If you have called Eversource to let them know your power is out, you are not alone.
Some 220 people in Brookline are without power. The company said it was aware of the outage and estimates power will be back on by 12:45 p.m.
Here’s the Eversource link to report an outage:
If you prefer a phone call: Power Out or Smell Gas? 800-592-2000.
A year of events marking the 100th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s birth is drawing to a close exactly 54 years after his assassination.
National park rangers will lay a wreath outside Kennedy’s childhood home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and a 21-gun salute by an honor guard will follow.
Wednesday’s solemn commemorations fall on the anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
The observances are being held at what is now known as the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.
The nation’s 35th president was born in the leafy Boston suburb on May 29, 1917. Over the past year, numerous conferences and other events have been held worldwide to examine JFK’s legacy and imagine his impact had he survived.
Gov. Charlie Baker and Public Safety Secretary Daniel Bennett today joined State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey to honor Firefighters from 22 Massachusetts fire departments for heroic acts of bravery at the 28th annual “Firefighter of the Year” Awards ceremony, held at Worcester’s Mechanics Hall. The event was emceed by WCVB’s Maria Stephanos.
“The Commonwealth’s firefighters make tremendous sacrifices and risk their lives on a regular basis to protect the members of their communities,” said Governor Baker. “We are proud to salute this year’s award recipients, who drew upon their training and experience to perform remarkable acts that saved lives.”
“Our firefighters deserve our thanks and praise every day of the year, and it is important to recognize the incredible acts of bravery performed by these public servants in cities and towns across Massachusetts,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “Whether battling house fires or educating children and seniors on fire prevention and safety, we are grateful for their selfless acts.”
“Each of the 42 people who lost their lives to fires so far this year is a vivid reminder of the need to remain ever vigilant in our fire prevention efforts,” said Secretary Bennett. “Firefighters will always face danger in the work they do but through better technology and training we are working to mitigate those risks while supporting the courageous men and women of the firefighting community.”
Earlier this year, Governor Baker signed H. 3448, which doubled the line of duty death benefit for the families of first responders from $150,000 to $300,000. This benefit is afforded by statute to any firefighter or police officer, whether their status is full-time or reserve, as well as public prosecutors, municipal or public emergency medical technicians and correction officers who are killed in the line of duty or who sustain injuries that were the direct cause of his or her death.
“The members of the Western Massachusetts Safety and Fire Education Association work tirelessly to improve the safety of residents in our four westernmost counties,” said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. “Their use of the mutual aid model for public education allows them to accomplish more together.”
The Governor and Secretary presented 33 awards in total:
This year’s awardees are:
Medal of Honor:
Medals of Valor:
Norman Knight Award for Excellence in Community Service:
Individual Awards for Meritorious Conduct:
Group Awards for Meritorious Conduct:
Stephen D. Coan Fire Marshal Award:
All of the following is from Brookline Police log or online blog. They are excerpts taken from the public police log and represent a portion of what kinds of calls the police respond to. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Fight: At 4:39 p.m. an employee of a local business on Brookline Avenue came into the station to report an assault. The incident involved a fellow employee. As a result of the investigation it was determined to give both employees a chance to tell their stories to a clerk of the court. No arrest made.
Screams turn into arrest: At 9:53 a.m. a caller reported a man was walking on Willow Crescent and was screaming. When officers arrived, the person told the police his name, they ran it through the system and found he had an active arrest warrant out for him. While the subject was being placed into custody he struck one of the officers and tried to run away. He was successfully taken into custody. He now faces additional charges of assaulting the officer and resisting arrest.
Car break in and Arrest: At 9:30 p.m. a witness’s information helped police arrest of a man for breaking and entering into a car. Someone saw another person try to get into a car and smash the car’s window while it was parked on Freeman Street. The person who smashed the window then drove away in another car. The witness gave a partial license plate and description to Police. A car fitting the description was stopped in Brookline Village a short time later. The investigation lead to a passenger in the car being charged with Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle.
Paper Plate Thief: at 10:35 a.m. officers responded to a store on Beacon Street for a report of a larceny. Officers were told a subject had been seen taking packages of paper plates and napkins and placing them into their bag. The subject then left the store without paying and was gone before police arrived.
Frozen shrimp is not cheap: An employee at a Harvard Street business called police at around 5:25 p.m. to report a person shoplifting. Among the items found on the subject was $183.00 worth of frozen shrimp. The subject had a total of property valued at $ 255.78. The subject was arrested and faces larceny charges.
Too loud: Boston University Police called Brookline Police around 10:30 p.m. to report someone was complaining about a party on Stedman Street. Officers were able to locate a party in the area and it was shut down.
U-Turn and an argument oh and um, no license: At 1:05 a.m. an officer was conducting traffic enforcement at the intersection of Rt. 9 and Cypress Street when they saw a car make an illegal U-Turn. Police pulled the car over near 300 Boylston Street. The driver became uncooperative and argumentative and then eventually told police they did not actually have a license. As result of the stop the operator was placed under arrest and charged with Not Duly Licensed and Illegal U-Turn. The car was towed.
Crash: Around 2:29 a.m. a bus and a car collided at the intersection Carlton and Mountfort streets. The bus was carrying four passengers, but no one on the bus was hurt. The operator of the bus was cited for a traffic violation and taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Their car was towed.
Diva has been found and reunited (and it feels so good) with his owners, police said in a tweet on November 20, 2017.
PREVIOUSLY: A cat has gone missing from the Cypress Road area and the police are now asking for folks to keep a look out for him.
Diva, an adult male cat, has been missing since Sunday from the High Street, Cypress Street area. He is friendly and gentle, may still be wearing a cloth blue and white camo collar.
Please contact 617-730-2222 with any info.
Division 1
Team scores: 1. Andover 488.50, 2. Acton-Boxboro 267.50, 3. Newton North 263, 4. Chelmsford 210, 5. Brookline 176, 6. Haverhill 170, 7. Needham 165, 8. Boston Latin 148. 9. Framingham 109. 10. Lexington 86
200-yard medley relay: 1. Andover, 1:50.52; 2. Newton North, 1:51.22; 3. Boston Latin, 1:53.56; 4. Acton-Boxboro, 154.33; 5. Haverhill, 1:54.62; 6. Chelmsford, 1:55.42
50 free: 1. Sophia Ju, Andover, 24.28; 2. Laura Latham, Chelsmford, 24.65; 3. Sara Song, Brookline, 25.01; 4. Lillian Chi, Acton-Boxboro, 25.44; 5. Renee Sutherland, Chelmsford, 25.56; 6. Caroline Beecher, Newton North, 25.63
200 free: 1. Mia Galat, Andover, 1:53.18; 2. Kara Davidson, Methuen, 1:57.63; 3. Lily Barker, Arlington, 1:58.57; 4. Claire Tzouros, Brookline, 1:58.68; 5. Laura Cisneros, Brookline, 2:00.22; 6. Taylor Waligora, Haverhill, 2:01.2
200 free relay: 1. Andover, 1:40.15; 2. Newton North, 1:41.53; 3. Brookline, 1:43.13; 4. Boston Latin, 1:43.58; 5. Acton-Boxboro, 1:43.73; 6. Chelmsford, 1:44.31
100 free: Victoria Ambrose, Andover, 53.28; 2. Laura Latham, Chelmsford, 53.97; 3. Sophia Ju, Andover, 54.29; 4. Sara Song, Brookline, 54.55; 5. Jordan Clements, Andover, 54.96; 6. Isabella Saarinen, Acton-Boxboro, 55.71
500 free: 1. Emily Clements, Andover, 5:10.11; 2. Lily Barker, Arlington, 5:16.93; 3. Ashley Grover, Andover, 5:18.62; 4. Naomi Wright, Chelmsford, 5:19.37; 5. Eliza Williams, Andover, 5:19.43; 6. Laura Cisneros, Brookline, 5:20.77
1-meter diving: 1. Halia Bower, Framingham, 533.60; 2. Tina Coleman, Acton-Boxboro, 443.85; 3. Sydney Ho, Andover, 421.95; 4. Megan Carroll, Haverhill, 415.25; 5. Olivia Rieur, Brookline, 391.55; 6. Aditi Sirsikar, Acton-Boxboro, 378.20
100 backstroke: 1. Isabella Korby, Acton-Boxboro, 58.18; 2. Emily Ma, Andover, 59.54; 3. Casi Glejzer, Acton-Boxboro, 1:02.46; 4. Katie Krom, Boston Latin, 1:02.68; 5. Kate Vogelzang, Lexington, 1:02.69; 6. Andrea Pantazi, Andover, 1:03.19
100 breaststroke: 1. Jordan Clements, Andover, 1:06.66; 2. Serena Ly, Newton North, 1:07.04; 3. Meaghan Driscoll, Haverhill, 1:07.65; 4. Courtney Morgan, Chelmsford, 1:07.91; 5. Keira McGrath, Boston Latin, 1:08.34; 6. Polina Malinovskaya, Andover, 1:09.56
100 butterfly: 1. Mia Galat, Andover, 56.98; 2. Ashley Grover, Andover, 59.63; 3. Ciara McCormack, Newton North, 1:00.14; 4. Callie Coady, Haverhill, 1:00.40; 5. Lillian Chi, Acton-Boxboro, 1:00.56; 6. Kara Davidson, Methuen, 1:00.7
200 individual medley: 1. Emily Clements, Andover, 2:05.01; 2. Victoria Ambrose, Andover, 2:06.59; 3. Isabella Korby, Acton-Boxboro, 2:11.68; 4. Meaghan Driscoll, Haverhill, 2:12.83; 5. Emily Ma, Andover, 2:14.07; 6. Naomi Wright, Chelmsford, 2:15.75
