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News from Friday, July 4, 2008
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JBOS plans to get Devens expense data
by Molly Cutler | Friday, July 4, 2008
On June 26 the Joint Boards of Selectmen agreed to ask MassDevelopment for its capital plan, the operational budgets with underlying cost drivers, and financial information on utilities at Devens. More...
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Lambie places sixth in Olympic trials
by Emily Jones | Friday, July 4, 2008
Bromfield alum Arianna Lambie placed sixth in the 5,000-kilometer race at the Olympic trials on Friday night. The race took place at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. More... |
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Trustees reflect upon decision to end Ayer Road rental project
by Valerie Hurley | Friday, July 4, 2008
On June 10, the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) ended its involvement in a project that might have seen the trust partner with a private developer to build more than 100 apartments at 361 Ayer Road, near the rotary, under the Chapter 40B affordable housing law. More...
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Fireworks dampened by cloud cover
by Lynda King | Friday, July 4, 2008
Revelers at last Saturday’s fireworks display said they could hear the fireworks but they couldn’t actually see them, unless discharged close to the ground. More...
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News from Friday, June 27, 2008
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Tempers flare over Connect-ED use
by Alice Rennie | Friday, June 27, 2008
Tensions ran high Monday night during the school board’s discussion of whether the schools’ automated phone system was improperly used to sway voters during the recent override election. More...
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Bromfield basketball coach moves on
by David Keith | Friday, June 27, 2008
Charlie Noonan, the varsity boys basketball coach, prefers to quit while he’s ahead—which is why he’s comfortable leaving Bromfield after one season, having brought the team to the state final-four. More...
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Special Education audit to go forward
by Alice Rennie | Friday, June 27, 2008
The independent Special Education audit has been revived at the 11th hour and will go forward, with the School Committee voting at its meeting Monday night to have Chairman Stu Sklar sign a contract with Gagliardi Associates to do the work. More...
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News from Friday, June 20, 2008
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Devens revenue forum sparks questions about cost, next steps
by Worth Robbins | Friday, June 20, 2008
An appreciative audience left the Devens revenue forum at Volunteers Hall Monday evening, happy with the level of detail MassDevelopment has provided about current and projected tax revenue, and looking forward to equally comprehensive information about capital and operating expenses. More...
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News from Friday, June 13, 2008
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Override squeaks by
by Connie Larrabee | Friday, June 13, 2008
By a narrow margin this week, Harvard voters approved the $200,000 Proposition 2½ override needed to fund the town’s fiscal year 2009 omnibus budget. More... |
Ayer Road affordable rentals project killed
by Valerie Hurley | Friday, June 13, 2008
The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) has declined to participate in a plan to build affordable and market-rate rental units at 361 Ayer Road in collaboration with a private developer who would have been chosen by year’s end. More... |
Library receives architectural award
by Erin Ash Sullivan | Friday, June 13, 2008
Harvard’s residents consider the new public library to be a jewel, and they’re not the only ones. This spring, the library was selected to receive a 2008 Massachusetts Historical Commission Historic Preservation Award. More... |
School Committee goals: Some met, some not
by Alice Rennie | Friday, June 13, 2008
The School Committee last fall listed 18 goals to work on during the year, and at its May 27 meeting members took a look at how far the board has come in meeting those goals. Overall, the results were mixed; while the board made good progress on some, on others, it made little headway, or even lost ground. More... |
Independent Special Education audit in limbo
by Alice Rennie | Friday, June 13, 2008
Even though voters last year authorized the town to spend up to $25,000 to hire consultants to conduct an independent audit of the special education program, no such audit has occurred, and the unspent money will go back to town coffers on June 30. More... |
Bikes Not Bombs recycles bikes for a good cause
by Erin Ash Sullivan | Friday, June 13, 2008
Now’s your chance to get rid of those extra bikes cluttering up your garage. More... |
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News from Friday, June 6, 2008
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Failed override would bring another STM before June 30
by Molly Cutler | Friday, June 6, 2008
If the $200,000 Proposition 2½ override on the ballot for the June 11 town election fails, the budget for fiscal year 2009 that was approved at the May 21 Special Town Meeting will be nullified More... |
