After hearing the Mid-Point Progress Update on the work HMFH has done to date to study the existing school site options on February 8th, the Select Board and School Committee are holding a public hearing to hear input from community members.
Please review the presentation that will be shown at the Public Hearing and come provide your input on February 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Brookline High School Auditorium.
In the latest installment of former Brookline firefighter Gerald Alston’s case against Brookline, a federal magistrate judge has decided that Alston can move forward with his lawsuit against the town and 10 individuals.
In 2013, Alston filed a case in federal court claiming a pattern of systematic racism and retaliation within the town. This came after Alston complained about a racial epithet left on his voicemail by a white supervisor in 2010, and later lost his job in 2016 following a lengthy internal investigation.
In his case, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, Alston is suing the Select Board, town counsel and the Human Resources director, collectively as the town. He is also suing the individual board members, town counsel and the Human Resources director personally in the same case.
On Feb. 6 Magistrate Judge Page Kelley denied a motion to dismiss the case against the 10 individuals listed as defendants.
“Alston is a member of a racial minority and … he has adequately alleged that the Town defendants and each of the individual defendants engaged in racial discrimination, including harassment, retaliation, and termination, that adversely impacted his employment,” Kelley wrote in her report.
In separate decision also made on Feb. 6, Kelley dismissed the use of some claims of racism made in the case against the defendants. This means that while Alston can move forward with his case, some of the claims cannot be brought up in court as they do not directly relate to Alston’s case, Kelley wrote in her decisions.
Despite this, Alston is still able to use the examples of what happened with police officers Prentice Pilot and Estifanos Zerai-Misgun, who complained of racism within the police department and were fired in 2017.
“We’re pleased the judge denied the individuals’ defense’s motion to dismiss and did a lot of work in analyzing the claims,” said Alston’s attorney, Brooks Ames.
Both Alston and the defendants have 14 days from the time of the decision to file objections to the decision.
Town Counsel Joslin Murphy did not respond to requests for comment.
View Kelley’s full report here.
If you have not walked past the Coolidge Corner Theatre recently, you may have missed the signals: the posters, the screenings of “Into the Inferno”, “Grizzly Man” and “My Best Fiend”. It all points to this afternoon, when the theater will honor iconic filmmaker Werner Hertzog.
Herzog has produced, written, and directed some 60 feature and documentary films. Francois Truffaut, called him “the most important film director alive.”
It may come then as no surprise that the Coolidge Corner Theatre chose to honor him at this year’s Coolidge Award.
“He’s been on our wish list for year. Everyone on staff is a huge fan of his films,” said Beth Gilligan of the Coolidge Corner. The criteria for the annual award is someone who has contributed to the art of film and film making and original and creative contributions, she said.
“He’s certainly more than creative. And he’s had such a long and diverse career,” she said adding that the fact Herzog was accomplished in both narrative and documentary film styles stood out to them.
What was a surprise, she said, was that Herzog said he would come receive the award. Last year when the Coolidge decided to award Actress Jane Fonda they had some faint connection to her. This year the folks at the theatre decided he was their first choice but did not have any connections and had to just email his office.
“This was really just a shot in the dark,” she said. They emailed and hoped he’d say yes.
“He emailed us from Moscow where he was filming Gorbachev,” said Gilligan. “He said he was really impressed with the caliber of people we had previously honored.”
Herzog will be in town for a Q&A following an afternoon screening of one of his documentaries that debuted in 2016 and then on stage again in the evening to receive the Coolidge Corner award at a fundraiser for theatre.
The first event was a way to host a more inclusive event for those who couldn’t afford to shell out the money for the more expensive black tie dinner.
But tickets sold out fast.
“I think his appeal is really multi-generational,” said Gilligan. Herzog has been a guest star on the sitcom Rick and Morty. He has been on Parks and Rec and then there are those who have been following his decades long career.
As for what the folks at the theatre hope others will get out of Herzog’s presence?
“He’s really a visionary film makers he’s carved out a career and a life for himself that’s quite unique and goes to show you can accomplish so much. I hope people hear him and are inspired by that and his movies are really uniquely cinematic. There’s no comparison seeing those, they’re so extraordinary,” she said.
And seeing them at the Coolidge is another reminder the brilliance of watching movies in a theatre, she adds.
“We’re just really honored that he’s said yes and is coming. It’s just a thrill and an honor to get to host guests of this stature.”
More on Herzog from the theatre:
Herzog is widely known for his prolific and daring body of cinematic work, including both narrative and documentary pieces. He began his film career in the early 1960s and quickly established himself as a powerhouse within the evolving New German Cinema movement of the 1970s.
Over the next several decades Herzog would challenge and inspire movie-going audiences with his stunning excessive realism, eccentric and deeply intense protagonists, and poignant visions of anti-conformity.
He has produced, written, and directed more than sixty feature and documentary films comprising such world-cinema classics as Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972), The Enigma of Kasper Hauser: Every Man For Himself and God Against All (1974), Nosferatu (1978), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Lessons of Darkness (1992), Little Dieter Needs To Fly (1997), My Best Fiend (1999), Grizzly Man (2005), and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010). In addition to his dynamic directorial career, Herzog has published more than a dozen books of prose, and directed as many operas.
More about the award, from the theatre:
The Coolidge Award, launched in 2004, recognizes a selected film artist whose work represents original and outstanding contributions to cinema. Previous honorees include actress Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice, The Devil Wears Prada), actor/artist Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, Lord of the RingsTrilogy), director Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married, Stop Making Sense, Silence of the Lambs), film editor Thelma Schoonmaker (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed), cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Conformist, Reds), director Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern), film producer Jeremy Thomas (Sexy Beast, The Last Emperor) and animators the Quay Brothers (Street of Crocodiles, Institute Benjamenta).
Brookline Bank announced today that Leslie Joannides-Burgos has been named Senior Vice President, Division Executive of Retail and Business Banking. Joannides-Burgos, who has been a Vice President and Regional Manager at Brookline Bank for the past five years, will be responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of Brookline Bank’s Branches, Business Banking Officers, Financial Advisors, Mortgage Loan Officers, and the Bank’s Customer Service/Call Center.
“Leslie has been an invaluable member of our team and I look forward to the leadership contributions she will bring to her new role,” said Darryl Fess, President and CEO of Brookline Bank. “Her experience across business lines and strong ability to bring all that the Bank has to offer our clients will help drive growth and serve our customers with excellence.”
“I view my new leadership role as an opportunity to deepen the financial solutions that the Brookline Bank team delivers every day to both individuals and business customers alike,” said Joannides-Burgos. “Whether it is cash management services for businesses, investment options for the owners, or mobile banking for family members, we have the colleagues and products to help every type of client meet any financial need.”
Joannides-Burgos brings 28 years of banking experience in sales, service, operations, colleague engagement, and development to the Division Executive role. She has been with Brookline Bank since 2012. Prior to that she held positions at leading financial institutions across Massachusetts and in Florida. She has received several industry distinctions throughout her career. Joannides-Burgos holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.
About Brookline Bank
Brookline Bank is a subsidiary of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRKL), and is headquartered in Brookline, Massachusetts. A full-service financial institution, Brookline Bank provides individuals and businesses with deposit and lending services, residential mortgages and home equity lending, commercial and CRE banking, cash management, merchant services, and access to investment services. Brookline Bank operates 25 offices in Greater Boston. For more information go to brooklinebank.com. Brookline Bank is an Equal Opportunity and Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC / Member DIF.
Investment and insurance products and services are offered through INFINEX INVESTMENTS, INC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Brookline Investment Services is a trade name of the bank. Infinex and the bank are not affiliated. Products and services made available through Infinex are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency of the United States and are not deposits or obligations of nor guaranteed or insured by any bank or bank affiliate. These products are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Brookline’s Economic Development and Housing Advisory boards will host a presentation and panel discussion Feb. 15 on creating mixed-use developments and affordable housing in town. The guest speaker will be Northeastern University economist Barry Bluestone, who will offer a perspective on Greater Boston’s “explosive real estate and jobs economy” and how that impacts housing affordability, the town said in a statement on its website.
Bluestone is the lead author of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card for 2017, published by the Boston Foundation. That report found that while there is a building boom for homes in Boston itself, permitting in the surrounding region has dropped since 2015, helping to keep housing prices high. Panelists from the two town boards “will explore how Brookline can encourage appropriate mixed-used development with more affordable housing, while also expanding the town’s commercial tax base,” the statement said. The presentation will be held in the Select Board’s Hearing Room at Brookline Town Hall, 333 Washington Street, starting at 7:00 p.m.
Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Director John A. Hackett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.25, for a total transaction of $81,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $511,875. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
John A. Hackett also recently made the following trade(s):
Shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (BRKL) remained flat at $$16.15 on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 75,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,504. The stock has a market cap of $1,241.85, a P/E ratio of 23.75 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $17.05.
Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $63.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.22 million. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. research analysts predict that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 15th. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is 52.94%.
A number of research analysts have commented on BRKL shares. Sandler O’Neill cut shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. BidaskClub cut shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies restated a “hold” rating and set a $16.50 price target on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 358,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,631,000 after buying an additional 3,852 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $410,000. Aries Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $372,000. Aperio Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 32,929 shares of the bank’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 140,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,199,000 after buying an additional 29,175 shares in the last quarter. 77.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Brookline Bancorp 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.