400 free relay: 1. Andover, 3:37.12; 2. Newton North, 3:40.48; 3. Acton-Boxboro, 3:41.82; 4. Needham, 3:45.56; 5. Haverhill, 3:46.21; 6. Chelmsford, 3:46.96
Division 2
Team results: 1. Reading 388.5; 2. Wellesley 350; 3. Natick 211; 4. Central Catholic 176; 5. Belmont 172; 6. Ursuline 164; 7. Melrose 160; 8. Winchester 143; 9. Marshfield 127; 10. Notre Dame-Hingham 122
200-yard medley relay: 1. Reading, 1:49.90; 2. Wellesley, 1:51.74; 3. Natick, 1:52.85; 4. Belmont, 1:54.85; 5. Marshfield, 1:55.58; 6. Melrose, 1:55.68
50 freestyle: 1. Kerrigan Hemp, Central Catholic, 24:02; 2. Alyvia Petrozza, Central Catholic, 24.43; 3. Samantha D’Alessandro, Melrose, 24.59; 4. Alana Loughman, Reading, 24.62; 5. Sophie Butte, Belmont, 24.89; 6. Enya Gamble, Wellesley, 25.18
200 free: 1. Kate Fosburgh, Winchester, 1:54.08; 2. Hana Batt, Natick, 1:57.38; 3. Molly Jones, Reading, 1:57.43; 4. Molly Williams, Melrose, 1:58.98; 5. Gracie Meisner, Wellesley, 1:59.97; 6. Maura Letendre, Reading, 2:00.18
200 free relay: 1. Reading, 1:39.31; 2. Natick, 1:41.26; 3. Wellesley, 1:41.67; 4. Central Catholic 1:42.60; 5. Winchester, 1:44.53; 6. Melrose, 1:45.06
100 free: 1. Molly Hamlin, Reading, 52.70; 2. Samantha D’Alessandro, Melrose, 53.09; 3. Alana Loughman, Reading, 53.61; 4. Nellie Thompson, Wellesley, 54.44; 5. Sophia Butte, Belmont, 54.73; 6. Anna Glass, Ursuline, 54.81
500 free: 1. Kate Fosburgh, Winchester, 5:05.5; 2. Hana Batt, Natick, 5:16.63; 3. Molly Williams, Melrose, 5:18.32; 4. Marlena Reinhard, Notre Dame (H), 5:22.7; 5. Libby Gormley, Uruline, 5:25.38; 6. Emily Dobrindt, Milton, 5:25.42
1-meter diving: 1. Kate Mullin, Wellesley, 541; 2. Emma Trioano, Notre Dame (H), 461.55; 3. Maddie Doyle, Reading, 430.45; 4. Cecilia Burke, Central Catholic, 429.35; 5. Emma Petrovich, Wellesley, 407.85; 6. Gabrielle Hebert, Notre Dame (H), 391.4
100 backstroke: 1. Kerrigan Hemp, Central Catholic, 56.82; 2. Riley Moeykens, Marshfield, 58.55; 3. Mackenzie Day, Stoneham, 58.96; 4. Molly Jones, Reading, 1:00.27; 5. Taylor Eck, Ursuline, 1:00.27; 6. Jillian Rhodes, Reading, 1:01.29
100 breaststroke: 1. Anna Roberts, Reading, 1:05.68; 2. Olivia Mozoki, Marshfield, 1:07.84; 3. Kayla Loughman, 1:09.85; 4. Sophie Chen, Wellesley, 1:10.11; 5. Virginia Guanci, Melrose, 1:10.50; 6. Julia Zimmer, Wellesley, 1:10.98
100 butterfly: 1. Alyvia Petrozza, Central Catholic, 56.58; 2. Molly Hamlin, Reading, 58.00; 3. Gracie O’Connell, Stoneham, 59.21; 4. Riley Moeykens, Marshfield, 59.37; 5. Taylor Eck, Ursuline, 59.67; 6. Gracie Meisner, Wellesley, 59.79
200 individual medley: 1. Anna Roberts, Reading, 2:10.9; 2. Gracie O’Connell, Stoneham, 2:11.24; 3. Bridgette Grothman, Natick, 2:12.24; 4. Jillian Rhodes, Reading, 2:14.37; 5. Olivia Mozoki, Marshfield, 2:14.86; 6. Virginia Guanci, Melrose, 2:15.33
400 free relay: 1. Reading, 3:40.05; 2. Wellesley, 3:42.62; 3. Belmont, 3:45.01; 4. Central Catholic, 3:45.33; 5. Ursuline, 3:47.71; 6. Winchester, 3:49.03
Bessemer Group, Inc. lowered its stake in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) by 42.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,893 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,400 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group, Inc.’s holdings in Brookline Bancorp were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of Brookline Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $150,000. Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC raised its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC now owns 12,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Virtu KCG Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Brookline Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $176,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management, Inc. now owns 12,137 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 1,819 shares during the period. Finally, Eqis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 76.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (BRKL) opened at $15.15 on Monday. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $17.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1,161.28, a PE ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.96.
Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.20. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The firm had revenue of $62.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.37 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is 46.15%.
In other news, Director David C. Chapin sold 5,000 shares of Brookline Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $73,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul A. Perrault sold 103,255 shares of Brookline Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.69, for a total transaction of $1,516,815.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 421,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,186,282.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,255 shares of company stock valued at $1,620,316. 2.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BRKL shares. BidaskClub upgraded Brookline Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Sandler O’Neill cut Brookline Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Brookline Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.83.
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.
We are pleased to announce that Brookline Music School (BMS) has extended its office hours to better serve our community. The new office hours are as follows:
Monday – Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
We would also like to welcome our new evening and Sunday receptionist Casey Layne. Casey will be in the office Monday through Thursday 5:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. She is well equipped to assist with taking payments and registrations, and answering any questions you may have.
It is that time of year for the Friends of the Brookline Library’s annual holiday used book sale. On Sunday, December 3, the Friends will kick off the sale on the first floor of the Brookline Village Library. They have been saving up special items all year just for this sale, and it only ends when everything is all gone. You never know exactly what you will find, but you are sure to find the perfect gift.
There will be children’s books and sets; games; a variety of unique and pristine coffee table books; beautiful Franklin Mint, Heritage Press, and other collectible books; and some fantastic, vintage, one-of-a-kind books. There are also some very special treats for film lovers: a fabulous array of brand new popular and art house films on DVD and Blu-ray, including titles from the Criterion Collection. The sale has something for everyone, including you!
So come early and often, and stock up on holiday gifts for as long as the supply lasts. You cannot beat the prices, and you will be supporting the Friends and the Library. Happy Holidays!
You might be out of luck if you wake up Thursday and remember you forgot something you need to make Thanksgiving dinner. For those of you who’ve lived here all your life, you know the drill: Because of the state’s “Blue Laws” restaurants, pharmacies, gas stations, and small food stores can open for Thanksgiving but chains big box stores or liquor stores cannot. You can try a local convenience store in an emergency but call ahead as many of them have adjusted their hours, too.
Here is a list of day before Thanksgiving hours for grocery chains. Those outside of town may vary. We have also started a list of convenience stores open for the holiday.
CLOSED on Thanksgiving:
OPEN on Thanksgiving:
When Will Nitze felt himself getting fatigued and battling mental fog while at work, a complete change to his diet made all the difference. That change not only boosted his mental function, it set him on a new career path.
The Brookline resident is launching the IQ Bar, a nutrition bar intended to boost cognitive function and help working folks like Nitze, who need something healthy on the go.
A Harvard University graduate, Nitze went to work for a software company where he discovered that his energy would not last. Having studied psychology and neurology at Harvard, Nitze realized the answer was in his diet.
“I would snack thoughout every afternoon and pretty much all the food I was putting into my body made my cognitive function worse,” Nitze said.
On paper, Nitze said, his diet was not terrible but after cutting out high-carb, low-fat foods such as grains, and pasta, and opting for low-carb, high-fat foods like avocados, butter, spinach and broccoli, Nitze quickly started to see the benefits.
He found his energy lasted throughout the day and he even lost some weight.
Nitze got the idea for the IQ Bar following his healthy eating breakthrough. Though there was plenty of research on healthy eating, Nitze could not find any easy on-the-go food options that targeted cognitive function.
“Turns out there was nothing at all,” said Nitze.
He decided to fill the gap and create a brain-boosting nutrition bar.
“I don’t want someone to cook for 40 minutes to get that nutritional value,” said Nitze.
In creating the IQ Bar, Nitze first focused on the nutrition value.
The result is three bars, each different flavors – Almond Cacao, Blueberry Walnut and Matcha Hazelnut – but all offering the same nutritional value that helps boost brain power.
The IQ Bar is not intended for gyms, rather Nitze hopes to bring it to offices, libraries, schools and other “places where people do work.”
With samples in hand, Nitze is ready to start distributing. He hopes to develop his base in Boston before expanding. Recently Nitze launched a Kickstarter to help get the business in motion. The IQ Bar seems to resonate as in just 12 hours, Nitze surpassed his fundraising goal of $10,000.
What is more, Nitze said, several interested customers and companies have been contacting Nitze looking for partnerships.
