News

Town Elections are Tuesday April 25. I am one of three candidates running for two slots on the Select Board. Here is a sample ballot, and an application to vote by mail. Please make a plan to vote. Town election turnout is usually very low: Your vote counts, but only if you vote.Continue Reading

From https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/300/video-climate-spiral-1880-2022/: Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio This visualization shows monthly global temperature anomalies (changes from an average) between the years 1880 and 2022 in degrees Fahrenheit. (This video is available to download in both degrees Fahrenheit and degrees Celsius.) Whites and blues indicate cooler temperatures, while oranges and reds show warmer temperatures. As you can see, global temperatures have warmed from mainly human activities as time has progressed. These temperatures are based on data from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). Anomalies are defined relative to a base period of 1951 to 1980. The data file used toContinue Reading

I am happy to announce that the Select Board voted this morning to recommend that Town Meeting authorize spending from the Open Space set-aside fund to secure a permanent Conservation Restriction on the land between Main Street, Brook Street, and Post Office Square. After all the paperwork is complete, the ownership of the land will be transferred from the Conant family to the Acton Water District; and the Town of Acton and the Sudbury Valley Trustees will hold a Conservation Restriction (CR) on the land. The CR will allow people to walk on this section of the historic Isaac DavisContinue Reading

Article 40 # Non-Binding Resolution – Sewer Commission Analysis(Majority vote) To see if the Town will conduct an objective analysis, either by establishing a working group or committee, commissioning a study, or engaging a consultant, to determine the pros and cons of creating a Sewer Commission independent of the Select Board or an advisory Sewer Committee, or take any action related thereto. Direct Inquiries to: Alissa Nicol: alissa.nicol@gmail.com Article 41 # Non-Binding Resolution – Anti-Bias Training(Majority vote) Be it resolved that this Town Meeting requests the Select Board to find a way to ensure that all officials have anti-bias trainingContinue Reading

I delivered this ‘member minute’ at the Select Board meeting of July 25, 2022: The Massachusetts House and Senate have sent a major climate bill to the governor, H.5060, that includes, among many other features, a possible way for Acton to proceed to be able to regulate, and largely prevent, fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction and major rehab. The bill creates a pilot program to allow up to 10 Towns and Cities to try out a fossil-fuel ban. Before they can apply, Towns and Cities have to create a corresponding Home Rule Petition, which we already did at theContinue Reading