In celebration of National Women’s History Month, the Brookline Commission for Women (BCW) is currently running its 26th annual “A Woman Who Inspires Me” Essay Contest and accepting nominations for the 2018 Brookline Woman of the Year.
For the “A Woman Who Inspires Me” Essay Contest, all 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th-grade students who live in Brookline or attend a public or private school in Brookline are eligible to submit an essay that honors a woman who inspires them.
The “Women Who Inspire Me” essay contest 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. Essay contest winners will be honored at an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Hunneman Hall, Brookline Main Library. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Commission’s naming of the 2018 Brookline Woman of the Year.
Student essays can be submitted online. To be eligible, essays must be received no later than February 26th. Winning essays will be announced on the BCW website and through e-mail on/around March 6th. Please contact BCW Co-Chair, Casey Hatchett at 617-730-2734 or via e-mail at chatchett@brooklinema.gov with any questions.
For the 2018 Brookline Woman of the Year nominations, we are accepting nominations online until February 28. Please contact BCW Co-Chair, Casey Hatchett at 617-730-2734 or via e-mail at chatchett@brooklinema.gov with any questions.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BID
The Brookline Housing Authority, the Awarding Authority, invites sealed bids from HVAC contractors for the Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Replacements at Various Sites for the Brookline Housing Authority, in Brookline, Massachusetts, in accordance with the documents prepared by Nangle Engineering Incorporated.
The Project consists of in general but is not limited to:
(1.) At Kickham Apartments:
a. Replace boiler plant, including heating and domestic hot water systems,
b. Replace roof exhaust fans,
c. Replace engine-generator and accessories
d. Replace automatic transfer switch
e. Provide remote annunciator
(2.) At Morse Apartments:
a. Replace roof exhaust fans,
b. Replace engine-generator and accessories,
c. Replace (retrofit) common area panelboards and dwelling unit loadcenters
d. Replace automatic transfer switch
e. Provide remote annunciator
(3.) At O’Shea House:
a. Replace engine-generator and accessories,
b. Replace automatic transfer switch
c. Provide remote annunciator
(4.) At Sussman House:
a. Replace roof exhaust fans
The Contractor’s work is estimated to cost approximately $515,000.00, including all alternates.
Bids are subject to M.G.L. c.149 §44A-J and to minimum wage rates as well as other applicable laws.
This project is being electronically bid, and hard copy bids will not be accepted. Please review the instructions in the bid documents on how to register as an electronic bidder. The bids are to be prepared and submitted at www.biddocsonline.com. Tutorials and instructions on how to complete the electronic bid documents are available online (click on the “Tutorial” tab at the bottom footer).
General E-Bids will be received until 2:00 PM on Thursday, March 1, 2018 at www.Biddocsonline.com and publicly posted online, forthwith.
General bidders must be certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) in the category of HVAC and must submit a current DCAM Certificate of Eligibility and a signed Update Statement with their bid.
Each General bidder must submit a completed HUD 5369-A form, Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Bidders and a completed HUD 2530 form, Previous Participation Schedule with their bid.
Filed Sub-E-Bids for the trades listed below will be received until 2:00 PM on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at www.Biddocsonline.com and publicly posted online, forthwith.
Filed sub-bidders must be DCAM certified for the trade(s) being bid, and must submit a current DCAM Sub-bidder Certificate of Eligibility and a signed Sub-bidder Update Statement with their bid.
Subtrades:
Section 220000, Plumbing
Section 260000, Electrical
General and filed sub E-bids shall be accompanied by a negotiable bid guarantee which shall not be less than five (5%) of the amount of the bid, considering all alternates, and made payable to Brookline Housing Authority. Refer to Instruction to Bidders.
Bid Forms and Contract Documents will be available for pick-up on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at www.biddocsonline.com (may be viewed electronically and hardcopy requested) or at Nashoba Blue, Inc. at 433 Main Street, Hudson, MA 01749 (978-568-1167).
There is a refundable plan deposit of $25.00 per set (maximum of 2 sets) payable to Biddocs Online.
Deposits may be electronically paid or must be a certified or cashier’s check. This deposit will be refunded for up to two sets for general bidders and for one set for sub-bidders upon return of the sets in good condition within thirty days of receipt of general bids. Otherwise the deposit shall be the property of the Awarding Authority.
Bidders requesting Contract Documents to be mailed to them shall include a separate check for $40.00 per set for UPS Ground (or $65.00 per set for UPS overnight), payable to BidDocs ONLINE, Inc., to cover mail and handling costs.
A Pre-Bid Conference will be held at 10:00 AM on Thursday, February 15, 2018 starting at Kickham Apartments at 190 Harvard Street, Brookline. Immediately following the Pre-Bid Conference, there will be a tour of the sites, including Kickham Apartments, O’Shea House, Sussman House and Morse Apartments. Parking is only available on the street at each site. Any questions should be submitted in writing prior to or at that time.
The Contract Documents may be seen by electronic media at: Project Dog – www.projectdog.com; Joseph Merritt & Co www.merrittgraphics.com; and CMD (formerly Reed Construction Data) www.cmdgroup.com/Home
The Brookline Housing Authority reserves the right to waive any informalities in or to reject any and all bids, or to waive any informalities in the bidding. No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of thirty (30) days, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded, after approval of the award by the Brookline Housing Authority without written consent of the Brookline Housing Authority.
This Contract is funded in part by a Community Development Block Grant provided by the Town of Brookline through the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and is subject to all provisions and regulations issued pursuant to this Act.
Sharon Cowan, Director of Modernization
Brookline Housing Authority
February 7, 2018
Brightleaf Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of technology powered services to overcome the challenge of mining important data from unstructured documents has been named as company of the year by the CIOReview magazine.
“We are honored to be named as Company of the year for Contract Management solutions provider. This honor shows the importance of migration of legacy contract and associated data into the Contract Management Systems deployed by companies. Contract management is now a necessity for corporations”, says Samir Bhatia, CEO of Brightleaf. “We are committed to advancing the success of these systems by using natural language, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to extract data from legacy contracts to be populated into the system along with their contractual documents.”
“We are extremely happy to announce Brightleaf Solutions as Company of the year as a Contract Management solutions provider in our latest magazine edition. Brightleaf is the only company in the contract management landscape that provides an end-to-end technology powered solution for extraction of data from contracts, customized to each client’s requirements” said Jeevan George, Managing Editor of CIOReview. “This focus and substantial benefit provided to all the system vendors, made Brightleaf an easy choice in this space.”, adds George. (Click here to view the writeup on Brightleaf).
Brightleaf has developed a state of the art platform using Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing technologies to extract key data information from contracts. “The contracts pass through the software which carries predefined rule sets/algorithms that are handpicked as per client specifications. The software is then followed by a review from our expert lawyers to find and fix any discrepancies.” says Samir Bhatia, “We are also exploring new domains outside contracts and English language to meet extended requirements from our clients.”
Data extraction from unstructured text is perhaps the most challenging issue that information processing faces. Because the implications of missing critical information, such as risk factors, expiry dates, penalty clauses and opportunities are so much greater in complex contracts, quality and reliability of data is paramount. Brightleaf understands the relevance of staying on top of quality of extracted data for its clients and promises a Six Sigma quality level output.
About Brightleaf Solutions, Inc.
Brightleaf provides a technology powered service to extract information from your contracts using our own proprietary semantic intelligence/natural language processing technology, our own team of lawyers to check the output, and our own Six-Sigma process to deliver end-to-end, highly accurate, extracted data from your contracts.
The data can be virtually anything, and it is customized for each of your type of contracts. All meta-data, terms and conditions, legal provisions, and even all obligations (which are usually scattered throughout your contracts) are extracted by our software. This extracted data is checked by our team of lawyers, and provided in a format for easy upload into any system, such as a Contract Lifecycle Management System (CLM), for tracking and reporting (download Strategy Brief).
This allows you to leverage the knowledge in your existing contracts, report on the extracted data, even recover hidden revenue (e.g. by policing penalty clauses in your supplier agreements) and comply with current and upcoming regulations.
The Coolidge Corner Library is participating in the Boston Bruins and Cradles to Crayons annual PJ drive. Please bring your donation of new pajamas to Coolidge Corner!
Coolidge Corner Library
31 Pleasant Street
Brookline, MA 02446
Tel.: 617-730-2380
Monday, Jan. 29
Laser on Colbourne Crecsent: At 7:46 p.m., a caller reported that someone in a home by Colbourne Cresvent and Winthrop Road was shining a laser pointer at drivers as they went by.
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Suspicious man on Newell Road: At 5:27 a.m., a caller reported seeing a man walk around their Newell Road home near the basement. The man was dressed in all black, and was last seen walking towards the Lawrence School, according to the report.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Trying to open car doors on Washington Street: At 2:47 a.m., a caller reported that a man was in a Washington Street parking lot trying to open car doors. The caller described that man as around 5 feet 10 inches and dressed in all black.
Thursday, Feb. 1
Yorkie on Ivy Street: At noon, a caller reported a yorkie – Yorkshire Terrier – with a bandana on Ivy Street. The caller said the yorkie looked mean.
Dispute on East Milton Road: At 3:51 p.m., a caller reported having an ongoing issue with Herb Chambers over work being done in the caller’s backyard. The caller wanted to know how to stop the work.
