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Saturday, May 19, 2012

What's New at the Senior Center: Get Into Zumba

A weekly look at the Needham COA's new and upcoming events and programs.

  • GOVERNMENT
  • Saturday, May 19

Submitted by Sherry Jackson, Associate Director Wouldn’t it be great if exercise were fun? Discover Zumba, an exciting dance-fitness program that’s more of a party than a workout. Enjoy Latin-inspired music as you pump your legs, swing your hips, clap your hands and achieve a blended balance of cardio-and muscle-toning benefits in the process. Best of all, you can enjoy the Zumba experience even if you don’t know how to dance. Get fit. Have fun! This four-week class will be offered at Christ Episcopal Church on Thursdays beginning June 7 at 10 a.m. Cost is $16, due at the first class (cash or check made out to "Friends of the Needham Elderly" or F.O.N.E.). Registration is required; to sign up, call 781-455-7555. Instructor Louise Carbone …

In this Article:

Christ Episcopal Church, Stephen Palmer Senior Center, Avery Crossings Assisted Living, and 2 more ›

Friday, May 18, 2012

Annual Town Meeting Wraps Up

Residents completed the town's FY2013 business on May 16, approving purchase of a new fire engine, establishing a fund to cover turf field replacement and other items.

Needham’s 2012 Annual Town Meeting wrapped up Wednesday evening, May 16. Highlights of the fourth and final meeting night included approval of a land purchase, funding for a variety of capital items from energy efficiency upgrades to a new fire engine, and setting aside money for replacement of turf fields and other future needs. Here’s a quick look at the articles approved: Article 30: Cash Capital Items As town officials pointed out on the first night of Town Meeting, Needham has more money than usual left over from fiscal year 2011, in part because of higher than anticipated revenues. In typical years, the town has a range of $3.4 million to $3.6 million in “free cash” available at the close of a fiscal year; however, in the FY2011 …

In this Article:

Needham Town Meeting Begins Tonight, Second Lincoln Street Purchase Will Help Ease Needham's Parking Woes, Town Meeting Approves $117M Budget in First Night, and 3 more ›

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Second Lincoln Street Purchase Will Help Ease Needham's Parking Woes

Town Meeting voted Wednesday, May 16 to purchase parcels at 37-39 Lincoln St. for a surface lot.

Needham is looking to help solve its downtown parking problem with the purchase of a property at 37-39 Lincoln St. The purchase, Article 30 on the 2012 Annual Town Meeting warrant, was approved on the fourth and final night of Town Meeting, Wednesday, May 16. The site will add about 26 new parking spaces to the area and will adjoin an existing municipal lot on Chestnut Street. The purchase totaled $630,000, with $30,000 set aside for demolition, paving, landscaping and other work to be done on the site. “This purchase is part of planning for the future and, for that matter, is a part of addressing current needs,” Selectman Jerry Wasserman said Wednesday night. The town could draw additional revenue in parking permit fees on the site, …

In this Article:

Needham Town Meeting Begins Tonight, Land Purchase Approved at Special Town Meeting, and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Town Meeting Members Mark 25 Years

Needham residents Patricia Buckley and Ron Sockol were recognized Monday, May 14 at the May 2012 Special Town Meeting for 25 years of service to the town.

Being a Town Meeting member involves more than just showing up once a year—these 240 elected officials vote on town business throughout the year, at annual and special meetings that often run for multiple nights, late into the evening. In addition, Town Meeting members must be informed on the issues, several of which are pretty complicated and quite controversial. To recognize the unique committment of being a longtime Town Meeting member, every spring the Richard Patton Melick Foundation honors residents who have served as part of the voting body for 25 years or more. The foundation is named for Richard Patton Melick, who served as Town Moderator for 35 years, from 1962-1997. On Monday, May 14, just before the start of the May 2012 …

In this Article:

Land Purchase Approved at Special Town Meeting, VIDEO: Town Meeting Member Marks 50th Year, and Above and Beyond: Needham Residents Honored for Volunteerism

Needham Passes Citizens United Resolution

Town Meeting voted Monday night in favor of a resolution that urges state legislators to push for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Needham has joined more than 45 other communities across Massachusetts in passing a resolution urging state legislators to seek an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would overturn the Supreme Court's controversial 2010 Citizens United decision. Article 23 on the town’s 2012 Annual Town Meeting warrant was the first and only item to come up Monday night, May 14, when the annual meeting was reconvened for a third time, following the conclusion of the May 2012 Special Town Meeting. After about an hour of discussion, Article 23 was brought to a voice vote, passing with majority support. The article addresses the Supreme Court’s ruling, in the 2010 case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, by a vote of 5-4, that it was …

In this Article:

Needham Town Meeting Begins Tonight, Pesticides Article Rejected; Citizens United On Hold, Selectmen Split on Citizens United Issue, and 1 more ›

Land Purchase Approved at Special Town Meeting

Needham residents took up 12 articles on the special warrant on Monday, May 14 before returning to business on the annual warrant.