“It’s been really great,” Nitze said. “A lot of folks have been reaching out.”
For more information visit the IQ Bar website here.
As sexual assault allegations against Senate candidate Roy Moore continue to make national headlines, one Brookline attorney decided it was time to take things into his own hands.
For J. Whitfield Larrabee, the calls for Moore to simply drop out of the Alabama race aren’t enough. Larrabee argues that Moore needs to have his license to practice law in the state revoked.
Moore, a former chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court and a candidate for US Senate, has been accused of having had inappropriate relationships with teenage girls, including a 14-year-old, while in his 30s.
In a complaint filed to the Alabama State Bar’s disciplinary commission Thursday, Larrabee presented his argument, laying out three rules from the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct that he says Moore has broken.
Count 1: “Moore violated Rule 8.4(b) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct by engaging in criminal conduct that reflects ‘adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.’ ”
Count 2: “Moore engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in violation of Rule 8.4(c) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct.”
Count 3: “Roy violated and continues to violate Rule 8.4(d) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct by engaging ‘in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.’ ”
Larrabee writes that Moore has allegedly engaged in several types of misconduct, including numerous instances of sexual assault, witness intimidation, threats to file baseless litigation, publicly lying to cover up sex crimes, disregarding a federal injunction, and interfering with the legal process.
“For an attorney to be out in public, publicly lying about a very significant offense, criminal activity, and then intimidating the media on that, it’s extremely unethical,” Larrabee said in a telephone interview. “So I think that’s something — the current activities — that the disciplinary authorities in Alabama can look into.”
It is not the first time Larrabee has filed complaints against high-profile politicians and organizations, even in Alabama. Earlier this year, he filed one against Alabama native US Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He has also filed complaints about President Trump, the Trump Foundation, and Eric Trump.
Larrabee’s firm, which is located on Harvard Street in Brookline, handles a variety of litigation, including civil rights violations and sexual harassment cases.
When it comes to Moore, Larrabee said he is a “lawbreaker” who is not fit to serve in the US Senate.
“I think he’s part of the level of extremism that’s taken over the Republican Party,” Larrabee said. “He’s a hatemonger.”
Larrabee said the state will typically review his complaint and then give the subject of the complaint a chance to respond. From there, the disciplinary commission will review the case and determine whether there’s probable cause to have a hearing about the issue, he said.
Moore’s election has become a “matter of national concern,” Larrabee said, adding that everyone has a different way he or she can intervene and act.
Lawyers in Alabama, in particular, might be too intimidated to file a complaint against a powerful politician, Larrabee said, so he decided to step up.
“As an out-of-state lawyer, I’m willing to speak up,” he said. “It’s difficult for him to retaliate against me, so I have the opportunity to speak up.”
A cat has gone missing from the Cypress Road area and the police are now asking for folks to keep a look out for him.
Diva, an adult male cat, has been missing since Sunday from the High Street, Cypress Street area. He is friendly and gentle, may still be wearing a cloth blue and white camo collar.
Please contact 617-730-2222 with any info.
On Monday morning Putterham Library had an unusual surprise near the book drop. Tucked to the side of it was a brown and black owl about the same size as the book drop.
“My supervisor found it, and I think she was surprised,” said Sebastian Sulser, who has been a librarian at the Putterham branch for the past three years.
And in the past three years this is a first, he said.
The librarians held on to the paper mache owl until someone, a local artist, mentioned he liked it.
They gave it to him.
“We still have no idea as to its origin,” said Sulser.
Now the town is tweeting out about the mystery asking for the mystery gifter to come forward. “HooWhoDunnit?” tweeted the town hall Friday morning.
“Hopefully someone will answer the hashtag call,” said Sulser.
Ten Brookline youths will perform in the Freelance Players’ upcoming original musical, “Come as you Are, ” at 7:30 p.m. on December 8 and 9 and 2:00 p.m. on December 10, 2017, Park School, 171 Goddard Avenue, Brookline, MA. The Brookline residents are: Nicky Glassman, Abby Jarvis, Danielle Kasif, Ezra Korn-Meyer, Kristen Liao, Melanie Pineda, Amita Polumbaum, Jack Riseman, Ryan Sanghavi and Maya Shavit.
The musical comedy is written by Cambridge novelist Stephen McCauley and playwright Sebastian Stuart, directed by Jamaica Plain’s Kippy Dewey, and includes a score by Brookline’s Narcissa Campion. Set in the Catskills in 1948, “Come As You Are” is about the perils of trying to be something you are not and the ultimate triumph of hard work and love. It features 24 actors, ages 12-16, from 11 Greater Boston communities. The young thespians attended 14 different schools throughout the area.
Cost: $10; $5 for students. For more information, please visit here or call 617-524-7045.
Did the former owner of the Village Smokehouse plot with a local handyman to burn down a failed construction project on Spooner Road in 2013 in an effort to get insurance money? That is what jurors are considering as the trial of Alan Kaplan kicked off Thursday.
Fifty-seven-year-old lifelong Brookline resident, owner of multiple businesses and developer Kaplan sat in the middle of the court room wearing a dark suit, orange tie and headphones over his ears to help him hear the proceedings as opening statements began. He was arrested in 2015 in connection to the multi-alarm fire at 81 Spooner Rd. – one of the biggest fires the town has dealt with in recent history, according to the now retired deputy chief who worked it. The fire destroyed a house under construction on July 26, 2013. A Jamaica Plain man, Steven McCann, who had ties to Kaplan, was later convicted of setting the fire.
Prosecutor Carolyn Hely and defense attorney Max Stern took turns in the Norfolk Superior Courthouse outlining what they said happened leading up to the fire. Jury selection finished Wednesday and the judge instructed jurors not to research the case, which has become well known in town.
Kaplan was among three men who had bought 81 Spooner Road under an LLC in 2004. The trio had the intention of fixing and selling the house, divvying up the parcels, building a second house and selling that one, too. After selling the first house and starting to build the second, the process ran into problems. Neighbors weren’t happy, the Town got involved, and there was litigation.
The central issue was that the house was too big for the Chestnut Hill lot. The construction stopped after the house was framed, while litigation went on until the end of 2012. After twice going to the highest court in Massachusetts, that court ordered the LLC to tear down the house.
“In Spring of 2013, the LLC is in a bind,” said Hely. “They have to take down the house, the lot is not buildable. There’s no way to extract any money from this land. There’s nothing they can do.”
Kaplan refinanced his property at the Smokehouse and used that to pay the bank where he borrowed $800,000 for the development efforts. But he still owed $800,000.
Enter McCann: A 29-year-old returned Marine suffering from PTSD and a drug problem, depression, separation from his wife, and living on a mattress on a friend’s place in JP.
“To put it mildly, he’s having a hard time,” said Hely.
“He was ‘spiraling out of control,’ according to his own lawyer in court,” said Stern.
McCann had worked with Kaplan in the past and Kaplan, according to both sides, had been generous to him.
In Spring of 2013, McCann met with Kaplan. McCann said he had gone in person to express condolences to Kaplan after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. It was then when the topic of money – and 81 Spooner Road – came up.
This is where the two sides’ agreement on the story comes to an end.
The attorney for the Commonwealth said Kaplan brought up setting fire to the project as an option and already planned it. McCann then offered to execute it. Kaplan’s motive? $1 million in insurance money covering the $800,000 loan debt.
Stern said there was no such motive because the insurance agreement would not dish out $1 million if there was no rebuilding. Kaplan also told the jurors to be wary of the testimony McCann because he had received a plea deal with the Commonwealth. In exchange for his testimony they would agree to drop the arson charges and recommend time served on setting fire to a building.
Commonwealth:
“After they met, Steven McCann set fire to Spooner Road. And he did that because of this meeting with Alan Kaplan,” Hely said. “Seems like a good plan: House burns down, if there’s any evidence it probably burns down with the house, and the odd chance that Steven McCann does something wrong he’s the only one that literally gets burned. On the off chance that Steven McCann starts talking, well, the defendant is a prominent local business owner in the town. He knows the police and fire-fighters… and [McCann] is suffering from mental problems, who’s going to believe him?” she said.
McCann set the fire. The question, asked the Commonwealth’s prosecutor is why? She told the jury.
“The only answer to that question is going to be Alan Kaplan, the defendant,” she said.
Kaplan’s defense:
Stern pulled over a podium and faced the jury to address them with his opening remarks, as Kaplan turned to face the jury.
“There’s another side to this story,” Stern said, painting a picture of Kaplan as a fourth-generation member of Kaplans, living with his daughter and son in Brookline, his wife having passed away from cancer in 2015.
Stern described Kaplan as an “extraordinarily generous man … a shirt-off-your-back man,” as friends and relatives sat in the court room behind him nodding.
He painted McCann as untrustworthy, someone who would do anything to get out of going back to jail. Stern said McCann’s story had changed.
He called the police investigation itself a “rush to judgement” and “incomplete and selective.” He held up a bright orange plastic bucket with a metal handle similar to the ones McCann said were filled with gasoline and were used to start the fire, and told them the metal handles were not recovered from the fire, throwing into question if the story about how the fire was started was true.
“There is no dispute that McCann was the arsonist. And there’s no dispute that they met the day before the fire. But Mr. Kaplan denies proposing this fire or even knowing about it. The fire was Mr. McCann’s idea in the expectation and false hope that he’d be rewarded,” he told jurors.
Following the conclusion of the first day of trial, friends and family gathered around Kaplan, hugging him and patting him on the back.