Gesturing wildly on Babcock Street: At 6:30 p.m., a caller reported that a man in an alleyway on Babcock Street had been talking loudly and gesturing in a wild manner for 10 minutes.
Friday, Feb. 2
Break and enter on Brookline Avenue: At 1:45 p.m., a caller reported that a rock had been thrown through the window of their truck and that tools were missing.
Solicitors on Park Street: At 2:46 p.m., a caller reported that a man had been asking to see old copies of the electric bill. The caller said the man was carrying an iPad and had a red badge around his neck.
Attempted break in on Alton Court: At 3:57 p.m., a caller reported that when she got home that her door was open and unlocked. She believed someone had tried to break in, but nothing was taken.
More solicitors on Browne Street: At 4:21 p.m., police received a report of a man knocking door to door asking for resident’s electrical bills. The man was described as wearing a fluorescent orange vest.
Even more solicitors on Brookline Avenue: At 6:42 p.m. a caller reported that three men who were soliciting had attempted to enter the Brookline Avenue building and put their foot in the door so she couldn’t close it. The caller said the men had a binder with an old Eversource invoice on it and were claiming to be with the company. According to the report, the men were no longer wearing orange vests.
Saturday, Feb. 3
Possible drug deal at Lawrence Park: At 8:22 p.m. a caller reported what they believed was a drug deal involving three boys wearing coats and hoodies. The caller said money was exchanged.
Sunday, Feb. 4
Reported gun shots on Beacon Street: At 12:40 a.m. a caller reported hearing four pops near the CVS parking lot by Beacon Street.
Brookline Music School’s 2017-2018 Faculty Artist Series continues on Sunday, March 4, 2018, with Music for Viola, Clarinet, & Piano.
The performance will feature BMS faculty members Stephanie Fong, viola and Aimee Tsuchiya, piano, performing works by Alisa Rose and Sergi Rachmaninoff.
Clarinetist Rane Moore will join Ms. Fong and Ms. Tsuchiya for Mozart’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major for Viola, Clarinet, and Piano, K. 498. The concert will begin at 3:00 p.m. and take place in the Bakalar Recital Hall at Brookline Music School (25 Kennard Road, Brookline, MA).
The concert is free, with a suggested donation of $10. The performance will be followed by a Meet-the-Artists Reception.
The 2017-2018 Faculty Artist Series comprises four diverse performances featuring the talented collective of professional musicians who make up the Brookline Music School faculty. From timeless classical masterpieces and contemporary works to jazz standards and innovative original compositions, the series presents something for everyone.
About the Featured Brookline Music School Faculty Members
Violist Stephanie Fong is a native of Oakland, California. She enjoys a versatile career as a music educator, chamber music performer, and orchestral musician. Stephanie performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and has served on the chamber music faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, the Innsbrook Institute Summer Music Academy, and the Peaks to Plains Suzuki Institute. She has performed as a member of the Boston-based group Mistral and the Alianza String Quartet, and was a top-prize winner at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with the Kailas String Quartet. Stephanie has performed at a number of festivals including the Tanglewood, Monadnock, Aspen, and Yellow Barn Music Festivals. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Pianist Aimee Tsuchiya has appeared as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia and in live broadcasts on WGBH, Chicago Public Radio, and CBC radio. She has worked with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic, Emmanuel Music, Guarneri Quartet, Peabody Trio, Gryphon Trio, and Cleveland Quartet, as well as pianists Emanuel Ax, Awadagin Pratt, Lydia Artymiw, Victor Rosenbaum, Irma Vallecillo, Margot Garrett and Andre Watts. Ms. Tsuchiya has won competitions including Chopin Society Young Artists Competition, the Schubert Club Competition, Thursday Musical Competition, and the top piano prize in the Minnesota Orchestra’s Young People’s Symphony Concert Association. She has been a finalist in the New World Symphony auditions, and was awarded fellowships to Interlochen, Tanglewood, Yellow Barn and Banff Chamber Music Festivals. She is also an active and versatile teacher in the Boston area, and works with students of all ages and levels. Ms. Tsuchiya holds degrees from University of Minnesota Twin Cities and New England Conservatory.
About Brookline Music School Brookline Music School, now in its 93rd year, is a private nonprofit community school for the arts offering music instruction to people of all ages and abilities. The School serves the community by teaching in multiple locations, offering tuition assistance, and sponsoring a full schedule of concerts and public performances throughout the year.
The Faculty Artist Series is sponsored by Brookline Bank, Johnson String Instruments, and New England Legal Search. The Media Sponsor is Brookline Interactive Group. Brookline Music School is sponsored in part by the Brookline Community Foundation, the Mass Cultural Council, and the Associated Chamber Music Players.
The following programs will take place at the Brookline Senior Center, 93 Winchester Street. For information, call 617-730-2770 or brooklineseniorcenter.org.
February spotlighted volunteer opportunities: This month’s spotlighted opportunities include Coffee Duty from 8-9 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; Food Commodity Program on third Wednesday of each month — Russian and Chinese interpreters morning and afternoon shifts and people able to help with phone calls and/or lifting 30-35 pounds in the morning; Food Pantry volunteers for morning — able to lift 30 pounds — and afternoon setup, shopping assistance and Russian interpreters for 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays; one-on-one assistance for seniors with their smartphones and other technology. To apply for these or other volunteer opportunities at the BSC: Patricia, 617-730-2743, pburns@brooklinema.gov.
UPCOMING
AARP tax preparation assistance: Tuesdays, through April 10. AARP Tax Aide volunteers will once again return to the Senior Center on Tuesdays to assist with filing returns. Scheduling has begun. Please note that the Tax Aide program will again be using newer software this year. As a result, it is very important for to bring copies of 2016 returns to appointment. The tax aide volunteers will not be able to assist with any amended tax returns, other than for the year 2016. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 617-730-2777.
Blood pressure screening: 1-2 p.m. Feb. 14, Sussman House; Feb. 15, Senior Center; Feb. 28, Park Street. Barbara Westley, the nurse from the Brookline Public Health Department will provide blood pressure screenings.
Cake Decorating: 1 p.m. Feb. 8. To register: 617-730-2770. Heathwood Healthcare’s master chef presents cake decorating tips. Small cakes, frosting and supplies will be provided. Space limited.
“Dark Girls” documentary: 1:00 p.m. Feb. 9. To register: 617-730-2770. A screening of this controversial film which goes underneath the surface to explore the prejudices dark-skinned women face throughout the world. It explores the roots of classism, racism and the lack of self-esteem within a segment of cultures. Due to our space limitations, this film will be shown on the large screen TV in Room 103.
Barbershop Quartet: 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Feb. 14. To register: 617-730-2770. Select members of the New Sound Assembly Barbershop Chorus will stop by the Center to perform loves songs in honor of Valentine’s Day.
“The Many Faces of Love:” 1:00 p.m. Feb. 15. To register: 617-730-2770. Stephen Collins leads an afternoon of sonnets and passages that are all about love.
Brookline Hearing Services: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Feb. 15. The staff from Brookline Hearing Services will provide hearing aid cleanings, maintenance and patient counseling at no charge. They will also be selling all sizes of hearing aid batteries for $5 per pack. All services will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
LGBT Out 2 Brunch Bunch: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Feb. 17, Goddard House, 165 Chestnut Street, Brookline. RSVP: Zoraida, meals@ethocare.org, 617-522-6700, ext. 306. Goddard house in partnership with the Brookline Council on Aging, ETHOS, the LGBTAging Project and the City of Boston Comm on the Affairs of the Elderly, supports the LGBT Older Adult out 2 Brunch Bunch.
Low Vision Group: 1:00 p.m. Feb. 21. A peer-led support group for individuals with limited eyesight.
Roland Hayes and John Wilson: 1:00 p.m. Feb. 21. To register: 617-730-2770. Roland Hayes, tenor, and John Wilson, artist, lived in Brookline for 50 years. Hayes was recently honored with a plaque in front of his former home. Wilson’s sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. was installed in Town Hall. Rob Daves has helped coordinate efforts to tell their fascinating stories. Daves, a Town Meeting member from Pill Hill, served on the Hidden Brookline Committee, The Committee to Commemorate John Wilson and the Town’s MLK Celebration Committee.
The Impact of the Equifax Breach and How To Protect Yourself: 2:00 p.m. Feb. 14. A presentation on the Equifax breach, how to protect one’s self and one’s identity, as well as other current scams and fraud. Handouts and light refreshments will be available. To register: 617-730-2770.
Let’s Go Out To Lunch Bunch: Noon Feb. 27. For reservations and transportation: 617-730-2770. Out to Lunch Bunch will dine at the Cheesecake Factory in Chestnut Hill. The van will leave the Senior Center at 11:30 a.m. sharp.
Zumba Gold: 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Thursdays, through March 8. There will be no class on Feb. 15. Cost: $45; for winter session; $7 per session; free for Brookline Housing Authority residents.
Mass College of Pharmacy: 1:00 p.m. Feb. 22. Students and faculty from MCPHS University present an interactive, informational session on osteoporosis. Faculty and students always encourage questions.
Gallery 93 show: Through Feb. 28. “Group Meditation,” watercolors by Shirley Selhub will be on exhibit in Gallery 93 Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Council on Aging meeting: 1:00 p.m. March 1. The Council on Aging will not meet in February. The March speaker will be Dr. Deepak Kumar from Boston University Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training. Kumar will talk about University research projects geared towards developing more effective strategies to reduce pain and improve physical activity in middle-aged and older adults with knee pain.
