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Wednesday, May 27, 2026
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Budget Subcommittee Vote To Delay Land Bank Decision

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Brookline.com
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Sean Lynn-Jones
Sean Lynn-Jones

The Long-Term Planning and Policies Subcommittee of Brookline voted almost unanimously to recommend its overarching Advisory Committee defer a land bank proposal until next year. The subcommittee designed to plan for the town’s future, recommended more research on a proposed land bank after a meeting on Wednesday night.

Subcommittee member David Lescohier submitted the proposal and was the only one to vote against the recommendation to delay.

The land bank proposal, also known as Article 24, would levy a land transfer tax of up to 1 percent on certain property buyers, according to this year’s Annual Town Meeting Warrant. The tax would create a fund for Brookline to buy land to develop for revenue, build affordable housing and preserve parkland.

“The land bank offers the power, a useful tool to be strategic, to focus on longer goals and save up for them,” Lescohier said in his opening remarks about the proposal.

Despite the delay, Lescohier felt he achieved his goal of getting the issue on the town’s radar, he said in an interview after the meeting.

“I wasn’t expecting that they were going to run with this monster, un-shredded and spindled,” he said.

Members of the subcommittee, as well as members of other town boards and advocacy groups who attended the meeting saw Article 24 as trying to benefit two opposing interests: new development versus preservation of current land.

“The premise from the beginning is development pressure cutting into existing green space,” said Arlene Mattison, president of the nonprofit, Brookline GreenSpace Alliance. “How do you have the same bill, the same law, doing both?”

Mattison recommended creating a conservation-focused land bank like the ones on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Sean Lynn-Jones, chair of the Advisory Committee and the subcommittee, said the proposal was creating conflicts even before the vote.

“This is the recipe for a huge battle over how these funds are spent,” he said.

Governments or nonprofits start land banks to put vacant properties to productive use, according to the Center for Community Progress, a national nonprofit that works to eliminate abandoned and deteriorated properties.

If there are no delays, Article 24 is set to go to the full Advisory Committee for a vote on May 1, regardless of what the subcommittee recommended, said Lynn-Jones in a warning before the meeting.

If the Advisory Committee disagrees with the subcommittee and approves the article, it will go to this May’s Annual Town Meeting for another vote, Lynn-Jones said. If the town meeting also votes yes, Brookline’s Select Board will put together a home rule petition to ask the state legislature to create the Brookline Land Bank.

“Even if it’s voted favorably by the town meeting, it has to go to Beacon Hill,” Lynn-Jones said.

If the Advisory Committee follows the subcommittee’s recommendation for further study, a study committee will be appointed to carry it out and could bring the proposal back in time for the Annual Town Meeting in May 2019.

 

Coming Out: The Journey To Self-Acceptance Can Be Mired With Others’ Doubt & Ignorance

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Brookline.com
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Instead of the traditional one big coming out narrative, I have had to come out several times in my life.

The first was in Illinois, and it has stuck with me ever since. Sexuality was not discussed much—if at all—there. When I came out as bisexual my sophomore year in High School, I received a considerable amount of backlash from close friends of mine—even my then-girlfriend who, unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the topic, became both physically and psychologically abusive—dangling my sexuality over my head during arguments.

That, among other incidences, contributed to a growing reticence with regards to accepting my identity. Coming out then was, originally, intended to “soften the blow” for my future coming out as a trans woman—but what I experienced back in that small town north of Chicago walked me right back into the closet and made me lose any confidence I already had in myself and my identity.

A couple months before I moved across the country to Brookline, Massachusetts the summer after my sophomore year, my parents sent me to a psychologist. He sat me in a puffy brown leather chair—the type in which you sit and feel your whole body enveloped, casting over you a feeling of lethargy—and told me why I should not come out or talk about my identity in Brookline.

“It brings attention to you,” he said. “Are you sure you really are? I think you need to rethink things I think it’s just you being, y’know, a rebellious teenager.”

And I believed him.

***

And, so it was with the move: A “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” sort of thing that I hoped would carry me through my junior year and the rest of High School. My sexuality and gender identity were then, to me, “phases”—unnecessary appendages upon which I looked with regret and disdain.

That is until I, on a whim, decided to attend a meeting of my high school’s gender sexuality alliance (GSA). If there was, in my being, even an ounce of that “teenage rebellion,” this was it.

I was emboldened; though just my first time attending the club, I experienced and felt complete support of my identity, the likes of which would have been unheard of back in Illinois. Through more meetings and conversations, I began to thaw. My elation and relief became so much, in fact, that I put my name in to speak at the school’s Day of Dialogue (a day dedicated to, among other things, queer students discussing their identities).

That is exactly what I did—which also helped me turn my pride and euphoria into anger. As I stood at the podium, coming out in front of almost the entire school, my mind began to defog. I began to realize what exactly had happened in my old town.

While in Illinois, I had felt like a nuisance. However, as I began to realize, they had shut me up because it made them uncomfortable. They did not support it.

So, after a particularly heated conversation with somebody from there the summer after my junior year, I decided I had had enough. I contacted several members of my old school’s LGBTQ+ community and helped pen an open letter to the high school’s administration.

In short, it helped set in motion long-needed reforms that I, frankly, wish had existed during my time there.

All of this, too, emboldened me. I had then finally gained the courage to come out as a trans woman.

While the response was and has been, generally positive, it has come with backlash—mainly from those in my old town but, surprisingly, a handful of people in Brookline.

Despite the negativity and turmoil that has accompanied my coming out, I am grateful for the experiences. They, at the end of the day, strengthened my resolve and my sense of self.

But, on the other hand, they have cemented my fear of coming out in the future. No matter how much reinforcement, no matter how accepting a community, no matter how many queer people are around, the fear—and the memory—is always there. Those previous negative experiences permeate.

As many members of the LGBTQ community can probably attest, the queer life is one consisting of many coming outs—from our workplaces to our schools to our friends. We tend to live on the day-to-day—a to whom will I come out to today? and I wonder what their reaction will be? Far too often, we depend on the validation of others in evaluating our own self-worth. That as a consequence of both damaging experiences and being a marginalized member of society. It is a facade, a sense of awareness that we erect in order to risk the least amount of ourselves.

More than anything, people must be as supportive as possible—as early as possible—to those who put their trust and confidence on the line in order to tear down those facades and to reveal their true selves.

The fear is always still there. It sure is for me.

 

Nicole Collins

 

About

Nicole Collins is a senior at Brookline High School and an advocate for the LGBTQ community and transgender rights. She helps run an LGBTQ podcast, Dialog(ue), and helps push for reform within her school. She will be attending Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota in the fall of 2018.

