education campaign for statewide elections.” Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has revealed that he is open to the idea of RCV. Some have suggested that RCV might be an appropriate issue for a ballot question. But why all of a sudden are we just now hearing about ranked-choice voting?

Interest is surging in Massachusetts because of two specific elections, one in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and the other in Massachusetts’s 3rd Congressional District. Why Maine? In 2016, Maine became the first state to enact ranked-choice voting for statewide elections for governor, state legislature, and Congress. The state used RCV for the first time in November 2018 when the votes for the top two of four contenders in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District were too close to declare one a lawful victor. The process of RCV ultimately proved effective and efficient in determining the winner without resorting to a runoff.

Why is there now interest in the seat in the 3rd Massachusetts District, which Niki Tsongas held for a decade? There were ten individuals competing in the Democratic primary. Because of the distribution of votes among all ten, and since no candidate achieved a majority, a runoff was required for the top two. RCV would likely have resolved the election without a costly and time-consuming recount.

How does RCV work? Instead of picking just one candidate, ranked-choice voting allows you to rank the candidates on the ballot — as many or as few as you like — in your order of preference. If one person gets 50 percent of the vote, no further action is necessary. If no candidate gets 50 percent or more of first-choice votes, then the last-place candidate is eliminated and that candidate’s votes automatically get reallocated to the second choice listed on those ballots. RCV ensures that whoever wins has the support of the majority of voters and not just an electoral plurality.

Supporters believe that RCV frees voters from being pressured to choose between two or more preferences, and solves the problem of “spoiler” candidates who don’t actually reflect a majority of overall voter preference. According to Eric Maskin, a Nobel prize-winning Harvard economist, RCV gives all voters the opportunity to cast their vote according to their individual preference as well as a means to determine which candidate is most preferred by a majority of all votes cast.  The method has been used by the Cambridge City Council since 1941 as well as in municipal elections in Memphis, San Francisco and Minneapolis and in parliamentary elections in Australia and Ireland, as well as in the recent midterm Congressional vote in Maine.

Closer to home, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization, Voter Choice Massachusetts, is dedicated to educating the public and fostering legislative support for RCV. Supporters believe that RCV frees voters from being pressured to choose between two or more candidates, and solves the problem of “spoiler” candidates who don’t actually reflect a majority of overall voter preference.

Lincoln residents are proud of their grassroots politics, cherish their Town Meeting, and treasure their civic activism. On January 20, we in Lincoln have an opportunity to learn from a nonpartisan expert, Jim Henderson, board member of Voter Choice Massachusetts, the pros and cons of RCV and its relevance to Massachusetts. We hope you will join the discussion and help us all to reflect on the utility and value of RCV for statewide elections in Massachusetts on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m.  in Bemis Hall.

Sincerely,

Barbara Slayter and Gary Davis
Co-chairs, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

News acorns

Public hearings coming up

The Board of Water Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. at the Lincoln Town Offices on its plan to institute first rate hike since 2015 (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Jan. 6, 2019).

The Historic District Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17 to consider the approval of a report recommending (1) the addition, at the request of the property owners below, of the following properties to the Brown’s Wood Historic District, and (2) the preparation of a warrant article to approve the same for vote at Town Meeting on March 23, 2019.

  • 8 Moccasin Hill Road (owned by Lewis and Rosemary Lloyd)
  • 18 Moccasin Hill Road (owned by Neal and Kimberly Rajdev)

The Lincoln School Committee will hold a formal budget hearing on Thursday, Jan. 10 and is scheduled to vote on the FY20 budget on Thursday, Jan. 24. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. the Multipurpose Room, Hartwell building. Copies of the proposed budget are available for review in the Lincoln Public Schools Business Office, 2nd floor, Hartwell building.

Cabaret concert at L-S

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Music Department presents its annual Cabaret Concert on Friday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the L-S cafeteria. The evening will feature contemporary, pop, Broadway, and jazz music performed by instrumental jazz ensembles and combos, and student vocal and a capella groups, including duets and soloists. Tickets are $5, with a $20 cap for families. Snacks and beverages will be sold by the L-S Friends of Music.