Brookline High School will compete on Season 9 of WGBH’s High School Quiz Show, airing at 6 p.m. Feb 3 on WGBH 2.
Their academic team was among the top 16 highest scoring Massachusetts high schools at “Super Sunday,” where they took the High School Quiz Show qualifying quiz. The Bromfield School last appeared on Season 8 and before that competed on Seasons 1 and 2 of High School Quiz Show.
Brookline High School competed on season 8 of High School Quiz Show, as well as seasons 3 and 4 prior to that. The top 16 teams will advance to compete in the televised, single-elimination, bracketed academic tournament that will determine a state champion. High School Quiz Show begins taping at WGBH in January in front of a studio audience.
Brookline just dropped Columbus Day. After hearing arguments from both sides, including a Brookline High School student for the name change and a group of Italian-Americans from outside the town against the proposal, the legislative board of Brookline’s Town government voted.
The proposal to sub out Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day passed with 168 votes in favor, 14 against, and 23 people abstained from the vote, according to the early electronic results.
Brookline joins the likes of Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont and more than 55 municipalities across the US including Denver and Salt Lake City.
This came one day after the Town Meeting members voted to change the way they refer to the Board of Selectmen. That board will now be referred to the “select board,” dropping the gender identifier “men.”
The town of Brookline is holding off on deciding where to locate a badly-needed new elementary school. The town is short on land, and proposals, like taking seven acres of land from Pine Manor College, face resistance from neighbors.
While everyone agrees a new school is needed, there is no agreement on a suitable site.
Town Meeting voted Tuesday night to require further study before making any decisions.
The first night of Special Town Meeting began with a teller count caused by a glitch in the electronic voting system and a debate over whether or not to defer Article 9 – on adding liquor licenses – to Nov. 15.
Once under way Town Meeting members tackled budget amendments, special Town Meetings within the special Town Meeting and the ninth school project.
Article 1: Approval of unpaid bills
Vote: No action
Article 2: Approval of collective bargaining agreements
Vote: No action
Article 3: FY2018 budget amendments
Vote: Passed an amendment in a separate Special Town Meeting.
What happened: A two-thirds vote passed the separate Special Town Meeting article, which appropriated funds for three projects and approved amendments to the budget. Town Meeting approved appropriations of $340,000 or any other sum, and $320,000 or any other sum, to be used for two separate Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund capital improvement projects.
The third project, which came as an amendment to article three and thus prompted the Special Town Meeting, requested the appropriation of $50,000 to implement Traffic Signal Prioritization on the MBTA’s Green line.
Article 4: Authorize the Board of Selectmen to acquire 111 Cypress St. for the high school expansion. Passed with 212 votes in favor, one against opposed and two abstentions
What happened: In April, the High School Building Committee unanimously voted to support creation of a ninth grade academy at 111 Cypress St. and improve science facilities and collaborative space at the main high school building.
“At the time we anticipated taking action to acquire property at the corner of Cypress and Brington,” said Selectman Nancy Heller. “This is the most ambitious and complex project that the town has ever taken on.”
While Town Meeting member and Brington Road resident Kim Smith noted that living across from a new high school building would be an adjustment, she said she believed that 111 Cypress St. was the best option. Smith also thanked selectmen for their communication about the project.
In response to concerns that the owner would fight the town taking the property by eminent domain, Town Counsel Joslin Murphy said she did not believe he would be successful.
“Certainly a school is a valid public purpose,” Murphy said.
First Special Town Meeting, Article 1: An amendment to Article 5, to appropriate funding for feasibility and design of a two-site option instead of funding design of a school at a new site only.
Vote: Passed with 208 for and two against
What happened: Before opening discussion on the ninth school, Town Moderator Edward Gadsby cautioned speakers against going into the weeds with debate on specific site options.
“This is not a debate in which we will be debating the relative merits or demerits of the various school sites under consideration,” Gadsby said.
The amendment came in response to calls for due diligence and a two-site option like expanding Pierce Elementary School in north Brookline and creating a second school in south Brookline.
“It maintains walkability, it maintains neighborhood schools, it maintains community”
Speaking on behalf of the Board of Selectmen, Chairman Neil Wishinksy spoke in favor of the amendment, though he joked that “each site comes with its own set of lawyers.”
He reminded Town Meeting that despite the disagreements and obstacles, the end goal was the same.
“What keeps me going is the knowledge that we’re doing this for children,” said Wishinsky. “Education is Brookline’s brand, it’s the core of who we are as a town.”
Pine Manor College President Tom O’Reilly also spoke in support of the article and took it as a sign of Brookline’s willingness to work with the community.
“As site consideration continues, let us ask these questions, does the location ensure education for all?” O’Reilly asked. “It has become a pivotal moment in Brookline’s history, and what Brookline stands for.”
Article 6: Legislation to help more seniors qualify by raising the income limit for eligibility for the senior tax deferral program.
Vote: Passed unanimously
Article 7: Change the interest rate from a fixed 5 percent rate, to a variable rate tied to the going market interest rate for the senior tax deferral program.
Vote: Passed unanimously
Article 8: Create an aid to the elderly and disabled taxation fund, as well as a taxation aid committee to manage that fund.
Vote: Passed unanimously
Article 9: To authorize the selectmen to file a petition with the state to distribute 35 additional liquor licenses for all types of alcohol and five additional licenses for beer and malt beverages.
Vote: Passes by majority vote
What happened: Town Meeting members picked up Article 9 in a somewhat heated debate.
Several Town Meeting members questioned the process behind the article, one describing it as “ragged.”
Town Meeting and Advisory Committee member Janice Kahn questioned why the advisory board did not hold public hearings or gather public input before drafting the article. The subcommittee did hold hearing and made recommendations to change the article but the Advisory Committee did not take up those recommendations, according to Kahn.
“Which leads me to question why we even had a process if we were urged to change nothing,” said Kahn.
In response to questions over due diligence, Selectman Ben Franco explained that the town determined the site specific locations based on feedback from municipalities that had gone through the process and conversations with legislative staff
A particular point of concern for Town Meeting members was that some of the licenses would be tied to specific sites. Several argued that this would create an unfair environment for businesses.
Franco stressed that while some licenses would be attached to specific addresses, anyone looking to obtain a liquor license – including tenants of addresses with attached licenses – would still have to apply and go before the board for approval.
Those in favor of the article argued that the additional licenses were needed to help draw in businesses like restaurants and boost economic growth in Brookline. What is more, they argued there was no time to waste given the legislative schedule, any delay could result in the span of years before the town received additional licenses.
Article 16: Amendment requiring the town to post electronic “information” in addition to meeting notices and agendas.
Vote: Unanimous vote passes motion to refer the article to the Board of Selectmen for study and to produce a report.
What happened: While the boards and committees supported posting electronic “information” there was disagreement over the language of the article and how to define “information” and what documents would qualify. As a result, the petitioner, Neil Gordon, motioned to refer the article to the selectmen.
Article 17: Establish a tree preservation bylaw
Vote: No motion
Article 18: With support from the petitioner this article was amended from its original proposal to change the name of the Board of Selectmen to the “Board of Selectwomen.” As amended, article 18 proposed changing the name to refer to selectmen as “select persons”.
Vote: Failed
What happened: Petitioner Michael Burstein spoke in support of the amendment saying that his intention with the article was not to mock but to demonstrate the need for inclusivity.
“Women are woefully underrepresented in elected positions,” Burstein said.
Both articles 18 and 19 proposed changes to the name in favor of gender neutrality, but the Board of Selectmen unanimously supported the proposed change to “select persons.”
“It’s easier to say, it’s less ackward and it seems to be the most popular,” said Selectman – now Select Board member – Heather Hamilton.
Article 19 proposed changing selectman to “Select Board member”.
While speaking in favor of “select persons” Hamilton shared how she had been hesitant to run for the board at first, fearing she would be labeled as someone who did not belong.
“I’m disappointed by my initial reaction to it as I look back on it now,” Hamilton said. “Article 19 is crucial to the future of the Select Board because language matters”
Article 19: Change the name of the Board of Selectmen to Select Board, referring to the selectmen as “Select Board members”.
Vote: Passed
At the start of Special Town Meeting, Town Meeting Members voted to defer articles 10 through 15, 20 and 21 to Nov. 15 when Special Town Meeting resumes.
Thursday, Nov. 9
ATM interference on Beacon Street: At 6:52 a.m., police received a report surveillance captured a man fidgeting with the ATM at 1228 Boylston Street. The caller requested Brookline Police check to make sure that nothing had been planted or glued to the ATM.
Urinating by Aspinwall Avenue: At 12:03 p.m., a caller reported a homeless man urinating in the alley behind a building on Aspinwall Avenue. The caller said this was an ongoing issue and described the man as black, wearing a black coat and baggy clothing.
Found radio on Harvard Avenue: At 3:41 p.m., police were notified that someone on Harvard Avenue had found a two-way police radio.
Unwanted visitors on New Terrace Road:At 5:18 p.m., a caller reported there were two men with suitcases, possibly missionaries, knocking on doors. The caller said the men were on New Terrace Road near High Street.
Fireworks at Cypress Playground: At 10:21 p.m., a caller reported multiple kids shooting off fireworks in Cypress Playground.
Friday Nov. 10
Intoxicated man on Stearns Road: At 2:42 a.m., a caller reported there was an intoxicated man attempting to get into the caller’s home on Stearns Road.