For more information about “coming out” click on A Resource Guide To Coming Out.

 

This Brookline Startup Wants To Pair Patients With Registered Dietitians

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Brookline.com
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Nutrimedy, a two-year-old telehealth startup based in Brookline, is looking to broaden the pool of registered dietitians available to patients regardless of their physical location, by using an app and an online platform.

Jonah Cohen, a physician at Harvard Medical School, founded the company because many of his patients expressed that they were struggling with their diet. Cohen wanted to help, but like most physicians, he does not have proper dietetics training.

“We were underutilizing the dietitians in our country,” Cohen, who now serves as Nutrimedy’s chief medical officer, said. “There had to be a better way to match people for medical nutrition therapy.”

Jonah Cohen, MD
Jonah Cohen, MD

Thus began Nutrimedy, a five-person company offering an online service and app that allows people to find dietitians across the country based on their preferred language and dietetic need, instead of their location. The company launched in March 2016 and the app in February 2018.

Users on the service will make an account and fill out a survey about their health needs. Then, Nutrimedy will work to connect them to their best fit. Once connected, patients can begin messaging the specialist or set up an appointment. Appointments are done over video from anywhere in the country and cost between $35 (for a 25-minute session) and $65 (for a 50-minute session).

Nutrimedy CEO Karolina Starczak, a registered dietitian herself, joined the company because she wanted to do something new that still used her clinical experience.

“It really kind of connected a lot of the pieces that I had worked on throughout my career,” Starczak said. “It allowed me to really step back into a company that was a little more focused on nutrition, but still really looking to deliver this product that would help to improve health, and do it in a way that was personalized.”

Currently, Nutrimedy is gearing up to launch their newest service, which is an expecting mother’s program. This new service, which is scheduled to launch on April 23, will allow users to be paired up with a dietitian who specializes in pregnancy nutrition. The new plan will include five video sessions, unlimited messaging, three-month tracker for a flat $300.

Karolina Starczak
Karolina Starczak

Starczak said that their research found that nutrition was the second most searched term online by pregnant women. The specialized dietitians who will be part of the plan will come from the approximately 650 dietitians on the app. To be included in the Nutrimedy’s network, dietitians are required to be licensed.

Nutrimedy also connects with companies to be able to offer a version of the core-program and their “nuExpecting” program to their employees.

The company is hoping to raise their second seed fund at the end of April. Nutrimedy is also a member of PULSE@MassChallenge digital health cohort, which provides mentorship and potential investment opportunities to digital health startups. The company was also a part of the Boston Children’s Hospital Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator, which provides mentorship and grant funding.

Cohen said over the next six months they want to expand to have potential programs focused on fertility, and postpartum and lactation nutrition.

“I’m just very passionate about this area and a deep believer that food can really help us live our healthiest lives,” Cohen said.

 

Around Town

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Brookline.com
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1. Learn what to do in a medical emergency at the “You are the help until help arrives” event on April 5. Hosted by Fallon Ambulance, the event is part of a series of events taking place in Brookline for Public Health Week. The event will run from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Hunneman Hall in the Brookline Main Public Library.

2. Celebrate nature, innovation and science at the third annual Youth Climate Adaption Challenge on April 7. Held in the Pierce School Cafeteria, the event is an environmental fair that addresses climate change. It will run from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

3. Discover techniques for gardening Brookline’s urban/suburban environment on April 7. Held as part of Climate Week, the workshop will focus on permaculture techniques. It will run from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Hunneman Hall in the Brookline Main Public Library.

4. Learn about African-American history in Brookline through the Hidden Brookline Walking Tour on April 7. Led by Suzette Abbott of Hidden Brookline, the tour will include local Underground Railroad sites and other landmarks. The tour will meet at 2:00 p.m. at Town Hall on Washington Street. The rain date for the tour is April 8.

5. Enjoy an evening of music at Mistral’s 21st season finale on April 8. Held at St. Paul’s Church, the finale will feature a piece by Brookline resident and composer Elena Ruehr. The chamber music concert will start at 5:00 p.m.

 

What Is David Hogg Talking About

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Brookline.com
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Around Town

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Brookline.com
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Upcoming events

Thursday, April 5

Lavenber Bee Baking Company Pop-Up: noon – 6:00 p.m. April 5 and 12, Lavender Bee Baking Company, 14 Pleasant Street, Brookline. For more information, please e-mail here or visit here. Lavender Bee Baking Company is a local nut-free specialty baked good business.

You Are the Help Until Help Arrives: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., Hunneman Hall, Brookline Main Library, 361 Washington Street, Brookline. Attendees learn what to do in an emergency.

Friday, April 6

Family Movie Night: “Stink!”: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Lawrence School, 27 Francis Street, Brookline. A foul smell, kids’ PJs, and chemicals star in this family-friendly documentary.

Saturday, April 7

First Time Home Buyer Seminar: 10:00 a.m.  -noon, Unlimited Sotheby’s International Realty, 1290 Beacon Street, Brookline. Free. For more information, please visit here, call 617-332-1400 or visit here. Attendees are guided through the pre-approval process, current market conditions, major steps in the buying process, how to protect deposits and more.

Youth Climate Adaptation Challenge: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Pierce School, 50 School Street, Brookline. An environmental fair to address climate change.

Youth in Action: High School Students Discuss Fighting Climate Change: 1:45 – 3:15 p.m., Pierce School Auditorium, 50 School Street, Brookline. For more information, please isit here. Students will share their stories of lobbying, setting up composting systems and efforts to decrease plastic bottles. Ideal for middle school students and their families.

Music of Latin America for Violin and Piano: 3:00 – 4:30 p.m., Lincoln Elementary School, 25 Kennard Road, Brookline. Free. For more information, please visit here. Brookline Music School’s 2017-2018 Faculty Artist Series concludes.

Sunday, April 8

Musical Beginnings Summer Programs Open House: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Lincoln Elementary School, 25 Kennard Road, Brookline. Space limited. To register, please call 617-277-4593. During Summer Preview Days, Brookline Music School invites the community to explore its summer program options, including full- and half-day programs.

Green House Fest: Tour Energy-Efficient Brookline Homes: Noon – 3:00 p.m., Brookline Open Studios, throughout Brookline. For more information, locations or to RSVP, please visit here. A tour of homes showing solar panels, heat pumps, electric cars with chargers, on-demand water heaters, rain water saving tanks, home energy monitors and more.

“Bel Canto:” 5:00 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 15 St. Paul Street, Brookline. Cost: $35. For tickets, please call 978-474-6222, e-mail here or visit here. Mistral performs Elena Ruehr’s “Bel Canto” String Quintet No. 5 based on Ann Patchett’s novel “Bel Canto” in which music plays a central role.