Book discussion group: 2:00 p.m. Feb. 26. The community room at the Putterham Branch. We will discuss “Property of a Noble Woman” by Danielle Steele. harlotte Millman and Batia Bloomenthal are the discussion leaders for this book group.
Public issues book discussion group: 9:00 a.m. Feb. 27. Tom Faulhabe challenges your thinking every month with a nonfiction book discussion centered on public issues, history, current events and other nonfiction topics. We will discuss “Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy” by Kitty Dukakis and Larry Tye. The Coolidge Corner Branch Library will have copies of the books available several weeks ahead of each meeting.
Memory Connections Café: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Feb. 28. For information or RSVP: Jamie, 617-730-2753. A free monthly Memory Connections Café for people with early memory challenges and their care partners to participate in socialization and can partake in refreshments and a variety of enjoyable programming in order to gain support and engage with others in a relaxing environment. Either party can attend by themselves, but a care partner must accompany those who require any care assistance.
Aging Together Senior Children and Their Parents: The Senior Center is looking for senior children, aged 65 and older. Led by Dr. Kathrin Boerner, of the University of Massachusetts Boston, the team wants to learn what their relationship is like, what challenges they may face and what support they may need. Learning about their experience will help the team better understand how parents and children age together. Participants will be interviewed at a place of their convenience. they will each receive $40. For information: 617-901-1082; agingtogether@umb.edu.
Spanish Immersion Brookline: Thursdays, through March 29. For information or to register: Giovanna Tapia, 617-953-7016. Spanish I will be offered from 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. and Spanish II is offered from noon – 1:00 p.m. There is a small fee.
Real estate tax exemption: 10:00 a.m. – noon Feb. 20. Sandy Spector will have information for seniors on real estate tax exemptions and abatements in the gallery area of the Senior Center. Those interested can drop by with their questions.
ONGOING
Library books: For those who need someone to pick up and return library books during the winter weather, and who would like to have someone read the same book and then discuss the book. For information: Patricia Burns, 617-730-2743.
Job and Volunteer Search Network Series: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Feb. 27, March 6, 13 and 20. Attendees share experiences and resources for their job or volunteer search. This series led by Patricia Burns is free, however registration is required. To register: Patricia, 617-730-2743.
Individual job search skills appointments: Patricia Burns, the REAP Program Job Skills counselor, is available for one-on-one/individual appointments to assist with essential job search tools — resume writing or updating, job-specific cover letters and LinkedIn profile development, interviewing — phone, Skype, in-person or mock — as well as identifying transferable skills from past experience to use in your next job. Appointments required. Contact Patricia at 617-730-2743 or pburns@brooklinema.gov.
Greater Boston Food Bank Food Commodity Program: The Greater Boston Food Bank Commodity Program provides shelf-stable food to low-income seniors. Two shopping bags of food for each approved participant are delivered to the Brookline Senior Center at 93 Winchester Street, Sussman House at 50 Pleasant Street and O’Shea House at 61 Park Street on the third Wednesday of each month. The program is actively recruiting new applicants to participate. For information or to set up an appointment: Patricia, 617-730 2743, pburns@brooklinema.gov.
SHOP “Students Helping Older People:” The Brookline High School will start recruiting students to shop. Seniors who would like to have a student shop for them should call Patricia, the volunteer coordinator, at 617-730-2743 or email her at pburns@brooklinema.gov. The SHOP Program has been a community service program at Brookline High School for many years. It is a volunteer opportunity where students grocery shop for an elder in Brookline and seniors share their actual history and experience with students. It is a weekly to biweekly commitment that is usually shared with a partner student. It starts with visiting the senior’s home to get a grocery list and cash, then shopping, and returning with the groceries and checking the receipt. Besides getting the groceries for the senior, the most important part of this program is developing meaningful multigenerational relationships.
Learn to play or improve your chess game: Three Brookline High School seniors who are co-captains of the high school Chess Club will be at the Senior Center from 3 to 5 p.m. each Friday. Those interested can drop in for a lesson or a game. For information: Patricia, 617-730-2743.
Springwell Lunch: Copies of the menu will be available to pick up at the Senior Center during the last week of the previous month. To register: 617-730-2747. Lunch should be reserved on the business day prior before 10:30 a.m. To reserve a lunch on the business day prior before 10:30 a.m.: 617-730-2747. For reservations for Monday, those interested should call by 10:30 a.m. the previous Friday. Springwell can only guarantee a lunch reservation until 12:15 p.m. each day. Those who will be arriving late for lunch should let Kristine know in advance. Those arriving arrive after 12:15 p.m. with no advance notice, cannot be guarantee a meal for that day. On Feb. 14, the lunch of the day will be vegetarian lasagna with tomato sauce, green beans and red peppers, snowflake wheat dinner roll and chocolate mousse. On Feb. 19, the Senior Center is closed for President’s Day. No Springwell lunch. On Feb. 20, February birthdays will be celebrated at the monthly Birthday Lunch. The sponsor of this lunch has provided a complimentary lunch and a small gift to all February birthday celebrants. Wingate at Chestnut Hill will provide the monthly birthday cake.
ELF: The program has some bariatric equipment available, including a transport wheelchair, rolling walker and commode. To request these items or to donate other items: Jamie, 617-730-2753.
Computer One-on-One: Computer One-on-One has resumed in the computer lab. Fran Pechenick is available for one-hour appointments to assist with PC issues. Dan Siagel is available for one half-hour appointments from 2-4 p.m. Tuesdays to help with smart phones, apple and PC instruction.
ICARE — Independent Clients Accessing Rides To Eyecare: The Council on Aging, through the HELP program, has announced a new program in partnership with ITNAmerica, through their generous grant funding. The HELP program will be able to provide free transportation to scheduled eyecare appointments in the Greater Boston area. To access, contact the HELP line at 617-730-2752 at least a week before scheduled appointment.
The Brookline Library has long been more than just a library for books. And until Spring it is a library of eats, too. That’s right. Who ever said there was no eating in the library? Think again:
“All three branches are offering food related programs from February through May. We wanted to highlight the wonderful cuisine and ethnic food representative of our diverse Brookline and provide programs for all ages. The baked food cookbook group will be a monthly program at our Coolidge Corner Branch,” said the library’s Anne Reed.
On February 6, founder and owner of Breadboard Bakery Daisy Chow kicks off the “Brookline Eats!” series. She will be bringing some samples of her baked treats and her tech-to-bakery story to an event for folks interested in good eats and good stories.
Chow is responsible for those kolaches and wacky cake and cinnamon rolls you probably cannot get enough of at Cutty’s down the street in Brookline Village.
The folks at the library say they got into the idea of focusing on food this spring part of their ongoing efforts to connect with the community in new ways.
“Food is always popular and a great way to celebrate our community. Staff from the branches, our staff programming committee, and youth services were excited to plan the programs,” said Reed.
What started as “several programs” blossomed into a series of 27 events, and collecting recipes for a cook book along the way, she said.
For Reed in particular, who is also a member of the Brookline Women and Girls Thriving Health and Nutrition working group she said she saw this series as a way to compliment that mission and introduce members of the community to the library.
Stay tuned for more food-related talks and treats: Also on the list of visitors? The owner of Brookline’s own Union Square Donuts.
In honor of Black History Month, the Public Library of Brookline (361 Washington Street, Brookline, MA 02445) is screening a month-long film series. Join us every Thursday in February at 6:00 p.m. to celebrate Black history and culture. Snacks and hot cocoa will be provided.
For more films dedicated to Black History Month, check out February’s Midday Movies at the Putterham Library and Movie Matinees at the Coolidge Corner Library. View upcoming titles here.
In Coolidge Corner Brookline, there is a little deli serving big sandwiches, really big sandwiches, and outrageously big sandwiches.
“You have to share it. It’s an obscene amount of food for one person to try to eat,” said owner Steven Peljovich.
The name of the place is Michael’s Deli.
Thanks to Peljovich’s hard work and dedication, the old-time New York-style Jewish deli is making a big-time comeback.
“Delis don’t really exist so much anymore because there’s a ton of work, a ton of labor involved in it, there’s a ton of love that you need to do. And if you don’t love what you’re doing you’re gonna find a way to cut corners, and you’re gonna serve people product that’s ‘deli meats’ but they’re not real deli meats,” he said.
The menu is what you’d expect to find in a traditional old school fashioned deli but “amped up a little bit. So corned beef, pastrami, brisket are the features. Our turkey is real turkey from a local farm, and then we’ve taken some twists on some of the traditional items.”
Alongside standards like the classic Reuben, there are more adventurous options that are stacked to the sky, or stuffed with potato chips.
The corned beef is cooked in house, the bagels come straight from the Big Apple, and at Michael’s, great service is certainly still in style.
“We know our regulars. Most of the time my guys will be firing up the sandwich before they even make it up to the front of the line. And it’s sort of that homey restaurant feel,” Peljovich said.
“So for me, what I hope this is sort of memories for people. The smells, the food, the taste. Bring them back to a time when they went with their grandparents to have lunch which people don’t really do so much anymore.”
Former Selectwoman and Town Meeting Member Jesse Mermell was chosen to represent the Elizabeth Warren Campaign at the Brookline Caucus this weekend.