Recycling bin theft on Francis Street: At 1:40 p.m., a caller reported two recycling bins had been stolen from his yard on Francis Street.
Suspicious packages on Freeman Street: At 4:58 p.m., a caller reported coming home to find several packages ripped open in the front lobby of their Freeman Street building. The caller said the packages appeared to have been addressed to other buildings.
Loud bicycles near Cooldige Corner: At 8:12 p.m., a caller reported 100 bicycles blaring music while heading from Harvard Street towards Coolidge Corner.
Youths on Beacon Street: At 9:55 p.m., police received a report a group of kids were grabbing items off a pallet by the Trader Joe’s on Beacon Street and throwing the items into the street.
Saturday, Nov. 11
More suspicious packages on Amory Street:At 11:58 a.m., a caller reported finding two empty packages on their front porch on Amory Street. The caller said neither package was addressed to them.
Fighting customers on Beacon Street: At 3:41 p.m., a caller report two customers were fighting in the FedEx on Beacon Street.
Disruptive group on Green Street: At 8:15 p.m., a caller reported five white men on Green Street were screaming and acting like they were going to throw up. The caller said they were possibly intoxicated.
Yelling teenagers on Washington Street: At 11:20 p.m., police received a report a large group of teenagers was yelling, screaming and running into traffic near the Washington and School street intersection. The report states it was possibly related to an event at the VFW Post.
Sunday, Nov. 12
Break-and-Enter on Egmont Street: At 2:31 a.m., a caller reported a possible break-and-enter in progress. The caller said someone was banging on their apartment door and attempting to access the Egmont Street apartment.
Malicious damage on Harvard Street: At 10:39 a.m., the systems manager at United Parish Church on Harvard Street reported signs damaged outside.
Shoplifting on Commonwealth Avenue: At 6:40 p.m., a caller reported a shoplifting from the CVS on Commonwealth Avenue. The caller said a white male, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with black hair, wearing a grey hoodie, baby blue jeans and carrying a white bag, stole makeup.
Monday, Nov. 13
Suspicious vehicle by Ashville Road: At 9:52 p.m., a caller reported a silver van with two men inside had been parked on Ashville Road by Bonad Road for 40 minutes. The caller felt this was suspicious.
Emack & Bolio’s. The Brookline-born ice cream shop that started in a Coolidge Corner area basement serving up homemade scoops after hours to rock stars after shows before it bounced around and opened on the corner of Beacon and Winthorp Road is now closed.
“I loved that shop. I live in Brookline we started in Brookline. Brookline is near and dear to my heart,” said Emack & Bolio’s owner Robert Rook. “It’s sad to have closed a store that I go.”
Why close then? The owner said the rent was too much.
“Our lease came up and the rent went way up,” said Rook. “A lot of people have written me that they’re upset that we’re closing but you know you have to make decisions and sometimes they’re not decisions that you want to make.”
Rook said rents are out of control for a small business person. He would not say how high the rent was going up but he pointed to the empty store fronts on Newbury Street as well as Brookline, but said he had a good relationship with his landlord.
“He has to get what he has to get. I understand his position. But our position is it’s not worth it,” he said
The ice cream joint that was founded in 1975 by Brookline resident Rook, an attorney and advocate who represented with homeless, gay rights advocates and a number of rock bands.
The store was named after two homeless men for whom Rook did some pro bono work. They asked him to name the place after them. And he did.
He opened shop on Babcock Street then over at Newbury Street and then popped up in Cambridge and then Babcock Street became a restaurant and then moved to Washington Street about 15 years ago.
The Washington Square corner shop served ice cream along with a scoop (or two) of whimsy with its bright purple and green and yellow walls over wooden floors for almost two decades. A wooden boat sat in the front window and hand dipped cones sat on display, a holdover from the Aquarium location.
It was a kid’s dream shop.
But this is not the end of Emack & Bolio’s.
The chain has more than nine other locations in Massachusetts and spread to New York, New Jersey and Illinois. The focus of the chain is now on expanding in Asia. He has had shops open in six Asian countries including Thailand, China and Hong Kong. Rook said they’re booming in Asia and recently opened three shops there and another is slated to open soon in Singapore.
“I just want to thank everybody for the many years of happiness and joy that they brought us and we hope we brought them. The people of Brookline are great they’re my neighbors, my friends, I love them dearly: That’s just the deal,” said Rook.
So many Brookline closings?
This closing comes after a number of recent closures in Washington Square including the Pantry, Silvan Learning, a hair salon and clothing boutique on the block across from the Washington Square T stop and next to FastFrame, the framing shop formerly owned by Hsiu-Lan Chang who is also president of the business association.
“I can understand that they closed cause it’s such a seasonal thing,” she said. “In the winter time it must be so tough because they don’t do anything besides ice cream. I commend them for having stayed that long.”
Chang said her grandchildren loved the place. “So they’re going to be disappointing when they hear their favorite ice cream shop is going to be gone,” she said.
Then there is Coolidge Corner: Recent closings there (and many of them come to businesses who have been there for many years) include Lady Grace, Pier 1, Vitamin World, Panera, Radio Shack, Khao Sarn, Second Time Around and Shanghai Jade.
But Brookline isn’t alone here. Retail appears to be in a decline across the country.
“An estimated 5,300 retail locations have closed through June 20, according to one estimate – nearly triple the rate from a year ago. That makes 2017 poised to surpass the number of closings in 2008, in the depth of the Great Recession,” the Christian Science Monitor reported this summer.
The way to ensure that the local shops stay in Brookline, said Chang is to actually go and frequent the businesses.
But also some openings:
There has been a number of openings recently in Brookline, too. The Best Burger joint opened this summer as did Curds &Co and a new record shop in Brookline Village. In Coolidge Corner a Japanese Tea House is slated to take over where Panera once was, and rumors put a Sweet Green where Lady Grace once was. Where Lineage closed its doors on Harvard Street, Prairie Fire opened to rave reviews. And although the Fireplace closed its doors for the last time in Washington Square this summer a Mediterranean seafood restaurant is slated to take over the spot. When the Cleveland Circle Travel closed a Barre studio opened shortly after.
Police in Brookline are asking for the public’s help in identifying a bank robbery suspect.
Authorities say the woman is wanted in connection with a robbery last Thursday at a Bank of America on Boylston Street.
No additional details were immediately available.
A photo of the suspect is attached.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Officer Tim Stephenson 617-730-2184 or e-mail tstephenson@brooklinema.gov.
All tips will be kept confidential.
Saturday 68 small hockey players mostly from Brookline will be headed to BU’s Walter Brown Arena to learn from the best: the Boston Bruins. It is part of a new collaboration between the Brookline Youth Hockey and Boston Bruins Academy Learn to Play program.
The idea? Keep ice hockey alive and kicking in Brookline, and it seems to be working. Coach Richie Sheridan said he expects to have a packed starter youth league this year, thanks in part to this new clinic for youngsters who are considering hockey without the massive starter costs the sport can rack up.
“This is all about accessibility…Once you have invested in the equipment there’s nothing to stop you from going up to that next level. That’s the beauty of this program it’s truly a trial,” said Sheridan.
Sheridan said he expected some 90 percent of the kids trying out the sport would head into the youth hockey program by the end of it.
“The program has been a huge hit so far, both a tremendous opportunity for families to ‘try’ hockey,” Sheridan told Patch Friday. Sheridan got his hockey chops learning from Brookline hockey legends Eddie and Jack Kirrane and went on to play hockey in college at West Point and now has come back to impart the team mentality and comradeship and fun to the young boys and girls of Brookline, he said.
Last year Sheridan saw that the Bruins had started a learn to play pilot program and he thought it would be perfect for kids in Brookline. He reached out to the Bruins and had them add his league to the list. He is passionate about the sport, and the shared experiences it brings with it. But he faced the barrier of getting families to test drive it on their children when the equipment can run around $400.
CCM Hockey, an equipment company, and the Bruins subsidize the cost of the expensive hockey equipment parents might not be excited to spring for if their children are not 100 percent sure they want to participate. And that means for $100 those players who sign up for four practices receive full equipment from helmet to skates to Bruins shirt and bag and everything in between. And this year, visits and tutoring from members of the Boston Bruins, themselves.
The league has held two practices so far and Saturday, former Bruins goalie and one time rookie of the year Andrew Raycroft is slated to be on ice with the young Bruins hopefuls.
What does a practice with a bunch of 4, 5, and 6 year olds look like? Think games. It is meant to be a fun time, said coach. The kids play freeze tag, sharks and minnows, while learning the skills, he said.
The clinic’s coaches are made up of the league’s volunteer travel coaches, parents of players, as well as players coaching from both the boys and girls high school teams. Sheridan said 19 of the 68 players are girls, including his own 6-year-old daughter.
“Our goal will be to take these participants right into out Learn to Play program at Kirrane Rink at Larz Anderson for Brookline Youth Hockey League’s Ice Mice program,” he said.
Brookline Youth Hockey has been around since the mid 1960’s and was formed by Jack Kirrane ( of the Larz Anderson Rink fame) and his brother Ed Kirrane.
The Ice Mice program is intended for players ages 4 – 9, however, consideration will be given for older children interested in learning how to play the game. The league starts up officially near the last week of November and the first week of December.
It is a Saturday afternoon at the Brookline Teen Center, a sleek modern building filled with couches and pool tables and walls painted in primary colors. Inside, hip-hop plays over the PA and a handful of kids are bent diligently over their work, designing logos they шиll print onto T-shirts.
