'Worst offender: Somerville’s SOM01A combined sewer overflow.

The Nov. 20 meeting covered many subjects.

UPDATED Nov. 29: The town’s veterans official, temporary permission for beer at a local café, stronger demands on coping with Alewife Brook flooding, semiquincentennial plans, Conservation Commission members, road improvements, bond issuance and other matters occupied the Select Board at its most recent meeting.

Town Manager Jim Feeney began the Nov. 20 proceedings by introducing Philip McGovern, director of veterans services, who briefly sketched his career as “hybrid of civilian and military service” as a lawyer. He mentioned his service in the National Guard and in Iraq; board member Steve DeCourcey, welcoming McGovern, mentioned his Purple Heart award and tour in Afghanistan. YourArlington earlier announced his appointment.

A longtime Woburn resident, McGovern said that in Arlington he looks forward to “getting integrated into a place where I actually work with individuals and help them get the benefits that they deserve, as well as with a community.” Board member Diane Mahon recognized McGovern’s “strong suit” in mental-health services, adding, “There are a lot of things that you do that we probably won’t know about, so I want to thank you in advance."

Alewife Brook some time before summer flooding. / David Stoff photo

UPDATED Nov. 28: Save the Alewife Brook, based in Arlington, is pleased that the state Legislature and governor have allocated $100,000 toward studying the Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) problem that has been sporadically affecting residents for decades. Meanwhile, the Arlington Select Board is finalizing a document to send to the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) today, expressing its own concerns about the CSO issue.

"The Mystic River Watershed Association will receive the funds from the state, and they will be responsible for the hydraulic study that looks at dredging," said Kristin Anderson, Arlington resident, founder of Save the Alewife Brook and a Precinct 11 Town Meeting member. "We're quite thankful for the awesome work of the Mystic River Watershed Association," she told YourArlington via email Monday, Nov. 27.

According to Anderson's group, a CSO of more than 8 million gallons of raw untreated sewage went into Alewife Brook, a body of water near the Cambridge town line, on Aug. 8.  The overflowing brook then flooded onto the adjacent Alewife Greenway, and, the group says, some people unknowingly thus were put at possible risk as they walked and jogged on the path in the days following.

UPDATED Nov. 24: Cinema fans can easily find out what films are showing at the nearly century-old Capitol Theatre, 204 Mass. Ave. in East Arlington. According to the website, on view as of Friday, Nov. 24, were "Trolls Band Together," "Wish," "Napoleon," "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes," "The Marvels" and "Disasterpiece Theater." 

Film fans can check the website at any time for screening times and other information. According to general manager Jamie Mattchen, new movies at the theatre generally premiere on Fridays, with occasional Thursday or Wednesday evening screenings in the event of a holiday. New schedules for upcoming showings are routinely posted to the site Tuesday evenings, with some larger films advertised in advance for early ticket purchasing.

UPDATED Nov. 27: The third annual winter-themed window-painting event in Arlington Heights is scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 2. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., participants plan to decorate the windows of the participating storefronts, painting alone or in small  groups: registration was required for all >> 

The rain date, should one be needed, is scheduled to be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, according to the event sponsor, the Arlington Heights Community Association.

Wintry design elements such as snowmen, polar bears or people playing in the snow have been seen in years before.

The town plans to have the decorated windows displayed throughout the month of January — and they are expected to be a feature in the Heights Holiday Stroll set for Saturday, Dec. 9. 

The Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) is auctioning off three drawings from the late Karen Aqua's animated 1997 film "Ground Zero/Sacred Ground" as a fundraiser.

"Ground Zero/Sacred Ground" comprises nearly 13,000 individual hand-drawn frames. Over the years, AIFF has screened several of her films, including "Ground Zero/Sacred Ground."

AIFF now is presenting a group of three of these frames, executed in pastel, for auction. Ken Field, long-time AIFF supporter and husband of Aqua (1954-2011), donated this package of art works to AIFF, a nonprofit organization.

Film lovers may watch the film itself at aiffest.org. To learn more about Karen and Ken’s connection to AIFF in the video at the bottom of the page at https://aiffest.org/auction. Bidding is open until 11:59 p.m. Dec. 19, according to AIFF.