Find out about ranked-choice voting

Learn how ranked-choice voting could improve the fairness and effectiveness of elections when Jim Henderson, a board member of Voter Choice Massachusetts, leads a session on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. in Bemis Hall (coffee and tea will be served starting at 2:45). (Coffee/tea at 2:45.)  Henderson will present the case for ranked choice voting and lead the audience in a voting exercise to find out how the process works.

Next up for play-reading group: “The Curious Savage”

The play-reading group at the Lincoln Public Library will read “The Curious Savage,” a 1950 comedy set in the living room of a sanatorium, on Tuesday, Jan. 8 and 15 at 11 a.m. All are invited to join the play-reading or just listen — no experience necessary. The group meets on every second and third Tuesday of each month at 11 am. For more information, call Sally Kindleberger at 781-799-4892.

Jazz night at deCordova

One of the photos by Larry Fink in the deCordova exhibition, Primal Empathy.

On Friday, Feb. 1 from 6–8:30 p.m., deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum will host a Jazz Night, featuring a live performance by the Patrick McGee Quintet in the Larry Fink: Primal Empathy photography exhibition gallery. As a special treat, exhibiting artist Larry Fink will play harmonica with the band. The event also features cocktails (one per ticket with more for purchase, art-making activities for all ages, and access to all exhibitions on view. Click here to buy tickets ($25 for nonmembers, $20 for members, $10 for college students with ID, $5 for kids 17 and under).

Water Department proposes rate hike

The Water Department will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. at the Lincoln Town Offices on its plan to institute first rate hike since 2015.

Residents are charged quarterly for town water in a three-tiered system based on their level of usage (0–20,000 gallons, 20,001–40,000 gallons, and 40,001 gallons or more). The Water Department plans to raise the charges by 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent, respectively, while the base change for all users will go up by $5 per quarter, said Water Commission member Ruth Ann Hendrickson.

“We’re really focused on minimizing the impact on lower-level water users who are conservation mindful,” she said.

Part of the increased revenue will be used to pay off an anticipated bond of about $1 million. Investments are needed because the Water Department is now subject to Occupational Health and Safety Administration rules, and because of recent annual inspection of procedures and methods “with a new inspector who had a big long list of things we have to do differently,” Hendrickson said.

“Just to make a perfect storm, we had some big failures this [past] year,” she added. Those included a water main break outside the library, an acid sink, and a 3,000-gallon water heater used to clean the treatment plan filters.

The three-tiered pricing structure and quarterly billing were introduced in 2015 to encourage conservation with the goal of meeting water usage limits required by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Although its budget and revenue structure must be approved by the town, it is funded entirely by user fees, and its revenues are expected to meet or exceed expenditures on a year-to-year basis, with the difference held in reserve to fund emergency repairs and system improvements.

The department plans to apply for a state program that offers zero-percent interest on bonds, though it’s unknown whether it will be accepted, Hendrickson said. As part of the process for qualifying for bonding, the Water Commission has developed a long-term financial and capital improvement program.

If approved, the increased rates will become effective on all rates and charges on any bill for usage after January 1, 2019.

South Lincoln efforts continue with workshop for businesses

As part of a larger effort to revitalize the Lincoln Station area, the town is sponsoring a free workshop for Lincoln’s storefront business owners titled “Retail Best Practices: The Power of Presentation” on Wednesday, Jan. 9 from 8–9:30 a.m. at the Rural Land Foundation office at Lincoln Station (145 Lincoln Rd., second floor).

The session led by Christine Moynihan of Retail Visioning. Her program aims to help business owners improve the look and feel of their establishments as well as the customer experience and business planning and marketing in print and online. Attendees are also invited to participate in a private one-on-one free consultation with Moynihan in January or early February and could be eligible to receive a small grant to help implement recommendations made by the consultant.