Gabi Barroso darkens the lines on a portrait of a girl with big glasses and a fierce expression. “Just, like, a snarky look,” the 15-going-on-16-year-old says. “With a little button nose, gap teeth and a weird hairline.”
The sketch is based on the cover art from Barroso’s EP, “Pharmacy Drive-Thru” — three wry, catchy indie rock numbers recorded under the moniker Questionable Dog.
“We based a lot of the EP around Waxahatchee,” Barroso says, referring to the unruly-yet-wistful solo project from the Philadelphia musician Katie Crutchfield. Waxahatchee is one of Barroso’s favorite bands, but when the group performed in Boston this summer, the teenager was nоt able to go.
“A lot of the really great artists, especially smaller artists, can only play 18-plus venues because the venues are like, ‘You have to pay extra to have kids in,’ ” Barroso explains. “So all those complications make it hard for me to see these great people.”
If you аre a teenage music fan in Boston, this is all too common. In fact, the majority of shows around here are 21-plus. Underage crowds do nоt spend money on drinks, and many clubs view them as a legal liability. (Hence the extra fees for all-ages shows.) For decades, young people have found ways to enjoy live music anyway, by throwing shows in basements and teen centers and YMCAs. But it is always been tough for underage musicians and fans to find places to gather. It may even be getting harder.
Enter Yes Fest, a new music and arts festival for teens by teens, which debuts Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Brookline Teen Center. The idea originated with Wes Kaplan, a staff member who works in the center’s music program. Kaplan, 29, got his start playing in bands as a high schooler in Newton.
“When I was a teen, you could just start a band and get a show,” Kaplan says. “It was really like, you would get an email from your friend about playing a show, and it would happen. There were bands that were [high school] seniors that we all really looked up to as freshman and that really inspired us to play. There was this whole lineage — it felt like it had been going on forever and would continue forever.”
Kaplan is nоt sure what changed, but somehow the torch did nоt get passed to the kids he works with in Brookline. So he came up with an idea: a youth-centric music festival where teens could perform, take in new music and make connections.
“The best music comes from a culture,” Kaplan says. “Which means just lots of people doing lots of stuff. And lots of chances for things to happen spontaneously.” That is the goal with Yes Fest: to foster community among teens. You never know which scrappy garage band might turn out to be the next Aerosmith or Dresden Dolls.
Drawing on the networks of several other nonprofits — Zumix, Girls Rock Campaign Boston, BRAIN Arts and the West Suburban YCCA — Kaplan was able to attract dozens of young volunteers to the cause. The group agreed on some things right away. They wanted the festival to be inclusive, and they wanted it to be free for teens. (It is 10 bucks for everyone else.) After much discussion, they finally landed on a name.
“We were trying to come up with a name that really brings out the essence of the event,” says 17-year-old Mario Jarjour, who drums in the band Wild Painting. Yes Fest’s young organizers are used to being told “no,” he explains. “But if you want to go to Yes Fest, you’re more than welcome.”
Wild Painting will be one of 17 musical artists — from punk bands to rappers to singer-songwriters — all youth from across Greater Boston. (There is also a visual art showcase.) For Yes Fest’s performers, the event is a chance to reach a wider audience.
“We shouldn’t just be [performing] in basements, even though that’s rad,” says Wild Painting singer and synth player Angelina Botticelli. “It should still be kind of open to the public, like mainstream-esque. Because we still want people to hear us.”
Yes Fest’s organizers dream of making it an annual event. “It would be cool if Yes Fest turned into something like Boston Calling, but for teens,” Jarjour says.
But for now, it is time to savor the moment. “The first Yes Fest is going to be so monumental,” Botticelli says. “It’s like, wow, we’re all making this what it’s going to be.”
From nearly every window in this handsome Arts and Crafts home, branches and leaves are visible, some from overgrown willows, some from other trees and shrubs.
“We get a lot of birds here,” said Rita Towsner, sitting next to her husband, Bob, in their living room at 8 Griggs Terrace. “You could be a million miles from Boston.”
Yet, the place is just a few minutes on foot from busy Coolidge Corner. In fact, the home is nоt even a standalone house — the single-family is part of a row of attached homes that surround Griggs Park, a leafy retreat in downtown Brookline.
On the market for $2.2 million, the 10-room house has an impressive history that explains its location and its distinctive architecture.
Built by Hubert J. Ripley and A. J. Russell in 1908 as part of the park’s development, the row of houses is built in the English Arts and Crafts style, but in a unique form, slightly reminiscent of the Tudor style. The facade is creamy stucco and is punctuated with steeply pitched cross gables covered in slate and decorated with green vergeboard. The place is peppered with narrow multi-pane windows grouped in threes and twos. A big portico with wide concrete columns is at the main entrance.
Inside, the home is adorned with classic interiors complemented by contemporary and Japanese fixtures that were added when the Towsners renovated several rooms in 2005. Covering more than 3,680 square feet, the home is spacious throughout, with hardwood floors, exposed brick in several rooms, fireplaces in the living room and foyer, and a lovely white and wood staircase.
The kitchen, sprawling second-floor bathroom and massive third-floor master bedroom are all spectacular.
In the kitchen, one wall is exposed brick and two others have windows that, when open, let in the water sounds of a pond-like fountain outside. Every luxury was considered: radiant-heated bamboo floors, built-in five-burner stove, two wall ovens, crisper drawer, steamer, wine chiller, and the hot and cold filtered pot filler. There are also four sinks.
The Japanese-style bathroom upstairs has a soaking tub and windows with Shoji-style sliding doors.
Upstairs, the master bedroom is expansive and artful, with high ceilings and windows that overlook the park. The Towsners outfitted the room with custom-made cherry and pear wood furniture.
Rounding out the place are the first-floor living and dining rooms, four second-floor bedrooms and two third-floor offices.
The sale of the home, which also has a deeded garage space and patios, is being handled by Lea Cohen, 617-947-9713.
At 2:37 p.m. Thursday, October 19 police responded to a bank robbery at a bank on Route 9 in Chestnut Hill.
Police said the robbery happened at 1234 Boylston Street, which is a Bank of America. Police are investigating. No further details were immediately available. Police Lt. Phil Harrington did say, however, that there was no danger to the general public.
In January two banks were robbed in Brookline on Harvard Street. In March a Beacon Street bank was robbed and in April another bank was robbed on Harvard Street, this time by a minor.
Clear Flour Bread has been in business for 35 years this October. Throughout that time, husband-and-wife owners Christy Timon (who founded the bakery) and Abe Faber have celebrated countless holidays at the bakery. They have cross country skied into work in snow storms and had to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to fix broken machinery. But there is a major change that is about to happen next month. The owners are stepping aside, and two new Brookline faces will be taking over the business.
It is the end of an era in many ways. But the legacy that is Clear Flour Bakery will continue, they say.
The bakery, where it is not unusual to see a line out the door – even in the winter – as folks wait to grab fresh, artisan European breads and pastries, will stay much the same. The name will not change. The way the breads are carefully crafted and the holiday offerings will stay the same. Even the staff will remain, according to the owners. In fact, Timon, who founded the bakery, and Faber will stick around for a year as they mentor the incoming owners, a young couple who live in Brookline, as they take over the neighborhood bakery tucked near the corner of Thorndike and Lawton streets.
“We didn’t plan this at all,” said Faber. “He’s this kid who grew up and loved going to the bakery,” he said of new co-owner Jon Goodman, who will take over with wife Nicole Walsh. “The young blood could afford to start their own bakery, but they’re all about furthering the bakery and its legacy,” Faber said.
“It’s emotionally a pretty big deal,” Faber said.
Faber and his wife thought they would be the bakery’s owners for the rest of their lives, modeling their life plan after the traditional shops in Europe where they modeled their bread recipes and technique. But the couple’s 23-year-old twins are not interested in taking the baton, and a number of small family matters have come up, he said.
And it became clear it was time to retire. “This is the next best thing. But it’s like giving up your firstborn child. It’s a pretty intense thing,” Faber told Patch Tuesday.
There is a lot about the last three and a half decades the outgoing owners are proud of.
“I like that we’re making real food. I’ve been training people to do something that’s a profession since man started making bread,” said Timon. “It’s an element of basic nutrition and sustenance. It’s honest. I’m proud of being able to do that.”
And speaking of training, Timon and Faber have mentored and helped inspire the next generation of artisan bakers to do similar quality work in different parts of the country.
Standard Baking Co. is one of Maine’s most well-known bakeries. Alison Pray opened shop in 1995 with her husband, Matt James, and the duo both worked at Clear Flour first. Another alum went to Doylestown, PA and started Cross Roads Bake Shop, and current baker Daisy Chow has been working on starting her own Breadboard Bakery. And there are more, said Faber.
“There are people all over the country. What’s so cool — besides that it makes us feel old — is that people will look to us as mentors then we get excited about what they do and we trade back and forth,” said Faber.
It is that excitement at finding new ways to make traditional breads or treats that have fueled the duo all these years. And it may be why the bakery is consistently on the top of the Best of Boston’s list. And why so many quality bakers emerge after stints at the bakery to create their own renowned bakeries.
And it is that same quality that has Timon fixing to make a couple more things to sell at the bakery before she leaves.
“I haven’t made everything I wanted to, yet” she said.
Stay tuned for Sfogliatella.
