Author: Letter Writer

I served with Liz Linder on several successive Town-appointed Committees charged with exploring and advancing the building of Senior Housing over the Kent-Station Street municipal parking lot in Brookline Village. A recent Letter to the Editor asserted that, as the neighborhood representative on those Committees, Liz had consistently opposed any such development. My recollection differs:… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

Thank you for covering the story on BACE. I wanted to clarify my quote in the article. While I hope that BACE can remain in its current form, I absolutely appreciate the work of Mariah Nobrega and the school committee, as well as the wonderful work of Brookline Recreation. While I hope there are no… Continue reading RE: A popular adult education nonprofit faces an uncertain future amid schools budget crunch

Thanks to the Horace James Civic Association, Brookline voters have received important news about town affairs and appropriate candidate endorsements for as long as I’ve lived here. Far from being “mysterious,” it is a known and trusted source of information. In close elections, it has provided the margin of victory. Without it, the Select Board… Continue reading RE: Mysterious election mailings likely violated campaign finance laws. Who is behind them?

Why did it take the town’s leadership four years to seek the superintendents resignation? Why did it take them four years to realize that, as the article states, “Some School Committee members said working with Guillory has been challenging, citing a lack of information sharing and transparency.” Shouldn’t our town leaders have realized this earlier?… Continue reading RE: Schools superintendent Guillory will resign on June 30

It is easy to see why there are doubts about the Office of Educational Equity, since it uses invisible accomplishments to defend itself against allegations of uselessness. “Every teacher we come into contact with to better their practice impacts a student,” Claire Galloway-Jones said, adding that more than 250 educators have received equity-based professional development… Continue reading RE: The Brookline schools equity office is in limbo. Here’s what its work looks like.

Thank you for your article about Paul Hsieh, the long-time Brookline resident who suddenly lost his job at the Veterans Administrations as a result of Trump-Musk’s seemingly arbitrary program cuts. Though I didn’t know Mr. Hsieh, I was impressed to read about his valuable research project, sad to think of the impact his job loss… Continue reading RE: ‘The world stopped making sense’: How Trump’s VA cuts uprooted the life and career of a Brookline researcher

I was surprised and in fact displeased to be endorsed by a group I had never heard of and who seemed to be hiding behind a name unknown to everyone I asked. And, I wonder, why I was endorsed? I am not anti-tax in the slightest. In fact, I am very much in favor of… Continue reading RE: Mysterious election mailings likely violated campaign finance laws. Who is behind them?

As a proud advocate for transportation sustainability at Brookline High School and on the Bicycle Advisory Committee, I know that Michael Rubenstein is the best candidate for our schools, our roads, and our planet. Michael has decades of business experience, which provide him the necessary expertise to sustain our schools’ financial health and the wellbeing… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

In Vivi Smilgius’ excellent article on my candidacy for School Committee, she wrote, “He also taught courses in education management at Columbia University and Boston University.” That’s kind of an understatement. For the past 14 years I have been a professor of educational leadership. At Teachers College I was a professor of the practice in… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates in a crowded race for School Committee

Notably absent from the crime statistics was any enforcement of the Social Host Law. Almost every weekend across Brookline there are underage teenage parties with alcohol and typically with the hosting teen’s parental involvement. Surprising that there are no Social Host Law citations noted. What I have seen personally is that the Brookline Police break… Continue reading RE: Crime was down in 2024 in Brookline, but burglaries surged to highest level in six years

Your article misstates the rezoning of Harvard Street as providing compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. As passed by Town Meeting, the co-called consensus article (brokered by Select Board member Paul Warren) combined two relevant but distinct components: (i) the “M” district zoning, which provided for MBTA CA compliance, and (ii) the rezoning of much… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

PAX endorses Liz Linder while conveniently omitting that she voted for an unbalanced budget of seven figures. What would Linder have cut to send another $1 million to the schools (that they didn’t even want at the time)? Does she support similar efforts this year by several TMMs who have endorsed her to cut town… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

Given the Town’s bleak fiscal outlook, I am glad this year’s Select Board debate has centered on new tax growth from mixed-use/commercial development. Only Michael Rubenstein has the voting and executive leadership record to achieve this. I have worked on economic development for Brookline as a TMM in P13, a former co-chair of EDAB, and… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

I strongly disagree with the statement you reported by candidate Liz Linder that although she “initially opposed a proposal to build affordable housing for seniors on the Kent Street/Station Street parking lot” but that she “came around to support the proposed development after participating in town committees for the project. . . .” I served… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

A prior Brookline Town Meeting “Voted, That this town thinks itself happy, to be always ready to add their mite [sic] towards withstanding any arbitrary or despotic measures which may be carried on to overthrow the constitution,” referring then to the Massachusetts Constitution. Silence is complicity, but on Jan. 3, 1773, eleven months before the… Continue reading RE: Brookline demonstrators fill Coolidge Corner to mark American Revolution anniversary, protest Trump

Thanks for providing useful information about candidates for town elections. I found it disturbing but not surprising that the word “books” appeared in only one of the candidates’ statements. Fewer and fewer books are on the library shelves, and there are more and more empty spaces. Classics, books that are truly great literature and not… Continue reading RE: Five candidates face off for Board of Library Trustees, aiming to address library system upheaval

As a fellow Town Meeting member, I’ve seen Select Board candidate Michael Rubenstein’s thoughtful, strategic approach to addressing complex issues. His leadership on housing, healthcare and fiscal planning stands out. Among the three Select Board candidates, Michael brings unmatched experience, from growing a small business into a global company of nearly 400 people and managing… Continue reading RE: Meet the candidates for Select Board, in a race dominated by debate over development

The fact that four out of the five candidates running for Town Meeting in my precinct failed to respond to the survey is an incredibly loud endorsement of my belief that Brookline needs a city form of government where candidates and elected officials recognize the importance of being responsive to voters.and the media. Read the… Continue reading RE: 120 candidates, 17 precincts: The Brookline.News guide to the 2025 Town Meeting election

Please keep after the Margie Mendez story. Keep calling and demanding answers and don’t let the police hide behind “it’s still under investigation so we cannot say anything now.” That could go on for years. That’s the tactic they use hoping that family and friends will eventually give up. Please don’t give up! Read the… Continue reading RE: Margie Mendez died after being struck by a State Police cruiser in Brookline. Her family is seeking answers

The issue of bike lanes on Chestnut Hill Avenue deserves more public discussion – and meetings need to be properly noticed so abutters have an opportunity to weigh in. My understanding is that proper email notice was not given for the March 5 public hearing held during the Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. In my view,… Continue reading RE: What to know about the town’s plan for bike lanes on Chestnut Hill Avenue