For more information about the program or to register, contact Jennifer Burney, Director Planning and Land Use, at burneyj@lincolntown.org or 781-259-2684. Registration is not required but seating may be limited.

Funding for the workshop comes from a grant awarded to the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee, which is steering several simultaneous projects aimed at revitalizing the area around Lincoln Station.

Other SLPIC projects

The MBTA subcommittee has recommended a list of improvements to the train station and commuter parking lots and expects to receive $500,000 from the state to pay for a study to design those improvements. The group is soliciting opinions as to whether the inbound and outbound train stops should be on the same side of the tracks, and whether non-Lincoln residents, or whether out-of-town commuters would be willing to pay for parking using a smartphone app. People can respond on the South Lincoln Revitalization Project website or by texting 781-702-3466.

Another SLPIC subcommittee is looking at zoning changes in South Lincoln that would encourage residential or mixed-use development in the area. The town hired Weston & Sampson more than a year ago to look at options for relocating and/or consolidating DPW operations on Lewis Street. Among the possibilities: moving the entire DPW to the transfer station, or co-locating some DPW functions on other land near Hanscom Field.

The study was expected to take only three months but is still not finished; the firm is expected to provide an update to SLPIC in January. “The work has taken longer due to the amount of parcels they had to review and apply the analysis to,” Burney said. “Unfortunately, projects often take longer than expected.”

Much of the study has consisted at examining and rating other possible DPW sites in town, as well as costs associated with any relocation. However, some North Lincoln residents have already voiced concerns about the idea of moving some or all of the DPW’s functions to the transfer station site.

With the help of grants, SLPIC’s Wayfinding Team has already installed wayfinding signs and a “pocket park” with a kiosk and bike repair station next to the railroad tracks. Among the items on the group’s to-do list for 2019: conducting a parking and sewer feasibility study, and seeking funds to spruce up the park-like area between Donelan’s and Lincoln Woods. A June 2017 report presented design ideas along with a cost estimate of $100,000.

McLean Hospital appeals court decision on Bypass Road property

McLean Hospital has filed a notice of intent to appeal a recent court decision regarding its Bypass Road property, and the town and a group of residents say they will continue to resist the hospital’s efforts to locate an inpatient program in a private home in the neighborhood

In October, the state Land Court denied McLean’s appeal of a 2016 decision by the Zoning Board of Appeals decision saying no to the hospital’s plan to use a single-family house for an outpatient facility for teenage boys and young adults with borderline personality disorder. The court sided with the ZBA, which said this did not constitute an educational use of the property, which would have been permitted under the state’s Dover amendment, although an earlier opinion by town counsel Joel Bard seemed to give McLean the go-ahead.

In response to McLean’s recent filing, selectmen voted to retain the services of attorney Jay Talerman “on an ongoing basis to continue the Town’s vigorous defense in this matter as necessary.” Talerman represented the town in McLean’s initial lawsuit.

“We in the neighborhood are unfortunately not surprised [by McLeans appeal]. And we are concerned about their goal,” said Steven Kanner, a leader of the group of residents who fought McLean’s proposal. The group retained an attorney and petitioned the court to intervene as co-defendants in McLean’s suit against the town.

“From the beginning, McLean has been disingenuous” in characterizing dialectical behavioral therapy or DBT (which McLean planned to use at the Bypass Road facility) as educational rather than medical or therapeutic, Kanner said. DBT “should take place in an acknowledged and legal medical setting (such as McLean Hospital) and not be camouflaged and wordsmithed into an ‘educational’ program to evade common and appropriate zoning restrictions.”

McLean was rebuffed by the ZBA and Land Court, “but they persist. Why?” Kanner said. “Their agenda is not publicly stated, but seeking to get psychiatric treatment facilities placed anywhere with no zoning restrictions would be a goal consistent with their actions. We believe that would be bad public policy, and certainly is not the current policy in the Commonwealth.”