At the May 2012 Special Town Meeting on Monday, May 14, Needham residents approved a $1.05 million purchase of property on Lincoln and School streets for parking and the possible future expansion of the Needham Police and Fire stations, among other business. On the third night of spring meetings, voters first took up the 12 articles listed in the Special Town Meeting warrant, quickly passing articles 1-2, 4, 6-7 and 9 by unanimous consent. Article 8 asked members to approve a land purchase and renovation totaling $1,175,000 for properties at 59 Lincoln St. and 89 School St.—$525,000 for each of the parcels, plus $125,000 for grading, excavation, paving, installation of drainage, lighting and other renovations. The purchase represents “a …

In this Article:

May 2012 Special Town Meeting, Needham Police Department, Needham Fire Department, and 4 more ›

Saturday, May 12, 2012

What's New at the Senior Center: Haitian History Talk

A weekly look at the Needham COA's new and upcoming events and programs.

  • GOVERNMENT
  • Saturday, May 12

Submitted by Sherry Jackson, Associate Director The Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil will offer an engaging talk and presentation about Haitian history and culture on Monday, May 21 at the Stephen Palmer Senior Center. She is the pastor at The First Baptist Church of Sharon and is the third woman to be called in the church’s 198-year history. In addition to her pastoral ministry degree from Boston College, Dorsainvil holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from Boston University. Her passion for mission work was ignited during the sixteen years she lived in various African countries with her family in the 1960s and 1970s. She has led several mission trips nationally to Oklahoma and internationally …

In this Article:

Stephen Palmer Senior Center, The First Baptist Church in Needham, YMCA, and 1 more ›

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Pesticides Article Rejected; Citizens United On Hold

Needham Town Meeting covered just five articles on the second night, opting to push discussion of Article 23—a resolution in support of a constitutional amendment—to next week.

Town Meeting will wait to take up a resolution on Citizens United as the first item when they reconvene next week following the special Town Meeting, which opens Monday, May 14. At 15 minutes to 11 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, Town Meeting members decided to delay starting the discussion of Article 23, which one member said would be “a very controversial issue.” Instead, the members quickly passed two Community Preservation Act articles in the waning moments of Wednesday night’s meeting. It took just over three hours to get through three articles on the second evening of Needham's 2012 Annual Town Meeting. In addition to passing an article prohibiting bowhunting on town property except with permission by the Board of Selectmen (Article 20) …

In this Article:

Town Meeting To Weigh In On Citizens United, New CPA Projects Under Review, Needham Town Meeting Begins Tonight, and 1 more ›

Voters To Decide Alcohol Sales Issue

Town Meeting voted 158-59 in favor of petitioning the state legislature to authorize a local ballot question on whether to allow the sale of wine, beer and alcohol in Needham.

All Needham voters will have the chance to weigh in on the subject of allowing retail alcohol sales in Needham. Though the state legislature must first approve the town’s home rule petition seeking the right to place a question on the ballot, it is likely the issue will come up at a local election in the next year or so following a vote of Town Meeting Wednesday night. After about an hour of discussion in the second night of Needham’s 2012 Annual Town Meeting, held in the James Hugh Powers Hall on Wednesday, May 9, Town Meeting members put it to a vote, with 158 in favor of the measure and 59 against—enough of the required two-thirds approval needed to pass. Some Town Meeting members and residents voiced strong opposition to the article, …

In this Article:

Needham Town Meeting Begins Tonight, Needham Town Hall, Town Meeting Approves $117M Budget in First Night, and 2 more ›

Catherine Kurkjian

9:47 am on Monday, May 21, 2012

It is important to realize that, although Warrant Article 21 gives residents the right to vote on lifting the alcohol ban, it in turn takes away the right to vote on the number and types of licenses issued. Considering the exorbitant time spent in public hearings and the pleas from residents for a more prudent approach to issuing licenses, it is disheartening that more specific regulations were …   more ›

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Two Needham Natives Join Fire Department

New Needham firefighter paramedics Patrick Muir and Joseph Tierney were introduced at the May 8 selectmen's meeting.

Two of Needham's own have joined the Needham Fire Department. Firefighter/paramedics Patrick Muir and Joseph Tierney III were introduced at the selectmen's meeting on Tuesday, May 8 as the newest members of the department. Both are licensed paramedics. Muir and Tierney both grew up in Needham and attended Needham Public Schools—a background that makes them a great asset to the Needham Fire Department, Fire Chief Paul Buckley said Tuesday night. “One of the things that’s advantageous for us having gentlemen and ladies that are from Needham is that they know the town—they know the streets, the buildings, the people," Buckley said. Tierney graduated from Needham High School in 2006 and has five years of experience in emergency medicine, …

In this Article:

Needham Fire Department, Needham Public Schools, and Needham High School

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Most Popular Articles

  1. What's New at the Senior Center: Get Into Zumba
  2. Second Lincoln Street Purchase Will Help Ease Needham's Parking Woes
  3. Annual Town Meeting Wraps Up
  4. Needham Passes Citizens United Resolution
  5. Voters To Decide Alcohol Sales Issue

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