Devens land value tops $1.5 billion
by Erin Ash Sullivan | Friday, June 6, 2008
With the news last week that Ayer may seek to acquire all of Devens, interest in the disposition of Devens has heated up—and this week’s release of Devens revenue data gives the selectmen and town residents some concrete numbers to consider. More... |
Health board approves septic for subdivision near hazardous waste site
by Kathy Bunnell | Friday, June 6, 2008
With a long history as a hazardous waste site going back to 1996, the Depot Road property owned by Richard Saxl has required rigid testing and reporting of both wells and soil, as well as cleanup since then. More... |
Concerns remain about clear-cut effect on the pond
by Valerie Hurley | Friday, June 6, 2008
The first chapter in a story of pond-side clear cutting on Peninsula Road has concluded with the Conservation Commission accepting a replanting scheme from the homeowners, who had violated state and local wetland bylaw by cutting first and asking for permission later. More... |
School Committee selects new special education director
by Alice Rennie | Friday, June 6, 2008
The School Committee voted unanimously at its May 27 meeting to appoint Pamela DeGregorio to be the new director of Special Education to replace Charles Horn, who is stepping down at the end of the school year. More... |
Accessory apartment runs into complications
by Kathy Bunnell | Friday, June 6, 2008
What happens when family members leave a bylaw-permitted accessory apartment, and a family is left with a single-family home no longer permitted for an income-earning apartment? More... |
DEC seeks reps from three towns to help ‘green-up’ Devens
by Lynda King | Friday, June 6, 2008
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Harvard Roll Call: How your town officials voted
Friday, June 6, 2008
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News from Friday, May 30, 2008
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Ayer could seek all of Devens land
by Molly Cutler | Friday, May 30, 2008
“Ayer is looking to consider taking all of Devens as part of Ayer,” said Ayer Selectman Richard Gilles at last Thursday’s Joint Boards of Selectmen meeting. Gilles explained that as a result of a citizens’ petition voted on at Ayer’s Town Meeting, the town expects to seek at least its share of land at Devens, and “possibly the whole thing as a village.” More... |
JBOS considers change in Devens housing cap
by Molly Cutler | Friday, May 30, 2008
At last Thursday’s Joint Boards of Selectmen meeting, representatives from Ayer, Devens, Harvard, and MassDevelopment agreed that an amendment to raise the housing-unit cap at Devens from 282 to 682 units, as requested by the state, would be a “substantial revision” to the Devens bylaws. More... |
Selectmen scrap over power concentration
by Alice Rennie| Friday, May 30, 2008
The selectmen grappled with a very basic issue at their meeting on May 20: how much control and influence should they have in running the town? According to new board Chairman Leo Blair, the selectmen have wielded too much power in the past. In an effort to remedy this, Blair and fellow new members Ron Ricci and Peter Warren pushed through, by a three-to-two vote, a ban on any selectman serving as a voting member of any committee appointed by the selectmen, unless required by law to do so. More... |
Vandals strike
by Lynda King | Friday, May 30, 2008
For the second time in less than two months, vandals struck at the Shaker Hills golf course. Police responded to a call Sunday, May 25, just before 6 a.m., reporting damage to golf carts, a storage shed, and the golf course. More... |
Grant supports special campaigns for police
by Lynda King | Friday, May 30, 2008
Police handed out a total of 79 warnings and citations during last week’s three-day “Click It or Ticket” campaign. According to Sergeant Jim Babu, this is just one of several special mobilizations sponsored throughout the year by the Executive Office of Public Safety, which awards grants to police departments participating in the programs. More... |
Schools strategic plan maps out continuous improvement
by Carlene Phillips | Friday, May 30, 2008
Earlier this month Superintendent Thomas Jefferson officially introduced the schools’ Five-Year Strategic Plan to elementary and high school faculty and to the public. More... |
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News from Friday, May 23, 2008
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Voters pass new budget requiring $200K override
by Connie Larrabee and Carlene Phillips | Friday, May 23, 2008
Just over 200 voters at Wednesday’s Special Town Meeting passed a $19,943,498 omnibus budget for fiscal year 2009, contingent on passage of a $200,000 Proposition 2½ override at the June 11 town election. The vote on Article I came after a brief discussion of two amendments. More... |
Affordable housing roundup: Update on active 40B projects in town
by Valerie Hurley | Friday, May 23, 2008
The town of Harvard has six affordable housing projects on tap, each active in its own way. One is under construction; two others are good to go and can be built as soon as the developer gets building permits. A Stow Road project is under consideration by the Zoning Board of Appeals, while a proposal for 140 homes on the Shaker Hills golf course remains in the conceptual phase. The sixth plan is an ambitious, town-affiliated project that could on its own satisfy Harvard’s affordable housing obligation. More... |
