government

Letter to the editor: be careful on Article 36

March 15, 2016

To the editor:

Warrant Article 36 petitions Congress to enact “uniform national gun safety laws.” If such laws were enacted, it is likely that they would be significantly less restrictive than those of Massachusetts, and that Congress would invoke the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, thereby replacing Massachusetts gun laws with the weaker U.S. law. What a dream for the NRA; what a nightmare for Massachusetts.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Coppock
214 Aspen Circle

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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: vote Gladstone for Planning Board

March 15, 2016

(Editor’s note: there are three candidates for two seats on the Planning Board at the town election later this month. Links to their letters are at the end of this post.)

To the editor:

I would like to offer my strong support for Steve Gladstone, candidate for the Planning Board.

Steve served with me recently on the Community Center Study Committee, where his insight and thoughtful decision-making was critical to our weekly committee work, our findings and our 2015 written report to the town. He is highly intelligent, polite, a real pleasure to work with, and cares deeply about our town and its cultural and physical landscape. We are all fortunate that Steve is willing to serve on this very important town board, and I hope that you will join with me in supporting him.

Penny Billings (former selectman, chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and chair of the Community Center Study Committee)
Lincoln Road

Letter to the editor: vote yes on Article 36

March 14, 2016

To the editor:

We in Massachusetts are fortunate that our Commonwealth has one of the strongest set of gun safety regulations in the country, thanks to a law passed by our legislature in 2014. But one large loophole remains: it is impossible to prevent criminals and gun traffickers from buying or obtaining guns in other states with looser laws and bringing them over the state line to threaten our safety. That is why a group of concerned Lincoln residents have submitted Article 36 for your review at Town Meeting.

Article 36 does not include any specific gun or ammunition restrictions or other elements that might alarm responsible gun owners concerned about self-protection, hunting or sport. It simply asks our elected federal representatives to pass a federal law setting sensible gun safety standards for all states to prevent interstate gun trafficking and protect public health nationwide. Such a law would include elements from the Massachusetts law and/or similar laws passed recently in Connecticut and New York, which already have been judged constitutional by the courts.

I urge you to vote “yes” on Article 36 as one sensible step toward a safer and more civilized nation for us all.

Sincerely,

Joanna Hopkins
7 Linway Rd.

Letter to the editor: Mattes seeks support as Bemis trustee

March 13, 2016

To the editor:

I am writing to ask the citizens of Lincoln for your support of my candidacy for the Bemis Trust at the polls on Monday, March 28. (This year, the election follows our Annual Town Meeting by one week.) In the 1990s, I was honored to serve as a Bemis trustee.

The Bemis Trust is an example of the generosity of one of Lincoln’s luminaries: George Bemis. In 1892, Mr. Bemis provided money for “a new Town Hall in which shall be a room of sufficient capacity and proper construction for public lectures… and to provide an annual course of public lectures in said Hall of an instructive and elevating character,” resulting in the Bemis Free Lecture Series. In 1982, another generous Lincolnite, John Todd, left a bequest to complement the Bemis endowment and expand the charge to provide “entertainment and recreation.”

The series has brought the town together to be entertained and to both listen to and discuss important topics of the day. I would hope, if honored with election this year, to work with fellow trustees to continue that tradition and to continue the tradition of collaboration with other town organizations, both public and private. In my past life as a trustee, we worked with the Lincoln Public Schools and the PTO to bring programs to the classroom and the lecture hall. Who can forget the wolves of “Mission: Wolf” walking around a circle of children seated on the floor of the Smith gym!

We also co-sponsored, with the Rural Land Foundation (RLF) and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, a memorable evening with Warren Flint, Sr., who shared stories of Lincoln and how our innovative land conservation efforts came to be. Also, the Bemis Trust worked with the Planning Board and the RLF to bring a weekend of events, culminating in several hundred Lincolnites coming together in an all-day charrette to dream and reimagine the future for our commercial retail center—brought to reality as The Mall at Lincoln Station.

The Bemis Trust has brought us memorable events over the years, and the current trustees have some exciting event planned for this spring and fall. I would be honored and delighted to join them for future planning. I ask for your consideration and your vote on Monday, March 28.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.

Letter to the editor: support gun law resolution at Town Meeting

March 10, 2016

To the editor:

We have all been shocked at the horror of gun violence in America, shocked again at the refusal of Congress to enact responsible common sense gun safety regulations, and shocked a third time at the immoral resistance of the NRA leadership and the gun manufacturer’s lobby to any suggestion of more appropriate gun safety regulation even in the face of the horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Warrant article 36 (see pg. 69 in the warrant) at the March 19 Town Meeting, which seeks support for “A Petition to the U S. Congress to Adopt a Uniform National Gun Safety Law Applying Equally to All States,” encourages our federal elected officials to pursue uniform national regulations to finally establish a more humane standard for gun safety applying equally to all states.

