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

Clickers could be used at future Town Meetings — but not this March

A vote-tallying clicker made by Meridia.

The town is moving toward buying electronic handheld “clickers” to record resident votes in real time and speed up the tallying process at Town Meetings — but they won’t be available for the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) in March.

The drive for clickers went into high gear after the December 2, 2023 Special Town Meeting, which featured two multiple-choice votes whose results required hours to tally. The slow process highlighted a problem with Town Meetings in general: they’re too long, and many residents aren’t able to sit through a meeting of several hours to vote on the one or two articles that interest them.

Citing state law that requires Town Meetings to be held in person (both discussion and voting), Town counsel has given its “unequivocal opinion” that any sort of direct remote participation is not allowed, Town Administrator Tim Higgins said at the January 8 Select Board meeting, noting that the requirement was not altered even at the height of the Covid pandemic. Meetings can be streamed, meaning people can follow the proceedings online, but they may not speak or vote unless they attend in person.

One idea that was alluded to at the meeting but not discussed in detail was having people watch the meeting from home and then go to the school auditorium to vote when they saw that the item of interest was coming up shortly. Town Meetings now require voters to check in at the start of the meeting.

Another idea: splitting Town Meeting into two sessions, one for discussion of the issues and one solely for voting. But this would seem to clash with the requirement that questions and discussion be allowed on each motion once it’s on the floor. This would be a problem for voters who weren’t able to attend the first session. The town plans to seek a legal opinion about whether splitting up a Town Meeting in this way is allowed.

Same format but with clickers?

“I’m not going to pretend it went smoothly [in December] and we shouldn’t be moving toward clickers,” Select Board member Kim Bodnar said. The technology would save the time needed to count standing votes on issues where there isn’t a clear majority after the voice vote.

At the upcoming ATM, the Town Clerk’s office is requesting about $30,000 in the fiscal 2025 budget to buy clickers — though even if approved, those funds would not be available until July 2024.

Another hitch: any expenditure over $10,00 must be put out to bid, further constraining the timeline. “You can’t just go out and purchase them off the shelf,” Higgins said. Even if the money were raised privately, “you have to have confirmation that the funds are in hand before going out to bid… Under any circumstances, it would be rushed to have it for March, but we especially want to be careful” this spring, because of the crucial issues to be voted on: Housing Choice Act rezoning, and a community center.

However, Sara Mattes argued at the Select Board meeting that this was the very reason that clickers are needed in March, because quick and accurate voting results are vital when the issues are so important to the town’s future.

“It is not rocket science,” she said, noting that town officials have reports from other towns that have successfully implemented a clicker system. She also suggested gathering donations to rent clickers. “Let’s call it a pilot project that is privately funded for this upcoming Town Meeting… It would certainly go a long way toward restoring some faith in decision-making and [alleviate] the frustration we had at the last Town Meeting.”

The Selects were not receptive, however. For one thing, there’s a learning curve for employing clickers on the part of officials and residents at the meeting. Bodnar suggested trying them out at an unofficial State of the Town vote, or on an ATM warrant article that is less critical and controversial.

Another issue is the question of anonymity. When a clicker is given to a resident at a Town Meeting, “does it become public record what vote they cast? Those are the kind of things we have to carefully think through,” Higgins said.

Fortunately, there will not be any complicated multi-part votes in March. If a voice vote on a given issue is inconclusive, “there will be a standing vote, it will be secured, it will be formal. It’s an up or down vote,” he said.

“On a municipal scale, we’re moving at lightning speed with this one,” Select Board member Jim Hutchinson said.

But Mattes was not mollified. “You’re not going to have [clickers] in place for a generational vote. I find it, with all due respect, unconscionable,” she said.

News acorns

L-S Cabaret Concert on Thursday

Join us for a night of music in an intimate musical setting featuring a capella groups, vocal soloists, symphonic and concert jazz ensembles, and jazz combos at the annual L-S Cabaret Concert on Thursday, Jan. 11 from 7:30–9 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Admission is $5. L-S Friends of Music will sell snacks and beverages.

