You wouldn’t know by looking outside, but it’s almost growing season, and local farms are gearing up to sell CSA (community-supported agriculture) shares of vegetables and meat this summer.
Letter to the editor: Support Peter Braun
To the Editor:
We are writing in support of Peter Braun’s reelection as a Lincoln selectman. We, the selectmen of Bedford, Concord and Lexington, serve with Peter on the Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS).
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Ballot corrections and additions
There were several errors in the election ballot published in the Lincoln Squirrel on March 3:
- There are now two candidates for two seats on the Bemis Trustees, Melinda Abraham and Stephen Atlas.
- Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee candidate Michael Walsh and Planning Board candidate Gary Taylor have withdrawn and will not appear on the ballot.
- The middle name of Commissioner of Trust Funds candidate Derek Paul Fitzgerald was omitted.
- The last name of Water Commission candidate Ruth Ann Hendrickson was misspelled.
The list in the March 3 article has been updated to reflect these corrections. The Squirrel regrets the errors.
Also on the March 31 ballot will be two yes-or-no questions for voters:
1. Shall an act filed in the year 2013 and passed by the General Court entitled “An Act Relative to the Granting of Special Licenses for the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages in the Town of Lincoln” be accepted?
Summary: On December 23, 2013, the Governor approved Chapter 187of the Acts of 2013 (the “Act”). The wording of this ballot question is taken directly from the Act, which follows a vote taken at the March 25, 2013 Annual Town Meeting. If accepted by the voters of the Town, the Act will authorize the Board of Selectmen, as licensing authority, in accordance with the provisions of G.L. c.138, §14, to issue one-day alcoholic beverage licenses for the sale of wine and beer to the organizers of special events, with one-day licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages available only to non-profit organizations. While no notice to abutters or formal hearing is required by law, the Board of Selectmen would be required to act on such license requests at meetings posted in accord with the Open Meeting Law, and retains discretion as to whether to grant such licenses. The Board of Selectmen would also be authorized to set uniform fees for such licenses.
2. Shall an act passed by the General Court in the year 2014, entitled “An Act Authorizing the Town of Lincoln to Grant a License for the Sale of Wine and Malt Beverages to be Drunk on the Premises” be accepted?
Summary: On January 16, 2014, the Governor approved Chapter 5 of the Acts of 2014 (the “Act”). The wording of this ballot question is taken directly from the Act, which follows a vote taken at the March 25, 2013 Annual Town Meeting. If accepted by the voters of the Town, the Act will authorize the Board of Selectmen, as licensing authority, to issue a single license for the sale of beer and wine to be drunk on the premises to the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park located at 51 Sandy Pond Road. State liquor license laws will apply to the issuance of the license. Said laws require, among other things, that the Board of Selectmen provide notice to abutters, hold a hearing, and determine that the applicant is of good character and has premises suitable for such purpose.
Letter to the editor: Reject hospice plan
Editor’s note: This letter concerning a March 6 Zoning Board of Appeals hearing was also submitted by the author to the Zoning Board of Appeals. See the Lincoln Squirrel (March 2, 2014) for background information.
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Candidate forums scheduled, Town Meeting warrant published
Editor’s note: This post was updated on March 4 to incorporate several corrections.
The two major local voting days—Annual Town Meeting and the town election—are coming up fast, and two town-wide candidate forums are on tap.
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Hospice proposal goes before ZBA on Thursday
Property in Lincoln and Waltham being proposed for a hospice facility is outlined in red.
A proposal for a two-story hospice facility on Winter Street property in Lincoln and Waltham, which calls for a 42,000-square-foot building and parking for 87 cars, will be the subject of a Lincoln Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing on Thursday, March 6.
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COA activities for March
Several “Lincoln Academy” presentations are featured among the Lincoln Council on Aging activities for March.
Leaf-blower committee forum on Monday
The Lincoln Leaf Blower Study Committee (LBSC) is gathering input and presenting results and recommendations at three events this month, culminating with the Annual Town Meeting on March 29.
