Our Westwood

Westwood Community Access Television continues to make progress in setting up operations and is now streaming recorded meetings on its website at http://westcat.tv. Currently, the broadcast is the July 19, 2010 Board of Selectmen meeting which includes the presentation of the first check for $1.1 million from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners towards the new Library.

The webcasts are part of preparation for taking over local origination programming from Comcast AND connecting the resulting signal to Verizon customers. Currently, the town and Comcast are in the midst of negotiations for renewal of the 10-year franchise agreement.

In mid-June, the Boston Globe reported that Westwood granted its first ice cream truck permit in 25 years to Bussam Alkhatatbih and his daughter, Sirrene Alkhatatbih, of Sam’s Ice Cream of Saugus. They agreed to the many stipulations required (motivated by safety concerns following the tragic death of a boy who was run over by an ice cream truck in Westwood.) But at the July 19 Board of Selectman meeting, Nancy Hyde announced that the vendor has ceased operations in Westwood, citing the difficulty of doing business without playing music to attract customers.

Don't arrest me for trespassing, but I could not resist checking out the trail that is still under construction at Fox Meadow. After following the stone dust portion to some steps that lead back up to the entrance to Fox Meadow, I followed the sidewalk around to the small parking area and discovered the path has been cleared and mulched down to the old carriage road that leads into Lowell Woods. I recorded my whole run (including the mile and a half up Gay Street) on a map below:

This map illustrates opportunities to access Lowell Woods from Fox Meadow, Sandy Valley Road, Cedar Hill, and the Hanlon School. Parts of the trail I ran were very overgrown still, but it will not take much to make this a viable trail run/hike.

The only "dicey" part of this run remains Gay Street, but some improvements are coming there too. The section of Gay Street that was repaved last year between Milk and Thatcher will be re-striped with white "fog lines" measured 11' from the yellow centerline instead of the default 12 or more feet. This will create a bit of a marked shoulder that should make the road appear narrower and encourage people in cars to consider that a runner or cyclist could be on the shoulder. The segment at the bottom of the hill (Milk St) and up to Buckboard remains narrow and dangerous for runners--don't try this run at 8am!

August 25 will be the last day for residents who have not registered to vote to complete their registration in time for the September primary. The Registrar of Voters will be holding a special voter registration session from 8:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, in the Town Clerks office for those residents who are not currently registered voters or for those voters wishing to change their political party.

This year's primary is especially relevant to Westwood as two residents are campaigning actively for contested races.

• Attorney Michael Walsh is hoping to win the Democratic primary for the opportunity to run in the general election for the open seat being vacated by State Senator Marian Walsh (no relation). He faces Mike Rush, a state rep from West Roxbury. The winner will face West Roxbury Republican Brad Williams.
• Independent Phil Dunkelbarger--although he does not have to run in the primary--will await the outcome of the contest between incumbent Congressman Steven Lynch and Milton challenger Mac D'Allessandro. Braintree resident Vernon Harrison will be up against Keith Lepore in the Republican primary.

Whatever your preference, make sure you are registered to vote and research these candidates. Despite one state rep's assertion yesterday that the primary "shouldn't be happening" (and they still wonder why Scott Brown won?) we have an opportunity in September to make a real difference in the choices we face in November and ultimately the direction of our commonwealth and country.

The neighboring town of Dedham has been awarded a $35K grant to build a public landing that will provide access to the Charles River for a scenic "river trail." The Dedham Transcript article includes a link to a google map illustrating a possible 3-hour canoe or kayak excursion. The public landing will be located on Bullard Street, next to Dedham Community House--approximately 2 miles from Westwood, just above the Ames Street bridge.

I think many people got a kick out of the amazing video I posted last year showing hundreds of parents and kids riding their bikes to school in the Netherlands:

Copenhagen (Denmark) is actually a bigger cycling city--where 40% of people commute by bike every day. When I worked in Boston, I really enjoyed to ride when I could--but clearly, we are in a very different place.

If you'd like to learn more about those crazy Europeans, Livable Streets is hosting a talk next Wednesday, August 4 from 7-9pm at their Cambridge office, 100 Sidney St:

Westwood takes on Newton West tonight (Monday, July 26, 2010) at 7:00pm at Lyon's Field for a chance to compete in the state "final four" on the road to the Williamsport Little League World Series. This is only the second time Westwood has made it to the section championship in the league's history.

Newton West is hosting the sectional tournament, so obviously they'll have a large crowd of supporters on hand. We'd like to have that same type of crowd supporting Westwood in this historic bid to move on to the Massachusetts state finals.

Come one, come all!  Make some noise and wear your Westwood colors with pride! Wear your spring jerseys, wear anything Westwood, heck just wear something green!

Lyons Field is just off 128 (exit 24).  Take a right towards Newton onto Commonwealth Avenue.  It's just a little bit beyond the Marriott on the left side of the street.

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Westwood Library now has a "Kill A Watt™" meter that may be checked out by library patrons. The meter can be checked out for a week - take the meter home, plug your appliances into the meter one-by-one and watch your energy consumption appear on the meter's screen. The meter has been provided by NSTAR.

Residents interested in conserving energy should also check out the Westwood Environmental Action Committee (WEACT) to learn more about efforts in Westwood to promote sustainability and energy conservation. For those who are interested in a "whole-house" monitoring solution, the PowerCost Monitor will give you real-time feedback on how much total electricity you are using at any given time...helping you know to turn off lights, appliances, etc.

The campaign for Congress came to Westwood this weekend as Democratic primary challenger Mac D’Alessandro spent the day canvassing and stopping at several restaurants along Route 109 including Vellos (photo at left). D'Alessandro is a resident of Milton and will face incumbent Stephen Lynch in the September 14 Primary.

D’Alessandro is mounting a spirited and ambitious campaign. On the issues, he is positioning himself as more liberal/progressive than incumbent Lynch: he's pro-choice, anti-war, and pro-health care reform. While I am sure Representative Lynch would explain the nuances of his positions that led him to vote with Republicans, he's also keenly in tune with the realities of representing a district that is quite different from the suburbs and towns to the north.

Here is a short video ad from Mac D’Alessandro:

If Lynch survives the primary, he'll still face Westwood resident Phil Dunkelbarger in the general election. Dunkelbarger ran against Lynch in the primary 4 years ago on an anti-war platform and now running as an Independent.

On the Republican side, Braintree resident Vernon Harrison will be up against Keith Lepore.