Mermell was asked by the Campaign to speak for about a minute about the senator’s record at the Caucus. Most campaigns (for any office) will have local people there representing the candidate if that person can’t be there themselves. This isn’t the first time Mermell has done work for Warren.
“In 2012 I did a fair amount of surrogating for her,” Mermell told the media.
Democrats will convene at Brookline High School in the cafeteria at 2 p.m. to elect delegates and alternates to the 2018 MA Democratic State Convention, which will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester on June 1 and 2. Delegates at the 2018 MA Democratic State Convention will determine which statewide candidates will be on the Democratic ticket in the 2018 Primary Election in September and amend the Party Charter.
Brookline will be electing 42 delegates and seven alternates. Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Brookline will be eligible to vote at the caucus. Those not elected as delegates or alternates who meet the qualifications may apply to be add-on delegates in the following categories: Youth, Minority, Disabled or LGBT.
WHEN: Saturday, February 3, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Brookline High School, cafeteria,115 Greenough Street, Brookline, MA
For information: Brookline Democratic Town Committee Chair, Cindy Rowe, 617-277-6282.
Skinny jeans are still in style but only if they are high waisted, says former Newbury Street personal shopper now the owner of Bess’s Cafe in Brookline. She still knows what’s up in the fashion world, but she also is in the process of mastering a thing or two about comfort food in Brookline.
Some might say she has mastered it this year. The Globe just named her cafe among the most promising 46 new restaurants in the greater Boston area.
Tucked into the strip of businesses on Cypress Street next to the Pizzeria across from Kurkman’s Market is Bess’s Cafe. Sometimes, like one recent chilly Friday, the heat goes off unexpectedly and the owner is racing to fix it. But this is something the customers do not seem to notice between the warmth of the comfort food in front of them and that of the owner Bess Lee.
In March 2017 Bess’s Cafe moved into the corner spot that was the Brick Wall Kitchen for about two years and before that Rita’s Café.
Before opening up shop in Brookline, the Braintree resident actually has had very little experience in the kitchen for the past three decades.
“I love to eat out,” she told Patch.
But, now, the past two years have made up for that.
But she was ready to make a change after 27 years working as a personal shopper for upscale stores and fancy ladies. She did not know exactly what that would look like. But she knew she wanted to own her own business. She had an agent on a search looking for small spots. And then she was having food with some friends, she remarked that they were always making food that was restaurant ready and delicious. You should start a restaurant she told them. They brushed that thought aside, but then she thought, “why don’t I start a restaurant?” That stuck. She convinced her friends to teach her how to make fresh Jiang Nan style noodles and small bites – comfort foods from her childhood. And then she convinced them to help cook at the restaurant. It was a 180 from the retail work she’d done on Newbury Street. And she loved it and had a knack for it. What do the two have in common? She has learned to be flexible. About three months in after people kept coming in asking for vegetarian options she sat down and worked out vegetarian options.
There is now vegetable dumplings with a delightful mix of firm tofu bits, mustard greens, vermicelli, chives, seaweed and a few other spices in there lightly crisped to give it texture ($8) that comes with an in house mixed ginger, soy sauce. Then she added a Cream Custard Bun ($4) with the perfect texture, though like most of her dishes, light. Even the crispy scallion pancake ($4) is light. It is crispy and flaky version with scallion tucked beneath the layers and nothing else. These won’t sit at the bottom of your stomach. You can get them as a meat wrap with either beef or crispy chicken for ($8). And then there is the Dan Dan noodle dish: During a meal with many delights, this was the real winner with sesame paste-enriched firm tofu, preserved vegetables, and matchsticks of marinated cucumber.
“I wanted to create a simple space with a simple menu to create simple, fresh healthy food,” said Lee.
How’s it going one year in? “So far so good,” she says with a shrug and a smile from ear to ear behind trendy glasses. “I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a ton. And there have been lots of ups and downs,” she said.
But she is glad she is on this journey. Her family has been supportive, her daughter helped design the menu and sign, her mother is the artist behind the scrolls on the exposed brick wall and her husband has been her business partner. And many of her former clients and friends from her previous life as a personal shopper at those high end stores have helped get the word out about her space.
“I’m lucky, I really am,” she said. And busy. She only takes one day off a week and that day she spends resupplying.
On a Friday at 1:15 p.m. this reporter walked in and only one of six tables was free. She heard conversations in different languages and one woman saying to another young woman “Which would make sense because they came over here to colonize.” The space filled with younger looking people, some eating together in groups and some sitting alone looking at their phones. One man said he came often and his go-to was the Pork Belly Noodle Soup ($12). By 2:30 p.m. the lunch crowd had mostly cleared. And a couple young men ordered lots of pork items to go.
“It’s a neighborhood restaurant,” said Lee in describing the types of people who come by. “It’s both young and old.”
Lee said her goal is to offer new seasonal items as the seasons change. Right now she’s open for lunch and dinner and closes around 7:30 p.m. But she is toying with the idea of opening for breakfast – maybe offering an egg wrap or a savory to-go cup. But she says she will always keep it fresh and simple. “I personally don’t like going to restaurants where the menus are so thick,” she said.
Boston OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing For Change) presents “Older Bodies Older Brains: Brains, Bones & the Challenge of Aging” with physicians Elizabeth Kass & Jamie Redgrave on Sunday February 4th from 02:00 p.m. to 04:00 p.m. at the Brookline Senior Center at 93 Winchester Street in Brookline, MA.
Dr. Elizabeth Kass & Dr. Jamie Redgrave will discuss cognitive changes, osteoporosis prevention, arthritis & other medical issues connected to aging Sarah Pearlman Founding Member of OLOC-Boston stated, “Boston OLOC is proud to host our 5th program on age & medical issues with physicians, Elizabeth Kass of Fenway Health & Jamie Redgrave of Harvard University Health Services. Liz will be addressing both normal & abnormal cognitive changes & Jamie will talk about osteoporosis & osteoarthritis, conditions that are common among older women.”
Alice Fisher, Founding Member of OLOC-Boston concluded, “No question, aging is accompanied by health issues. One key to good health is prevention & the other noticing signs that can alert you to problems. Bring your questions on February 4th & join Liz Kass MD of Fenway Health & Jamie Redgrave of Harvard University for another Boston OLOC Sunday afternoon.” OLOC Boston programs & events are open to lesbians of all ages, including transgender lesbians. OLOC’s mission includes their commitment to creating communities of older lesbians & solidarity with allies for racial, economic & social justice. Following the event there will be an early dinner at Lemon Grass at 239 Harvard Street in Brookline, MA.
For more information, please visit here.
Crews spent the overnight hours working to extinguish a fire that broke out at a Brookline townhouse.
Officials said the three-alarm fire broke out at 5 Carlton Street early Thursday morning.
Heavy smoke and flames were seen coming from the building when crews arrived at the scene, and luckily everyone inside was able to escape.
Paul Stadfeld was awake reading Patriots news when neighbors came to his door.
“I walked outside and there was a ton of smoke billowing out the front door. Thick, black smoke. Someone said, ‘Hey, Paul. Your house is on fire.’ So I walked down the street and saw a lot of flames.”
Fire crews from Cambridge were also sent to the scene to provide mutual aid.
“We believe the fire originated in the basement, possibly from a heating unit that extended up a wall between the two townhomes,” Brookline Deputy Chief Colin O’Connell said.
Officials estimate there to be about $900,000 worth of damage.
These documents relate to the fiscal condition of the retirement board and could be viewed online here.
Police in Brookline arrested a man they say tried to break into a home near Longwood Medical Center while the resident was getting ready to walk her dog.
It happened around 05:30 a.m., and police told the media the homeowner’s quick thinking helped them catch the suspect.
“She watched an individual in a black hoodie, face covered, walk behind her home and then the back stairs of her home, towards her basement door,” Deputy Police Superintendent Michael Gropman said.
The woman smashed the glass on her own door, spooking the suspect away then called police who were able to track the suspect’s footprints in the snow.
“[The officers] chased him all the way across the field, over another fence, and he ended up on the MBTA tracks,” Gropman said.
The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Tristen Phillips. Police said he had severe cuts to his stomach, likely caused by spikes on top of the fences he jumped.
Phillips is charged with attempted breaking and entering. He remains in the hospital where he is recovering, and will soon be arraigned.
When they started the tiny Clear Flour Bread in a residential neighborhood near Coolidge Corner in 1982, Christy Timon and Abe Faber had a philosophy about running a business that at the time set them apart from pretty much everyone else baking. The two would make baguettes the way they were made in France, they would not buy mixes or anything else partially prepared, and they would use the best ingredients they could find, whatever the cost. No one used the word “artisan.”
They were willing to work like dogs, even if it meant delivering bread at dawn by themselves and years without a vacation, which it did. Now, 35 years later, after refusing offers to franchise, blessing former employees who opened their own bakeries, and not selling to a larger enterprise because, as Faber says, “we have friends who watched their life’s work go down the tubes,” the couple is now Clear Flour’s former owners. They sold to a couple about half their age.
New owners Nicole Walsh, 29, and Jon Goodman, 33, newlyweds, took over from Timon, 65, and Faber, 56, in November; the founders will stay on to mentor for a year. They had to learn many things the hard way, they say, all while raising twin daughters, Coco and Tracey, now 23, who both make pastries at the bakery.