Contra Dancing in the Ballroom: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Brookline Senior Center, 93 Winchester Street, Brookline. Cost: $7. For tickets, please visit here. For more information, please call 617-730-2777. Live music with Amy Larkin on the Fiddle and Debby Knight on the piano, and an experienced caller. Open to beginners and singles. Light refreshments served.

Tuesday, April 10

Legal Bootcamp: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., The Village Works, 202 Washington Street, Brookline. Free. For tickets, please visit here. A roundtable discussion on “Dispute Resolution for Businesses, Entrepreneurs and Freelancers.”

“Georgia O’Keeffe:” 1:30 p.m., Wingate Residences at Boylston Place, 615 Heath Street, Brookline. Free; space limited. For more information or to RSVP, please call 617-244-6400. Art Matters will lead a presentation on the life and work of American modern painter Georgia O’Keeffe, who is known for her paintings of flowers, New York City skyscrapers and New Mexico landscapes.

Buying a Home: 6:30 p.m., In Good Company, 1653 Beacon Street, Brookline. Free. For more information, please call 617-695-4617, e-mail here or visit here. Prospective home buyers learn how much they can afford to put down, how much mortgage they can handle and what their property options are.

Wednesday, April 11

Brookline Youth Awards: 7:00 p.m., Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline. Free. For more information, please call Caitlin Haynes at 617-730-2345 or e-mail here. The night will include video interviews of students in Brookline who are making a difference in the community, a video interview with Headmaster Anthony Meyer, and keynote speaker and 2013 Youth of the Year Recipient Ben Hoff. Hosted and presented by BrooklineHub.com.

Thursday, April 12

Phenomenal Foodies: 5:30 – 8:00 p.m., Showcase Superlux Chestnut Hill, 55 Boylston Street, Newton. For more information or to buy tickets, please visit here. A Women’s Panel featuring women in the food industry. Features appetizers from Davio’s and a cash bar.

Pop and Protection: 6:30 p.m., In Good Company, 1653 Beacon Street, Brookline. Free. For more information or to RSVP, please call 617-695-4617, e-mail here or visit here. Attendees learn about the different types of insurance and the components of a basic estate plan, while exploring sparkling wines.

Saturday, April 14

Spring Pruning Workshop: 12:30 – 3:00 p.m., Minot Rose Garden, Saint Paul and Browne streets, Brookline. For more information, please e-mail here. The Friends of the Minot Rose Garden annual spring pruning workshop. Master Rosarian David Cannistraro will demonstrate pruning techniques and guide participants as they prune the roses in anticipation of their spring blooms.

Summer Ensembles and Intensive Programs Open House: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., Lincoln Elementary School, 25 Kennard Road, Brookline. For more information, please visit here. During Summer Preview Days, Brookline Music School invites the community to explore its summer program options, including full- and half-day programs, weekly music classes, and private lessons.

Sunday, April 15

Opera at the Cinema: “Carmen:” 10:00 a.m., The Makery, 2 Sewall Avenue, Brookline. Cost: $20-$23. For more information, please e-mail here or visit here. Presented by the Royal Opera House. Bizet’s classic French opera stars Anna Goryachova in Barrie Kosky’s production.

“Phantasy:” 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 15 St. Paul Street, Brookline. Cost: $10-$30. For more information, please visit here. Winsor Music’s 2017-18 season will conclude with a varied program of English, American and German masterpieces, highlighted by the premiere of a “Song for the Spirit.”

Tuesday, April 17

Couples and Money: 6:30 p.m., In Good Company, 1653 Beacon Street, Brookline. Free. For mre information or to RSVP, please call 617-695-4617, e-mail here or visit here. A talk about the roles behavior and money play in every relationship.

Wednesday, April 18

Marketing for People Who Don’t Like Marketing: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Inner Space Yoga, 17 Station Street, Brookline. Free. For information or to register here. For consultative professionals in charge of their own marketing, including realtors, financial advisers, coaches of all varieties in the first two-five years of business.

Brookline GreenSpace Alliance annual meeting: 6:00 – 8:30 p.m., Wheelock College, 43 Hawes Street, Brookline. To RSVP, please e-mail here. A celebration of 30 years of environmental advocacy. Ken Liss, president of the Brookline Historical Society, speaks about “Public Squares and Parks Reserved: An Early History of Open Space in Brookline.”

Thursday, April 19

Short-Term Goal Planning: 6:30 p.m., In Good Company, 1653 Beacon Street, Brookline. Free. For more information or to RSVP, please call 617-695-4617, e-mail here or visit here. Attendees make a plan to achieve their most important financial goal.

Monday, April 23

Schindler survivor to speak: 7:30 p.m., Pine Manor Ellsworth Theater, 400 Heath Street, Chestnut Hill. Cost: $18; $5 for students. Doors at 7:00 p.m. Spce limited. For more information or to reserve seats, please visit here or call 617-738-9770. Chabad at Chestnut Hill will be hosting guest speaker Mrs. Rena Finder, who was 10 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland. Her father was killed at Auschwitz. She and her mother were sent to work at Emalia, Oskar Schindler’s enamel and ammunition factory.

Ongoing events

“Off the Wall:” 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, through April 27, Gallery 93, 93 Winchester Street, Brookline. Photographs by Julie Smith, taken during her travels, feature stencils and wall art superimposed on layers of paint and plaster.

PJ Drive: Through March 15, Brookline Town Hall, 333 Washington Street, Brookline. Cradles to Crayons is teaming up with the Boston Bruins, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and Wonderfund to launch the 11th annual drive, which provides new, unused pajamas to children in need across Massachusetts.

Release Rebalance Restore Essentrics Class: noon – 1:00 p.m. Fridays, All Saints Parish, 1773 Beacon Street. Cost: $15-$65. For more information, please call 617-738-1810 or visit here. A full-body, rebalancing exercise program designed to slowly build strength, flexibility and balance. This class is for those who are new to, or returning to exercise, have slightly-limited mobility, or have atrophy-related stiffness, frozen shoulder or other chronic aches and pains.

Zen meditation and talk: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Thursdays, Eishoji Zen Center, 1318 Beacon Street, Brookline. Free; space limited. For more information or to RSVP, please call Jason at 508-360-2323.

Al-Anon Family Group meeting: 7:00 – 8:40 p.m. Tuesdays, United Parish – Brookline, Choir Room, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline. For families and friends of problem drinkers. Anonymous, confidential and free. Open to newcomers.

