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Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Morses Pond beach in Wellesley to open June 5

May 25, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Recreation Department says Morses Pond beach will officially open—without lifeguards, so swim at your own risk—Mon., June 5-Sun., June 25, 10am-dusk. During those dates, the yellow gate at Turner Road will be monitored by Recreation staff, and parking at Morses Pond will be limited to Wellesley residents only. (Non-residents can walk, run, or bike in.)

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Morses Pond, Wellesley

On Mon., June 26-Sun., August 20, 10am-5pm,  the beach and pond will fully open for the season, with lifeguards on duty.

The price of admission

  • Family passes for residents—$250 (that rate includes 5 free day passes for the season)
  • Adult pass (residents)—$125
  • Senior/child under 16 (residents)—$60
  • Daily passes—$10 per person (proof of residency is required)

Non-residents

  • Season pass adults/seniors—$190
  • $90 per child (under age 16)
  • No daily passes available

Contact the Recreation Department for information at 781-235-2370.

MORE

Cold waters of Morses Pond no deterrent to those who plunged for Elodie


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Filed Under: Entertainment, Kids, Morses Pond, Outdoors

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Linden Square, Wellesley
Wonderful Wellesley, Lockheart
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley Public Schools news: Last day is official; Advisory won’t investigate; Evolutions showcase

May 25, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The latest Wellesley Public Schools news:

Public Schools makes last day official

Wellesley Public Schools—barring unforeseen circumstances—will be letting out for the school year on Thursday June 15, a half day, with teachers done the following day. Wednesday that week will be a full day for elementary schools.

Seniors have already wrapped up. WPS families got a scold-o-gram from the Wellesley High Principal the week before after a “Senior Skip Day” event had to be shortened when booze came into play.


Advisory won’t investigate

The Wellesley Advisory Committee devoted most of its May 3 meeting (see Wellesley Media recording) to the matter of whether Advisory should launch an investigatory review into the roughly $88M school budget approved this spring at Annual Town Meeting. Questions had been raised by Advisory and Town Meeting members this spring related to budget clarity, fueled by concerns of a rising budget at a time of decreasing enrollment (school officials have said throughout that enrollment and budget numbers do not rise or fall in lockstep).

Advisory member David Prock presented the investigation proposal at the committee meeting on May 3, starting out with a contention that such research could show that everything is great with the budget and that it is the size it should be. However, he said questions remain about certain details, such as payment for various consultants and administrative (“non-student”) spending. Prock has also sought raw data from spreadsheets that are behind the budget presentation slides. Prock said: “I think there are questions about where does the budget process start… Does it start with ‘Here’s what we spent last year, we know we have 3% more, how do we spend it?’ or is it different from that?”

During discussion, some Advisory members said they sympathized with the appetite for a deeper dive into the budget and concurred that the same questions about the budget will continue to be raised if the budget continues to rise while enrollment falls. However, there were concerns that this sort of review would overlap with a system already in place for Advisory to drill into the budget via its School Committee liaisons, and that any sort of investigation would burden the overtaxed school system and School Committee with even more work. There was also some back and forth about whether any such review would need to be general at the start, or involve the asking of more specific questions, such as those brought up at Advisory during meetings leading up to Town Meeting (and that resulted in slides at Town Meeting that answered some of those questions, such as comparing Wellesley’s numbers with those from other communities). Jenn Fallon, one of the Advisory liaisons to schools, said one possibility would be to pick specific things to dive in on each year, as was done with diversity, equity and inclusion spending baked into the budget. Rani Elwy, also a school liaison for Advisory, said specific questions could be asked much earlier in the budget development process through the existing liaison system.

Advisory voted 13-1, in a straw poll, in favor of sticking with the current liaison process but seeking ways to improve it.


Evolutions showcase

Here is a video from the Wellesley High School Evolutions Gen 8 Capstone Spring Expo, courtesy of Wellesley Public Media.


Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Filed Under: Education

Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley

Taylor Swift Makes a Triumphant Return to Gillette Stadium

May 24, 2023 by Bella Gonzalez Leave a Comment

FOXBOROUGH—Taylor Swift kicked off the three-night New England leg of her highly anticipated Eras Tour on Friday, drawing massive crowds to the venue and its parking lots.

Between Swift and her two openers, Gayle and Phoebe Bridgers, night one at Gillette ran for about five hours. The staggered entry times and busy parking lots and roads added on hours to the experience.

“I know it took a lot of effort to get here,” said Swift, acknowledging both the traffic and the Ticketmaster fiasco of late 2022, “thank you so much for all of the effort and energy you put into being here tonight.”

Taylor Swift concert
Photo by Bella Gonzalez

The Eras Tour offers a few VIP packages that include earlier entry times and stadium-side parking, which, while an advantage for those ticket holders, proved a disadvantage for the roads.

