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Wellesley Square clock is alive and ticking

January 12, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

If you’ve been missing the Wellesley Square street clock, which the town sent out for repairs late last year, it’s time to take a look at the newly reinstalled and restored beauty. An Electric Time Co. truck rolled into town early this morning with the two-dial street clock crated and secured in the back of Medfield business’ vehicle. Between David Cintolo, the venerable company’s go-to guy for installations all over the region, and the Wellesley Department of Public Works crew members, the 15-foot cast aluminum clock was put in place in just over an hour.

(Thanks to Wellesley DPW’s Kevin Collins for the swell video.)

The clock looks fabulous and refreshed after its several months at the spa (as would we all with the kind of pampering such time would allow.) For its spa treatments the clock was stripped down, sandblasted, painted, and had certain parts replaced and upgraded (sounds like heaven).

Wellesley Square clock
The over 15-foot clock  has stood in Wellesley Square since 1998.
Wellesley Square clock
The clock face and post were unpacked from a fancy wooden crate by Electric Time Co., hauled up into the air by a DPW cherry picker, and was good to go in just over an hour. The temperature was a cool 25 degrees.
Wellesley Square clock
Such a pretty face.
Wellesley Square clock
Who are those masked men? From left, Kevin Collins, Anthony Mannolian, Joe Clinton, Antoine Parker, Dennis Furbush, Electric Time Clock’s David Cintolo, and Scott Cliff.

Fun facts about Roman numeral IIII

Back when I was in elementary school, Roman numerals were drilled into me as efficiently as the multiplication tables. One thing I thought I knew for sure was that 1 = I; 2 = II; 3= III; and, wait for it, 4= IV.

Behold, the Wellesley Square clock expresses 4 as IIII. Was this a case of a paint job gone awry?

Nope.

According to Electric Time Clock’s website, “There does not seem to be a definitive reason why the number four is represented by IIII rather than IV, but it is how the dials on tower clocks have been done for centuries.”

It goes on to say that possible reasons include IV was commonly used to notate the Roman god Jupiter (in Latin, Ivpiter), and the numeral IIII was used to differentiate between the lowly number and the exalted god; visually, IIII forms better symmetry with the VIII on the other side of the clock, as well as creating radial symmetry in that only I appears in the first four hours, V only appears in the second four hours, and X only appears in the last four hours; IV is oddly positioned and difficult to read from the normal angle where four appears; and/or Romans simply preferred IIII as they largely avoided subtraction.


  • Thank you Swellesley Report supporters & on to Year Sweet 16
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Filed Under: History, Technology

Linden Square, Wellesley
Write Ahead

Wellesley wants to know how soon you’re going to buy that electric vehicle

September 23, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

wellesley mlp municipal light plantThe Wellesley Municipal Light Plant is asking, casually of course, about your plans when it comes to your second-biggest purchase. (The first-biggest purchase would be your house, but they aren’t asking about that one. Yet.)

Basically, the MLP through a survey would like to know when they can expect to see an electric vehicle parked in your garage or driveway. Not if, mind you, but when. The survey questions make it pretty clear that it’s GONNA HAPPEN. So residents may as well get on board, right? Resistance is futile when it comes to these sorts of things.

Don’t leave the MLP dangling on this, here’s a link to the 2-minute survey Complete it for a chance to be entered into a chance to win “a $50 gift card provided by the MLP.”

Here are a couple sample questions, and our responses:

MLP: In which year do you think you will likely buy or lease a plug-in electric car, SUV or truck?

The Swellesley Report: As the old New Yorker cartoon goes, “How about never — is never good for you?” Heck, the station wagon is still trusty, and we seldom drive the other vehicle anymore. COVID has turned us into the hardest-working homebodies you ever did see. Electric vehicles were way too pricy the last time we bought a car 5 or so years ago. At this point, we’re angling to run our vehicles into the ground. Though we’d be delighted to see our kids go electric when they buy their first vehicles some day.

MLP: Which type of plug-in electric vehicle are you most likely to lease or purchase?

    • All-electric, or Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
    • Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
    • Don’t know/Not sure
    • I am not likely to buy an EV in the foreseeable future (Please enter the reason why not below)

The Swellesley Report’s reason: The last time we tried to foresee the future, the future imploded. All we were trying to do was plan a nice little family cruise for spring 2020. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Ever since our near-miss on getting stranded at sea during a pandemic, we’ve given up trying to plan for “the foreseeable future.”