Letter to the editor: Special-ed may not ‘make the cut’ at future Minuteman

March 9, 2016

To the editor:

At the Special Town Meeting, Minuteman high School’s Dr. Ed Bouquillon presented a slide I initially thought was disingenuous and absurd. The slide showed Minuteman’s costs decreasing while costs at other voc/tec schools are rising. I later realized it may have been the most insightful slide presented that night.

We saw at the meeting that all three new vocational-technical (Chapter 74) schools in Massachusetts were undersubscribed before new construction and now have waiting lists. If the trend continues, and given this data on neighboring schools along with Gov. Baker’s commitment to vocational education, the new Minuteman school will soon be at capacity.

The new Minuteman High School is being built for 628 students, a significant decrease from the present number of 800. State regulation requires Chapter 74 schools to accept students based on a five-point evaluation process, with “in-district” students being given priority. Legally, schools cannot deny acceptance based on the student having an Individual Education Plan (IEP). However, given the smaller school size coupled with the increased demand, it is safe to say a large percentage of students with IEPs will be no longer make the cut. This is significant because as also noted at the meeting, Minuteman’s current student population includes 47 percent students with an IEP.

The decreasing percentage of students at Minuteman with IEPs will result in lower costs. This will start an interesting feedback loop: with a greater number of high-achieving students attending the school, more higher-achieving students will be attracted to the school, again reducing the number of students with special needs. Students with IEPs will either stay in their comprehensive high school or go to other Chapter 74 schools, increasing their costs while the top students are drawn to Minuteman.

It appears that the mid-2020s end game is Minuteman becoming an elite vocational-technical school focused on hands-on STEM education, attracting the top students while other voc-tech schools pick up the education and costs of students with a higher level of need—students who no longer make the cut at Minuteman. Lincoln students who have in the past benefited the most from attending Minuteman may no longer be eligible.

This brings us full circle to Dr. Bouquillon’s slide showing reduced costs at Minuteman and increasing costs at surrounding voc/tec schools. This is simple game theory (gentrification of vocational-technical education). How disappointing that no one, not even Minuteman, mentioned this likely outcome at the meeting. We in Lincoln will soon be left hosting an elite vocational-technical high school featuring hands-on STEM education and our children who traditionally had the most gain from attending Minuteman will not be able to participate.

Sincerely,

Bob Antia
165 South Great Rd.

News acorns

March 8, 2016

Antia invite residents to meet Planning Board candidate

Lincoln residents are invited to the home of Sharon and Bob Antia at 165 S. Great Rd. for coffee and conversation on Saturday, March 12 to meet Planning Board candidate Jennie Morris Gundy between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. You are welcome, though not required, to let us know you are coming by calling 617-593-0141 or emailing Sharon.antia@gmail.com.

Self-defense class for teenage girls

High school and college-aged girls who are residents of Lincoln and Sudbury are invited to participate in RESIST (Realistic Escape Strategies and Instinct-based Self-defense Training), a course that teaches how to escape from an attacker by using instinct-based moves. The two-session class is taught by the Lincoln Police Department on Monday and Wednesday, March 14 and 16 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. The class is free, but participants must pre-register and the class limited to 16 students.

On Day 1, we will talk about general safety and dating safety before learning and then practicing physical self-defense moves like strikes, blocks and knee strikes. For Day 2, students and instructors will don protective gear and participants will be “attacked” using the learned moves to escape. This part of the course is intense but amazing and empowering. For questions and to register, please contact Jena Salon at jenasalon@gmail.com. This class is funded by the Ogden Codman Trust, the Domestic Violence Services Network, Inc., and the Lincoln Police Department.

Governor’s Council debate features Lincoln’s Georgiou

March 7, 2016

Lincoln attorney Peter Georgiou, a candidate for the Governor’s Council in the upcoming primary election in September, will be featured at a debate on Saturday, March 12 in Bemis Hall. The event, which is sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee, will serve to introduced Georgiou and the other candidates and inform Lincoln voters of the role the Council plays. There will be a reception with coffee and refreshments starting at 9:30 a.m., and the debate will be held from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Massachusetts Governor’s Council, also known as the Executive Council, is composed of eight individuals elected from districts and the Lieutenant Governor, who serves ex officio. The eight councilors are elected from their respective districts every two years. The Council meets weekly to record advice and consent on warrants for the state treasury, pardons and commutations, and recording advice and consent to gubernatorial appointments such as judges, clerk-magistrates, public administrators, members of the Parole Board, Appellate Tax Board, Industrial Accident Board and Industrial Accident Reviewing Board, notaries, and justices of the peace.