File papers to run for town office

There are 13 seats in town government that will appear on the ballot at the town election on March 25, and nominating papers can be picked up at the Town Clerk Valerie Fox’s office until January 31. Papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2. For more information, please contact Fox at foxv@lincolntown.org or 781-259-2607. The following offices will appear on the March ballot:

  • Board of Assessors — one seat for three years
  • Board of Health — one seat for three years
  • Cemetery Commission — one seat for three years
  • Commissioners of Trust Funds — one seat for three years
  • Housing Commission — one seat for three years
  • Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee — two seats for three years each
  • Parks and Recreation Committee — one seat for three years
  • Planning Board — one seat for three years
  • K-8 School Committee — two seats for three years
  • Select Board — one seat for three years
  • Bemis Trustee — one seat for three years
  • Water Commissioner — one seat for three years

Deadline for Annual Town Meeting petitions is Jan. 22

This year’s deadline for submitting citizens’ petitions for the March 23 Annual Town Meeting is Monday, Jan. 22 at noon. Citizens considering sponsoring a Town Meeting petition are strongly urged to contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 781-259-2607 or foxv@lincolntown.org) for guidance about the process. The office will contact the people identified as lead petitioners to ensure coordination as we prepare for the discussions and presentations that will be occurring in advance of Town Meeting.

Film on esteemed architect

Friends of Modern Architecture/Lincoln presents “Josep Lluis Sert: A Nomadic Dream” as part of the Lincoln Winter Carnival on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Library’s Tarbell Room. The 2015 documentary tells the story of Sert, a talented architect and city planner. who fled his home country during the Spanish Civil War and was later dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1953 to 1969.

Two new police officers join the force

Town Clerk Valeria Fox recently swore in new Lincoln Police Department Officers Kelsey Francher (second from left) and Vincent Oliveri (far right). With them and Fox is Police Chief Sean Kennedy.

Donate items for those dealing with domestic violence

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable invites everyone to donate items and help assemble Valentine’s Day bags for families in shelter and transitional housing on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. at the Sudbury First Parish Church (327 Concord Rd, Sudbury). Examples of needed items are gift cards for CVS, Target, Market Basket, and gas cards as well as full-size bath products, socks, cosmetics, nail polish, hair products, journals, gloves/mittens, boxed candy, wash cloths, underwear and scarves. Items for children could include playing cards, educational materials, small toys, small stuffed animals, underwear, socks, and candy. No books, crayons, pencils or markers please. Donations may be left in the collection basket provided at Sudbury Wine and Spirits in the Rugged Bear Plaza Road (410 Boston Post Rd., Sudbury) from January 19 to February 2. For more information, email info@dvrt.org.

Doo-Wop Singers fundraiser benefits food pantry

Food Pantry Coordinator Karen Boyce accepts the check from Doo Wop Singers Harold McAleer (left) and Peter Stewart.

In December, the Lincoln Council on Aging and Human Services’ Doo-Wop Singing Group held a concert at Bemis Hall that raised over $300 to benefit the Lincoln food pantry. “It’s just a start; more is yet to come!” said group leader Peter Stewart (the group is already planning a second benefit concert some time this spring).

Demand on the food pantry has steadily grown over the past decade (332 clients in December 2022, up from an average of 28 per month in 2012). To learn more about how to donate to the food pantry, click here. If you are a family in need of nutritional support, please contact the Lincoln Council on Aging & Human Services at 781-259-8811. The Doo Wop Singing Group welcomes new members and meets every Monday at 10:00 a.m. in Bemis Hall. 

The Old Town Hall celebrates its 175th birthday this year

The Old Town Hall has wandered quite a bit in its 175 years. It was built in 1848 at a time when Lincoln needed a new civic gathering place. Until then, the town had used the original meetinghouse built in 1746 where today’s stone church now stands. The new Town House was built opposite the meetinghouse across Bedford Road, with its classic Greek Revival colonnade facing south over the town common, toward the town well and where the Minute Men had mustered in 1775 (photo #1). There it stood for forty years, witness to the Transcendentalist and Abolitionist movements, the Civil War, industrialization, and the early gentrification of Lincoln. It was a witness as well when the old meetinghouse burned to the ground in 1859.