After completing a rigorous 12-week basic training academy, 34 new corrections officers were  sworn into the Middlesex Sheriff's Office on Nov. 17 at Melrose Memorial Hall, a news release said. The new officers heard remarks by Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian, Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur, the local police chief and the basic training academy class president.

49th Basic Training Academy Class, Middlesex Sheriff's Office.“We are proud to welcome them to our family and look forward to the tremendous contributions we know they will make to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office in the years to come," said Koutoujian according to the release.

During the academy, these officers completed training classroom and hands-on work. Some topics covered in this training were implicit bias, mental health, first responder training, suicide prevention and defensive tactics among others. 

According to the press release, this 49th basic training academy class is one of the most diverse in MSO history, with eight of the officers having been born outside the U.S.  In addition to English, members of the class also speak 12 languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Swahili. 

Arlington Troop 306 expresses joy after assembling gift bags at an earlier drive. / Photo by Karin Turer

UPDATED Nov. 24: Troop 306 of Arlington is conducting its annual holiday gift drive. Unlike many other donation drives intended to benefit younger children, this specific collection is in conjunction with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and aims to help local teens in need.

From now through Dec.10, residents can drop off a new unused gift to one of nine locations accepting donation. The troop has been asked to try to provide for 250 teens this year, according to an email from Karin Turer, a community-service parent cochair for the troop.

Turer wrote that unwrapped items such as hats, gloves, scarves, socks, art and school supplies, gift cards and small games especially will be appreciated.

UPDATED Nov. 21: The LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Commission is a local volunteer organization dedicated to promoting full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and groups in Arlington. Monday, Nov. 20, the group invited residents to a commemoration of Transgender Day of Resilience. Similar events have been held in previous years.

This event took place on the front lawn of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 630 Mass. Ave. Members of the Rainbow Commission and the Rev. Erica Richmond of the First Parish congregation honored the resilience of trans, nonbinary and gender-expansive people. 

Arlington has achieved the top score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI) for 2023, a town press release said. This is the 12th year of the MEI and the sixth year that Arlington has been included.

The MEI examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are of LGBTQIA+ people who live and work in a  municipality. These communities are rated on nondiscrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and the city leadership's public position on equality. 

This is the fifth year since 2018 that Arlington was scored at 100.

 Incident closes Park Avenue for more than two hours: APD blog

Via the Arlington Police Department official news blog and social media, APD Chief Juliann Flaherty has reported that the APD is investigating a motor-vehicle collision that involved a pedestrian over the weekend. The pedestrian was transported to receive medical attention.

On Sunday, Nov. 19, at approximately 1:45 p.m., police and fire responded to a report of a pedestrian struck in the area of Park and Wollaston avenues in the Arlington Heights neighborhood.

Obscured no-trespassing sign at Burch and Edith streets, November 2023. / Susan Gilbert photo

UPDATED Nov. 27: The Conservation Commission at its Nov. 2 meeting requested peer review of Arlington Land Realty’s notice of intent under the Wetlands Protection Act to build Thorndike Place. The commission continued discussing this issue at its remote-only meeting Nov. 16.

Arlington Land Realty is the applicant seeking to construct Thorndike Place, a 124-unit apartment complex plus six duplex townhouses on the Mugar wetlands, a 17-acre wooded area that is habitat to birds and other animals near Dorothy Road in East Arlington.

No structures are on the private property, and no one officially lives there, though unhoused people are known to gather there. Thorndike Place was initially proposed in 2015 and originally was to have been much larger. Two years ago it was unanimously approved, albeit with many conditions, by the town's Zoning Board of Appeals. However, many in town continue to oppose it because of concerns about potential for flooding and other environmental issues.

The applicant earlier this autumn submitted a notice of intent -- an application outlining the work proposed in order to obtain a permit to conduct work within the wetlands jurisdiction. The Wetlands Protection Act is a state law that establishes procedures for conservation commissions to follow in issuing permits for work in protected areas. According to the introduction on the commonwealth's website, “Wetlands help clean drinking water supplies, prevent flooding and storm damage, and support a variety of wildlife.”