Questions we think should have been asked, but weren’t:

How much longer do you intend to defile the air we breathe with a gas guzzling SUV?

What do you have against the better driving experience that an EV provides (smooth power, good handling, ride, etc)?

Do you care in the slightest about the environment?

More: Getting charged up in Wellesley

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Filed Under: Environment, Government, Technology, Transportation

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Wellesley camps & programs 2020 — find a great summer experience

July 18, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

iCode of WellesleyThe Swellesley Report’s Summer Camps & Programs page lists over 75 camps and programs in Wellesley and beyond. It’s time to sign your child up for a great summer experience. Whether they’re into coding, arts and crafts, sports, drama, or nature, the perfect camp is out there for them.

Swellesley’s Summer Camps & Programs page is sponsored by iCode of Wellesley. iCode’s interactive programs for kids ages 6 – 18 are going on now. On-site and online programs available.

Please be aware that of the camps and programs listed, some are going forward, some have substantially re-worked their offerings, while others have canceled for 2020.

Contact Deborah to update your summer listing, or for advertising on Swellesley. Camp parents and guardians: Please let camps know that you found them here, if you did…thanks.

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Filed Under: Entertainment, Kids, STEM, Technology

Stretch Lab, Wellesley

Preparing your elementary school child for Fall 2020

July 10, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

SPONSORED POST: While Wellesley school officials begin planning to reopen elementary schools, Wise Education is helping families get their children back on track. Wise is the first online tutoring program just for elementary school students.

Research shows that the average child will return to school this fall 7-12 months behind where they would have been before the COVID-19 disruption. On average, children will experience a loss of 30% of learning in reading & writing and 50% in math.

Wise Education, Wellesley

 

Wise Education, founded by Wellesley residents, offers a practical solution for parents.

Teachers: We all want the best for our elementary school children so Wise built a team of experienced, passionate educators with master’s degrees and state certification.

Matchmaking: Based on each child’s interests and learning style, Wise finds the best teacher fit on its team. Your child then works exclusively with this teacher.

Curriculum: To start, Wise assesses each child against Common Core Standards and builds a highly personalized lesson plan to support each student.

Classes: All virtual, all 1-on-1 and always live. No parental involvement needed during instruction, but parents can expect ongoing communication and outcome tracking.

Program: Affordable and highly flexible for families in these uncertain times — packs of 5, 10 and 20 classes that fit easily into a family’s schedule.

Wise Education, Wellesley

Programs for students entering K-5 start at $500. As a reader of the Swellesley Report, please use promo code “SWELLESLEY” for 10% off any Wise class pack.

For questions, more information or to get started, please visit Wise online. Call or text: 617-679-7877. Or send an email to: [email protected].

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Filed Under: Education, Parenting, Technology

Wellesley to hold public hearing on Verizon cable contract

June 25, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

wellesley town hall war memorialsThe Board of Selectmen will hold a virtual public hearing on Monday, June 29, 5pm, to discuss Wellesley’s contract with Verizon cable television.

The hearing is one of two that are required in order for Wellesley to renew its license with Verizon. The Town’s current Verizon license ends in November 2021.

The discussion will be streamed live on Wellesley Public Media and may be watched on television on Comcast channel 8 and Verizon channel 40.

Residents are invited to participate and give input on the Town’s cable TV needs and interests. To take part, please email [email protected] prior to the hearing. Participants will be assigned a number designating the order in which they’ll speak, and a phone number to call where they will be conferenced in to give comments.

Verizon cable TV records and information about the license renewal process are available from the Selectmen’s Office. As Town Hall remains closed to the public, please email [email protected] to request information.

A second public hearing on the Verizon license will be held in September 2020.

Additional tech news—MLP webinar on June 25th

Wellesley’s Municipal Light Plant is hosting a webinar on June 25 from 7-8:30pm to get the word out about plans to mount AT&T small cell antennas on more than 40 poles around town in an effort to boost wireless service. AT&T reps and radiation safety specialist Donald Haes, Jr., will be part of the program, and residents can submit questions in advance to have them addressed before the installation is set to begin this summer. More info here.