Ahead of Swift’s shows, Foxborough Police advised concertgoers to use Waze while driving to best avoid clogging side streets.

Gillette Stadium hosted her for the 11th, 12th and 13th times this weekend, all three shows sold out.

The set featured moving platforms, colorful graphics (displayed on Gillette’s new screens), confetti, pyrotechnics and an opening in the stage that Swift dove through for one of her many costume changes.

Swift plays 44 songs each night- featuring many of her hits such as “All Too Well,” “Shake It Off” and “Karma”- but hardcore Swifties eagerly awaited the two acoustic “surprise songs” toward the end of the set.

On Friday, Swift played “Should’ve Said No” off of her debut, self-titled album, and “Better Man,” originally written for Little Big Town but featured as a “vault track” on the re-record of her fourth album, “Red.”

All of the songs she performed were met with overwhelmingly positive reactions from the crowd, including lengthy applause after “champagne problems.”

Swift shared that she and her crew have dubbed Gillette Stadium “foxy Foxborough,” noting that the fans who have historically attended shows at the venue are “the ones to watch.”

Saturday’s concert featured an intense downpour and surprise songs “Question…?” from Swift’s newest album, “Midnights,” and “Invisible,” off of her debut.

Taylor Swift concert
Photo by Bella Gonzalez

Sunday was symbolic for Swift as it was her 13th show at Gillette, 13 being her lucky number.

“I Think He Knows” from the “Lover” album and “Red” (the title track from the “Red” album) were the songs she selected to play for her final night in New England.

Opener Gracie Abrams replaced Gayle’s set from the two previous nights.

Swift certainly had a good run this weekend, one that fans can be sure will not be her last at the venue.

“We reminisce about our times playing Gillette Stadium, because it’s always special with you,” she said to her night one crowd, looking back on her fond memories here over the course of her career.

Bella Gonzalez, Swellesley’s summer intern, got a jump on things with this post. She’s a rising junior at Boston University studying journalism and media science.


More: Please help fund our Swellesley Report summer internship

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Filed Under: Beyond Wellesley, Entertainment

Refined Renovations, Wellesley

Wellesley Select Board online office hours: Thursday, May 25

May 24, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment

Speak with Select Board chair Lise Olney via Zoom on Thursday, May 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  Reserve your 15-minute appointment in advance by sending an email directly to her at lolney@wellesleyma.gov


Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Filed Under: Government

Call and Haul, Wellesley

Court TV revisits Wellesley’s 1999 Morses Pond murder case

May 23, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Court TV’s “Someone They Knew” with Tamron Hall series this weekend aired its “Good Doctor” episode, which focuses on the murder of Mae Greineder at Morses Pond in Wellesley on Halloween of 1999.

The victim’s husband, Dr. Dirk Greineder, was sentenced to life for the killing in 2001. The program highlights the disbelief from some that the renowned allergist could commit such a crime, resurfaces the anguish of the Greineder children, and reviews revelations of Dr. Greineder’s secret life outside his marriage.

Former Wellesley Police Chief Terry Cunningham is among those who recount the events of this dark Wellesley story.


Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Filed Under: Crime, Police

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High school senior contributes newest Wellesley traffic box painting

May 23, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

It’s traffic-box painting season in town, and Wellesley resident Clara Eikeboom is adding her artistic talents to the two signal boxes outside the Wellesley Police station on Washington St. After submitting an application and preliminary designs in March to the Wellesley Public Art Committee, the Winsor School student got word that her plans were perfectly lawful. By early May she’d set up a shade shelter and started sketching her designs onto the metal surfaces.

Wellesley traffic box art
Wellesley traffic box art shows police cars through the years. Traffic box artists receive a stipend  of $1,000 for their time, transportation, and supplies.

“I got the idea because I really enjoy the electrical boxes all around the Wellesley, and I dreamed of doing one myself.”

Eikeboom also dreamed of a spring spent outdoors, beyond the four walls of a classroom. Thus, her perfect senior project was born. “I’m so glad I can do this and I don’t have to be in school,” she acknowledged.

One of the two boxes she’s painting is themed “Police Cars During the Ages.” One side portrays a Model T; another side a Crown Victoria, and another, a modern-day electrical model. For that last one, Eikeboom pointed to WPD’s fully electric 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E parked nearby. “I had a model for my drawing right here.”

For her second box, Eikeboom painted a Sherlock Holmes silhouette as a nod to the famous British fictitious case solver; and a large fingerprint, to symbolize the scientific side of criminal investigations.

Wellesley traffic box art
Clara Eikeboom says nobody’s heckled her during her time painting the boxes. Her location outside the police station probably doesn’t hurt. Police officers have been very supportive, checking in on her as they come and go. They even gave her an official WPD water bottle.