If it all looks like an incredible tidy and enviable transfer of ownership, it is. And it all happened by accident. Goodman’s parents, Pam and Alan Goodman, live in Brookline and are devoted customers. Jon remembers being wheeled in a stroller to the bakery and seeing the Clear Flour neon sign in the window. His brother worked there one summer. When he told his parents that he and Walsh wanted to open a bakery in San Francisco, where they lived, his mother asked Timon and Faber if they would talk to the young couple.
“It was the last thing I wanted to do on a Saturday,” says Faber, who had advised dozens of would-be owners, most of whom did not know enough.
His bakery has such a small retail space that customers are typically lined up outside, no matter what the weather. “I live close by,” says Tatte Bakery and Cafe owner Tzurit Or. “They have phenomenal bread.” Regulars queue up for crusty, pointy baguettes that crackle when you break off a piece, dense whole-grain loaves, golden challah, rich brioche, croissants, morning buns (like sticky buns), fruit tarts, scones, giant cookies, and little French confections like miniature canelés, small eggy cylinders famous in Bordeaux. About 30 employees work there day and night, and no job is in jeopardy.
On that Saturday, something about Walsh and Goodman struck Faber. “They’re interested and nice and they get it,” he remembers thinking. (Faber thinks most bakers are nice, and he is suspicious when they are not.) And, he says, “They share our values.” But Faber and Timon were not interested in selling, though they had talked about it every time their lease came up for renewal. And their lease was coming up for renewal, so the discussion started again.
“We kept the conversation open,” says Timon. She is the baking half of their duo; Faber does the business end. They saw a mirror image in Walsh as baker and Goodman as business manager. At one point, Faber asked them, “Are you really thinking it might be either coast?” A change of hands like this, he thought, “felt organic.”
They made an offer. When Walsh saw the e-mail, “My heart stopped for a moment. Jon always wanted a bakery like Clear Flour.” Rentals in San Francisco, the two discovered, were way over their budget. She says this opportunity was “an incredible miracle.”
A smooth transition is what every buyer, seller, and customer is looking for. Tatte owner Or sold 50 percent of her bakery to Panera Bread Co. in 2016 because she wanted to work with then-CEO Ron Shaich. Now Shaich bought all of Panera’s shares in Tatte, says Or, and she was delighted with the new partnership and independence. They just opened their eighth Tatte in Back Bay.
“I was looking closely at Clear Flour,” says Or. “It seems like the [new owners] share the same passion and love for bread. I’m pretty confident they made the correct decision.”
Christy Timon never really decided to go into the breadmaking business. It sort of decided itself. She rented the space as Cafe Small Caterers, baking bread to go with her menus. Word spread about her traditional European-style baguettes and loaves and she had so many orders that she quit catering; wholesale became most of the business with a little retail in the front. Now wholesale is 20 percent with the rest retail, a slow inversion of numbers that took over a decade.
Walsh began baking seriously when she was a teen in Eagle, Idaho (population 23,000). She had worked at Lilly Janes Cupcakes, which made everything from scratch; she bought Lilly Janes when she was 18 with money from her father’s fiancee. “I was hanging out with friends at night, going to work at 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was a crazy way to get into the business.” She was also taking Excel classes, she says. “I had no idea what I was doing.”
She sold the bakery and went to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, CA. Jobs that followed including a stint at Mission Pie in San Francisco. She met Goodman when he was at La Boulange, working in management, opening locations.
“They’re interested and nice and they get it.”
One day Goodman told Walsh that they could open something together. “I can manage and you can bake. This could work,” he said.
Financial backing is coming from Goodman’s father, his uncle, and two brothers, Adam and Peter. “This is a dream come true for my dad.”
When the younger couple joined the bakery late last year, Walsh was at the counter when a customer came in. “I’ve been here since the first day,” he told her, “and I’m rooting for you guys.” That is the message they have gotten ever since.
Says Faber: “Running a bakery is about getting a call at 3:00 a.m. that something’s not working, or at 6:00 a.m. that they can’t get the van started, or an employee sprained an ankle.”
The new owners look at him as he says this and do not seem fazed.
Clear Flour Bread is located at 178 Thorndike Street, Brookline, MA 02446 and online here.
On Saturday a Brookline business owner got a phone call from someone claiming to be a representative from Eversource. The woman told the business owner his bill was overdue and if he wanted to keep the shop’s electricity on, he would have to pay immediately. The thing was: the person on the other end of the phone said the company did not accept credit card payments over the phone.
But they would take pre-paid money cards worth almost $1,000. Brookline Police and the Brookline Chamber of Commerce are warning residents about this type of scam that more than one person in Brookline has recently fallen for.
In this case, similar to other cases, the Brookline business owner was so concerned about losing electricity that he ran out and got several “Green Dot Money Pak” cards and arranged payment that way.
It was only after the woman on the other end of the phone told him he still owed money did he realize he might be getting scammed. The Brookline man called his landlord, who told him the electricity bill was actually included in the lease.
Police say utility scams (similar to the grandparent scams) are common, and there are tell tell signs as to the scam, one of the big ones? Police, Courts, Utility companies will never ask for an immediate wire transfer or pre-paid card as payment.
State officials have been aware of similar scams for some time and recommend looking for these tell-tale signs that give away scammers:
Watch out for these recent phone numbers coming across your caller ID: 1-800-592-2000 and 844-372-8508. According to the Chamber of Commerce these are the numbers that called the local business owner claiming to be from Eversource.
Here is the alert the police sent out on the scam:
“Brookline Residents,
Utility scams are common ways that even the most vigilant people can fall victim to. They often pretend to be a representative of your provider, sometimes claiming that they will turn off your electricity or even threatening jail time as a means of receiving immediate payment. It is important to recognize the common signs of utility scams and the facts regarding your utility provider.”
The facts:
Both Eversource and National Grid will…
If you believe you have been scammed or contacted by a utility scam artist, please report it to the Brookline Police Department. In addition, contact your utility provider.
Resources:
The sport of skeleton is not for the faint of heart. Starting from a crouch, riders take a running start while grasping a small sled, which they ride down an ice track at speeds of up to 80 m.p.h. At the Pyoengchang Olympics this winter, riders will be staring down a 1,372 meter track, with an 116 meter vertical drop throughout. Adam “A. J.” Edelman, Israel’s first ever competitor in skeleton, is not too concerned.
The Brookline native made aliyah in 2016, but his time on the ice goes back his time in hockey pads at the age of three for the Brookline Warriors. He continued playing the sport through his time at the modern Orthodox Maimonides School and at MIT, where he was “believed to be the first shomer-shabbat player in the history of the program,” according to his Team Israel bio (Edelman had also spent a year at a yeshiva before going to school). He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2014, and was hired to work as a product manager for Oracle. In that career path so well-traveled, he also spent a brief period between his time senior year at M.I.T. and Oracle exploring options in drug-free bodybuilding, speedskating, and luge.
But he soon grew restless. The truth was, back in 2006, he had been in Israel during the war with Lebanon, and it had cemented something for him. “That summer changed my life. I turned everything around in my life from that point on. I knew Israel was the place I wanted to call home when I grew up,” he told the media.
Edelman had discovered that Israel had a skeleton team in the fall of 2013, but knew little about the sport at the time. This was, apparently, little more than an inconvenience. At first, his goal was to qualify for the 2022 Games.
“When I started the journey I wrote on a piece of paper that I had 2,884 days to reach my goal. But the more people said it would be impossible to do it in four years the more I wanted to accomplish it,” he said.
“I have a lot of chutzpah. If somebody tells me that something can’t be done it is the most motivating thing for me to try and make sure that it will be done. So I took the paper and crossed out 2,884 and wrote 1,442 and made it my goal to do it in four years.”
So he quit his job at Oracle and moved to Calgary, sanscoaching, funding, or any formal training, to begin gearing up for the 2018 Olympics.
His mother was not pleased. “She flipped out,” he said. “She lost it, she was really upset. Her first response was: ‘Who is going to date you?’ She’s a Jewish mother.”
But Edelman’s done nothing but impress since he arrived four years ago. Competing for Israel with an image of Samson on his helmet, he has represented Israel at two World Championships and is, as of now, ranked no. 61 in the world. He’s set Israeli track records everywhere he has gone.
“I just go from track to track training like a nutjob,” Edelman says. “It became an obsession for me to do everything that I could to make sure Israel qualified for the 2018 Olympics…My coach was the pain. There is a lot of pain involved in hitting a wall. But the more I did it, the more experience I got and the more I was able to coach myself.”
Now, in two weeks time, he’ll be among the largest Israeli delegation to the Winter Olympics—ten athletes!—that’s ever qualified for the Games.
“There is a pride as a Jew and as an Israeli in representing Israel that I don’t think can be felt by any athlete of any other nationality,” he said. “People a lot of time ask about my placement or my goal at the Olympics and if I want to win a medal. The dream of every athlete is to win a medal for their country.”
Norwegian Cruise Line on Sunday afternoon offered an elderly Brookline couple an apology, a full refund, and a complimentary “dream” trip to a destination of the couple’s choice as a “makeup,” hours after a column detailed how the couple had been marooned last month by the cruise line in Los Angeles.
The offer came as hundreds of readers posted stinging criticism of the cruise line in comments on the online version of the column, with some vowing never to patronize the company. Many characterized the well-established cruise line as lacking compassion and common sense.