1. The future Old Town Hall in its original location.

In 1891, when George Bemis gave the town funds to build a new civic center, the Old Town Hall was put up for purchase. James L. Chapin (1824‑1902) bought the structure, moved it down the hill to a site just north of the today’s white church (photo #2), and put it to good use as a general store, post office and gathering place. Chapin’s son George continued the business until his death in 1918. The building was then purchased by Charles S. Smith. Again, the structure was jacked up and moved to its current site on Lincoln Road. Remarkably, as the building was moved down the hill in stages on rollers and props, the store and post office remained open, with planks set up for customer access during business hours (photo #3).

2. The Greek Revival building after it was moved closer to the white church in 1891.

The Old Town Hall continued as post office and general store for much of the twentieth century (photo #4), operated by Elmer A. and Charles L. Rollins and finally by Alfred M. Davis. In the 1950s there were two gas pumps out front, the post office and post boxes inside on the right, glass candy counter and racks of cigars and bagged snacks with canned goods and necessities on shelves on the left, and a walk-in refrigerated room and meat counter with a hamburger grinder plus an ice cream/popsicle freezer in the back of the building. The second floor was at various times occupied by law and real estate offices and a small publisher. A watering trough outside was a stopover for horses, at least one of which was known to eat popsicles, spitting out the sticks. Needless to say, kids on foot or bicycle found the store a perfect place to spend their weekly allowance.

3. The building remained open while it was moved for the second time in about 1919.

As the Davis era came to an end, the building was acquired in 1962 by the nonprofit Old Town Hall Corporation. Residents still come by daily to pick up their mail, just as they did in the Chapin era. The Old Town Hall Exchange offers an eclectic collection of interesting items for sale, many on consignment, as well as antiques displayed in the basement.

4. The Old Town Hall in the 1960s, complete with gas pumps.

Around 1990, the original glass display cases so memorably used for candy and cigars in the Chapin/Davis era were moved to the library for use. A decade later, they were judged unsafe for the library and were on the verge of being thrown into a dumpster when they were rescued and moved back to the Old Town Hall, where they’re being reutilized by the Exchange in their old location.

“Lincoln’s History” is an occasional column by members of the Lincoln Historical Society.

Service on Jan. 20 for Jane Bartter, 1921–2023

Jane L. Bartter

Jane Lillard Bartter died peacefully on December 15, 2023, at the age of 102.

Jane was born on July 10, 1921, in Marion, the daughter of Walter Huston and Ethel Hazen Lillard. Because her father was headmaster of Tabor Academy, she was one of only four girls to attend the all-boys school at the time, graduating in 1937. Jane did a postgraduate year at the Knox School before attending Smith College, where she majored in early education and child development.

Jane’s career as an educator was put on hold. World War II broke out as she graduated and was drafted by Naval Intelligence to serve in the war effort. She served in Washington, D.C., for the next two years as one of a group of young women now referred to as the “Code Girls.” The Code Girls worked to decipher coded Japanese transport messages, helping the Navy to identify and destroy war supply ships.

During this time, she met her future husband, Frederic C. Bartter, a Harvard-trained doctor. The two were married in 1946 and spent the first year in Guatemala, where Fred was posted by the Public Health Service to research a tropical eye disease affecting U.S. troops. They moved to New York the following year, where Jane was hired as director of recreational therapy at Presbyterian Hospital. When Fred was appointed an intern at Mass General Hospital in 1948, the couple moved to Boston. Jane was assistant director of the Simmons College Nursery School for a year and then director of the Laboratory School at Children’s Hospital.

In 1951, Fred was appointed chief of the Endocrine-Hypertension Branch at the National Institutes of Health, and the couple moved yet again, this time to Washington, D.C., where they would raise their three children, Frederic Jr., Thaddeus, and Pamela.

Jane joined the staff of the Norwood School in Bethesda, Md., in 1959, where she spent the next 18 years teaching kindergarten and eventually taking on administrative roles, including assistant to the director and a stint as acting director. Upon her retirement, she was hailed as “dedicated and devoted, concerned and perceptive — always giving more of herself physically and of her talents and time than was ever expected.”

When Fred retired from the Public Health Service in 1978, he took a position at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. The couple loved the Spanish influence and heritage of the city. Jane retired from teaching and started a new venture importing clothing and folk art from Central and South America, drawing on her time in Guatemala as a newlywed.

