Hello, Lexington!
Good morning and welcome to LexObserver’s Friday news roundup!
It’s March 3, which means the Annual Town Election is just three days away. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 6; you can find your polling place here. While all townwide races are uncontested, contributing to conditions for low voter turnout, Town Meeting has a contested Precinct 7 race and Precinct 8 has room for write-in candidates because there are fewer candidates than open seats.
We’ll bring more reporting to you about the election results and Town Meeting in the coming weeks. In the meantime, thanks so much for reading, and we hope you enjoy this week’s news.
In this issue:
- After unexpected state aid increase, Select Board approves revised FY24 budget.
- Youngest ever Grammy-winner for jazz ensemble got his start in Lexington.
- School Committee Roundup: MSBA invites Lexington into Feasibility Study process for new high school construction.
- Telling Stories Left Untold.
- Town Manager holds first ‘Java with Jim’ community event.
- Lexingtonians voice concerns over proposed Hanscom development as MEPA issues certificate.
- Q&A with Ofrit Liviatan.
- “His Eye Is on the Sparrow”: A Nature Column.
- Lexington police log: Fraud, weather cause headaches.
- Letter to the Editor.
- Community Submissions.
After unexpected state aid increase, Select Board approves revised FY24 budget
In a special Select Board meeting Thursday, members unanimously approved amendments to the Town’s FY2024 budget after Governor Maura Healey announced her budget recommendation including about $2.3 million more in state aid than Lexington had expected to receive.
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Youngest ever Grammy-winner for jazz ensemble album got his start in Lexington
When Lexington native Steven Feifke was young, he wanted to become one of two things: a professional baseball player or, more unusually, a jazz pianist.
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School Committee Roundup: MSBA invites Lexington into Feasibility Study process for new high school construction
In a detailed presentation, 10-year-old Nikhil Shah asked the School Committee to consider making Diwali – a major Hindu holiday that celebrates the festival of lights and triumph of good over evil – a school holiday.
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Telling Stories Left Untold
Sean Osborne, Lexington resident and the founder and former president of the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL), is clearly a student of history.
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Town Manager holds first ‘Java with Jim’ community event
Town Manager Jim Malloy held a community meeting dubbed ‘Java with Jim’ Wednesday, where he shared local government updates and answered community questions in the foyer of Cary Memorial Building over Dunkin’ coffee and munchkins.
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Lexingtonians voice concerns over proposed Hanscom development as MEPA issues certificate
As interest Hanscom Field’s North Airfield development grows, Lexingtonians have added their voices to a growing chorus of concerns and objections to the project.
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Q&A with Ofrit Liviatan
Ofrit Liviatan is a lecturer on law and politics at Harvard University’s Department of Government, the author of a political novel Anything But Steady, and the Director of Harvard College’s Freshman Seminar Program.
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“His Eye Is on the Sparrow”
Although many species migrate to warmer climes during our frigid months, other familiar species remain for the duration, utilizing a variety of strategies for survival.
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Lexington police log: Fraud, weather cause headaches
Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 10:05 a.m., a Beacon Street resident called to report that someone was using her business’ name on Craigslist to advertise a donkey for sale.
Keep readingLetters to the Editor
To submit a letter to the editor, please contact letters@lexobserver.org. Thank you!
Letter to the Editor: Cluster Housing group shares findings on zoning articles
Zoning articles are among the most complex brought before Town Meeting.
Keep readingCommunity Submissions
To submit a community announcement, please contact community@lexobserver.org. Thank you!
That’s a wrap for today. Was this roundup useful to you? What do you want to see in this email next week? Let us know, and please ask your friends to sign up and DONATE too! Reach out to sophie@lexobserver.org with tips and questions anytime. As always, you can also check out and share our website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. Thanks so much for reading and have a great weekend!
Nicco Mele, Sophie Culpepper, Erin Sandler-Rathe, Susanne Beck and the (growing!) LexObserver Team
Edited by Craig Sandler and Erin Sandler-Rathe
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