We welcome letters from members of the public on topics pertaining to Lexington and our coverage. Letters must be no more than 400 words, and shorter is better — brevity is the soul of wit. We encourage respectful discourse that does not target any individuals or groups. We reserve the right to fact-check and edit letters for length or clarity, and we do not publish anonymous letters.
We accept letters at any time and will do our best to run them in a timely fashion. Typically, we are able to share letters we receive by Wednesday at 5 p.m. in our Friday roundup two days later.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE SEPARATE FROM OUR NEWS REPORTING AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE LEXINGTON OBSERVER.
To submit a letter to the editor, please contact letters@lexobserver.org. Thank you!
Letter to the Editor: What are the desired learning outcomes for the new high school?
“As they say in design, ‘form follows function’—meaning that a building should be in service of its purpose.”
Letter to the Editor: Continued confusion over Serious Talks curriculum
“In order to avoid any further division in the community, what we really need from our school administration is to focus on bringing everyone on board by being open and transparent with parents about the curriculum.”
Letter to the Editor: Stop Private Jet Expansion
“In the midst of this climate emergency, Massport is proposing to triple the number of hangars at Hanscom Civil Air Terminal for the exclusive use of private luxury jets – the most carbon-intensive form of travel per passenger.”
Letters to the Editor: Students write in support of Serious Talks
We see this attack on the Serious Talks curriculum as not only an attack on the curriculum itself, but as an attack on the idea of teaching diversity and kindness in our schools. As community members that value compassion and inclusivity, we won’t stand for this.
Letter to the Editor: Lexington C.A.R.E.S. organizers support Serious Talks
“Every student and family needs and deserves to see themselves represented in what they read and discuss in all aspects of their lives, including in the classroom, starting from the earliest grades.”
Letter to the Editor: First Parish Response to Serious Talks
“Although our congregation has witnessed many changes since our founding in 1629, one thing has not changed: our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person.”
Letter to the Editor: Divisive comments on affirmative action article
Statements that unnecessarily pit one group against another are inherently divisive and ultimately hurt the goal of learning and participation in community dialogue.
Letter to the Editor: Kicking Around Thoughts on Soccer and Gender
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is underway. Lexington resident and author of Soccer Grannies writes with some thoughts about women’s soccer.
Letter to the Editor: Lexington Education Association’s response to criticisms of Serious Talks curriculum
“We do not teach our students that any one way of living is correct or incorrect or good or bad. We simply teach them that everyone deserves kindness and respect.”
Letter to the Editor: The Supreme Court decision on affirmative action is a blow to efforts to increase racial equity in higher education
Natasha Warikoo writes that a level-playing field in which applicants have equal opportunity to compete is impossible in our highly unequal society.
Letter to the Editor: The Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action reaffirms the equal rights of Asian Americans — and paves the way for a fair system for all.
Lexington resident Helen Yang says it’s time to try something new.
Letter to the Editor: Antisemitic graffiti at the Cary Library
The Lexington Interfaith Congregations Association rejects all forms of hateful speech, symbols and actions.
What you can do to help stop the private jet expansion at Hanscom Field
Private jets emit about ten times more carbon per mile than commercial aviation. Stopping their expansion is so clearly the right thing to do that I think it might actually happen.
Letter to the Editor: Goodbye to one of Lexington’s oldest trees
A majestic and irreplaceable white oak tree, estimated to be around 260 years old, was brutally cut down to make way, one assumes, for yet another Lexington mansion.
Letter to the Editor: A classic example of racial profiling
Helen Yang writes that the sentencing of Lexington resident Haoyang Yu “sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the security and equal protection of Americans of Chinese descent.”
Letters to the Editor: Thank you from the Lexington Education Association — and a request for support for clerical workers, paraeducators, and technology workers.
Over the next year or so, LEA will be negotiating three separate contracts for clerical workers, paraeducators, and technology workers.
Letter to the Editor: This AAPI Heritage month, a Sanskrit reminder that the world is one family
“‘This is my own relative and that is a stranger,’ is the reasoning of the narrow-minded; for the noble hearts, however, the entire earth is but one family”.
Letter to the editor: Planning Board should deny Tracer Lane solar project
Solar electricity is critical for achieving greenhouse gas reductions — but the Tracer Lane project endangers a major water supply and destroys scarce forest.
Letter to the Editor: Stone building restoration and affordable housing
Pitting a single project against another is not constructive.
Article 34 is good for housing, transportation, climate, economic development, and diversity
A Baker administration cabinet member and Lexington local says zoning has been an exclusionary tool in our state and nation’s history, and urges Lexington to lead the way towards change.
How to use $11 Million of Community Preservation Act Funds
Lexington spends more on historic preservation than affordable housing — despite community values laid out in the town’s comprehensive plan.
Housing Progress in Lexington
State Senators Mike Barrett and Cindy Friedman write in support of Lexington’s Article 34, and encourage Lexington to provide an example for other towns on housing.
Solar Project on Lexington/Waltham Line Raises Alarms
A reader expresses concerns about environmental and safety issues related to the Tracer Lane Solar Project.
Letter to the Editor: Alternatives needed for policing
While there are some situations which call for police involvement, our society relies too much on the police as a solution for many issues.
Letter to the Editor: Honoring the Third Anniversary of Plastic Straw Bans
At the Lexington Annual Town Meeting in March 2019, two bylaws were passed overwhelmingly.
Letter to the Editor: Cluster Housing group shares findings on zoning articles
Zoning articles are among the most complex brought before Town Meeting.
Letter to the Editor: My recent encounter with social bias in Concord, MA
Exactly one week before MLK Jr. Day, fifty-five years after Dr. King gave his life so that we might get there one day, I was confronted with painful evidence that while we’ve made movement in the right direction, we are far from truly understanding and uprooting social bias.
Letter to the Editor: Local Support for Teen Mental Health Wellness – The Conversation Continues
Many individuals within the Lexington community are passionate about creating change around youth mental wellness, especially the teens themselves.
Letter to the Editor: Anthony Amore for State Auditor
Are you concerned that all statewide offices will go to a single party on Nov. 6th?
Letter to the Editor: Let’s name our next school after Hank Manz
As COVID fades, I am reminded that we have not been able to mourn Hank Manz who died in 2020.
Letter to the Editor: Thank you to construction workers and Lexington Police for work on Lexington Center
I want to give a shout out to the workers of I. W. Harding Construction and the Lexington Police.
Letter to the Editor: Vote Mara Dolan for Governor’s Council on Sept. 6
Last year we had record opiate overdoses and deaths in the Commonwealth. Lexington is not immune from this plague, unfortunately.