Caffe’ Italiano — Free Italian Conversations: 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and noon Fridays, Coolidge Corner Library, meeting room, 31 Pleasant Street, Brookline. Supported by the Publish Library of Brookline and the Italian Consulate in Boston. A free and friendly Italian conversation, leaded by an Italian teacher. Participants practice and improve their Italian regardless of proficiency. No registration require; drop-in. For more information, please visit here.

Game Day for Seniors at Putterham Library: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Thursdays, Putterham Branch Library Community Room, 959 West Roxbury Parkway, Brookline. MahJongg, chess, Scrabble, dominoes, bring your own game or request. Handicapped accessible; wheelchair available. For more information or to request a game, please call Helen at 617-942-7547.

Mindfulness Practice and Meditation: 7:00 – 8:40 p.m. Tuesdays, United Parish of Brookline, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline. Attendees sit and walk mindfully together, read a text and share what comes up for us in the reading. MPCGB links the 17 ongoing meditation groups in the greater Boston area that practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, to build relationships and deepen the practice of mindfulness. Free. For more information, please call 617-738-5917 or e-mail here.

Learn to Meditate: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Sundays, Shambhala Meditation Center of Boston, 646 Brookline Avenue, Brookline. Taught by qualified instructors, this basic meditation class is for beginners, as well as anyone who would like to refresh their understanding of the technique. Drop-in class; no registration required. Participants are welcome to come as often as you like, but the class is designed as a one-time introduction with the same content each week. Suggested donation: $5-$10. For more information, please call 617-734-1498 or visit here.

Overeaters Anonymous: 9:45 – 11:00 a.m. every Saturday, Brighton Marine Health Center, Hawes Building, third floor, 77 Warren Street, Brighton. Attendees find physical, emotional and spiritual recovery. For more information, please call Deanna at 617-731-8150.

 

Small Private Colleges Attracting Fewer Students

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Brookline.com
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Small, liberal arts college administrators are growing increasingly concerned as their enrollment numbers fall.

The Boston Globe reports undergraduate enrollment trends at 118 four-year private colleges in the region show one out of five of those colleges have had an enrollment drop of at least 10 percent.

Newbury College in Brookline is facing the most severe drop, with its enrollment declining 86 percent over 20 years.

The number of high school graduates shrinking may be the problem. People have had fewer children since the 2008 recession, and the price tags of high-tuition schools drive families away.

Retired Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder predicts 500 U.S. colleges will close in the next decade, leaving large, private Ivy League schools safe, along with public colleges. Tinier schools like Eastern Nazarene College, Marlboro College and Boston Architectural College will struggle.

 

Play It Forward – Sports Gear Exchange

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Brookline.com
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Up For The Grabs, Reebok Founder’s Brookline Estate Still On The Market For $90M

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Brookline.com
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It has been more than a year since the longtime head of Reebok, Paul Fireman, put his 14-acre Brookline estate up for sale for $90 million — and the massive property that is being touted as the “most expensive listing in Massachusetts history” is still on the market.

The estate, owned by Paul and Phyllis Fireman, is known as Woodland Manor, and sits on a parcel surrounded by The Country Club in Brookline and Putterham Meadows Golf Course.

The property offers rolling lawns, ponds, sculpted rock outcrops and “a horticultural encyclopedia of specimen plantings,” according to the marketing agents, Jonathan P. Radford and Deborah M. Gordon, of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New England. The home features eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms.

Radford said that the Firemans were focusing on selling the property to downsize.

“They have other homes,” he said. “They just love that area and they decided they wanted a smaller home.”

And although he said he was “not disappointed with the number of people” interested in the property, he declined to say how many people had toured it. “People are searching for just a decent acre to build on,” he said. “There’s no good land and that will will appeal to someone.”

The estate’s driveway, a third of a mile long, leads to the home designed by Shope Reno Wharton and built in 2000 by Thoughtforms Corp. The home offers more than 26,000 square feet of living space and features more than “5,000 square feet of Deer Island granite terraces with garden views.”

Paul Fireman led Reebok from the late 1970s through an IPO in the mid-1980s. He sold Reebok to Adidas in 2006 for $3.8 billion, and currently serves as chairman of Fireman Capital Partners, an investment firm. With his wife, Phyllis, he established The Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, which works to end family homelessness in Massachusetts.

If you are ready to make an offer, please visit here.

 

Stink! Bring The Family!

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Brookline.com
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Remembering Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik

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Brookline.com
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Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik

Several years ago, while reminiscing with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s son-in law, about the thrilling Brookline days of yore, he highlighted the unique Shabbat sessions with the Rav held between Mincha and Maariv at the Maimonides School Synagogue in Brookline. It was during these short interludes that a small group of lay and professional congregants would assemble around the Rav and ask questions on the weekly Torah portion or any topic of choice. Occasionally during these rare moments, the Rav would share an anecdote, a recent conversation or a meeting he had attended.

One Shabbat afternoon in the early 1980’s the Rav shared with us the following story:

It was the Rav’s annual custom to visit his wife’s grave in West Roxbury Massachusetts on Erev Yom Kippur. At the cemetery he was approached by a family who did not recognize him and assumed he was the “cemetery rabbi”. They requested he recite memorial prayers and patiently obliging he was dragged to various family graves despite the time constraints of that nightfall’s hallowed importance. Weeks later the family discovered the identity of their uber gracious “cemetery rabbi” and made a generous donation to the Maimonides School in Brookline, the Jewish Day School founded by the Rav and his wife, Tonya in 1937.

The Rav educated, nurtured and “raised up” thousands of students. He encouraged his students to be free and independent thinkers. Ergo, his students represent a broad range; from Haredi Orthodox to left of center liberal Orthodox. An early student of the Rav stated in his introduction to a book about the Rav’s philosophy: “my loyalty and love for him as my teacher never interfered with my own intellectual independence and critical appreciation of his writings”.

A quarter of a century after the Rav’s passing his teachings, which during his life were mostly confined to student notebooks and limited tape recordings, have received unprecedented exposure through dozens of books and websites published by his actual and “virtual” students. These publications shed a bright light on the Rav’s brilliant oeuvre.

Commentaries are now available on the Chumash, Talmud, Siddur, Machzorim, Grace After Meals,  Haggadah and Tisha B’av Lamentations.  In the academic sphere numerous manuscripts on the Rav’s Torah and philosophy have been published and a student’s classroom notes from the 1950-51 Rav’s class on the Guide to the Perplexed has been edited and released. A Habad Hasid wrote a 375-page book entitled “The Rav and Rebbe” specifically highlighting the warm relationship and similarities between the Rav and the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

What is unprecedented is that as a result of the varied religious development of his students the Rav is referred to and portrayed in these publications in vastly different ways. Some of his Haredi writers refer  to him as the head of the “Boston Beis Din”, disregarding the Rav’s doctorate in Philosophy and decades long leadership as the Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University. Others, while still quoting his teachings expunge his name entirely.