Jane remained in Texas after Fred’s sudden death in 1983 but eventually moved to Lincoln in 2010 to be close to her daughter and grandchildren. Always wanting to be useful, she immediately volunteered at Codman Community Farms, answering the phone and doing accounting. Incredibly, at 93, she volunteered two mornings per week at the Lincoln Schools, tutoring first graders in reading. She also joined the Church Service League at St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields.

Jane was a devoted wife and mother. She was also passionate about dogs, animal rights, feeding the hungry, and effecting political change.

Jane’s son Frederic Jr. died in 2008. She is survived by her daughter Pamela Bartter, her son Thaddeus Bartter, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Jane for her memorial service on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 11 a.m. in St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church (147 Concord Rd., Lincoln).

Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, which provided this obituary. To visit Jane’s online guestbook, click here.

Service on Jan. 20 for Don Bienfang, 84

Dr. Don Bienfang

There will be a service in Lincoln on January 20 for Dr. Don Bienfang, M.D., Chief of Neuro-Ophthalmology at Brigham and Woman’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, who died on December 9, 2023 at age 84 after a brief illness.

Born in Elmhurst, Ill., the son of Esther (Kuhlow) and Mark Bienfang, Don was a graduate of York High School’s class of 1956 and went on to complete an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1960, and then to Harvard Medical School in 1960. As a medical student, Don worked at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, becoming its first respiratory therapist in 1961, and held a research position in Naples, Italy. Graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1965 and following his internship, fellowship, and residencies that took him to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md., and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Don returned to the Brigham in 1972 and, with his partner Leo T. Chylack Jr., founded the Ophthalmology group, beginning a nearly five-decade-long career at the Brigham.

As a distinguished surgeon and clinician, Don was known for his expertise and depth of knowledge, his warmth, and his wonderfully dry and intellectual sense of humor. Don was a true believer in listening and talking to his patients, often in their native language, to allow the patient to guide the diagnosis. Don felt honored to learn from icons in the field and, in turn, he served the Boston and international communities as a surgeon and teacher of neuro-ophthalmology with dedication and love. Along with the multitude of patients for whom he cared over five decades, Don’s professional legacy lives on in the doctors he mentored, and what is now known as Bienfang’s test for myasthenia gravis, a simple noninvasive test for an autoimmune disease that is difficult to diagnose.

Don met Denise, his wife of 60 years, in 1961, and they were married in 1964, He leaves behind two sons, Matthew Bienfang (Elizabeth) of Hingham and Joshua Bienfang of Bethesda, Md. Don was a devoted husband and a loving father, and he enjoyed and cultivated the ability to send Denise into helpless peals of laughter with his unexpected humor; one of her fondest memories is listening from the bottom of the stairs at their young son’s bedtime while Don gave their stuffed animals personalities and made them talk.

Don and Denise shared an independent-minded approach to life, and in 1974 they moved to Lincoln to embrace the back-to-the-land ethos of the time. In Lincoln, Don built a blacksmith forge, used wood-burning stoves for heat, raised chickens (and a few mean geese), and tended a large garden. Don’s chickens and their homegrown eggs became a feature of the family and community, and tending them served as a meditative evening pastime for him.

Don was not a slave to convention and he enjoyed being that way. In 1985 he slapped on a “Honk if You’re Horny” bumper sticker on his car just to see (until his family made him take it off)… he collected exotic breeds of chickens and unique power tools for his farmstead… he put offbeat cartoons on the insides of the kitchen cabinets for Denise to find… he preferred nonlethal pest control so he built a tunnel to protect the chickens and he kept deer out of his garden with his own scent… he felt a deep love for each of the dogs and at least one of his family’s cats.

He had a wonderful enthusiasm for trying new things, including baking bread, making root beer, motorcycling, playing mandolin, and painting. In the early 1960s in Naples, he developed a taste for espresso, and his sons fondly remember Saturday trips into Boston to watch back-to-back kung fu movies in Chinatown and then to the North End to get a cannoli and an espresso or two.

Don took up running in the late 1970s, and he ran the Boston and New York Marathons multiple times. He was a member of the Harvard Club and the Longfellow Tennis Club, and he enjoyed playing squash and tennis with his friends. He had an unreturnable chip shot that he deployed whenever his children or grandchildren made the mistake of trying to go easy on the old man.

