Letters to the Editor

LETTER: 'MassDOT Can Do Better'

The following is a Letter to the Editor from Stephen Harrington, a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member and Columbia Road resident. The letter is addressed to Thomas Broderick, a chief engineer in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Highway Divisi

I've walked in Arlington for most of my life. Living my first 20 or so years near the bottom of Gray Street, meant I walked daily along Pleasant Street to school, to church, to the Boys' Club, to catch a bus and to the Regent Theatre starting around the age of 5 or so. At that time, Pleasant Street was four lanes wide, two in either direction. Even with more than 52,000 residents in Arlington, far more than today, Pleasant Street was safe enough for a child to cross alone. Today, Pleasant Street is two lanes and is difficult to navigate during much of the morning and afternoon commute. Congestion makes Pleasant St. difficult to cross, creates delays when trying to make turns out of side streets or left turns onto side streets and has …

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Letters to the Editor

LETTER: ‘Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown’

Stephen Harrington, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 13, writes that he’s dismayed by a trend he sees with the Board of Selectmen.

The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident Stephen Harrington, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 13. Three times in the past six months Arlington residents have tried to engage the Board of Selectmen with their concerns.   In May, the Landscapers Association asked the Board to place a non-binding question on the April ballot concerning the leaf blower ban. The Board refused citing the sanctity of a Town Meeting vote. The Association and more than 1,200 voters forced the Board to call a summer election where an overwhelming majority of voters, in an unprecedented vote, came to within a few hundred votes of rendering the Town Meeting decision irrelevant.   In July, I asked the Board to call a special Town Meeting to …

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Tim

9:31 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Mr Sprague , I am not going to debate you on your ethics .. If you think you caused no harm that's your opinion .. People know the truth about your journalist habits . We all have to meet our makers someday Mr Sprague and if you feel comfortable meeting your maker esp after the Ottoson debockle good luck to you . Once again Mr Sprague you have brought me more entertainment and I thank you for …   more ›

Letters to the Editor

LETTER: Harrington's Rebuttal to Selectmen's Frustrations

Stephen Harrington, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 13, responds to Selectmen who recently criticized his decision to submit a petition for a Special Town Meeting on Arlington's seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.

The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident Stephen Harrington, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 13. Harrington recently submitted a petition for a Special Town Meeting regarding Arlington's seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. His decision to submit the petition was criticized by Selectmen at their Monday meeting. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) is a private non-profit that has served, since 1972, the communities of Somerville, Medford and Arlington to  protect and restore the Mystic River by mobilizing volunteers. A laudable mission. Most of  MyRWA's funding comes from State and local grants of which 20 percent is given in compensation to the executive director, according to the most recent IRS …

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Stephen H

12:40 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012

There is so much wasted spending, money to special interests, money to political supporters, money to hire relatives and friends, that it is hard to focus on just one. Why don't you run with this problem and instead of merely being "concerned", become involved.   more ›

Selectmen Reluctantly Schedule Special Town Meeting on Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban

With 'hands tied,' selectmen called the meeting for Wednesday, Oct. 10.

The Board of Selectmen scheduled a Special Town Meeting Monday to address Arlington’s seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, but make no mistake, they didn’t want to. “If there was anyway I could vote against this, I certainly would,” Selectman Steven Byrne said before the vote, which set the meeting for Wednesday, Oct. 10. “I find this (Special Town Meeting) to be a waste of town resources.” Byrne’s sentiments were echoed by his colleagues. “I wish I could vote against it too,” the board’s chairman, Kevin Greeley, said, “but our hands our tied.” The board had to call the Special Town Meeting because of a citizen petition submitted by Stephen Harrington, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 13. ----- Do you agree with Selectman Steven …

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Petition Submitted for Special Town Meeting on Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban

The day after the Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to establish a committee to review the ban, a Town Meeting member took matters into his own hands.

A Town Meeting member submitted a petition to the town Tuesday to call a Special Town Meeting regarding Arlington’s seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. Stephen Harrington, of Precinct 13, who opposes the ban, said nearly 250 registered voters in Arlington signed his petition – only 200 signatures are needed to force a Special Town Meeting. ----- Do you support Harrington’s petition for a Special Town Meeting? Let us know by posting a comment below. ----- If Harrington’s petition is validated by the town, the Special Town Meeting would be the second attempt to repeal the ban, which was passed at Town Meeting in April. A group of landscapers collected more than 1,400 signatures in May to force a Special Election. At the Special …

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Letters to the Editor

LETTER: Special Town Meeting Should be Called

Arlington resident Stephen Harrington, a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member, writes that the seasonal leaf-blower ban may have been upheld, but the special-election results speak for themselves.

The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident Stephen Harrington, a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member. On Thursday, July 19, 8,158 voters turned out for a special election deciding whether to overturn a ban that the 2012 Town Meeting had placed on private use of leaf blowers. More voters turned out for this referendum than in any of the last 10 annual town elections even with a six hour voting window, half that of a usual election; even though many people had vacation plans during this hot summer; even though most of east Arlington was in the midst of a clean-up from a devastating microburst less than 24 hours before. The result of the referendum was overwhelmingly in support of overturning this ill-considered ban. More …

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Letters to the Editor

LETTER: Signs over Safety?

Arlington resident Stephen Harrington writes that there is "something seriously amiss with the political leadership in Arlington."

The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident Stephen Harrington. Last fall, children on the Arlington High School football team suffered 15 suspected concussions. Most were confirmed by their pediatrician and, at almost 25 percent of all football players, it was arguably the highest rate of concussions in the state. More than one-third of the football helmets used were more than 10 years old, which does not meet the minimum standard of safety for football helmets, and two-thirds of the helmets were more than five years old, exceeding the manufacturer's warranty. Multiple requests for information from the school department including the high school principal, athletic director and superintendent were met with silence. …

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