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Filed Under: Government, Media, Technology

Small cell antennas could be a big deal in Wellesley

June 18, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Wellesley’s Municipal Light Plant is hosting a webinar on June 25 from 7-8:30pm to get the word out about plans to mount AT&T small cell antennas on more than 40 poles around town in an effort to boost wireless service. AT&T reps and radiation safety specialist Donald Haes, Jr., will be part of the program, and residents can submit questions in advance to have them addressed before the installation is set to begin this summer.

Leading up to this event, residents are calling attention to the town’s small antenna plans and urging others to study up. They’ve hit up town meeting members and also reached out to us. Iris Lin has already questioned the aesthetics of the pole-mounted antennas during a meeting of the Design Review Board of which she is a member. At that meeting, MLP Director Don Newell said he’s personally visited all the planned antenna locations as the MLP works on “balancing aesthetics with coverage.” The MLP has decreased the size of the antenna shrouds in some cases, he says.

bates antenna mlp
Small cell antenna installed across from Bates Elementary School (screenshot from Wellesley Public Media recording of Design Review Board meeting)

Still, Lin says the town should have done more to give residents and schools residing near the utility poles a heads up about the planned installations in light of health, environmental, property value and aesthetic concerns. Lin cites other communities, such as Burlington and Cambridge  that have formed small cell committees and involved public hearings during the process.

Lin posted about the issue Thursday on the What’s Up Wellesley Facebook page, sparking a conversation in which some thanked her for letting them know, some pooh-poohed health concerns, and others celebrated the potential for better cell service. Lin and other neighbors have written to the MLP and Board of Selectmen to register their concerns as well. We happened to be listening to the Natick Board of Selectmen meeting last week when a resident during citizen speak expressed his concerns about an increase in small cells in that town, and urged the BoS to consult with an industry expert.

The small cell antennas in Wellesley would pave the way beyond today’s 4G wireless technology, to use carrier lingo, and toward next-generation 5G wireless that boosts data speeds and has more capacity. We haven’t noticed Wellesley using the term 5G, perhaps intentionally. The small cell antennas are separate from the distributed antenna systems the town has installed in recent years to improve wireless service.

Download (PDF, Unknown)

 

 

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Wellesley tech entrepreneur Chris Zannetos seeks to get on ballot for Congressional primary

April 19, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Chris ZannetosUpdate (5/11/20): Chris Zannetos collected the necessary number of signatures to qualify for the 9/1 ballot.

Under normal circumstances, 20-year Wellesley resident Chris Zannetos and his team would be seeking signatures at the RDF and local supermarkets to get on the ballot for the Sept. 1 Democratic primary for Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District seat. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Zannetos, who announced his run for Congress on April 1, to resort to other means to stir up support.

He’s been touring the 4th district by bike, holding virtual town meetings and webinars, and mailing nomination papers to residents, which he’s urging people to sign and send in by Wednesday, April 22.

The race is shaping up to be a crowded one, with 11 candidates vying to get on the ballot. Fortunately for candidates, a judge has ruled that they need to collect fewer signatures than usual due to health crisis, but it will still be a logistical challenge for them.

We sent Zannetos, who boasts a strong IT security and business technology background, a handful of questions this week to learn more about what he hopes to bring to Congress.

If we weren’t in this COVID-19 situation, how would you be trying to collect signatures and get the word out about your campaign? How are you doing things differently as a result of the situation?

We would be standing outside the Roche Brothers, Whole Foods and at the recycling at the RDF, asking people to sign the Nomination Papers (in fact, we started that in the beginning of March) and we also started in-person Meet & Greets at people’s homes in the district. But of course, all that has changed.  We have had a table out in front of my house for people to stop by and sign the papers, and we’ve mailed out Nomination Papers to many thousands of voters in the district…in fact, every household with a Democrat in Wellesley should have received this [week]!  We are also trying to take advantage of the Internet to bring information and services to our district, build connections, and to get word out about the campaign – with a web series on New Paths to the American Dream and our Ask to Expert series.  In addition, I’m an avid biker, and I’m cycling through every town in the district to highlight each town’s special character and small businesses.

Many in Wellesley have the resources to survive a run-of-the-mill crisis relatively unfazed. But how do you think the current health, social and economic crisis will affect the town, its residents, its businesses in the months/years to come?