“It is clear that in the case” of the Brookline couple “we did not deliver as we should have, and their needs were not handled appropriately,” the company said in an e-mail.
“We will be providing” the couple “with a full refund for their cruise,” Norwegian continued. “In addition, as a gesture of our sincerest apologies, we would like to invite them to experience their dream vacation with a complimentary cruise” on the sailing of their choice.
Bernie Wax, 87, and his wife, Dolly, 85, traveled to LA last month for a seven-day cruise down the Mexican coastline. It was a long-planned trip they hugely looked forward to as one last great adventure, a way to celebrate, in style, their 64 years together in the face of mounting health issues.
But when they arrived at the terminal, their luggage was quickly taken from them for transport onto the ship, while they went off to join the crowd waiting in a line to register. The trouble was that Bernie momentarily forgot their passports were in their luggage.
When they reached the desk, a cruise line representative told the Waxes to wait while someone searched for their luggage, but the ship left without the couple three hours later, apparently because the luggage — containing the passports — could not be found. At that point, a cruise line representative wordlessly handed Bernie a tersely written form letter saying they should call an 800 number with any concerns or questions, and disappeared.
“We felt abandoned,” Wax said. “Norwegian was totally without sympathy. Here we were, an elderly couple, 3,000 miles away from home, no clothing, no medicines, no nothing. And they just walked away without a word.”
Bernie Wax said he blamed himself for a silly lapse, noting that Norwegian had explicitly told travelers to bring their passports. But he became increasingly angry when he tried calling for help, only to learn the customer service office would be closed for the next three days because of the Christmas holiday. The couple wound up bunking in with a granddaughter who lives in LA for a week, waiting for the return of their luggage.
And after Norwegian for weeks refused to even acknowledge his firm but polite demand for a refund of the $2,300 spent for the cruise, Wax contacted the media for help.
Norwegian declined to respond to the media, but finally responded to Wax last week by refusing a refund, citing a clause in its terms and conditions that says guests are not entitled to a refund or credit when they are denied boarding for lack of proper documentation.
But by Sunday afternoon, the Miami-based company had relented.
Bernie Wax said he had not heard directly from Norwegian by late Sunday afternoon, but that he was pleased with the turn of events, noting that he had received “lovely e-mails from supporters from all over.”
Wax said he now plans to book a cruise that leaves from Boston.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” he said.
Tommy Vitolo’s campaign to run for state representative kicked off Sunday, January 28 in Coolidge Corner with a packed party at Hops N Scotch, the campaign reported Sunday night.
Vitolo is running to represent the 15th Norfolk District, the seat which is to be vacated by longtime State Representative Frank Smizik who announced last month that he will not to run for reelection. So far the only other Brookline resident who has announced a run for his seat is Town Meeting Member (and former Brookline School Committee member) Rebecca Stone.
Vitolo told those present that once on Beacon Hill he would advocate for Brookline and for social and economic justice, for education, for the environment but he would focus first on equity.
“Opportunity for everyone ensures better outcomes for all of us,” he told those present, according to a press release.
A number of Brookline’s who is who were present, according to several reports on Twitter, including Smizik, who Vitolo had worked for as campaign treasurer.
“Tommy Vitolo is the candidate who can carry on my legacy championing civil rights and criminal justice reform, supporting our public schools, and maintaining and expanding Massachusetts’ leadership in tackling climate change. It is for these reasons and more that I am endorsing his candidacy,” he said, according to the press release.
Local business owner and philanthropist Chobee Hoy also expressed her confidence in Vitolo.
“I see Tommy all over Brookline, attentively listening and then building consensus on solutions that will move our town forward. He’ll be an excellent state representative,” she said according to the campaign.
The campaign also said it had gathered endorsements by former Representative Ronny Sydney, Select Board Members Ben Franco and Heather Hamilton, former Select Board Members Bobby Allen, Ken Goldstein, and Don Weitzman, former School Committee Member Joyce Jozwicki, and most of Brookline’s Library Trustees, Constables, and Town Meeting Members, as well as former public school principals Carol Schraft and John Dempsey.
Vitolo lives near Washington Street with his wife Jennifer and their two children. He has served as a Town Meeting Member since 2007 and Town Constable since 2010. He is currently a Senior Associate at Synapse Energy Economics, a research and consulting firm specializing in energy, economic, and environmental topics for public interest and governmental clients. Vitolo is a PAX board member, a member of Town Meeting’s Green Caucus and Recorded Vote Coalition, an elected Democratic Town Committee member, and active in the Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts’ Brookline chapter.
Filled with sweet anticipation, Bernie and Dolly Wax joined a sea of excited folks edging through a cavernous maritime terminal in Los Angeles toward the gangplank of the majestic Norwegian Star cruise ship.
When they finally reached the registration desk, a Norwegian Cruise Line representative asked to see their passports. They’re in our luggage, Bernie Wax explained, which had been taken from them and piled on a cart headed for the ship the moment they arrived at the terminal 45 minutes earlier.
“They said, ‘No problem. We’ll send someone to get your luggage,’ ” recalled Wax, an 87-year-old retired historian from Brookline. “They said, ‘Go sit down and wait. The ship doesn’t sail for three hours. It shouldn’t be a problem.’ ”
After the terminal had emptied and the ship was loaded with almost 2,500 passengers, Bernie and Dolly Wax, 85, remained behind, crestfallen and confused. Norwegian had three hours to find their luggage but could not.
A Norwegian representative appeared, handed Bernie Wax a “Dear Valued Guest” form letter, and disappeared.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to allow you to board the vessel” without documentation, it began. Call the cruise line’s customers relations department if you have “any questions or concerns,” it said.
“We appreciate your understanding in this,” the letter concluded.
What understanding? Wax had no understanding. He had only anger and concern for himself and his wife, who both have major health issues and had hugely looked forward to the cruise as one last great adventure, a way to celebrate, in style, their 64 years together.
The form letter contained nothing about a refund of the $2,300 they had paid for the cruise they were now not taking. It said nothing about how to get their luggage back. Nothing about what they should do or where they should go except an 800-number. The Waxes looked around the pier and almost everyone was gone.
They had missed the boat.
“We felt abandoned,” Wax said. “Norwegian was totally without sympathy. Here we were, an elderly couple, 3,000 miles away from home, no clothing, no medicines, no nothing. And they just walked away without a word.”
The Waxes had planned and saved for more than a year to fly to LA and take a seven-day cruise down the Mexican coast. They had counted down the days to Dec. 22, when they would board a gleaming white vessel run by a reputable cruise line they had previously taken on enjoyable cruises out of Boston and New York.
They had greatly looked forward to time spent sunning themselves on the promenade gazing out to sea and to fine dining and music and meeting other guests. They had planned to go ashore for shopping in the Mexican ports of call.
“This was to be our last trip together,” Wax would later write to Norwegian asking for a refund and citing the serious health considerations of a couple, both pushing 90, with four children, 10 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
“We were incredibly distressed when we were not allowed to board the ship because our passports were not available,” he wrote in the letter.
Part of the sting Wax felt came from realizing he should have known better. Norwegian had made it clear passports were needed to board. The Waxes had stayed with a granddaughter who lives in LA the night before their planned voyage. She had helped them carefully secure their passports in an outside pocket of one of their three suitcases.
But when they arrived at the terminal, the Waxes faced a somewhat chaotic scene as Norwegian luggage handlers swept through the crowd. A small fleet of carts piled high with luggage sped away to the ship, where suitcases would be sorted and delivered to each passenger’s cabin.
It all happened in a flash. “He grabbed our bags, tagged them, and he was gone,” said Wax. “I didn’t have a moment to think about it.”
Looking back, Wax asked, “How could I have been so stupid?”
As he waited in line, Wax realized the problem. But he figured the couple would be able to board because they did have their passports, which would be inside one of the suitcases delivered to their cabin.
The representative never asked for a driver’s license instead — which the cruise line’s own policy says can be an acceptable substitute for a passport. Cruise ship passengers are not required to have a passport to leave an American port if the destination is Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, or Bermuda, even if they go ashore on a day trip.
After watching the ship leave port, Wax dialed the number for Norwegian customer service, as the form letter advised. He got a recording. The office had closed for the day and would not reopen until the day after Christmas.
Kathleen Grasso works for the operator of the Los Angeles maritime terminal used by Norwegian and other cruise lines. Her job is lend a hand to anyone who needs it. When she came across the Waxes, “it broke my heart,” she said.
“Here was this lovely, older couple, and they were just devastated,” she said. “They had come all the way from the east coast, and now they were stuck.”
Grasso said it is rare for guests to be left behind because luggage could not be found in time to retrieve passports.
“I found that unusual and very sad,” said Grasso, who helped calm the Waxes and gave them her telephone number.
The couple bunked in with their granddaughter and her husband for a week (and had a great time sightseeing with them). They bought the clothing, medications, and toiletries they needed. When the customer service department reopened on Dec. 26, Wax called. The luggage would be delivered to their granddaughter’s house on Dec. 30, the day after the Norwegian Star returned, he was told.
But nothing arrived and Wax called again. The Norwegian representative realized while on the phone with Wax that she had forgotten there was no shipping service that day because it was a Saturday.
“Oh, great, that does us a lot of good,” Wax said sarcastically.
The representative responded with an angry tirade.
