Community - Page 33

Java with John: Budgets, buildings, and the everyday work of running Acton

December 20, 2025
On a cold December morning at the Senior Center, Acton Town Manager John Mangiaratti did what he has been doing since 2018: shared coffee, invited questions, and offered residents a candid look at how their town is being run. The December 12 edition of Java with John featured a wide-ranging discussion of budgets, construction projects, housing, traffic, energy, and public safety, grounded, not in abstractions, but in the practical realities of municipal governance. Mangiaratti opened with a reminder that while most residents are thinking about the end of calendar year 2025, town officials are already halfway through Fiscal Year 2026.…
8 hatchling wood turtles on a person's open hands

Wood Turtles Get a Head Start

March 23, 2024
On March 6, six volunteers joined Acton’s Land Stewardship Coordinator Ian Bergemann and Zoo New England (ZNE) Field Biologist Jimmy Welch to create habitat for threatened wood turtles, Glyptemys insculpta, along a brook in Acton. ZNE’s website describes the species as “once the most common freshwater turtle in…
Marie Beam, new CEO of Acton Discovery Museum

Discovery Museum: Advancing Learning Experiences

March 14, 2024
When Neil Gordon, the long-time CEO of Acton’s Discovery Museum, announced he intended to retire at the end of 2023, the Board of Directors of the children’s museum launched a six-month, intensive search for his replacement. But like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” they found their “heart’s…
The author lends a hand to a Wood Frog crossing Fort Pond Road in Acton.

Big Night for Amphibian Helpers

March 14, 2024
After the sun went down on February 28, a wet and unseasonably warm evening, several local residents put on rain gear, head lamps, and reflective vests to report for Amphibian Crossing Brigade duty. This was the earliest such night of assisting road crossings of frogs and salamanders seen…
Photograph of man with Chinese features, formally dressed.

Obituary: Hongxiang (Harry) Chen 陈鸿祥

March 10, 2024
by
Following a more than 15-years battle with frontotemporal dementia, Hongxiang (Harry) Chen 陈鸿祥 of Acton, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Saturday, January 20th, 2024 at the age of 67. He was born on September 14, 1956 in Fuzhou, China to 陈振亚 Chen…
Photo of MCI Concord historical building.

NEWS BRIEF: What’s Next for MCI Concord?

March 6, 2024
On Friday, March 1, the Concord Carlisle League of Women Voters hosted a panel discussion titled “What’s Happening with MCI-Concord” in the Goodwin Forum at the Concord Free Public Library. The Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Concord (MCI-Concord) is the 145-year-old prison adjacent to the Concord Rotary, on the…
Cover of Clegg and Kennedy’s book on local journalism.

On Local News: Silver Unicorn Bookstore Event

March 6, 2024
A standing-room-only crowd of more than forty was packed into The Silver Unicorn Bookstore for “Community News Night” on the evening of Friday, March 1. In partnership with this publication, Acton Exchange, the small indy bookseller in West Acton hosted veteran journalists Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy to discuss…
Shine-A-Light event at Acton Memorial Library

Chinese New Year Celebrations in Our Community

February 28, 2024
Chinese New Year isn’t just celebrated in Chinatown in big cities; many Chinese bring their biggest holiday to their adopted home communities, in honor of their indigenous culture. In Acton and Boxborough, the Acton Chinese Language School has made it part of their mission since 2004 to create…
Trackers examining evidence on the ground and on a fallen tree of otter visits.

Winter Tracking Walk

February 7, 2024
Adapted by Franny Osman from an article by Jody Harris written for Acton Conservation Trust The last snowfall had been a week before, but as temps all week were low and skies gray, the woods still held plenty of snow for tracking the animals who make their home…
Photo of Acton 250 presentation and presentors.

A Revolution in the News with Historian Joseph Adelman

February 7, 2024
Looking forward to next year’s 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, the Acton 250 Committee is hosting  a series of lectures by historians, looking back at what the community was like when our nation was born. The third lecture in the series, by Professor Joseph…
Original front entrance to the Acton Memorial Libray, the older brick building part.

A Historical Walk in Acton’s Center

January 17, 2024
The Acton 250 Committee organized its third community event on December 17, a historical walk through the heart of Acton Center. Amy Cole, a local tour guide, historian, and Acton resident, led the walk that explored significant landmarks and shared the rich history embedded in the town center…
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