Somerville Breaks Ground on 319-Unit Affordable Housing Project at Star Market Site

Developers break ground on 319-home affordable housing project at former Star Market site. Somerville was set to break ground July 16 on a 319-unit affordable housing development in the Winter Hill neighborhood at the former Star Market site, Wicked Local reports, while the city separat…

Board of Health Urges Well Owners to Conserve Water as Drought Continues

Sherborn's Board of Health is urging residents on private wells to conserve water as the region's drought persists, warning that falling groundwater levels can affect both supply and quality. The advisory, posted to the town's News Flash feed Monday, asks well owners with concerns to co…

Reading moves to automated trash pickup as High Street closes for repaving

Reading is shifting to automated trash and recycling collection as High Street closes for four days of roadwork. Town Manager Jayne Wellman detailed the recycling changes in a new episode of the "Reading Between the Lines" podcast, while High Street shuts to through traffic from July 14…

NRPD Sets Route 62 Detour for Friday, July 17

North Reading police announce a Route 62/Elm Street eastbound detour for Friday, July 17, as the town's meeting calendar fills for next week. The North Reading Police Department posted the detour notice to the town website without specifying the exact route or reason for the closure, le…

Newton Opens Lottery For 70-Plus Affordable Apartments

Newton opens lottery for 70-plus affordable apartments as Nonantum's Festa nears its 91st year. SEB Housing began accepting lottery applications this week for more than 70 affordable units at one of the city's newest residential developments, built on behalf of Garden Communities, Newto…

Natick Officials Open Survey on Interim Uses for Johnson School

Natick opens interim-use survey for Johnson School as a resident's Iran tech conviction makes regional headlines. Town staff launched an online form this week asking residents how the former Johnson Elementary School property should be used in the short term, after the Johnson Future Us…

Melrose Advances $10.3 Million Ell Pond Park Overhaul Plan

Melrose is moving forward on a proposed $10.3 million overhaul of Ell Pond Park that would add new pickleball courts, while the city separately rolled out a new online tool meant to make thousands of public documents easier for residents to find and search, per Patch. Both are still tak…

Dumais Names Coastal Medical Transportation City's New Ambulance Provider

Mayor J. Christian Dumais named Coastal Medical Transportation Systems as Marlborough's new emergency ambulance provider, a shift for the city's public-safety services. The Board of Health also confirmed West Nile virus in mosquitoes collected locally, prompting a public advisory. Metro…

Littleton Transportation Group Lands $96,690 Grant to Relaunch Regional Programs

Littleton's regional Transportation Management Association landed a $96,690 grant to relaunch its programs, one of several Town Hall announcements this week. CrossTown Connect, which serves Littleton and neighboring towns, will use the funding to restart regional transit programs, town …

Lexington Buys Event Barriers With $10,000 MIIA Grant

A Lexington-based pathology lab's data breach and a town safety grant topped Lexington news this week. StrataDx, a national diagnostic pathology laboratory headquartered in Lexington, disclosed a breach exposing Social Security and financial account numbers, while the Select Board annou…