“She just flew off the handle, berating me for not realizing how hard she was working,” Wax recalled.
The luggage finally arrived — on Jan. 2.
Weeks passed without Norwegian responding to Wax’s firm but polite request for a refund. Last week, I called and e-mailed Norwegian (which isn’t Norwegian at all; it is a publicly-traded company, incorporated in Bermuda, and headquartered in Miami). I attached copies of the form letter handed to Wax and Wax’s letter to Norwegian, and asked to discuss the matter.
Norwegian did not respond, but within a couple hours of my inquiry, Wax received a letter from Norwegian, his first communication from the company in more than a month. There would be no refund, the company said, citing a clause in its terms and conditions that says guests are not entitled to a refund or credit when they are denied boarding for lack of proper documentation.
“It would be inconsistent for us to make exceptions to our cancelation policies for some guests, when many others in similar situations have accepted these terms,” the letter said.
Wax responded in a letter to Norwegian: “The manner in which we were treated and abandoned in the terminal in LA was truly despicable and disheartening. And frankly not wise from a business standpoint.”
All companies have a culture. Apparently, Norwegian’s is stingy, unfeeling, and inflexible. Is this the kind of company you want to book a vacation with?
Just asking.
Brookline Democrats will be holding a caucus at 2:00 p.m. Feb. 3 to elect delegates to the 2018 Massachusetts Democratic Convention, which will be held on June 1 and 2 in Worcester to endorse statewide candidates and amend the Party Charter.
Brookline will be electing 42 delegates and seven alternates. The caucus will be held at the Brookline High School Cafeteria, 115 Greenough Street. The site is accessible to people with disabilities. Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Brookline will be eligible to vote at the caucus. Those not elected as delegates or alternates who meet the qualifications may apply to be add-on delegates in the following categories: Youth, Minority, Disabled or LGBT.
For information: Brookline Democratic Town Committee Chair, Cindy Rowe, 617-277-6282.
Nikki Giovanni is the award-winning poet of numerous books including Bicycles, Chasing Utopia, and Love Poems. Her next book, A GOOD CRY, was published last Fall. Giovanni is touring the country to promote her new book and will spend an evening at Brookline Booksmith (279 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446) on Friday, February 2nd. The free event begins at 7:00 p.m.
Read an excerpt of her piece “The Musem (At Last)” preserved in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
For more information on the event, please click here.
The Clark Art Institute has named Thomas H. Woodward to serve as chief advancement officer, leading the Clark’s philanthropy and membership programs.
Woodward comes to the Clark from the Harvard Art Museums, where he currently serves as director of institutional advancement. He assumes his new role on March 1.
“We are so pleased to have Tom join our staff in a key leadership position at this exciting moment in the Clark’s life,” said Olivier Meslay, the Felda and Dena Hardymon director of the Clark. “He brings tremendous energy and experience to the work, but more importantly, he shares our passion for the vital role the arts can play in educating, enlightening, and enriching the lives of individuals and the life of its communities. We look forward to imagining the next chapter of the Clark’s future with him as we work to further the Institute’s mission regionally, nationally, and internationally.”
Woodward is a seasoned fundraising professional, bringing more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning and advancement for museums, higher education and the federal government to his new role at the Clark.
“I am thrilled and honored at the prospect of joining the Clark Art Institute at this moment,” Woodward said. “The Clark has been brilliantly reconceived to better serve visitors, scholars and students alike. I look forward to working with the trustees, the institute’s leadership and talented staff, and its many partners in the arts community to help sustain this dynamic institution and its exciting exhibition, education, and research programs.”
Woodward joined the Harvard Art Museums in August 2011, serving as the director of institutional support for three years before assuming his current position in 2014. In leading institutional advancement activities, Woodward played a central role in strategic planning and leadership toward a comprehensive fundraising program for the museum. Prior to joining the Harvard Art Museums, Woodward was the director of development for the Harvard Divinity School, where he worked closely with senior administrators and faculty to plan and execute all development operations and shape its external relations programs.
Early in his career, Woodward joined the National Park Service, where he gained experience in cultural and natural resource management for historic sites and parks that included the Olmsted, Longfellow and Kennedy National Historic Sites in Boston, the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation in Brookline, Mass., and the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park in Woodstock, VT.
Woodward’s affinity for the landscape and garden history community and the National Park Service is central to his personal interests, most notably through his involvement with the Friends of Fairsted, a group that advances the mission of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline. He currently serves as the president of the board for the Friends and provides leadership for their various educational and outreach programs.
In line with new state laws for recreational marijuana, Brookline is working toward a list of local regulations, to be addressed as warrant measures during Town Meeting this May.
Included in those measures is language that could alter the cap for available licenses. The Brookline Planning Board and the Licensing Review Committee held a public hearing to discuss the proposed local regulations January 24.
Brookline is considering a number of warrant measures, most related to the cap. The warrant measures are a preliminary step and are still going through public forums, surveys and research before being finalized to decide what needs to be brought to Town Meeting.
The state Cannabis Control Commission (CNB), responsible for state regulations, issuing licenses and providing oversight for marijuana establishments, is set to file finalized regulations by March 15. It will begin accepting applications by April 1 and begin issuing licenses as early as June 1.
Brookline is aiming to have these proposed regulations in place by June.
Considering a cap on special permits
Included in Brookline’s proposed regulations is a cap on the number of special permits, at the state minimum of 20 percent of the number of outstanding package store licenses – about four to five licenses. The proposal does allow for a change to the cap during Town Meeting in May, but if the town wishes to go below the minimum state requirement, there must be a town-wide vote.
According to the proposed draft of the warrant articles, state law requires at least one license available for existing medical marijuana facilities. Precinct 16 Town Meeting member Regina Frawley argued in favor of a cap of zero, which Assistant Town Counsel Patricia Correa confirmed as a possibility.
“The cap is something that might change at Town Meeting. Town Meeting could easily propose a cap of zero, they could also propose a cap of 50 licenses, so these layers that regulate density and size might be overly burdensome,” said Francisco Torres, the town’s economic development and long-term planner.
According to Correa, the town’s understanding – after town counsel’s meeting with the Massachusetts Municipal Association and a private attorney – is that the cap be set at zero with a town-wide vote, regardless of any medical marijuana dispensary already operating in town.
If Town Meeting does not vote to set the cap to zero, once CNB issues licenses, existing medical marijuana establishments, in this case, New England Treatment Access (NETA), will receive priority.
During the hearing, some, such as Precinct 2 Town Meeting member Linda Olson Pehlke expressed concern about the cap being reduced below the minimum requirement.
“If you recall, we voted on this in November 2016; that was the presidential election and we were all pretty heavily motivated to vote, so the results of that election, in my opinion, are a fairly good read of what this town wants,” said Olson Pehlke. “I think there’s the problem of a small minority, a vocal minority, a motivated minority could potentially thwart the will of the voters of this town through that process.”
Other regulations being considered
The other regulations include the adoption of a local option sales tax for recreational marijuana. According to Torres, the Planning Board and Licensing Review Committee have been following the processes of places such as Denver, Colorado, and have seen that the influx of marijuana locations created a revenue that could be used for developing town infrastructure like building new schools.
Brookline’s proposal for recreational marijuana mimics that of their medical marijuana proposal, but is not finalized and will be open to public comment before going before Town Meeting.
The current state buffer zone requires that marijuana establishments be at least 500 feet away from K-12 public and private schools, daycare centers and other places where children congregate.
The Brookline proposal would create a buffer zone only surrounding K-12 schools and refraining establishments from being directly in the same building as daycare centers, but would not require the 500- foot distance from daycare centers and other places where children congregate, according to Correa.
The proposal would also suggest limiting the size of the establishments to 4,000 square feet in order to address concerns, such as traffic increase in the areas.
Health concerns
Although 60 percent of Brookline voters were in favor of recreational marijuana, there were some concerns expressed during the hearing regarding health impacts, mostly for those underage. The law holds the same 21 age-requirement as liquor laws.
Precinct 8 Town Meeting member Barbara Scotto raised concerns about accessibility for college-age kids based on Brookline’s proposed map, which identified space across from Boston University on Commonwealth Avenue as a potential building space.
“It worries me because the case is out on the effect of marijuana on still-developing brains and it’s fairly easily accessible to kids that are 17, 18, 19, 20,” Scotto said. “It is not a population that I think we should be encouraging to be using marijuana. I think when you put dispensaries in that area, that’s what we are doing.”
The boundaries depicted in the map show space for potential recreational businesses in commercial areas such as Chestnut Hill alongside Boylston, along Harvard Street in Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner area, along Cypress Street, Putterham Circle and Cleveland Circle. These spaces identified on the maps show locations outside the buffer zones, not necessarily ideal locations. Areas such as Washington Square are extremely limited due to the density of school properties.
Outside of health concerns, the town discussed the dangers of there being no true technology to support testing someone driving while under the influence of marijuana.
“We had some concerns of people smoking marijuana and then driving their car, operating under the influence, and how there’s no testing for that, but that really isn’t the case,” Torres said. “With any new industry, new technology shortly follows and I’ve done some research and seen that there’s new technology coming out of California that is going to help [law] enforcement figure out very similar to driving under the influence of alcohol.”
Review of the proposed regulations is still underway. The Licensing Review Committee will hold two more meetings on February 8 and March 1, both at 08:30 a.m.