Selectman “declared their intention to oppose any appeal by McLean, and the neighborhood group … will do the same in coordination with the town,” Kanner said.

Earlier this year, the group asked selectmen to add a funding measure based on a citizens’ petition to the Annual Town Meeting warrant to help defray their legal costs. But the board denied that request because the state’s anti-aid amendment prohibits public funding for private individuals and organizations that are not working under town control.

Dr. Philip Levendusky, senior vice president for business development and communications and director of McLean’s Psychology Department, and Diane Tillotson, McLean’s attorney in the case, did not return requests for comment.

School project passes Town Meeting by 89%–11% margin

A floor plan of the revitalized Lincoln School from early November (click to enlarge).

The $93.9 million school project won the required two-thirds majority vote with ease at a December 1 Special Town Meeting, with the highest-ever attendance for such an event and a civil discussion of the issues.

In the end, the vote wasn’t as close as some had expected—89 percent to 11 percent—and the tone of the meeting remained calm, despite earlier debate that sometimes got heated on LincolnTalk and elsewhere. Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden noted at the start that there was “increased tension and anxiety leading up to this morning—we all need to take a deep breath.”

An hour and a half after the floor was opened for questions and comments, there were still a dozen residents lined up at each of two microphones patiently waiting their turn to speak when resident John Mendelson called the question. The standing vote of residents in a packed Brooks auditorium/lecture hall plus hundreds more in the adjoining gym resulted in a vote of 806–100 in favor of the motion to borrow $88.5 million for renovations and new construction at the Lincoln School.

The vote was orderly and counted methodically, unlike the last school project bonding vote in 2012. At that meeting, the usual voice vote was inconclusive and the subsequent standing vote was arguably affected by the fact that the gym overflow space was not available for voters and fire codes prevented a few people from getting back into the auditorium for the final vote.

The tone of comments on Saturday was civil, with no hostility in statements or reactions, though several comments received spontaneous ovations and whoops of approval—notably when resident Ken Mitchell called for “a little more Lincoln walk and little less LincolnTalk.”

One resident asked questions why the town was no longer pursuing state funding to help fund the project. Selectman (and former School Building Committee chair) Jennifer Glass explained (as she did in this letter to the editor in March 2017) that the competition for funds from schools that are in worse shape than Lincoln’s in terms of physical condition or overcrowding had grown so much that it was unlikely the town would get funding before the school deteriorated even further.

“It came to a point where the School Committee felt the risk was starting to become far greater that we would have some kind of incident that would close the school. It was a town decision in 2017 to go on our own,” she said.

But the large tax increase that will be required to pay for the school had many residents worried that some homeowners—even those who support the goals of the school project—would be forced to sell their property, leading to less economic diversity in Lincoln.

“This is not about us vs. them; this is about stewardship of whole town,” said Chris Burns, noting that Lincoln households occupied by seniors are expected to double  while those with young children are expected to drop significantly by 2030.

Resident John Kimball made a motion to change the figures in the main motion so that the total project cost would be no more than $74 million and the borrowing amount would be $68.6 million. “Where are the budget vigilantes in town today? We should honor our history of fiscal responsibility,” he said. “I agree that school is dysfunctional, decrepit and inefficient… but that is not a reason to approve the project which is unreasonable in cost, unfair in its impact and ineffective in improving education.”

“This is what we voted on in June—we were presented with a menu of options and budgets,” responded Kathryn Anagnostakis. “To relitigate this at this point…” But the rest of her comment was drowned out by cheers and applause.

“The amendment doesn’t do enough,” Vincent Cannistraro said, adding that the project “fundamentally scares me… If you have too much shock to your ecosystem at once, the result is disastrous. If this project goes through, we will look a lot less like Lincoln and lot more like Sudbury, where you move as soon as your kid finishes high school. I can give you 100 reasons why this solution won’t work, but you can’t give one example of a town that exposes [itself] to a 15–20 percent tax increase for 30 years for a single project. The children of Lincoln deserve an education second to none. Please vote no for the future of the town.”

