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Category Archives: Politics

Wellesley Town Meeting: Fire dept., DPW, library, others want money

By bbrown | Published: January 30, 2012

Wellesley has released its annual town meeting (begins March 26) and election (March 13) warrant. Among the articles, at a glance: *To see if the town will establish a department to oversee maintenance of town-owned buildings and grounds *To see what money the town will provide to make the new Rockland Street bridge safe and [...]

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Wellesley: Meet your 2012 candidates

By bbrown | Published: January 20, 2012

Residents seeking town-wide offices or town meeting seats in Wellesley have filed their papers and the lists are now available on the town website (here and here). The election will be held March 13. The only contested town-wide races appear to be those for Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Natural Resources.  Wellesley realtor and [...]

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Wellesley town clerk notes: Nomination papers, census, dog licenses, voting

By bbrown | Published: January 9, 2012

From the Wellesley town clerk: 1. Nomination Papers Offices for town election March 13, 2012 are: 2 Board of Selectmen, 1 Board of Assessors, 1 Board of Health, 2 Library Trustees, Moderator, 2 Natural Resources Commissioners, 1 Planning Board,1 Board of Public Works, 2 Recreation Commissioners, 2 School Committee, Town Clerk. Please call Town Clerk’s [...]

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Wellesley’s unfinished business for 2011: Wellesley Inn, senior center, high school & more

By bbrown | Published: December 19, 2011

Here’s a whirlwind update on where a number of Wellesley projects stand as we wrap up 2011: *Old Wellesley Inn space on Washington Street. Not much new here with the space that’s been vacant across from Blue Ginger since 2006. Plans for The Durant, a luxury condo facility surrounded by stores and offices, have been [...]

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Wellesley School Committee gets an earful

By bbrown | Published: December 7, 2011

The Wellesley School Committee Tuesday night heard in person from parents upset about a litany of issues that have plagued the public school system this year. The Globe has a recap of the meeting, including the Citizen Speak portion during which the school committee itself was both criticized and defended. A member of a concerned [...]

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Wellesley School Committee gets vote of confidence

By bbrown | Published: December 5, 2011

The Wellesley School Committee has come under fire of late along with Wellesley school administrators, but a citizen group is urging residents to support the School Committee’s efforts to strengthen the town’s school operations. In the latest newsletter from Committee 21, the nonprofit advocacy group for Wellesley Public Schools states: “While difficulties concerning the Wellesley [...]

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New delicacy for Wellesley school menus?

By bbrown | Published: November 30, 2011

The Townsman reports that rodents have been spotted at Wellesley Middle School and Wellesley High School kitchen areas and store rooms since late summer. We hear the Vole is sumptuous.  A Wellesley Health Department worker didn’t pin blame on the food service company for the critter problem, but said the rodents have been an ongoing [...]

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Rep. Barney Frank not running for re-election in 2012

By bbrown | Published: November 28, 2011

16-term lawmaker Barney Frank is announcing Monday that he will not seek re-election in 2012. The 71-year-old Democrat has served Wellesley in Congress as a representative from Massachusetts’ Fourth District. MORE: Barney Frank website

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Report: Wellesley school biz manager on paid leave

By bbrown | Published: November 21, 2011

Ruth Quinn Berdell, the Wellesley Public Schools business manager under fire for her office’s sloppy practices, is reportedly on “voluntary paid administrative leave,” according to the Boston Globe. Some residents have been calling for Berdell to step down in the wake of Superintendent Bella Wong’s resignation announcement. Some are upset that Berdell, whose office was [...]

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Slightly beyond Wellesley: WHS grads discuss foreign policy Tuesday

By bbrown | Published: November 21, 2011

From Wellesley Turn Out the Lights celebration committee: Wellesley High School welcomes back four of its most accomplished graduates in the area of international relations for the panel discussion “U.S. Foreign Policy: Making It, Executing It, Analyzing It and Covering It.” The panelists will be Kennedy School professor and former diplomat Nicholas Burns, WHS class [...]

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All about clustering: Learn about Wellesley subdivision development plans

By bbrown | Published: November 15, 2011

Cluster subdivision development meeting

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No surprises at Wellesley Special Town Meeting

By bbrown | Published: November 15, 2011

As expected, a proposal that would grant alcohol licenses to Wellesley restaurants with 50 or more seats passed at Monday’s Special Town Meeting. More hoops will need to be jumped through, including legislative approval and a town vote possibly next spring, before the town can act on this plan. The idea is to help boost [...]

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Wellesley town government 101

By bbrown | Published: October 24, 2011
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Ice cream truck driver fingerprints, booze for 50 seats, goodbye Civil Service: It must be the Wellesley Special Town Meeting warrant

By bbrown | Published: October 12, 2011

The warrant for the Wellesley Special Town Meeting beginning Nov. 14, now available online, is a quick read that is largely about shifting money from here to there but also includes intriguing articles about everything from fingerprinting to ditching tests to loosening liquor license rules. The hottest topic might be the reducing of seats required [...]

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The latest from Wellesley condo builder Connolly

By bbrown | Published: October 7, 2011

A reader points out a Boston Herald article on the latest political maneuver by Michael Connolly, the Boston political veteran who used 40B affordable housing provisions to build the controversial Wellesley Commons condo project on Washington Street that has kept Wellesley’s Zoning Board busy for the past few years. Connolly has had trouble selling the [...]

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