Don and Denise traveled widely together, and later they turned a house on Cape Cod into a gathering point for their family and their large community of friends. Don loved being “Grandpa-Fang” to his grandchildren Micah, Britt, Abby, Caroline, Lily, and Sam. He loved to take them up to the chickens to hunt for eggs or to ride the tractor with him as he mowed the fields in Lincoln.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at the First Parish Church (4 Bedford Road in Lincoln).

Town reminds residents of leafblower regulations

In response to a resident complaint, Building Commissioner and Zoning Enforcement Officer Mark Robidoux recently issued a letter reminding Lincolnites of the town’s 2019 leaf blower bylaw:

  • Electric and battery-powered leaf blowers may be used all year, subject to time-of-day limitations: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 am.–5 p.m. for all users (residents and contractors), plus Sundays and holidays from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. for residents only.
  • Gas-powered leaf blowers may be used only from October 1 to December 20 and from March 20 to May 31, subject to the same time-of-day restrictions.

The bylaw allows exceptions for public safety and emergency situations, and the building inspector has some limited discretion to grant one-day exemptions based on written applications.

“In terms of enforcement, I am hopeful that by making our landscape professionals (a letter was sent out to all major local landscape companies) and residents aware of this bylaw that the need for enforcement will be limited,” Robidoux wrote. “Complaints will be investigated in a timely manner; please contact the building commissioner during normal business hours and the police during non-business hours. When enforcement is required, warnings will be issued for a first violation, with a fine of $100 for each subsequent violation.”

Anyone with questions may contact Robidoux at 781-259-2613 or robidouxm@lincolntown.org.

Police log — and two retirements — for Dec. 23, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2024

Sgt. Paul Westlund in his patrol car on his last day.

The end of 2023 saw two retirements from the Lincoln Police Department: Chief Kevin Kennedy and Sgt. Paul Westlund, who was officially signed out by Kennedy via radio for his final shift on December 27 after 23 years of service (see the video on both Facebook or Instagram).

Kennedy himself got the same recognition when he went off duty for the last time on December 15 — see a video on Facebook, and a photo and a note from him on Instagram. Kennedy served the Lincoln Police Department for 31 years and was named chief in 2014.

Retiring Police Chief Kevin Kennedy.

December 23

Minebrook Road (11:30 a.m.) — A caller reported that their dog was attacked by another while walking trails close to their residence. An officer responded and was able to identify all parties involved. The Animal Control Officer was notified.

Indian Camp Lane (2:36 p.m.) — A caller reported a family member had been missing for approximately 30 minutes. Police and fire resources responded to the scene. The missing individual was safely located a short time later.

Bedford Road (11:15 p.m.) — A caller requested an officer respond to their residence for an ongoing matter.

December 24

Lincoln Road (6:06 p.m.) — An individual called to speak with an officer regarding a previous incident.

Spruce Hill Road, Weston (7:33 p.m.) — Weston police called for mutual aid assistance for a check on a suspicious motor vehicle parked in their town. A Lincoln officer responded.

December 25

Tower Road (4:50 p.m.) — A caller requested a response to their residence. An officer responded and checked the property.

Giles Road (8:14 p.m.) — An officer responded to a residence to assist the homeowner.

December 26

The Commons of Lincoln (4:49 p.m.) — A caller requested to speak with an officer regarding a possible fraud.

Lexington Road (2:45 p.m.) — An officer followed up on a past altercation at the Lexington Road Cemetery.

December 27

Longmeadow Road (2:48 p.m.) — A caller reported their vehicle was struck while parked at the mall but they didn’t notice the damage until they returned home. An officer responded and took a report.

December 28

Moccasin Hill (1:13 p.m.) — Parties requested an officer’s presence for the signing of documents.

Meadowdam Road (4:33 p.m.) — A caller asked to speak with an officer about being the victim of a possible scam.

Concord Road (4:49 p.m.) — A two-vehicle crash occurred when a vehicle attempting to turn left onto Route 117 was struck from behind by a vehicle attempting to travel straight on Route 126. There were no reported injuries and both vehicles were able to be driven from the scene.

December 29

Bypass Road (1:30 a.m.) — An officer spoke to several individuals regarding a landlord/tenant dispute.

Virginia Road (11:27 a.m.) — The Council on Aging and Human Services requested a well-being check on a resident. Officers checked the residence but the person no longer resides at the provided address.