Yet, there are students who actively expose the Rav’s Torah to the Haredi community. A Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University distributes free copies of the Rav’s commentaries on the Talmud to the Lakewood Yeshiva in New Jersey and the Brisk Yeshiva in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem. While the Rav once stated that were he to visit Israel he would be greeted by Haredi demonstrators, today, in fact,  the Rav’s books sell very well in most Jerusalem neighborhoods.

On the other end of the religious spectrum some of the Rav’s students criticize him for not being more liberal or “progressive” in certain areas of Halakha. An early student of the Rav wrote about the Rav opening “two doors”; pointing to new paths but not walking through them. A rabbi living in Jerusalem who never met the Rav but claims to be familiar with his writings stated that the Rav was not a “Chadshan , a Halakhic innovator, and that his students admire him excessively.

In a recently published complex psychoanalytical and philosophical book on the Rav a professor at a major university in Israel  provides rationale as to why he prefers to refer to the Rav as Soloveitchik, rather than referring to him as The Rav or Rabbi Soloveitchik. “That I refer to the subject of this book as Soloveitchik and not “ the Rav,” or even R. Soloveitchik, serves a double purpose, to relate to him from a more critical scholarly perspective, but also to accord him the status he deserves as a figure within the intellectual history of the past century….”

In Germany, a Jesuit priest has published his Ph.D thesis on the Rav called “The Human Condition”. This, despite his thesis advisor’s lack of enthusiasm for this project, in no small matter due to the Rav’s well known objections to inter religious dialogue with Christianity.

Many of the Rav’s devotees owe their rabbinic and academic prominence to the Rav’s brilliant teachings.

Indeed, the Rav raised up many disciples.

 

Brookline House With Conservatory, Library & Koi Pond On Sale For $4.85m

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The 8,619-square-foot, 15-room behemoth at 372 Warren Street in Brookline is probably the city’s most interesting new listing; certainly its most opulent in a while.

The house, which dates from 1900 and which is on sale now through Coldwell Banker for $4.85 million, includes a bonafide conservatory-slash-greenhouse and a wood-paneled library.

There is also a koi pond on the property; and there is a two-car attached garage “with ample room to build additional 2 car garage” if need be.

The house’s four levels include an au pair/in-law suite, the potential for nine bedrooms(!), and four fireplaces. Do look around.

 

 

 

You Are The Help Until Help Arrives

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A New Brookline Facebook Group Aims At Guaranteeing The Right Of Speech & Freedom Of Expression Of Its Members

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To the esteemed members of the Brookline, MA community:

Dear friends,

Please join us in a new Brookline public group, free for all to participate, with respect to the right of speech and the freedom of expression.

It is our effort to advance understanding of environmental, political, religious, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, social justice issues, etc. Be part of this process, share with us your stories, opinions, successes or problems.

To join, please visit here and kindly spread the word.

 

Meet Brookline’s Woman Of The Year: Artbarn’s Chloe Lara-Russack

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Chloe Lara-Russack
Chloe Lara-Russack

The Brookline Commission for Women will hosts its 26th Annual Women Who Inspire Us Awards Ceremony on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Main Library at 361 Washington Street. Refreshments will be served from 6:00 – 6:30 p.m.

During the event, the Brookline Commission for Women will celebrate 12 essay winners from 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades who wrote essays about a woman who inspires them. The “Women Who Inspires Me” essay contest, held annually in celebration of National Women’s History Month, is an important part of chronicling the history of women in Brookline and encourages students to reflect on those who make an impact on their lives.

That night, the Commission will also honor the 2018 Brookline Woman of the Year: Chloe Lara-Russack, executive co-director of Artbarn Community Theater (official website here) and a Vermont native, raising two girls along with her husband, who has harbored a love for theater since she was a child.

Theater has always been a part of Chloe’s life. Graduating from Bates College with a major in Theater and Education she soon found herself stumbling upon the magical stage of Artbarn Community Theater. In addition to her role as Artistic Director at the Barn, Chloe also worked in Brookline Public Schools developing theater curriculum.

Chloe has always maintained a strong passion and belief that theater has the potential to heal, build relationships and strengthen personal self-esteem. To further pursue this dream, Chloe left Artbarn in 2007 to attend NYU’s Drama Therapy Master’s program.

After graduating in 2010 Chloe returned to the Boston area and worked as a theater specialist in the Boston Public School System. In addition to her husband, Dan, and her daughters, Rowan and Hazel, Chloe’s greatest passion has and always will be the “theater.” In the words of a greeting card that Chloe has received time and again: “Given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world.” Chloe never leaves home without her fairy wand safely tucked in her back pocket.

The formal program will last about an hour and a half minutes. This event is free and open to the public.

All are welcome!

 

Boston Man Sentenced For Two Bank Robberies

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A Boston man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for robbing a branch of RTN Federal Credit Union in Brookline and a branch of Mansfield Bank in West Bridgewater in November 2016.

Stephen D. Williams, 56, was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,287 in restitution. Williams pleaded guilty in December 2017 to two counts of bank robbery.

Two individuals, one later identified as Williams, and the other later identified as Joseph Morris, entered a branch of the RTN Federal Credit Union in Brookline on Nov. 15, 2016. Williams approached a teller and demanded cash. The teller handed Williams cash from her drawer and Williams and Morris exited the bank and fled the area in a dark-colored Volkswagen.

An individual later identified as Williams  entered a branch of the Mansfield Bank in West Bridgewater on Nov. 22, 2016. Williams gestured that he had a firearm and demanded the tellers give him the bank’s money. The teller handed Williams cash, and Williams fled the area again in a dark-colored Volkswagen. Bank surveillance cameras recorded images of Williams during the robbery.

Law enforcement officers familiar with both Williams and Morris located the dark-colored Volkswagen and arrested the two men at an apartment complex in Brockton on Nov. 23, 2016.

Morris was charged in state court with the robbery of the RTN Federal Credit Union in Brookline and was sentenced to 8 to 10 years in jail.

 

Talks On Gun Control

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Analysts See $0.24 EPS For Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (BRKL)

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Investors sentiment decreased to 1.3 in Q3 2017. It is down 0.09, from 1.39 in 2017Q2. It fell, as 12 investors sold Brookline Bancorp, Inc. shares while 48 reduced holdings. 23 funds opened positions while 55 raised stakes. 57.96 million shares or 0.37% less from 58.17 million shares in 2017Q2 were reported.