First, I think we have to remember that while Wellesley is an affluent town, not everyone has the resources to be out of work. Having the experience of managing a business through the post 9/11 recession and the 2008 Great Recession, I’m afraid that the impact of this crisis will be deeper and longer lasting. It is unlikely that we will just “spring back”, and many businesses will be severely damaged by this.
Hopefully, for those who do have the resources to weather this crisis, this is a reminder to help others in our community whether it’s by giving to the food pantry, donating to nonprofits that help people meet their rent or mortgage payments in times of crisis, or just by eating out more often to help keep restaurants in business.

The reality is that we don’t know how we are going to come out of this because the disruption of so many aspects of our lives – financial, health, daily routines – is unprecedented. Regardless of the financial impact, I don’t think we’ll fully understand the emotional and mental health impact of this on our children, our elderly, really everyone, for some time to come.

I believe, though, that we have the opportunity to come out of this with greater resilience, a greater appreciation for what we have, and a greater respect for our fellow residents. We can come out with improved and more resilient education, with a focus on supporting our local, family-owned businesses. Our town, state, and federal governments can be better prepared for the next crisis, if they honestly examine how we could have prepared better. We can come out with a renewed commitment to find ways to bring us together for the common good, instead of focusing on wedge issues to divide us. We can demand that our government work as effectively and quickly in “normal” times, as it has in this time of crisis.

What have been the big tech lessons learned during the crisis so far? I mean besides, “unmute yourself.” What big changes would you expect to happen as we recover?

I think we’ve learned a few things about technology and ourselves:

1. Technology can enable very important, even deeply personal human connections. My mother was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. My family was able to see and speak with her because the doctors and nurses had added Facetiming with patients’ families to their already heavy responsibilities. It was not only wonderful to see my mother – who thankfully has improved enough to be discharged, but the compassion and dedication of the nurses and doctors to care for their patients and their families was truly touching.

2. Technology can enable many to work effectively from home, and that perhaps we don’t need as many people to be going to the office every day. Given the traffic we have here, perhaps we will take advantage of this to reduce traffic, to reduce pollution, to reduce aggravation, and reduce time wasted sitting in our cars in traffic jams.

3. I do think that our experience in a variety of industries, including education, will open up new opportunities for improvement. I’ve already heard from some teachers that teaching remotely has created some ideas for improved in-class teaching.

4. Finally, with all our advances, it is clear that we have not done enough to enable our seniors with technology. I’ve heard many stories from friends about unsuccessfully trying to teach their parents how to use technology to connect with family. The tech world has more work to do.

How long have you been thinking about running for public office? Did anything specific trigger your move?

I’ve always enjoyed serving the community in one form or another – whether as soccer coach for Wellesley United, as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts Food Drive or the Boston Marathon, on the board of my church and other organizations, or as the founder of a non-profit that brings companies together with schools to make STEM education more accessible to underserved people. I didn’t plan to run for Congress, and that’s probably apparent by my late entry. I went to the Wellesley Democratic Committee’s “Meet the Candidates Night” in late January, and I felt that I really had something to bring to the table that separated me from the other candidates, certain experiences that could be truly beneficial to our district and in Washington, and I started thinking about whether I needed to run.

I think our country and our democracy are at a critical point.  We’ve had this booming economy, but it has benefited very few because we haven’t made the 21st century, technology-driven, economy accessible to all. Even before the pandemic, over 40% of Americans didn’t believe the American Dream of achieving a better life than the generation before was available to them. And with urgent action needed on income inequality, healthcare accessibility, climate change and other important issues, we’ve gotten only inaction, divisiveness, and hyper partisanship. Washington isn’t reflective of a division in our country, it’s a driver of division.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased our challenges dramatically, but it has also highlighted the solution. After we get through this, we can’t go back to business as usual in Washington. Now more than ever we need people in Washington who understand the science and technology that drive our world, have experience creating higher paying, more resilient 21st century jobs, and know how to bring people together for win/win solutions instead of posturing for partisan gain. If I had seen that experience or focus at that Meet the Candidates Night, I’d still be focused on running my software company instead of running for Congress.

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Filed Under: Politics, Technology

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Tue 26

Rum tasting and history talk

January 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

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