Trapelo Road (2:28 p.m.) — A caller reported seeing a dog run into the roadway then run back into a yard on Trapelo Road. The caller was advised that there is no leash law but took note should a dog be reported missing.

South Great Road (7:12 p.m.) — A caller reported that the railroad gates were stuck down at the Route 117 crossing. An officer responded and observed that the gates appeared to be working without issue. The MBTA and Keolis were notified of the apparent malfunction.

Wells Road (8:14 p.m.) — The Fire Department responded for an odor of natural gas coming from the roadway. The Fire Department metered the area and detected normal readings. National Grid was notified.

December 30

Nothing of note.

December 31

First responders helped an injured hiker on Mt. Misery. (Photo courtesy Lincoln Fire Department Instagram page)

Fire Department personnel rescued a hiker on Mt Misery who had injured their leg. They were removed from the woods using their specialized ATV rescue setup. The patient was then transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

(Editor’s note: for reasons of patient privacy, the Lincoln Squirrel normally does not report on medical-related calls logged by the Police and Fire Departments, but this incident was reported by the Fire Department on their Instagram page.)

January 1

Lincoln Road (6:11 p.m.) — A walk-in at the police station reported the railroad gates at Lincoln Road were repeatedly going up and down without a train passing through. An officer responded to monitor. Keolis was notified.

News acorns

Christmas tree pickup

The L-S girls’ basketball team and the L-S Class of 2006 will hold a Christmas tree pickup fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 6. Cost is $20 per tree ($10 for seniors). Click here for more information and to sign up.

Library-sponsored events coming up

Drop-in tech help
Thursdays from 1-3 p.m., library reference room
The library offer tech help drop-in hours on Thursdays. Bring your devices, charging cables, and any passwords you might need to address your tech issues.

Tech talk: email filtering
Tuesday, Jan. 9 from 2-3 p.m., Bemis Hall
Do you receive lots of junk email and other messages? This session will discuss how to filter, sort, and search through your email more efficiently. We will also address how to unsubscribe from many email-generating services to free up your inbox.

Zion Rodman

LOMA featuring Zion Rodman
Tuesday, Jan. 9 from 7-10 p.m., Tarbell Room
Rodman is the featured performer at the next monthly Lincoln open-mike night. His vocals are suave in the genres of folk-rock and indie-pop, and his award-winning songs tend to be meaningful, soulful and hard-hitting. His engaging style is immediately apparent in the video “Everybody That You Know.” Register here if you’d like to perform. 

Music and movement with Kat Chapman
Wednesday, Jan. 10 from 10:30-11:30 a.m., Tarbell Room
Kat Chapman has taught music to young children and is a singer-songwriter, performer, music educator and parent. All ages welcome; no registration necessary. 

Film: “Young@Heart”
Thursday, Jan. 18 from 6-8 p.m., Tarbell Room
See the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart chorus based in Northampton, Mass., whose average age is 81 and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs that range from James Brown to Coldplay. Sign up here for the Lincoln Library Film Society mailing list.

Cookie swap
Wednesday, Jan. 24 from 6-7 p.m., Tarbell Room
Do you have a favorite cookie? Bring your cookies and your recipe to share! There will be taste testing and hot cocoa. Best for ages 10+.

Madhubani/Mithila painting
Thursday, Jan. 25 from 6:30-8 p.m., Tarbell Room
Join award-winning artist and educator Sunanda Sahay as she talks and demonstrates Madhubani, or Mithila painting, a 2,500-year-old folk and traditional style of art from Bihar, North India. Make your own art inspired by her works. No experience needed. Registration is required; click here to register (registration opens on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 9 a.m.).

“We Move Together” 
Saturday, Jan. 27 from 2-3 p.m., Tarbell Room
Join us for movement, puppetry and fun as we journey to the bottom of the sea with Little Uprisings and the Gottabees, who will explore the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni, a classic tale for young children about the power of organizing. Best for ages 4-7. 

Documentaries on the Holy Land problem

This month, the GRALTA Foundation will screen two documentaries related to the “Holy Land problem.” Each will be shown twice:

  • Sunday afternoons at the Lincoln Public Library on January 7 and 21 at 2 p.m.
  • Wednesday evenings at Bemis Hall on January 10 and 24 at 7:30 p.m.