“I just remember looking at when it was in the case in a bakery in New York thinking ‘how do they do that?'” she said of the Italian pastry. She’s got it. And it’s coming soon, she said.
In October of 1982 Christy Timon, then 29, leased a space at the corner of Thorndike and Lawton Streets with the idea of opening a catering business with her business partner. Their digs in Newton had gotten too small, so Cafe Small Caterers moved to Brookline. Timon, did not expect it to last forever, it was just something to make money while she geared up for a career as a ballet dancer.
Timon was known for her bread. She had had an old friend who had given her some sourdough starter and it spurred her interest in bread making. It wasn’t uncommon for clients to inquire about the bread, and eventually restaurants started requesting her bread. One thing lead to another and the caterers business turned into a wholesale bakery.
Faber came on the scene after meeting her through a friend originally to help make deliveries in Timon’s grandmother’s old Chevy Nova in 1983. He eventually became her husband, business partner and “trusty sidekick.”
Clear Flour Bread was named for a milling term. The duo did not have enough money for a sign, so folks in the neighborhood knew them mostly as “Sorry, Sold Out,” for the cardboard sign they would pop into the window at appropriate times.
The bakery evolved through Timon and Faber’s continued training from French, German and Italian master bakers, and through sharing with colleagues in the field. It became an award-winning national standard bearer and training ground for the locally made artisan baking movement. They even got a sign.
Oh and what about that career in ballet?
Timon said she doesn’t regret the move. “This is as physical and as challenging as that was. And every day when we all work together it’s kind of like an ensemble piece,” she said.
Jon Goodman’s family and Faber’s family had mutual family friends and actually knew each other for years. One day Goodman’s mom asked Faber and Timon if they’d be willing to chat with her son and his wife who were considering opening a bakery in San Francisco where they lived.
The owners of Clear Flour Bread understandingly have had a lot of people asking to pick their brains about bakeries. They’re natural mentors and enjoy it. But there was something different about Goodman and his wife. They both had the chops, the inspiration and the skill to do something very similar to what Clear Flour was doing, he said.
Nicole Walsh graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, first began baking at 17 when she managed and eventually owned a cupcake shop in Eagle, Idaho. She moved to San Francisco and spent a decade in the Bay Area refining her craft and vision for the future.
She met Goodman, and it was a match. He had years of bakery management and operations experience to the table, and shared Walsh’s passion for creating, selling and consuming great baked goods.
Their story and interest in crafting artisan breads was a refreshing change from the number of representatives of franchises who had given their cards to Faber over the years. The two’s focus on baking skills and education, purity of whole ingredients, and respect for traditional methods wooed Timon and Faber.
“Out of all the offers over the years, we’ve always just wrinkled up our noses and said no, we’re going to do this ’til we die, just like the old couples do in Europe” said Faber.
But at some point in their months-long conversation, Goodman and Walsh decided they might want to come back to Brookline. And Faber, who had at one point commented to Timon that it was too bad these two weren’t among the ones who would come knocking about their business, slid out a passing comment about taking on Clear Flour.
And that was that.
Agape International, a Hyderabad-based organization that takes in orphans with AIDS and orphaned by AIDs, held its annual Fall fundraiser earlier this month at the Holiday Inn in Brookline, MA.
The evening showcased Agape’s success in educating poor, HIV+ children, making them productive citizens. The audience, a mix of Indians and Americans, heard, via Skype, from children who grew up at the Agape orphanage, and now either go to college, or after studying engineering or accounting, have successful careers.
While only 4 percent of poor Indian children go to college, Agape, with its own English-medium school, has sent close to half their high school students to college. A boy, who came to Agape as a poor HIV+ seven year old, now speaks perfect English and works as a chemical engineer. Another speaker was a girl who came to Agape as a child, finished her MBA, and now works for a corporation in Hyderabad.
The interactive session had the audience asking the students how Agape had prepared them for life outside the orphanage, the issues of being HIV+ in a world that still stigmatizes them, and what donors could do to help.
The evening resulted in many new donors, who heard for the first time the work done to help poor children in India impacted by AIDS, generously sponsoring the living and educational expenses of the Agape orphans.
The evening featured an update by Lynne Guhman Agape’s founder who lives in Hyderabad, a silent auction with many items from India being snapped up in a pre-Diwali bidding frenzy, singing by mother-daughter duo Sudha and Krithi Rao, and a fun dance by local resident Priti Saini, who got the enthusiastic audience of Americans and Indians on their feet with a couple of Bollywood numbers.
Agape feeds, clothes, shelters, and provides medication to around 250 children in its Hyderabad orphanage. In addition, Agape also educates the children, all the way from nursery to high school, in its own English-medium school.
Agape is funded by individual donors who sponsor a child’s residential or schooling expenses. You can learn more at agapeintl.org or by emailing joe@agapeintl.org.
A Puerto Rico couple has made it to Boston in the wake of Hurricane Maria to save their baby’s life.
The couple is staying with a family in Brookline as they await appointments for their daughter at Children’s Hospital.
Alianette Andino and Kelvin Garcia live in Maunabo, on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. It is normally an hour-and-a-half drive to San Juan.
They have a 14-month-old daughter, Amaia.
Five months into the pregnancy, doctors told Andino that her daughter would not be born alive. But she was born, 26 weeks into her mother’s pregnancy.
She has a heart condition, left ventricular dysplasia. At the age of 2 months, she had emergency open-heart surgery. Amaia has a surgically implanted feeding tube.
She spent the first eight months of her life in a San Juan hospital. Since then, it has been back-and-forth to the hospital, until last month.
“The hurricane came,” Garcia says in Spanish.
It hit where they live hard. There was no power, no phone service, no water.
Amaia became dehydrated and infected. She was hospitalized for 12 days. When the hospital was ready to release her, Garcia, in the hospital with his daughter, couldn’t get in touch with their hometown.
“When her dad was in the hospital,” Andino says in Spanish, “I was working. We had no way to communicate. Then they started to restore some phone service. The closest was two towns away, where Kelvin’s mother works. She was able to get some signal and communicate with him in the hospital, where he had some signal.”
That is when they decided to go to Boston. Garcia says the San Juan hospital had consulted with cardiologists at Children’s Hospital. Garcia got in touch with Hospitality Homes, a Boston nonprofit that arranges housing for families and friends of patients who need medical care. Garcia says the organization put him in touch with a nonprofit that flies patients who cannot fly commercially.
They are staying in the Brookline apartment of Gwen Taylor and Jeff Lindy.
“We have the space, we have the capacity, and it’s our responsibility,” Lindy says. “You gotta help people out who need help.”
Lindy says they have hosted maybe a dozen patients and families. He says in part, they do it because they think it benefits their own two young boys.
“Our kids get to see a lot of different people from different places, and they’re not just stuck thinking that everybody’s exactly like them and talks like them and has the same experiences from the same place,” Lindy says.
People have stayed from a couple of nights to four months — this time, Taylor says, without much notice.
“Let’s see” Taylor says. “The Singaporeans were still here at the time when we heard, so it must have been less than a week. We don’t need a lot of notice, though. We’ve just got the room pretty much ready to go. We don’t mind having people around.”
For now, Amaia’s parents are waiting for proof of coverage from MassHealth to go to their first appointment at Children’s Hospital.
Brookline’s own Poet Laureate Zvi Sesling has a new book.
Sesling has been writing poetry on Jewish themes for over 30 years and his new book, “The Lynching of Leo Frank” is the culmination of his long career.
The poems address a range of subjects but are tied together by themes of survival, history, anti-Semitism, hopelessness and hopefulness, according to Sesling.
With his book newly published, Sesling recently answered questions about his book via e-mail.
The title of your book is quite striking, why did you select it?
I believe this is an important event in American Jewish history that is often overlooked by the media and even many in the Jewish community because it occurred more than 100 years ago. I hope the title encourages people read the poem and then the whole book.
The book is a culmination of over 30 years of writing, what was your process for putting it together?
There are more poems than are in this book. I selected what I believed was a variety of what I have written. I picked the title poem, then added Mumbai, which was a much under-reported tragedy of terrorism. My travels in Israel, Canada and the U.S. provided much inspiration, while other poems were the result of news stories, even one based on the movie “Chariots of Fire.” Then there are poems from personal experience —i.e. people I know, my past, etc.
What inspires your work?
When it comes to Jewish poetry I would say my heritage, my personal experience, family, friends, history, observation, news and more. When it comes to other poems – and I have two other books and two chapbooks – it can be anything, often inspired by other poets whose work I have read.
In the book description you refer to a range of history and emotion for the readers, can you elaborate on that?
Many of the poems reveal issues with which both Jewish and non-Jewish readers may not be familiar and which they need to know, such as the lynching of a white, Jewish male who was not guilty of a crime. Many of the poems everyone can relate to: a picnic, a dinner, terrorism, the last days of a synagogue not unlike the closing of Catholic or Protestant churches, attempts to convert a Jew, anti-Semitism, war and other issues that may occur.
Can you reflect on your career and what led you to create this book; was it something you always planned to do?
Going back to second grade I wanted to be a writer, went to journalism school, spent years in public relations and along the way wrote short stories, but then started writing poetry. One of the thoughts I had as I wrote poetry was to write poems about Jewish subjects because I believe the best writing comes from personal experience that can elicit the emotions of the writer and reader. I decided to write more Jewish poems and eventually put this book together. The result is “The Lynching of Leo Frank” representing more than 30 years of poems. I am honored that this book is nominated for the 2017 National Jewish Book Award.