Harvard Roll Call: How your town officials voted
Friday, May 23, 2008 |
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News from Friday, May 16, 2008
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Capital projects spark resistance
by Connie Larrabee | Friday, May 16, 2008
It looks as if Department of Public Works Director Rich Nota has his work cut out for him at Special Town Meeting next week. Two of the four requested capital projects on the warrant—both from his department—are running into opposition from townspeople and getting lackluster support from the selectmen. More... |
A look at the history of overrides in Harvard
by Molly Cutler | Friday, May 16, 2008
In a special election June 11, Harvard residents will be asked to approve a $200,000 Proposition 2½ override to balance the fiscal year 2009 budget. This override is drastically reduced from the $786,000 rejected by the voters in April, and will result in budget cuts for both town and school departments. The fact that Harvard is looking at reductions to services even if the smaller override passes begs the question—how did Harvard get here? More... |
Legislature shelves Harvard’s affordable accessory apartment petition
by Valerie Hurley
| Friday, May 16, 2008
A year after Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved a plan that could have certified some existing apartments as state-approved affordable homes, the legislature has brought Harvard’s plan to a halt, at least for now. More... |
Schools set new allergy policy
by Alice Rennie
| Friday, May 16, 2008
The Harvard schools have seen a large increase in students with severe and sometimes life-threatening allergies in recent years, and the school board responded by voting to adopt an official student allergy policy at its meeting Monday night. More... |
School Committee uses choice money to avoid more cuts
by Alice Rennie
| Friday, May 16, 2008
For all the worries about Harvard’s schools, their reputation for excellence is apparently still intact. No sooner had Superintendent Tom Jefferson advertised a few openings for choice students from other towns for next year, than he had received 51 applications. More... |
May 21 Special Town Meeting Warrant Summary
Friday, May 16, 2008
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Cardio tennis comes to Harvard
Friday, May 16, 2008
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Voters will face $200K override in June
by Lynda King and Connie Larrabee | Friday, May 9, 2008
After a last-ditch, week-long flurry of number-crunching, arm-twisting, and more than a little horse-trading, all the members of the Board of Selectmen, the School Committee, and the Finance Committee agreed on one thing: Harvard voters must approve a $200,000 Proposition 2½ override in June for the town to avoid significant reductions in services. More... |
Proposed ’09 budget shows cuts
by Molly Cutler | Friday, May 9, 2008
At the tri-boards meeting last Thursday, officials got a look at the pared-down fiscal year 2009 budget that will be on the Warrant at the May 21 Special Town Meeting. The budget will be contingent on passage of a $200,000 Proposition 2½ override at the June 11 town election. More... |
State Housing Appeals Committee settles 40B dispute in developer’s favor
by Valerie Hurley
| Friday, May 9, 2008
A North Andover-based developer has fought off a challenge from the Harvard Zoning Board of Appeals and will be able to build its 15 Littleton Road project according to plans that the ZBA had opposed. More... |
Joy ride lands youths in trouble with the law
by Lynda King
| Friday, May 9, 2008
A reported road-rage incident, which allegedly started in Lancaster, ended in Harvard following a high-speed chase on Bolton Road. More... |
Ayer post office holds special passport hours
by Lynda King
| Friday, May 9, 2008
The Ayer Post Office is one of a handful nearby where residents can apply for a passport. More... |
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News from Friday, May 2, 2008
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School board struggles through program cuts
by Alice Rennie | Friday, May 2, 2008
The School Committee on Monday night spent a contentious two hours trying to nail down the cuts in its proposed school budget for next year, to reach the targets set for it by the Finance Committee after the failed Proposition 2½ override. Several items on the chopping block had been added to the budget only this year, and having to consider scrapping them was clearly painful for most of the board members. More... |
The survey results are in: voters split on override
by Lynda King | Friday, May 2, 2008
Five hundred seventy-one people, 15 percent of Harvard’s registered voters, responded to the voter survey conducted by the Press and League of Women Voters of Harvard from April 16 to April 28. More... |
 Ancient oak, endangered salamander attract widespread interest
by Valerie Hurley | Friday, May 2, 2008
Everyone concerned says they want to save the ancient white oak, known as the boundary oak, which since 1794 has marked the town borders of Boxborough and Harvard. At a recent Harvard Planning Board meeting, members of the Boxborough Historical Commission filled the back row of seats, aiming to save the oak. More... |
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