Tci Wealth holds 0% of its portfolio in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) for 73 shares. Employees Retirement System Of Ohio owns 13,953 shares for 0% of their portfolio. 101,187 are held by Matarin Ltd. Company. Zacks Mgmt holds 0.03% of its portfolio in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) for 72,401 shares. Thrivent Fincl For Lutherans has 298,207 shares. American Intll Gp reported 59,654 shares or 0% of all its holdings. Crestwood Advsr Grp. Inc. Ltd. Limited Liability Company holds 0.02% in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) or 11,493 shares. North Mgmt stated it has 19,682 shares. Prudential Financial has invested 0.01% in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL). Banc Funds Limited Company reported 325,000 shares. 105,525 were reported by Aqr Capital Limited Liability. Mutual Of America Ltd. Liability stated it has 0.13% in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL). Dimensional Fund Advsrs Limited Partnership accumulated 6.32M shares. 1,094 are held by Winslow Evans Crocker Incorporated. Wells Fargo & Mn, a California-based fund reported 293,704 shares.

Since February 5, 2018, it had 0 insider purchases, and 4 insider sales for $784,850 activity. 5,000 shares valued at $81,250 were sold by HACKETT JOHN A on Wednesday, February 7. Cosman James M had sold 12,500 shares worth $209,500. Another trade for 10,000 shares valued at $164,300 was made by PECK CHARLES H on Tuesday, February 27.

Analysts expect Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) to report $0.24 EPS on April, 25.They anticipate $0.05 EPS change or 26.32 % from last quarter’s $0.19 EPS. BRKL’s profit would be $19.11 million giving it 17.03 P/E if the $0.24 EPS is correct. After having $0.21 EPS previously, Brookline Bancorp, Inc.’s analysts see 14.29 % EPS growth. The stock increased 2.51% or $0.4 during the last trading session, reaching $16.35. About 280,170 shares traded. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) has risen 26.02% since March 27, 2017 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 9.32% the S&P500.

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Ratings Coverage

Among 4 analysts covering Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL), 0 have Buy rating, 0 Sell and 4 Hold. Therefore 0 are positive. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. had 16 analyst reports since September 3, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. The stock of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) earned “Buy” rating by Compass Point on Thursday, October 22. The stock of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) has “Hold” rating given on Monday, October 23 by Piper Jaffray. The firm has “Hold” rating by Sandler O’Neill given on Tuesday, June 7. The stock has “Hold” rating by Keefe Bruyette & Woods on Friday, February 2. The stock has “Hold” rating by Sandler O’Neill on Thursday, October 19. Keefe Bruyette & Woods maintained the stock with “Hold” rating in Thursday, June 1 report. The stock has “Hold” rating by Keefe Bruyette & Woods on Thursday, December 21. The stock has “Buy” rating by Sandler O’Neill on Thursday, September 3. The rating was maintained by Keefe Bruyette & Woods on Friday, October 13 with “Hold”. On Friday, November 18 the stock rating was downgraded by Compass Point to “Neutral”.

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. Company Profile

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. operates as a multi-bank holding company for Brookline Bank and its subsidiaries; Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) and its subsidiaries; First Ipswich Bank (First Ipswich) and its subsidiaries, and Brookline Securities Corp. As a commercially focused financial institution with 50 full-service banking offices throughout greater Boston, the north shore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Company, through Brookline Bank, BankRI and First Ipswich (individually and collectively the Banks), offered a range of commercial, business and retail banking services, including cash management products, online banking services, consumer and residential loans and investment services throughout central New England, as of December 31, 2016.

 

Public Health & Climate Change

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Porto Maltese, A Seafood Restaurant Opens Doors In Brookline’s Washington Square

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Porto Maltese offers your choice of over 20 types of fresh, top-quality seafood in the portions you choose, prepared in any of seven artful and totally authentic Mediterranean styles, or in any other way you prefer, and served by our friendly and attentive staff in a casual, yet elegant atmosphere that evokes sea, sunshine, and good company!

Porto Maltese is more than a great restaurant; it is a distinct and exciting approach to Mediterranean cuisine developed in the seaports of the historic island of Malta, at the very heart of the Mediterranean! In the mid-1980s this authentic approach to seafood began to inspire restaurants from Barcelona to Rome and all across Europe.

At Porto Maltese, we have a uniquely varied, flexible, and authentic menu. We display over 20 varieties of fresh fish and shellfish on ice. Each choice is labeled and priced by item and by weight, so that you can choose exactly the portions of seafood you want. Do you want a whole fish or half of it? Seven shrimp, or three, or two? A whole octopus or just one tentacle?

We prepare wild-caught or organic seafood in six healthy, traditional styles, perfected in over 20 Mediterranean countries …

  1. Naturally Charcoal Grilled. Our grandmothers used charcoal, and so do we. The seafood gets a smoky flavor, enhanced by spices and marinades.
  2. Sea Salt-Encrusted and Flambéed, a delicious, spectacular way to present and enjoy seafood.
  3. Cooked in a Traditional Charcoal Oven. The home-style cooking of the Mediterranean. This cannot be done using electricity or gas! Our oven is 100% authentic.
  4. Steamed, the healthiest choice, but you will be amazed at how delicious healthy can be.
  5. Fried in a Small Amount of Olive and Sunflower Oil according to the type of fish.
  6. Porto Maltese Style. Grilled, marinated and then sautéed, but that doesn’t do it justice. Try it!

OR… tell us your whim or show us your recipe and we will make your choice of seafood your way! Our wait staff, and if need be, our chef, will find out just how you want it!

We also offer your choice of salads and vegetarian dishes, sides, meats, poultry, desserts, and excellent wines! In fact we have three types of bars: a raw bar, a wine bar, and a full bar!

Our freshly baked breads will delight you!

Our open kitchen is a spectacle in itself! Watch us do our magic! And that is Porto Maltese – open, friendly, causal, elegant, authentic, spectacular – and, above all, dedicated to serving you uniquely delicious food just the way you like it!

For updates on expanding hours, please keep an eye on the restaurant’s Facebook page here.

 

Bab Korean Bistro, Brookline’s New Korean Restaurant

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To indicate interest in the event, please RSVP here.

 

The Conversation Game For Living & Dying Well

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What You Need To Know About Colorectal Cancer

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The information above is available as a downloadable and printable brochure in .pdf format and could be accessed here.

 

U-Haul Van Rolls Over On Pond Avenue

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BPD
BPD

According to Brookline Police, there was a traffic crash this morning on Pond Avenue at Highland Road, in which an U-Haul van lost control driving into the uphill wooded area on the right-hand side of the road and rolled over on its left side.