Kimball’s amendment was soundly defeated on a voice vote.

Regarding the argument that the project will boost property values, “that’s no reason for finding a school of this magnitude, in my opinion,” said Sharon Antia. “We need a new community center and a DPW. To put all our money in this bucket and then say after the fact we’ll look at how to be a more welcoming community for a diverse population…  I find it hard to believe we’ll work on it afterwards.”

However, as reflected in the final vote, the comments in favor of the project outnumbered those against. Some of those remarks:

  • “Rigorous economic research shows that funding school structures raises home values more than the cost of the project—it pays for itself,” said Ben Shiller, echoing an argument he made in a November 7 letter to the editor.
  • Until recently, schools including Lincoln’s were designed with the idea that students were “vessels to be filled with information given by a teacher at the head of the classroom,” DJ Mitchell said. “But the world we’re preparing them for is vastly different. Information is at their fingertips—there’s no need to cram it all in their heads. Children need to be able to collaborate, think critically, be problem solvers, tinker about, make adjustments and even fail. It’s messy work not always suited to a contained classroom.”
  • Long-time kindergarten teacher Becky Estin (who received a spontaneous standing ovation when she said she had taught at the school for 39 years) said teachers have been involved with the planning process from the start and fully support the project. “Some of us were a little confused why it’s taken so long to repair these buildings… given how great the need is,” she said, citing power outages and odors that necessitated classes being moved. “We deeply, deeply care about our jobs… but we can’t help your children in spaces that don’t allow us to be innovative and creative.”
  • “I believe Ms, Estin could make magical things happen in a closet,” Jal Mehta said. “But to make learning dynamic, interconnected, and flexible, need spaces that are dynamic, interconnected, and flexible.” He urged the town to vigorously explore options for tax relief for those who need it so “we can support both our youngest residents and our oldest.”
  • The net-zero energy efficiency of the new building is crucial, said Alex Chatfield, because global climate change “is no longer a crisis to be faced in future—it’s happening in plain site and happening now… it’s our intergenerational responsibility not just to provide a decent education, but a safe planet to live on.”
  • Liz Wilkinson, a veteran teacher at Concord-Carlisle High School, said that the improved air quality and temperature in the new school building made “a dramatic difference in teaching and learning effectiveness,” and that features such as hubs and learning commons are essential to 21st-century education that calls for “collective, flexible, and project-based learning.”
  • Though the tax hike required by the project is significant, Lincoln’s taxes have actually been relatively low in recent years as the town has not invested enough in its schools and infrastructure, Ginger Reiner said. “What we’re experiencing is just recalibrating our taxes to be more in line with what our [neighboring towns] are,” she said. “We’ve essentially been borrowing against our future selves [and have] artificially suppressed out taxes”—remarks that were met with vigorous applause.

Opinions and debate reach a crescendo as school vote nears

Years of study and planning—along with weeks and months of vigorous debate and opinions in the form of LincolnTalk posts, roadside signs, mailings, and websites—will culminate in votes on funding the Lincoln School project this Saturday, Dec. 1 and Monday, Dec. 3.

Roadside campaign signs saying “Vote Yes: Our Town, Our School, Our Kids” have been distributed around town by the Friends of the Lincoln School Project (FLSP), which is not affiliated with the School Building Committee or other town officials. Other signs and car magnets urging a “yes” vote have been distributed by the Lincoln School Foundation.

Hans Bitter and Bryce Wells are the two official members of the FLSP per legal requirements for a Ballot Question Committee, though about two dozen residents have donated time and/or money, they said in an email to the Lincoln Squirrel. While most of the volunteers have children at the Lincoln School, though most of those kids will have moved onto high school by the time the project is completed, they added.

The organization has spent about $3,000 on the yard signs and mailings, and any leftover cash will be donated to the Lincoln PTO, they said.

