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Bedford Sets Wednesday Forum on Former Fire Station's Future

Bedford opened public input this week on the future of its former fire station at 55 The Great Road, with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and town staff hosting a virtual forum Wednesday, July 22. The town also confirmed the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail is temporarily closed at the Bi…

Ashland Launches New OpenGov Permitting Portal for Residents and Businesses

Ashland Town Manager Michael Herbert is on leave for an undisclosed reason, leaving an open question over interim town leadership. The town's own News Flash steered clear of the topic, instead touting a new online licensing and permitting portal, OpenGov, meant to let residents and busi…

APS Celebrates New High School Opening, 2025 Accountability Gains

Arlington Public Schools opened its new high school building and touted stronger 2025 state accountability results this week, even as the district flagged open seats on the town's Human Rights Commission. Arlington Patch reported that the town's climate goals are colliding with roughly …

Acton Announces Douglas Sturniolo as New Police Chief

Acton's town government confirmed a new police chief this week, its most consequential development of the period. Douglas Sturniolo has been appointed Chief of the Acton Police Department, the town announced, while Town Hall also issued extreme-heat safety guidance and released its July…

Somerville Sets Meeting on Police Body Camera Proposal

Somerville hits a three-year streak without a traffic death as a police body-camera debate heads to a public meeting. The city's Vision Zero street-safety redesigns underpin the milestone, which drew coverage in the planning-industry outlet Planetizen this week. Separately, "Somerville …

Finance Committee Sends Override Options to Select Board

Reading's Finance Committee sent a set of Proposition 2½ override options to the Select Board this week, a step that could raise property taxes to cover town and school costs. The move builds on a Reading Patch report the previous day that put a potential override at $6.5 million, and c…

North Reading Rolls Out New Trash and Recycling Rules

North Reading residents are adjusting to new trash and recycling rules that took effect July 1, 2026, as Town Hall pushes sign-ups for its Smart911 emergency-alert system. The town has not detailed exactly what changed under the new waste guidelines, but the notice remains posted as the…

Newton Zoning Board Clears Walmart Fulfillment Center For Auburndale

Newton's Zoning Board of Appeals approved a roughly 20,000-square-foot Walmart microfulfillment center in Auburndale under the city's new variance law. Mayor Marc Laredo separately nominated Catherine M. Feerick, who holds a similar post elsewhere, as the city's next Director of Plannin…

Natick Man Convicted in 2006 Stabbing Granted Parole

Parole granted in Natick's 2006 fatal stabbing case anchors a quiet stretch for town institutions. Oscar Rosa, convicted in 2008 of fatally stabbing Craig Viera outside a nightclub two years earlier, has been granted parole after nearly two decades, MetroWest Daily News reports. Natick'…

Vigil for Two Men Planned Outside Melrose City Hall Next Week

A vigil demanding justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero is planned outside Melrose City Hall next week. Organizers have set the gathering for Saturday, July 25, at 10 a.m. at 562 Main Street, per a Patch calendar listing headlined "Vigil to Demand Justice for L…

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