By Lynne Smith Most of us watched the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.and have read and seen details since that time, but hearing Lincoln native Winston Pingeon describe his long day — spent mostly in riot gear as a U.S. Capitol Police Officer — made the horror fresh again. Pingeon described to…
My Turn
My Turn: Glass is running for a third term on Select Board
Dear fellow Lincoln residents, I write to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Select Board for a three-year term, and I respectfully ask for your support. As a community, we often ask ourselves hard questions: Who are we? Who do we want to be? And what actions should we take to get there? During…
My Turn: A path forward for retail at the mall under Option C
By Benjamin Shiller Option C has emerged as the winning choice for rezoning for the Housing Choice Act. Although the discussion may have seemed divisive, I truly believe that our goals for the town are aligned. The Planning Board has already made great strides in a short time towards drafting the bylaws. However, the time…
My Turn: A fond farewell to an extraordinary partner
By Jacquelin Apsler On December 15, 2023, Chief Kevin Kennedy will retire from Lincoln’s Police Department — a public servant greatly admired by his peers, deeply respected by his constituents, and very much cherished by his colleagues and friends. The phrase “he will be missed” doesn’t capture the extraordinary loss of his leadership. As a…
My Turn: With measured success, officials grapple with HCA vote at multi-board meeting
By Lynne Smith On December 2, Lincoln residents voted with the recommendations of the Planning Board (PB) and the Housing Choice Act Working Group (HCAWG) to adopt Option C. On December 4 at a multi-board meeting, the two groups were aware that the vote was not an overwhelming majority. In fact, Option C received 55%…
My Turn: To include or not to include the mall?
By Laurie Gray To include the mall or not to include the mall — that is the HCA question. I am a supporter of Option E, and I want development at the mall. What I would like for the mall is for some number of housing units to go up in the range of 150…
My Turn: Reflections on a community center for Lincoln
By Barbara Slayter Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion about the pros and cons as well as the specific characteristics of a community center that we might eventually have in Lincoln. Three contributions to the Lincoln Squirrel’s “My Turn” in recent weeks have shaped my thinking about how to vote at…
My Turn: 90 residents sign letter in support of Option C
We the undersigned Lincoln voters have carefully reviewed the options for compliance with the Massachusetts Housing Choice Act at the Special Town Meeting on Saturday, Dec. 2. We plan to support Option C for the following reasons: Option C, in which all the rezoning takes place near the train station and in the area surrounding…
My Turn: Thoughts on a community center
By Craig Donaldson On Saturday, a key vote will determine the future course of the proposal to build a town community center. As I have considered our best course over the last year, the answers to several key questions have gradually become clearer: Does the town have sufficient resources now to support current and future…
My Turn: Option C vs. Option E
By Benjamin Shiller After spending a lot of time thinking about the various options for the Housing Choice Act, I have become very concerned about potential consequences of having too much growth too quickly. I thought the most concentrated housing option, Option C, might be manageable at the stated increase in units — 454, or…