“Our focus was to make sure people knew that there was an important vote and to rally those who support the project. The yard signs and the mailing were physical embodiments of that focus, but the outreach was person to person—phone calls, emails, conversations in parking lots, Donelan’s, soccer fields, and more,” Bitter and Wells said. “Our group is also very concerned about the potential financial hardship some of our neighbors will face and so we are exploring other creative options to assist those in need.”

Arguments and information fly

Hundreds of emails about the school project and its impact on taxpayers have been exchanged on LincolnTalk, with passionate arguments both in favor of and against the project. Resident Philip Greenspun, who was a frequent poster until he was put on moderation status by moderators from LincolnTalk earlier this year, created a website called the Lincoln School Improvement Committee, which claims about a dozen members and dissects public documents to argue against the need for the project.

One post on the site argues that “mental gymnastics [are] required to support the Lincoln School Building projects” while another says the project is akin to a religion for which “facts and logic are not persuasive… If we rename the ‘School Building Committee’ the ‘Church of School Building’ and re-title the members as ‘Temple Priests,’ will the whole debate then make sense?”

Dozens of other residents, including Finance Committee member Andy Payne and SBC Vice Chair Kim Bodnar, have written lengthy posts on LincolnTalk and the SBC website blog answering questions and arguing that the project is crucial to the Lincoln School and the town as a whole and cannot be delayed further.

Meanwhile, a working group has been looking at programs employed by other area towns to help soften the impact of major property tax increases on seniors with limited means. If voters approve the school funding, property taxes are expected to rise by 17.2 percent to 19.4 percent, though not all of that in the first year. Determining factors will include the interest rate at the time of actual bonding, and the details of the timing and amounts of bonds as determined by the Finance Committee. The working group consists of Town Administrator Tim Higgins, Selectman Jennifer Glass, FinCom member Gina Halsted, and Carolyn Bottum, director of the Lincoln Council on Aging.

There is but a single question to be voted on at Saturday’s Special Town Meeting and Monday’s ballot vote: whether to appropriate $88.5 million for the project. For the borrowing to go forward, two-thirds of voters must vote “yes” at Town Meeting on Saturday and a simple majority must do the same at the ballot vote on Monday. If either vote fails to meet the threshold, the town can schedule another vote of that type in an attempt to win approval, since the sequence of votes doesn’t matter.

On Monday, polls will be open in the Smith gym from 7:30 a.m.–8 p.m.

Town Meeting details

Officials have posted this web page with links to the documents and slides that will be used at Town Meeting. Direct links are below:

Special Town Meeting slides:

Child care

  • For children under the age of 5, the Lincoln Family Association (LFA) will host a drop-in playgroup event for kids and parents (no drop-offs) in Hartwell Pod A from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. There will be toys and nut-free snacks. The cost per child is $5, payable in cash at the door. Parents will be notified when the vote is about to happens so they can get back to the auditorium or gym in time. Click here to register your child.
  • Registration for child care for children older than 5 at LEAP has closed.

Arrival and seating

  • All Lincoln residents wishing to vote must sign in starting at 8 a.m. outside the Brooks auditorium. You may leave and return after singing in and getting your hand stamped.
  • There will be overflow seating and a video link in the Reed Gym. Residents in the gym may vote when the time comes, but they must go to the auditorium if they wish to speak before the vote.

Order of the meeting

  • The meeting opens at 9 a.m. with presentations by chairs of the School Building, Finance, Capital Planning, and Green Energy Committees. Representatives of the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen will then speak briefly (see links to slides above).
  • Discussion and debate are expected to begin at around 10:30 and could last two hours or more.
  • Anyone in the Reed Gym who wishes to speak must come to one of the microphones in the Brooks Auditorium.
  • Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden asks residents to keep comments and questions to no more than two minutes, and to let others have a chance to speak before coming to the microphone a second time.