Fortunately there have been no injuries reported.

The road is now clear and open.

 

3rd Annual Brookline Youth Climate Adaptation Challenge

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Presenting “Sonic Peace” By Kiriu Minashita

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Reminder for all Japanese culture enthusiasts: Spencer Thurlow and I will be giving a “Book Talk” at Gen Sou En in Coolidge Corner this Sunday.

There will be reading from the translation of “Sonic Peace” by Kiriu Minashita, and sharing some stories about translating this remarkable book by a living Japanese poet.

The event runs from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. and is free & open to the public.

 

Taxi Driver Accused Of Dragging Another Driver In Brookline In Fight Over A Client

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A taxi driver is facing charges Friday morning after allegedly dragging another taxi driver with his car.

The two drivers reportedly got into a dispute on Webster Street in front of the Brookline Courtyard Marriott hotel in Brookline, Massachusetts. The suspect then dragged the victim 40 to 50 feet with his car.

Police say the fight began over a disagreement involving fare and who would take a guest of the hotel to the airport. An officer witnessed the disagreement and wrote in his report, “I observed the taxi begin to accelerate as [the other driver Hassan] Mohamed was yelling and hanging out of the rear passenger door. Mohamed was being dragged by the taxi.”

No injuries were reported.

Police identified the suspect as 61-year-old Ossmane Offre of Brockton. He is facing charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Patrick Gioia says his client, 61-year-old Osmane Offre, did not mean to drag his competition. “I’m confident he’s going to be fully vindicated,” said Gioia.

Gioia says his client was just trying to do his job. He blames Mohamed, the other driver, for instigating the violence.

Offre has driven for Bay State Taxi since 1989. Friday afternoon he posted his $100 bond and is ordered to stay away from Mohamed.

 

The Secret Lives Of Teens & Tweens

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Get Ready For National Public Health Week In Brookline

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How Food Stamps Are Keeping Small Farms In Business

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Kevin Bragg of Kimball Fruit Farm unloads produce at the Brookline Farmers Market in Coolidge Corner
Kevin Bragg of Kimball Fruit Farm unloads produce at the Brookline Farmers Market in Coolidge Corner

On a weekend morning, the farmers market stretches out like a long caterpillar. Customers mill about, pushing strollers and walking dogs. A band is playing something folksy. Vendors stand behind tables that are literally spilling over with winter greens and root vegetables. It is a picture-perfect image that connotes abundance and community—if you have the cash for it.

The local food movement has been criticized for catering to middle- and upper-class Americans, and for leaving behind the low-income in all of the hype for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and “know your farmer” initiatives touted in glossy food magazines. But in the last decade, food justice activists have sought to correct this, connecting low-income consumers with cooking classes, gardening workshops, children’s programming, and locally grown and culturally appropriate foods.

Enter Double Up Food Bucks, a program that doubles Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as food stamps) benefits for recipients shopping at participating farmers markets or grocery stores, up to $20 per visit. Launched by the nonprofit Fair Food Network, Double Up Food Bucks began at five Detroit farmers markets in 2009. Today, 20 states have launched programs modeled after the original, including my home state of Arizona.

“Double Up is a win-win-win,” says Adrienne Udarbe, executive director of Pinnacle Prevention, the nonprofit that manages Arizona’s statewide Double Up initiative. “SNAP recipients have access to more fruits and vegetables, local farmers make more money, and more dollars stay in the local economy.“

Pinnacle Prevention operates 23 Double Up sites across Arizona under the Fair Food Network national umbrella, including a mobile market with 80 stops on its route. Each of them has seen an uptick in SNAP spending, and Udarbe says local produce vendors have indicated an increase in sales since the program started.

Since Pinnacle Prevention’s Double Up program began in 2016, Udarbe says SNAP spending at participating farmers markets has increased by between 67 and 290 percent. Additionally, 84 percent of SNAP customers shopping at Pinnacle Prevention’s Double Up sites responded that they “buy and eat a greater variety of fruits and vegetables as a result of Double Up Food Bucks.” This increase in spending is significant, especially since in 2016, nationwide SNAP spending dropped to its lowest point since 2010.

The handful of Double Up programs in Arizona that are not managed by Pinnacle Prevention have also reported ballooning SNAP spending after their programs began. The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona (CFBSA), one of Arizona’s earliest adapters of the Double Up concept, reported $9,000 in SNAP spending at its Tucson farmers markets in 2015. But in 2016, after receiving federal funding to implement Double Up, program manager Audra Christophel says SNAP spending at CFBSA markets increased to $37,000. And in 2017, the total SNAP spending exceeded $43,000—nearly half of which was spent on Arizona-grown fruits and vegetables.

*          *          *

In September 2018, the federal Farm Bill will expire. This means legislators are working now to craft a nearly $900 billion piece of legislation to steer food and agriculture programs over the next five years, including crop insurance, farmer loans, SNAP, and the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants program that funds Pinnacle Prevention’s Double Up program. Udarbe says including FINI in the 2018 Farm Bill is important for the SNAP customers and farmers who count on similar produce incentive programs across the country.

But the recent unveiling of the USDA America’s Harvest Box, part of a theoretical overhaul to the SNAP program that would include deep cuts, shows that the Trump administration may have a different plan in mind. America’s Harvest Box—a Blue Apron-style box for SNAP recipients—would contain pre-determined rations of U.S.-produced breads, shelf-stable milk, pastas, and canned goods.

The box program was immediately met with widespread criticism from individuals and organizations working in the fields of nutrition and food security. In February, when a USDA official discussed the concept of America’s Harvest Box during a National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, Politico reported that “boos and mocking laughter erupted” from a crowd of 1,200 anti-hunger advocates, and “at least 20 people walked out in protest.”

Udarbe says, “The Harvest Box idea contradicts everything we have been doing over the past decade to move in a direction that best supports food-insecure families and farmers.” Indeed, America’s Harvest Box would remove the element of choice and would not provide fresh fruits or vegetables. It would also cut back on the economic opportunities for local produce farmers across the United States, who have come to count on the Double Up program for sales.

The far-reaching benefits of Double Up, combined with increased pressure by the federal government for states to cough up funding for such programs, are at the foundation of SB 1245, a new bill introduced by State Sen. Kate Brophy McGee (R).

If passed, SB 1245 would allocate $400,000 from the Arizona state general fund to be used as a match for Double Up Food Bucks. Udarbe and Christophel each say that federal grant applications will be more competitive if they can show a match from the state. “While match requirements aren’t new to USDA grants,” says Udarbe, it helps if applicants can show “evidence of buy-in and support from local leaders.”