Why poetry? What does it do for you and what do you hope it does for your readers?
Poetry is a perfect form of communication – short, complete, accessible. Poetry allows me to explain my thoughts and feelings concisely and I hope my poetry connects with readers who often may say to themselves, “Yes.”
Is there anything you would like to add?
I am honored to be the current Brookline Poet Laureate. I will help people school age to seniors have a better understanding and love of poetry. Through the written and spoken word poetry brings internal and external understanding of self and life.
Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) (the “Company”) today announced net income of $15.4 million, or $0.20 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2017, compared to $14.9 million, or $0.20 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of 2017, and $13.6 million, or $0.19 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2016. The third quarter of 2017 net income included merger and acquisition costs in connection with the Company’s Agreement and Plan of Merger with First Commons Bank, N.A. executed on September 20, 2017.
“We are pleased to report that Brookline Bancorp maintained its consistent strong performance throughout the third quarter of 2017,” said Paul Perrault, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “During the quarter, we generated steady growth in loans and deposits. We look forward to our continued success in growing our loans and deposit base organically, and welcoming customers of First Commons Bank to the Brookline family. The acquisition of First Commons Bank will add approximately $300 million in assets to our balance sheet in the first quarter of 2018 on condition of approval.”
BALANCE SHEET
Total assets at September 30, 2017 increased $28.2 million to $6.69 billion from $6.66 billion at June 30, 2017, and increased $306.0 million from $6.38 billion at September 30, 2016. At September 30, 2017, total loans and leases were $5.64 billion, representing an increase of $102.0 million from June 30, 2017, and an increase of $307.1 million from September 30, 2016. During the third quarter of 2017, total loans and leases increased 7.4 percent on an annualized basis.
Investment securities at September 30, 2017 decreased $19.3 million to $630.6 million, comprising 9.4 percent of total assets, as compared to $649.9 million, or 9.8 percent of total assets, at June 30, 2017, and increased approximately $29.3 million from $601.4 million, or 9.4 percent of total assets, at September 30, 2016.
Total deposits at September 30, 2017 increased $96.3 million to $4.81 billion from $4.71 billion at June 30, 2017 and increased $240.8 million from $4.56 billion at September 30, 2016. Core deposits, which consists of demand checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, increased $48.5 million from June 30, 2017 and increased $179.5 million from September 30, 2016.
Total borrowings at September 30, 2017 decreased $80.7 million to $985.9 million from $1.07 billion at June 30, 2017 and decreased $36.8 million from $1.02 billion at September 30, 2016.
The ratio of stockholders’ equity to total assets was 12.04 percent at September 30, 2017, as compared to 11.95 percent at June 30, 2017, and 10.91 percent at September 30, 2016, respectively. The ratio of tangible stockholders’ equity to tangible assets was 10.09 percent at September 30, 2017, as compared to 9.99 percent at June 30, 2017, and 8.82 percent at September 30, 2016. Tangible book value per share increased $0.11 from $8.52 at June 30, 2017 to $8.63 at September 30, 2017.
NET INTEREST INCOME
Net interest income increased $1.3 million to $56.8 million during the third quarter of 2017 from the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The net interest margin decreased 2 basis points to 3.57 percent for the three months ended September 30, 2017.
NON-INTEREST INCOME
Non-interest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 increased $1.5 million to $6.0 million from $4.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The increase was primarily driven by increases of $0.7 million in loan level derivative income and in gain on sales of loans and leases.
PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES
The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $2.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, compared to $0.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The increase in the provision for the quarter was primarily driven by growth in loans and an increase in the loss factors as a result of the ongoing assessment of loss factors.
Net charge-offs for the third quarter of 2017 were $2.0 million compared to $2.4 million in the second quarter of 2017. The ratio of net charge-offs to average loans and leases on an annualized basis decreased to 14 basis points for the third quarter of 2017 from 17 basis points for the second quarter of 2017. Net charge offs in the third quarter of 2017 primarily consisted of $1.3 million of taxi medallion loans and $0.3 million of equipment financing loans as compared to $2.3 million of commercial loans in the second quarter of 2017.
The allowance for loan and lease losses represented 1.16 percent of total loans and leases at September 30, 2017, compared to 1.17 percent at June 30, 2017, and 1.10 percent at September 30, 2016. The allowance for loan and lease losses related to originated loans and leases represented 1.20 percent of originated loans and leases at September 30, 2017, compared to 1.20 percent at June 30, 2017, and 1.15 percent at September 30, 2016.
NON-INTEREST EXPENSE
Non-interest expense for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 increased $0.6 million to $35.4 million from $34.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The increase was primarily driven by an increase of $0.2 million in compensation and employee benefits, an increase of $0.2 million in merger and acquisition expense, and an increase of $0.4 million in other non-interest expense, offset by a decrease of $0.1 million in FDIC insurance. The efficiency ratio for the third quarter was 56.37 percent compared to 57.93 percent for the second quarter of 2017 and 57.89 percent for the third quarter of 2016.
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
The effective tax rate was 34.0 percent and 35.2 percent for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. The third quarter’s effective tax rate was impacted by new accounting guidance that went into effect in 2017. This guidance requires that the excess tax benefit associated with stock compensation transactions be recorded through earnings as a discrete item within the Company’s effective tax rate during the period of the transaction. The majority of the Company’s stock compensation events typically occur in the third quarter. The prior guidance required the recognition of the excess tax benefit through additional paid in capital.
RETURNS ON AVERAGE ASSETS AND AVERAGE EQUITY
The annualized return on average assets increased to 0.92 percent during the third quarter of 2017 from 0.91 percent for the second quarter of 2017. The annualized return on average tangible assets increased to 0.94 percent for the third quarter of 2017 from 0.93 percent for the second quarter of 2017.
The annualized return on average stockholders’ equity decreased to 7.64 percent during the third quarter of 2017 from 7.76 percent for the second quarter of 2017. The annualized return on average tangible stockholders’ equity decreased to 9.31 percent for the third quarter of 2017 from 9.58 percent for the second quarter of 2017.
ASSET QUALITY
The ratio of nonperforming loans and leases to total loans and leases was 0.71 percent at September 30, 2017 as compared to 0.76 percent at June 30, 2017. Nonperforming loans and leases decreased $2.3 million to $40.0 million at September 30, 2017 from $42.3 million at June 30, 2017. The ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets was 0.66 percent at September 30, 2017 as compared to 0.71 percent at June 30, 2017. Nonperforming assets decreased $2.8 million to $44.4 million at September 30, 2017 from $47.1 million at June 30, 2017. The decrease in nonperforming assets is due to the payoff of several nonperforming loans, charge offs of several taxi medallion loans, and sales of $0.5 million of other real estate owned and repossessed assets in the third quarter of 2017.
DIVIDEND DECLARED
The Company’s Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.09 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. The dividend will be paid on November 17, 2017 to stockholders of record on November 3, 2017.
CONFERENCE CALL
The Company will conduct a conference call/webcast at 1:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, October 19, 2017 to discuss the results for the quarter, business highlights and outlook. The call can be accessed by dialing 877-504-4120 (United States) or 412-902-6650 (internationally). A recorded playback of the call will be available for one week following the call at 877-344-7529 (United States) or 412-317-0088 (internationally). The passcode for the playback is 10112542. The call will be available live and in a recorded version on the Company’s website under “Investor Relations” at brooklinebancorp.com.
ABOUT BROOKLINE BANCORP, INC.
Brookline Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company with $6.7 billion in assets and branch locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and operates as the holding company for Brookline Bank, Bank Rhode Island, and First Ipswich Bank (the “banks”). The Company provides commercial and retail banking services, cash management and investment services to customers throughout Central New England. More information about Brookline Bancorp, Inc. and its banks can be found at the following websites: brooklinebank.com, bankri.com, and firstipswich.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of, among others, the risks outlined in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) as set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in its Accounting Standards Codification and through the rules and interpretive releases of the SEC under the authority of federal securities laws. Certain amounts previously reported have been reclassified to conform to the current period’s presentation.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as the allowance for loan and lease losses related to originated loans and leases as a percentage of originated loans and leases, tangible book value per common share, tangible stockholders’ equity to tangible assets, return on average tangible assets and return on average tangible stockholders’ equity. These non-GAAP financial measures provide information for investors to effectively analyze financial trends of ongoing business activities, and to enhance comparability with peers across the financial services sector. A detailed reconciliation table of the Company’s GAAP to the non-GAAP measures is attached.
Contact:
Carl M. Carlson
Chief Financial Officer
Brookline Bancorp, Inc.
Tel.: 617-425-5331
E–mail: ccarlson@brkl.com
About Brookline Bancorp, Inc.
Brookline Bancorp, Inc. operates as a multi-bank holding company for Brookline Bank and its subsidiaries; Bank Rhode Island and its subsidiaries; First Ipswich Bank and its subsidiaries, and Brookline Securities Corp. As a commercially-focused financial institution with approximately 50 banking offices in greater Boston, the north shore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Company offers commercial, business and retail banking services, including cash management products, online banking services, consumer and residential loans and investment services in central New England. The Company’s activities include acceptance of commercial; municipal and retail deposits; origination of mortgage loans on commercial and residential real estate located principally in Massachusetts and Rhode Island; origination of commercial loans and leases to small- and mid-sized businesses; investment in debt and equity securities, and the offering of cash management and investment advisory services.