Voting

  • Before any vote, there will be a 10-minute break to ensure that people are seated and the volunteers who do the counting are in place, after which the doors to the gym and auditorium will close, and no one will be allowed to enter or leave until the counts are completed.
  • At the start of the voting, everyone must be seated, and non-voters will be asked to sit in specific areas of the halls.
  • All voting will be done by a standing count.

News acorns

Climate justice film on Tuesday

St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church will host a screening of “Living in the Future’s Past” on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. following a light supper at 6:30. Academy Award winner, Jeff Bridges shares the screen with scientists and a dazzling array of living creatures to shows how no one can predict how major changes might emerge from the spontaneous actions of the many, and how energy takes many forms as it moves through and animates everything

Meeting on deCordova–TTOR integration

Those interested in learning more about the planned integration of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum and The Trustees of Reservations and its implications for the town are invited to attend a community meeting hosted by the deCordova on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. Hear from the town’s deCordova Working Group; Linda Hammett Ory, president of the deCordova Board of Trustees; deCordova executive director John Ravenal; and Barbara Erickson, CEO of The Trustees. Learn more at www.decordova.org/integration.

Scouts selling Christmas trees, wreaths

Lincoln Scout Troop 127 is selling Christmas trees and decorated balsam wreaths at the corner of Codman Community Farms across from the police station every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. until Christmas, and we will be open as many weeknights as we can staff. All profits above cost will be used to fund scouting activities. Lincoln Troop 127 supports the Lincoln community in many ways, including setting up for the Memorial Day service and providing the July 4th cookout after the parade

Shop to help domestic violence victims

On Sunday, Dec. 2 from noon–4 p.m., Mango Tree Artisans of Sudbury will host a special shopping event to benefit the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable. At its new location at 593 Boston Post Road in Sudbury, Mango Tree Artisans sells handcrafted sterling silver and ethnic jewelry, ceramics, baskets, eco-friendly clothing, instruments, and other ethically sourced items from around the world. The Roundtable receives a percentage of proceeds from this event.

Dungeons & Dragons group for teens

Kids in grades 6–12 who want to learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons are invited to join L-S student/dungeon master Roshan Kharbanda on Sundays beginning December 2 from 1:30–4:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. Have fun using your imagination and problem-solving skills while socializing with others who enjoy role-playing games. All materials will be provided. For middle and high school students only. Registration required; please email dleopold@minlib.net or call 781-259-8465 x4.

Discussion on teen vaping and pot

Recreational marijuana shops have opened, even as more teenagers are becoming addicted to nicotine through Juuls and other vaping devices. L-S Connections is sponsoring an event titled “Vaping and Legalized Marijuana: The ‘New Normal’?” on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the L-S Lecture Hall for parents. On hand will be Mary Cole, program coordinator of the Greater Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership, along with L-S counselors and administrators and representatives from the Lincoln and Sudbury police to talk with us about what they’re seeing in our communities and how parents, the school, and the community can work together to help our kids make healthy, well-informed decisions. Register here as space is limited. 

Letter to the editor: thanks from Rep. Katherine Clark

(Editor’s note: this is a district-wide letter sent out by Rep. Clark’s office on November 7.)

To the editor:

Thank you to the voters of the 5th District for your confidence in me! It is the honor of my lifetime to represent you in Congress, and I am eager to continue my work fighting for policies that will strengthen our families and our economy like making child care more affordable, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and ensuring equal pay for equal work.

Tonight was a historic victory for the Commonwealth and our nation. By electing a Democratic majority to the House, we have chosen compassion and common sense over policies that are motivated by callousness, fear, and division. We have elected the most diverse class of new members of Congress in our nation’s history and in doing so, have acknowledged that we are stronger as a country when Congress reflects the American people. I am thrilled to welcome Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan to the Massachusetts delegation, and for the first time in our history we will have a record number of women representing the Commonwealth in Washington, D.C. 

Together, we will enact policies that will create opportunity and security for everyone. Democrats are ready to fight for you. Now, let’s get to work!

Sincerely,

Katherine Clark
D-MA (5th District), U.S. House of Representatives

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.