And though SB 1245 was introduced before the unveiling of America’s Harvest Box by the USDA, it is hard not to contrast the two strategies—they’re literally at opposite ends of the continuum. “I passionately, passionately believe in this bill,” said McGee during public hearing for the bill. “If we are going to be spending food stamp dollars, this is where we need to be spending them.”

*          *          *

As a former vegetable farmer and SNAP recipient, I have been on both sides of the table—I actually qualified for SNAP when I was growing food for my community, a cruel irony replicated among the millions of food insecure food workers in America. Farmers are often low-income (in fact, median farm income is projected to be negative $1,316 in 2018), a fact that highlights the role of programs like Double Up in providing economic benefits for direct-market farmers.

“Funding for this program truly is the world to local farmers who sell directly at farmers markets in terms of being able to not only feed their families, but keep lights on and keep a roof over their heads,” says Udarbe.

This sentiment is echoed by Dave Brady, a vegetable producer from Pinal County in Arizona, who testified in support of SB 1245. “I was basically at the point where farmers markets just weren’t working for me,” he says. “But the one thing that made sense to me was Double Up SNAP program. It just makes it possible for me to get my volumes up to a level that’s practical, that I can actual make a decent living at it.”

Because of Double Up, Brady has started experimenting with a box program for seniors in his community who are SNAP recipients. A far cry from America’s Harvest Box, Brady’s boxes are comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables and customized to meet the needs of the seniors.

“When seniors participate in Double Up, I can help them stretch their food dollars and supply them with enough locally grown produce for an entire month,” he says.

In the months ahead, votes by federal and state lawmakers may determine the future of the Double Up program—and the lives of the consumers and farmers like Brady who depend on it.

Dеbbiе Wеingаrtеn

 

Casey McNamara To Run The Boston Marathon

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On April 16, 18-year-old Casey McNamara will be among the youngest running the Boston Marathon. The Brookline resident is running to raise money for the Joslin Diabetes Center and to show others and herself that though she has type 1 diabetes (T1D), she can do anything.

Grateful to the doctors and nurses at the Joslin Center, McNamara is running for all those who have “researched, worked, or even just donated money in hopes of making the lives of T1D better.” She credits their work with being the reason why she can not only live with diabetes but can take on such challenges as the Boston Marathon.

Aiming to raise $15,000, McNamara has raised over $5,000 so far.

Ahead of the marathon, McNamara took some time to answer a few questions, asked by the media.

Why are you running for the Joslin Center?
More than anything I want a cure for T1D. I want to run for Joslin so that I can give back and help raise money for an organization near and dear to my heart and to help progress the research for T1D. I hope that the money I raise for Joslin will help make type one diabetes just a little easier. I hope that there is progress in the research of T1D and more smiles in the process of finding a cure. I hope that with the money that is raised people who have T1D are feeling better, doing better, and living better.

How are you training?
I am still trying to perfect my system for keeping my blood glucose levels in check while I run. I keep Clif gummy blocks with me in case I go low during a run. I try to fuel up before a run, especially if it is a long one and I make sure to replenish my food after I finish exercising. I have been doing a pretty good job, but just like with most areas of diabetes, it could always improve. I also have my own personal coach who is amazing. He checks in on me regarding nutrition, strength, endurance, and everything else that goes along with marathon training. He keeps me on schedule and helps me balance marathon training with my school work, social life, and varsity sports.

What keeps you motivated as you prepare?
I have so many motivations. One of my biggest motivations is my cousin Cameron who is 6 years old and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 16 months old. He is such a wonderful little boy who doesn’t let T1D stop him from doing anything. I am motivated by him because I realize that the work I do now can help his teenage years, which can be the hardest years to manage T1D. I don’t want Cameron to have to go through what I as well as so many other type one diabetics go through. By raising the money and spreading awareness we will generate progress and be that much closer to a cure.

What challenges have/do you face?
I think that it is hard sometimes with all the hard/bad things that can happen in life to look at T1D as something positive. But the longer I live I realize that it is because of T1D that I have found the most strength. When we physically are training to get stronger we weight train and resistance train and our muscle fibers get torn down and it allows them to repair themselves and come back stronger. I think that this same idea applies to how I look at my diabetes. Because I have diabetes and deal with diabetes I have grown and gotten stronger and it is through this strength that motivates me to keep going. I think that it is my diabetes which motivates me to want to run, to show I can and I will.

What message do you hope to send to others with T1D?
I hope that I can inspire some girl or boy who has diabetes and might be doubting what they can accomplish because of their diabetes and serve as a reminder that it only makes what you do more amazing and incredible. Even though it may make situations more challenging it makes accomplishing goals so much more rewarding.

For more information or to donate, please visit McNamara’s fundraising page here.

 

Lawrence School To Get A New Temporary Principal

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Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley

As Lawrence Principal Alysson Hart steps down at the end of this school year, Brookline’s Monica Crowley will step in as the interim principal.

Crowley has served as the principal of the Upper Devotion School for the last four years and served as Lawrence Vice Principal from 2008 to 2014, according to a letter that Superintendent Andrew Bott sent to families and staff.

In February, Hart submitted her resignation effective at the end of the current school year. According to a letter Superintendent Andrew Bott sent to families, Hart is leaving for personal and family reasons.

Hart’s resignation is yet another change for the Lawrence community in just three years. Her departure has presented Bott and school administrators with the challenge of helping the Lawrence community through yet another transition. Ahead of Crowley’s appointment, Bott had deliberated between appointing an interim principal for the next school year and pursuing a full search process later, or to starting the search process now in order to place a permanent principal at Lawrence for the start of the 2018-2019 school year.

“It is critically important to me personally that stability return to the school,” Bott said in an interview with the media last week.

While serving as vice principal at Lawrence, Crowley created the town-wide middle school advisory program, co-chaired the School Council and served as a member of Faculty Planning and Child Study Teams, according to the letter.

“Ms. Crowley’s close ties with Lawrence staff and families and her strong track record of instructional leadership in the district will serve the Lawrence community well,” Bott said in the letter.

In addition to Crowley, Lawrence will also gain Janet Palmer Owens who will work with Hart and the rest of the Lawrence administrative team to help ease the transition process, according to the letter.

Crowley’s appointment comes days after Bott announced that Driscoll interim principal Dr. Sujan “Suzie” Talukdar would assume the permanent principal position at the school. Bott is also expected to announce the permanent principal for the Pierce School in the coming days.

Bott was not immediately available for comment on how this would impact Upper Devotion School.

 

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