Residents invited to get greener with free home energy assessment

March 7, 2016

The Green Energy Committee (GEC) and the town of Lincoln are sponsoring the Lincoln Energy Challenge, a new residential initiative to help reduce overall energy use and save money on energy costs. The ultimate goal is to decrease Lincoln’s residential energy use 10 percent by 2020.

Thanks to government incentives and advances in technology, many new energy-saving options have become available. Volunteers from the Green Energy Committee have examined these options, many in their own homes, and want to share this knowledge with other residents to:

Reduce home energy consumption
Increase use of “greener” sources of electricity, particularly solar and wind
Consider rooftop solar panels or community solar options

As a first step, the GEC and the Town of Lincoln have selected Next Step Living (NSL), the largest provider of home energy assessments in New England, to coordinate outreach to our residents and offer free assessments. The committee conducted a competitive bidding process to select NSL to implement the program. The goal is for 300 Lincoln residents to complete a no-cost home energy assessment by April 2017 and to implement home improvement projects like air sealing, insulation, and furnace, boiler or appliance upgrades with the help of state-incentivized rebates. While many homes may have had energy assessments, residents are encouraged to get a revised assessment if more than two years have passed.

A home energy assessment takes just a few hours and includes on-the-spot improvements such as no-cost energy-efficient LED light bulbs and water-saving devices for faucets and shower heads. Each measure identified in an assessment reduces the amount of energy used in a home. If Lincoln residents implement the recommended measures, NSL estimates that the total savings will exceed $28,000 per year.

To schedule a free Home Energy Assessment, call 800-769-2864 or visit www.LincolnEnergyChallenge.com. For questions email Lincoln Green Energy Committee member Sue Klem at susan.m.klem@gmail.com.

Planning Board candidate #3: Jennifer Morris Gundy

March 5, 2016

Editor’s note: This is the third of three articles on candidates for the Lincoln Planning Board, which has three candidates running for two seats. We featured Steve Gladstone on Thursday and Margaret Olson on Friday. Olson’s piece initially omitted her address and cell phone number, which have since been added.

Jennifer Morris Gundy

To the editor:

My husband, Walter Gundy, and I came to town 24 years ago, just before our third son was born. We loved living in Cambridge, but were outgrowing our condo. We knew Drumlin Farm, Walden and the trails of Lincoln and were delighted to find a home we could afford here. All our boys attended Lincoln Schools. Two went on to L-S and the other to an alternative school in Brookline.

When we arrived, we owned an entertainment lighting business in Somerville with three partners. I was involved in planning and delivering installations for many large theaters and hotels, and became familiar with construction permitting processes and documentation. Later, I left the company to pursue an opportunity in media design and marketing that made fewer travel demands. In 2005 I enrolled at Simmons School of Management to earn an MBA, concentrating on sustainability and entrepreneurship. After graduating, I continued to work as an independent consultant, which gave me more time to volunteer for school, Scouts and church activities, and to become involved with town affairs.

I joined the Lincoln Green Energy Committee in 2009, and was instrumental in developing public forums and achieving Green Communities designation for Lincoln. In 2011, I helped launch a SolarizeMass initiative, in collaboration with Wayland and Sudbury, and served as solar coach. I’m proud that we have been able to apply over $400,000 of grant funding to make Lincoln more energy efficient, and to help add over 300kW of solar power to our energy portfolio. We achieved a great deal, and I believe I can use the knowledge and experience I acquired to help the Planning Board become more effective as well.

Lincoln will be facing several significant decisions within the next three years. We already have plans in place including a Comprehensive Long-Term Plan, a Campus Master Plan, and a Lincoln Station Planning Study to help guide those. However, changing circumstances may force us to take a close look at priorities and see that specific actions are taken to fulfill those plans. In particular, the loss of commercial tenants such as Cambridge Trust Company is going to put pressure on our ability to achieve the vision for Lincoln Station. I believe we need to accelerate processes and motivate compatible developers to work with us in creating a unique and vibrant commercial center that can serve to maintain the diversity in our community and help us feel better connected.

We have a new Planning Director, Jennifer Burney, in place, which should enable the board to focus on policies and policy implementation that produce results for the community as a whole. I’ll be guided by a line from Bob Lemire, a past Conservation Commission chair, who wrote in his book Creative Land Development: Bridge to the Future: “In Lincoln, we build what needs to be built, and save what needs to be saved.”

Sincerely,

Jennifer Morris Gundy
8 Bowles Terrace
781-572-4423 (mobile)
www.jenniemorris.com