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| The Newsletter of the High Street Hill Association | December 2011 |
Join your neighbors
Christmas Eve
Caroling on the Green
led by
Cornelia McMurtrie
December 24 at 5:45PM
Please bring family and friends
and a wind-protected candle
Join your High Street Hill neighbors young and old for our first-ever Winter Carnival! Taking place on Philbrick Green on Saturday, February 4, we're planning an afternoon of wintertime fun and festivities. (Tentative time noon-4 p.m., weather permitting. Rain/freeze date of Feb. 11.)
Activities may include ice sculpting, a snowman contest, scavenger hunt, smores making and more. Warm beverages for kids and adults to be provided.
Mark your calendar. And get ready for some neighborhood fun! (Stay tuned to the next Highlight for more details.)
Pill Hill has an abundance of talented artists, musicians, and other creative types. Among them are several noteworthy authors. Come meet one of them -- Tina Cassidy -- at our first in an occasional series of Pill Hill Author Evenings, on Sunday, March 25 from 4-6 p.m. The event will take place at the home of Blake and Dorothy Cady, at 24 Walnut Place.
Tina is a relative newcomer to Walnut Street (along with her husband, HSHA board member
Anthony Flint, and their three children). She has just published
Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and
Rediscovered Her Dreams, which arrives in bookstores in March. Tina was a reporter and
editor at the Boston Globe for more than a decade, covering everything from business to
politics to fashion. She also is the author of
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born.
In Jackie After O, Cassidy portrays Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at a personal crossroads -- 1975 became the year in which she rediscovered talents and passions she had set aside for her role as public wife. During this one year, she took on a high-profile role in the campaign to save the landmark status of Grand Central Station; she dealt with the death of her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, and her tumultuous relationship with his daughter, Christina; she pursued her first real job, in the editorial department of Viking Press; and she began perhaps the most meaningful relationship of her life, with Maurice Tempelsman. Through the lens of this remarkable year, these major changes in the life of one woman reflect a cultural shift, with women taking on larger roles in the community and in the workplace.
On March 25, meet Tina as she discusses and answers questions about Jackie After O. Copies of the book may be available for purchase (it will be hot off the press!). Please mark your calendars for what's sure to be a fascinating event. (More details to come.)
The traffic calming project for High Street and Pond Avenue is finally nearing completion.
The curbs have been cut, the crosswalks have been raised and this past week the thermoplastic stripes
have been laid down in the crosswalks. All that remains is to install the speed board near Hall Road.
But there is one other step after the dust has cleared that should be attended to: this project, and all traffic calming projects for that matter, should be evaluated for their design process, their effectiveness and their final cost.
The Transportation Board (TB) is currently revamping its traffic calming policies and procedures at the request of Town Meeting and a draft of the update is posted on the town website. It includes elaborate procedures for pubic input, plan development, funding and implementation. But there is no mechanism for reviewing how well the project met its stated goals and budget.
Sometime next month, the TB will hold a public input session to solicit comments on the new policy update. Since our project is the most recent, it would be a great time for our neighborhood to let the TB know how we think the whole process worked and to request that all projects should be required to be evaluated. (One key question: how did this project, which was approved for $60,000, end up costing taxpayers $260,000?) Notice of the TB meeting will be announced on the HSHA Neighborhood News Update when it becomes scheduled.
Each year on the third Monday in January, Americans across the country come together to observe and commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., clergyman, civil rights leader, and nonviolent activist. And it is very important that we in Brookline take a moment to honor his teachings and remember his inspiring words. Although he died more than 40 years ago, his clear and courageous positions on poverty, war, education, and freedom still ring true. How do we as individuals measure up? How can we challenge ourselves to help make our country and our town a better place? How do we keep the promise of his most famous words? Join us on this day of celebration to commemorate Dr. King with singing, jazz, readings, and testimony from the community.
4pm Monday, January 16, at the Coolidge Corner Theater.
This year's 2012 Brookline Climate Week is packed with over 40 events and displays. Experience climate events in action -- from Brookline's first local winter marketplace to eye catching eco arts installations and storytellers, from hands on classes and workshops to step by step actions to impact your own and the town's carbon footprint. See the Climate Change Action Brookline website for listings.
The Highlight is printed several times a year and is distributed on foot or by bicycle by HSHA Board members and their usually willing family members. If you have a comment or contribution contact the editor, Rob Daves, at 617-566-7334 or robdaves@rcn.com.