The LBSC will host a public forum on Monday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. to gather input from residents on their experience of leaf blower use in town and collect ideas on potential solutions as it presents interim results from its leaf blower survey (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Jan. 14, 2014). The forum will be held in the Donaldson Room at Town Office Building.
On Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m, the group will meet with the Board of Health to discuss its report on leaf blowers and health. The meeting will take place in the Donaldson Room and is open to the public.
The LBSC will present its research and recommendations at the Annual Town Meeting, which starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 29. The committee has considered a wide range of source materials, including reports from national and international organizations, scientific articles and videos of leaf blower work in Lincoln. These materials, as well as the LBSC’s reports, minutes and agendas are available on the LBSC page on the town website. Additional research will be conducted to evaluate economics and feasibility of alternative solutions.
As authorized by Town Meeting last spring (Warrant Article 41), the LBSC was created to study noise and air pollution resulting from increasing use of leaf blowers for public and private property maintenance, to research alternatives to use of leaf blowers, to study the cost impacts to both public and private sectors from those alternatives, and to present findings and recommendations at Town Meeting 2014. The committee’s regular meetings are held every other Wednesday morning. Our last two sessions before Town Meeting will be held on March 5 and March 19 from 7:30-9 a.m. in the Town Office Building.
We look forward to your participation in our regular meetings and these three March events.
Upcoming events from conservation group
A film on monarch butterflies will be shown on March 18. Photo: Thomas Bresson/Wikimedia Commons
An illustrated naturalists’ program and a film about butterflies will be presented in March by the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust.
On Sunday, March 2 from 2-3 p.m. in Bemis Hall, Mary Holland, naturalist and author, will give an illustrated program, “Naturally Curious—Wood Frog to Black Bear: Exciting Worlds of the Northeast” that will take viewers through the most memorable natural history events occurring in each month of the year. Her books will also be for sale. On display will be collected items from her forays into New England habitats such as skulls, scat, feathers, and antlers. Free admission; donations welcome. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies, the last movie in the LLCT’s environmental film series, will be shown on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the LLCT office (above the post office at the mall) . Orange and black wings fill the sky as PBS’s NOVA charts one of nature’s most remarkable phenomena: the epic migration of monarch butterflies across North America. To capture a butterfly’s point of view, NOVA’s filmmakers used a helicopter, ultralight and hot-air balloon for aerial views along the transcontinental route. This wondrous annual migration, which scientists are just beginning to fathom, is an endangered phenomenon that could dwindle to insignificance if the giant firs that the butterflies cling to during the winter disappear.
Magic Garden kids pitch in during bird count
Magic Garden children and their teacher look for birds during the Great Backyard Bird Count. Photo courtesy Magic Garden
Magic Garden preschoolers recently participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, a nationwide project to count and categorize bird species where “citizen birders” spend a little time in the field (i.e., their own backyards) watching birds during a specific time of year.
Data from the project, which is sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada, will help scientists learn more about the health of the ecosystems and environment by analyzing various bird populations.
Magic Garden children in two classes (ages 3-5) counted birds around the school campus in small groups using tools including field guides, pictures of birds and binoculars. The children spotted five American robins, a bluejay, a northern cardinal, a white-breasted nuthatch, an American crow, and three black-capped chickadees.
“It was a wonderful way to actively use counting and observation skills and a tangible way to show love for our friends the birds,” said Magic Garden director Jill Canelli.
“This experience was a great foray into the science of bird-watching for the children and for all of us as adults,” added Gail Wild, a Magic Garden preschool teacher and science lover.
“As both a nature lover and an early childhood environmental educator, I’ve always been fascinated by birds and have loved finding new and exciting ways to connect children with nature through observing animals. I’m excited to share my love for birds and collaborate with our teachers and pilot this citizen science project,” Canelli said.