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Image via WikipediaThe US Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce today that it will, for the first time, require some big-box stores, malls, and other businesses to reduce the amount of rainwater that runs off their roofs and parking lots. Federal officials will test the new policy in the Massachusetts towns of Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin.
The EPA, using its authority under the Clean Water Act, will require large commercial and industrial landowners in these towns to steeply reduce the storm-water runoff that picks up pollutants and pours them into the Charles River, officials said last week in interviews. Storm-water runoff is rain and snowmelt that mixes with leaf litter, toxic metals, oil, and exhaust fume deposits as it washes over parking lots, rooftops, and roadways.
"Cities and towns are already investing a lot in storm water," said Ken Moraff, deputy director for ecosystem protection of the EPA's New England region. "These commercial facilities are missing pieces of the puzzle." The new regulations, he said, will help complete the cleanup effort.
In a parallel development, the state Department of Environmental Protection plans to release its own draft rules today that will expand the effort to reduce storm-water runoff throughout the 35 communities that make up the Charles River Watershed area.
Read the full article in the Boston Globe here
This is not a surprise, you may recall the Storm Water presentation at the Town Council Meeting July 23, 2008
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When Assistant Superintendent of Schools Maureen Sabolinski assumes her new post as superintendent next July, she'll inherit a high-performing school district that lost 44 teachers last year, faces more cuts due to the staggering economy, and still needs to rebuild its high school, which is facing accreditation issues.
There is no question what her top challenge will be, she said: the budget.
"The challenge of leadership is really making things work for the benefit of students with fewer resources. The community has to work together," said Sabolinski.
Despite the setbacks posed by the recession, Sabolinski, a self-described optimist, still sees opportunities for making improvements.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
Listen to her interview with the School Committee and the Q&A session that followed
Raye Lynn Mercer is a pianist, director, producer and choreographer, but it is her vision that's taking the Franklin School for Performing Arts to new heights.
Mercer, who founded the regional school in 1985, is creating a "cultural destination" by combining the school with the Franklin Performing Arts Company to form the New England Center for the Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization.
The move should help the school, which is used by about 1,000 performing artists in 45 local communities, Mercer said.
Plans are in the works for a new building which will have three times the space as the existing building at 38 Main St., and which should triple the number of people involved, she said.
"It's ambitious, I know. My vision is to have the venues that we've always needed to showcase our talent," Mercer said.
Currently, the school holds all of its performances, except small recitals, at other locations, such as middle school auditoriums, said Mercer.
"The scheduling of the auditorium is extraordinarily difficult because of the demands for that space, and extremely difficult to put up professional productions. We look forward to having a state-of-the-art performance space," said Mercer.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
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Replies.FRANKLIN - The Franklin Art Association’s "Fall Into Art" festival, presented Nov. 8 and 9, with a gala on Saturday evening, consisted of an open exhibit of more than 140 works of art, bins of members’ artwork and cards for sale, a silent auction of donated paintings and a raffle of artwork donated by members and well-known artists who have demonstrated their talent during the past year, and a gift certificate and gift basket donated by local businesses.
Proceeds from the raffle go to the scholarship fund. Those eligible to receive the annual scholarship are graduating seniors who live and/or attend school in Franklin or who are children or grandchildren of Franklin Art Association members. More than half of the members of the association are from Franklin and the rest are from the greater MetroWest area.
More than 500 people attended the event. Entertainment was provided by members of the Newton Symphony Orchestra and music students of Franklin High School. A variety of food was donated by area restaurants and FAA members.
Read the full article to see all the awards in the Franklin Gazette here