“’Til Kingdom Come,” a film by Jewish-Israeli director Maya Zinshtein, illuminates the passion and power of Christian Zionism to influence U.S. foreign policy. Julia Bacha’s “Naila and the Uprising” focuses on the important role that women played in creating and guiding the protests and civil disobedience that comprised the 1987–1993 First Intifada. That long campaign led to the famed Oslo Accords, which were supposed to be the first step in establishing a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Please let us know if you plan to attend and on which day so we can plan for enough chairs by emailing steve.low@gordianconcepts.com.

Office hours with Rep. Gentile

State Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-13th Middlesex) will hold virtual office hours on Friday, Jan. 22. Meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams video call from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing Rep. Gentile’s legislative aide, Ravi Simon, at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic. Please provide all necessary details in describing the topic of discussion so Rep. Gentile may prepare for the meeting.

Can new fission/fusion technologies help fight climate change?

Many experts believe that next-generation nuclear technologies could be an important option in our transition to a clean-energy future. Others are wary, expressing concerns about ongoing safety and waste disposal challenges. Join MetroWest Climate Solutions on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. for a Zoom webinar where David Butz from Eco-Nuclear Solutions and Aina Lagor from Energy for the Common Good will provide an overview of the latest nuclear technologies and their prospects for helping us transition to a “low or no” carbon society and economy. Moderator Ross Trimby qualified as a reactor plant operator and then served on a nuclear sub for three years. Click here to register.

Ed Begley Jr. speaks about his memoir

Ed Begley Jr. will talk about his book, To the Temple of Tranquility… And Step On It! on Wednesday, Jan. 17 from 7–8 p.m. in a free online event sponsored by the Walden Woods Project. An audience Q&A will follow the conversation. Begley, a star of “St. Elsewhere” and many films, is equally well known for his environmental activism. He is also the author of Ed Begley Jr.’s Guide to Sustainable Living: Learning to Conserve Resources and Manage an Eco-Conscious Life and Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life. Click here to learn more and register.

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 left is extremely limited. If we all work together, we can fine-tune bylaws that protect retail at the mall and benefit residents, the environment, and walkability. The mall is the only area zoned for retail in the station area under our Housing Choice Act proposal) Thus, our only chance for retail is through the mall’s redevelopment. More retail increases walkability and reduces fossil fuel usage.

Here are some concerns I think we should consider at the upcoming January 5 Planning Board meeting.

  1. Retail space and residential affordability are not compatible: At their December 12 meeting, Planning Board members discussed what percentage of square footage at the mall should be required to be retail rather than residential. While town residents benefit from retail space, strict requirements may make redevelopment unprofitable, and several members believe we need to substantially reduce retail space from current levels to make the mall redevelopment viable. I suggest we encourage developers to use profits from market-rate units in the mall to subsidize larger retail spaces. The mall is not the place to build a large number of “affordable” apartments. Fortunately, Option C provides numerous locations outside of the mall to build a variety of housing options for a variety of budgets.
  2. Ground-level and second-floor retail are both appealing: The Planning Board seems to prefer retail on the ground level — which I agree with — but this is not yet set in stone. Retail space on the ground level is more appealing to retail establishments such as restaurants, grocery stores, and banks. The second floor may be appealing as office space, as in the current mall.
  3. Retail parking is vital: One parking space for retail allows multiple customers to come and shop there at different times of day; one retail parking spot = multiple customers. However, if retail parking spaces are displaced by resident parking spaces, retail customers will go elsewhere, putting our retail in a more precarious position than currently. Moreover, the Housing Choice Act does not allow us to require any spaces for retail parking, and there is limited land for buildings and parking. This is not a problem with a simple solution.
  4. Parking during construction: Our retail is allegedly in a fragile state. Can it survive if parking spots for customers are temporarily (or permanently) removed during construction? Let’s craft a plan that makes clear where customers can park and how trucks full of groceries can reach the offloading bay during construction.

We can do hard things. And we can do them quickly as long as we all work together. This is arguably the biggest change in Lincoln in last 50 years. Let’s make sure we do this right!

Shiller is a member of Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives, a citizens’ group that advocated for other rezoning alternatives prior to the December 2 Special Town Meeting. 

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.