Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The issue will be back before residents on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Needham residents will have quite a few decisions to make on Nov. 6—from who should be the nation’s next president to whether wine and beer should be sold in town to the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Residents will also join more than 150 communities across Massachusetts in voting on a nonbinding question that, if approved, would direct legislators to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “It’s saying that we the people, who are voting on this, want Congress to pass a constitutional amendment that says that corporations do not have the same rights as human people and that the legislature should be able to pass laws regulating political spending and …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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 …
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Thursday, May 10, 2012
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) …
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Needham Town Hall
1471 Highland Ave, Needham, MA
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Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The board maintained its stance on both issues, which are expected to come up at tonight's Town Meeting.
Selectmen on Tuesday revisited two citizen’s petition articles that are expected to come up at tonight’s continued 2012 Annual Town Meeting but ultimately came to the same decision. Article 22, which seeks to prohibit pesticide use on town property, and Article 23, a resolution against the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, have been changed somewhat since they were printed in the Town Meeting warrant, so selectmen revisited their recommendations on the issues. In the end, the board upheld its unanimous vote against supporting the pesticide article and also maintained a 3-2 vote supporting Article 23. Selectmen Dan Matthews and Matt Borrelli, who previously voted against the Citizens United resolution, again voted that way. …
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Needham Town Hall
1471 Highland Ave, Needham, MA
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Monday, May 7, 2012
A rundown of what's on the warrant for fiscal year 2013.
Needham residents will gather at Town Hall tonight for the start of the 2012 Annual Town Meeting, at which they will approve the fiscal year 2013 town budget and consider about 40 other articles including one that would take the first step toward changing the town’s mostly dry status. The 2012 Annual Town Meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in James Hugh Powers Hall, on the second floor of Town Hall. The 240 recently elected and re-elected Town Meeting members, along with at-large members such as selectmen, will get a chance to vote on each of the articles appearing on the Town Meeting warrant over the next week or so. (See the full list of voting Town Meeting members, by precinct, at right.) Interested residents who are not voting members may…
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Needham Town Hall
1471 Highland Ave, Needham, MA
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This letter to the editor was submitted by a Needham resident.
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, May 7, 2012
When our 2012 Annual Town Meeting convenes on May 7 next, it will find an unusual article on its warrant, inserted by the selectmen on a citizen's petition under state law. Warrant Article 23 calls upon the Town Meeting to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would overturn a decision of the United States Supreme Court relative to corporate and union spending on elections. It would also petition our state legislature to endorse such a constitutional amendment. The citizen's petition addresses the rights of “persons” under the First, Fifth, and 14th Amendments of our federal Constitution, as interpreted by opinions of the United States Supreme Court over nearly two centuries. It concerns basic rights of all Americans, …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The board voted 3-2 on Tuesday, April 24 to support an article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant that seeks a constitutional amendment to overturn the controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision.
Needham Town Meeting will have the chance in May to share its views on the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, but the five-member Board of Selectmen was split this week on whether to support the measure, with some members saying the issue was too broad for a local Town Meeting. Selectmen voted 3-2 in favor of supporting the article on the May 7 Annual Town Meeting warrant, with selectmen Dan Matthews and Matt Borrelli on the opposing side. The article, which was placed on the warrant by a citizen’s petition, calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would essentially reverse the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling by clarifying that the First Amendment is not meant to protect the freedom of …
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Needham Town Hall
1471 Highland Ave, Needham, MA
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Friday, April 13, 2012
Needham selectmen heard Wednesday from supporters of a citizen's petition article that, if approved, would demand that the 2010 Supreme Court decision be overturned.
A group of Needham residents is asking Town Meeting to join organizations and individuals across the country in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, saying the 2010 Supreme Court ruling allows unions and corporations to corrupt the legislative process at all levels. On Wednesday, April 11, supporters explained their reasons behind submitting a citizen’s petition on the issue for the May 7 annual Town Meeting. Petitioners Stacie Shapiro, Bob Smart and others collected the signatures of more than 100 registered Needham voters in order to place the article on the warrant. If Town Meeting approved the article, the voting body would call upon the Massachusetts state legislature to support an amendment to the U.S. …
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Needham Town Hall
1471 Highland Ave, Needham, MA
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Groups in Needham, Newton and Natick will be out holding signs and talking with passersby on Saturday, Dec. 17 as they work to spread the message of Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street and others across the country.
The Occupy Boston tents may have been packed away, with protestors no longer staking a claim in the city’s financial district, but proponents say the movement is still very much active—and it’s sparking action right here in Needham. This Saturday, participants in a local wave of the Occupy movement will make their presence known by holding signs on Needham’s Town Common, as well as at public locations in Newton and Natick, inviting residents to come talk with them about the issues. Informally known as “Occupy ‘Burbs,” this growing group of political organizers includes residents from the greater Boston area that are hoping to continue spreading the message shared by Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston and others throughout the country. “When…
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Needham Town Common
Highland Ave & Great Plain Ave, Needham, MA
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Ross M. Donald
8:33 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I first got to meet and know Mr. Powers, not as a Town Meeting Member, but, casually, over breakfast, as a regular fellow customer at the "Glover Memorial Hospital" Coffee Shop. He is a wonderful resource for the Town in these regards with a wealth of information and experience. We should be grateful that he took the time to provide this background history for us. Thank you, Mr. Powers. … more ›