Every month the Milton Animal League provides a video update of dogs available for adoption. Here are the four legged friends available now.
The folks at the shelter will also be quick to tell you that there are cats too! You can learn more about the Milton Animal League from their web site here.
from Wicked Local Milton
Milton School Committee member Christopher Huban admitted Monday in Quincy District Court to sufficient facts to be convicted of drunken driving on New Year’s Day.
Judge Marc Coven continued the case without a finding for one year and placed Huban on supervised probation. He will pay $65 a month. (Read the full story here.)
from The Boston Globe
Some have hailed it as the purest form of democracy in action. But is the town meeting form of government – a quintessential fixture in New England for more than two centuries – finally showing its age?
In a number of communities south of Boston, many say yes. (Read the full story here.)
from Wicked Local Milton
He is charged with shooting a man in the stomach with a .45-caliber handgun and then speeding off in his Porsche. Robert O’Connell, a preppy-looking 40-year-old, surrendered to police wearing a powder blue sweater over an oxford shirt and khakis. He is not a typical Quincy District Court defendant answering to a charge of attempted murder. (Read the full story here.)
Learn more about Senior Seminar Editorials here. View a list of previous editorials here.
A Senior Seminar Editorial by Mary Slowey, MHS 2010
In the fall of 2008, a group of more than one hundred college presidents signed a declaration stating that the drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen. This group included the presidents of prestigious schools such as Dartmouth, Virginia Tech and Duke. The drinking age was raised to twenty one back in the mid-1980’s, but this change was obviously not very effective seeing as
. Initially, the law was created to reduce the number of drunk driving accidents, but this comes with the cost of raising the number of off-road, alcohol related deaths. In order to lower the number of underage drinkers, and therefore lower the number of alcohol related deaths in general, we should begin by first lowering the drinking age to eighteen, as the college presidents have proposed.
Commentary by Frank Schroth
Nothing is easy.
Especially the primary matter before the Planning Board: the redevelopment of the Temple Shalom property. It is a matter of tremendous significance to the town in general and to the immediate stakeholders in particular: the Temple congregation and the neighborhood residents.
The advent of the new year is an appropriate time to look back and review. The question is not whether the board has handled this well or poorly, but how it can do better going forward. Feelings of uncertainty, doubt and anxiety can be alleviated in part by improved clarity, consistency, respect, and courage from the board. With the belief that tomorrow is an opportunity to improve upon yesterday, we suggest the following New Year’s resolutions to the Planning Board. These qualities are certainly not absent but they can be improved:
The first of two public hearings on the proposed redevelopment of the Temple Shalom property was held on 12/21. (The second will be held Monday, 1/4, at 6:30 PM at the Council on Aging.)
The hearing took up most of the meeting. For those following the Temple Shalom issue, the themes expressed were familiar. Proponents argued that the development would provide needed revenue, preserve diversity, retain an important pre-school, and provide desired community amenities. People opposed to the development argued that the scale of the project was too big for the neighborhood, they would need to endure increased noise and other forms of pollution, and there would be significant traffic and public safety issues. You can view a list of previous posts covering respective viewpoints on this issue here.
Just over 30 people rose to speak at the hearing. About 2/3 of the speakers spoke in support. Notable were three members of the School Committee: Glenn Pavlicek, Beirne Lovely, and Chris Huban who all spoke in favor of the development. In an attempt to capture something of the spirit of the feelings, sentiment, and opinion on both sides of the issue, here is a sample of statements made:
While we would not object to an incidental benefit to the landowner, the purpose of new zoning should be to benefit the town as a whole, the neighborhood affected, and the abutters who have to live with it. New zoning should have a higher and better purpose than to benefit one party alone. — Andrew Upton, Attorney for “Save Tucker Neighborhood” (Note: you can find Mr. Upton’s complete statement of testimony here.)
“It is clear to me that nothing short of what is proposed is what is necessary. . . the benefit is the preservation of Temple Shalom . . . As is [the] need to preserve the Campbell School. Preservation is a significant benefit.” — Ned Corcoran, Attorney for the developer Coffman Realty (Note: we are awaiting a copy of Mr. Corcoran’s full statement.)
The Planning Board has posted the Traffic Impact Assessment conducted by Vanasse and Associates. This was done for the proposed zoning overlay article to enable commercial development at the Temple Shalom site. The proposed development would consist of a pharmacy, 2nd retail business (possibly a grocery), and a new, smaller temple.
The assessment is to undergo a peer review. The Planning Board is going to select from one of the following firms to perform the peer review:
You can find the full text here.
We are all familiar with Tip O’Neill’s famous adage, “All politics is local.” There is a reason for that: he understood that life is local. Sure there is a lot that happend nationally and internationally that is of note. For starters, a black man is President of United States. Top that.
Those exceptions aside, it is the local events that touch us directly. Here are a few of notable Milton moments from the year gone by:
The Revelus family suffered an unspeakable tragedy. Two policemen in particular were tremendously brave and a community: neighbors, school administrators, and towns people rose in support to do what they could to help this family cope.
A new library opened and it is wonderful. Technically it is a renovation but in spirit it’s brand new. And already one can sense the renewed beehive of community activity that it has engendered. Like the high school up the street, it is in constant use. A lot of people put in enormous time and effort to make this happen. We are grateful. To them we would say, “Look what you’ve done!!” Learn more about your public library here.
The MHS Wildcats locked up a Championship in Division II basketball providing the town with a thrilling ride and an incredible amount of joy and pride.
Not only can you now have a sit down dinner right here in Milton with wine and cocktails; but you have to make a choice! There are now two restaurants; Abby Park and 88 Wharf. Both are participating in the first Dorchester – Milton Restaurant week. Learn more about that here.
In another demonstration of community support, neighbors, friends and work colleagues banded together to help a beloved coach get back on his feet. Mike Madden, Milton’s varsity soccer coach, suffered from complications of back surgery that left him partially paralyzed. The “Friends of Mike Madden” and they are legion, helped with chores, tasks, and projects large and small. It was with no small amount of joy that we bumped into Mike Madden. “Well, look at you!” Coach was standing on his own two feet, doing what he loves to do, watching a bunch of U-somethings run around a soccer field. The Milton Times had a nice piece recently on Coach Madden which you can find here.
These are simply a few highlights. Much more occurred.
For a slideshow of pictures of the year gone by, please visit our holiday post here.
by Samantha Brennan / Milton High School
We talk about the world ending as being an over-exaggerated lie, but not in the case of this film. In 2012, the Earth has planned our destiny, and it’s up to the humans to strategize a way out. This earthquake-fancying film stars John Cusack as Jackson, a divorced failed author whose present dwindling world is in for a major disaster. His wife, Amanda Peet, and two kids could care less about their absent father.
After hearing advice from his buddy/talk show radio host Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson), Jackson evolves into the man in the director’s chair, the new leader of the squad. Though he saves his family continuously throughout the movie, it could help if the movie subtracted the frequent heart attacks he gives them.