For his part, Wellesley PD chief Jack Pilecki was glad to have the chance to see the boxes outside the station livened up. He and Eikenboom together came up with the themes for the boxes. “I am extremely happy with how they are turning out. Clara has been amazing. I hope everyone who sees them likes them also,” Pilecki said.

Eikenboom expects to finish up the project within a couple of weeks. After that she’ll travel to Minnesota to work in a kitchen at a  German language summer camp. “This will be my third summer working in the kitchen,” she said. Fluent in the language, She welcomes the opportunity to communicate with other German-speakers from all over the country and abroad. Next fall, it’s off to Bucknell University.

The Traffic Box Art Program is a collaboration between the Wellesley Public Arts Committee and the Wellesley Police Department. Since 2020 local artists have painted about a dozen signal boxes at high-visibility intersections to enhance the visual experience in Wellesley.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Wellesley Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, and a grant from the Community Fund for Wellesley’s Al Robinson Fund for the Arts.


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Filed Under: Art, Police

55th Annual Wellesley Veterans Parade in pictures & video

May 22, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Thanks to all who shared photos with us from Sunday’s 55th Annual Wellesley Veterans Parade, one of the highlights of Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend.

And thank you to the Wellesley Celebrations Committee for pulling the weekend of activities together with its many partners.

Wellesley Public Media has shared video recaps of the parade as well as the picnic and fireworks that took place on Sunday.

veterans parade
Photo by Simon Glassenberg

 

Veterans parade
Photo courtesy of Wellesley Celebrations Committee

 

Veterans parade
Photo courtesy of Wellesley Celebrations Committee

 

veterans parade
Grand Marshal Rick DeLorie (Photo by Simon Glassenberg)

 

veterans parade
Photo courtesy of Jen Bonniwell

 

veterans parade band
Photo courtesy of Jen Bonniwell

 

veterans parade
Photo by Tanya DuPont

 

veterans parade
Photo by Sharon Murray

 

veterans parade
Parade theme: 250th anniversary of Boston Tea Party (Photo by Sharon Murray)

 

wellesley veterans parade fire engines
Photo courtesy of Wellesley Celebrations Committee

 

veterans parade
Photo courtesy of Sara J. Shanahan

 

veterans parade
Photo courtesy of Sara J. Shanahan

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend

Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend: Saturday action

May 22, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend withstood a mostly rainy Saturday to supply lots of fun for those who got out early, including to a guided trail walk at Morses Pond, and later, to open houses across town departments.

morses pond trail walk
Morses Pond trail walk with the Wellesley Trails Committee (photo courtesy of Wellesley Trails Committee)

 

wellesley's wonderful weekend
Fire station open house

 

fire station open house
(Photo courtesy of Interim Fire Chief Nat Brady)

 

wellesley's wonderful weekend
Touch at truck at the DPW

 

wellesley's wonderful weekend
Bike rodeo at Tailby Lot

 

18th Century Military Encampment at Morton Field Park
18th Century Military Encampment at Morton Field Park (photo by Jen Bonniwell)

 


Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Filed Under: Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend

Civil Discourse Community Dialogue on Race—invite to additional session

May 22, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Civil Discourse Initiative recently held two dialogues on racial identity and racism in Wellesley. Due to the strong interest from the community, the organizers have added an additional in-person session on Thur., June 1, 7pm-9pm. The June 1 session will be held in person; confirmation and location will be emailed upon registration.

Dialogue participants will meet in small groups for the two-hour dialogue. To participate, please sign up by Tuesday, May 23. Space is limited.

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Embracing diversity

Wellesley business buzz: Town well represented on new Leaders of Color lists; Church Square turns 100

May 21, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Town well represented on new Leaders of Color lists

Those who live or work in Wellesley are well represented on the new 50 Most Influential Business Leaders of Color and 20 Emerging Leaders of Color lists for the Charles River Metrowest region. The lists were compiled via public nominations and through a partnership between the Charles River Regional Chamber and Colette Phillips and Get Konnected!

The lists are designed to “shine a light on the leaders and future leaders of color who are making a positive contribution to the economic and social fabric of our west suburban businesses and nonprofits.” The Chamber also says the lists can spark deeper conversations about work left to be done in supporting diversity.

The lists includes these Wellesley residents and/or employees:

Most Influential

  • Alexis Avila (Founder/CEO, Prepped & Polished Tutoring & Test Preparation)
  • DaQuall Graham (Chief People Officer, Insource Services)
  • Paula A. Johnson (President, Wellesley College)
  • Sheilah Shaw Horton, Ph.D. (Vice President and Dean of Students, Wellesley College)
  • Lawrence P. Ward, Ed. D. (Vice President and Dean of Campus Life, Babson College)
  • Gardy Desrouleaux (Founder/Owner, Craft Food Halls)

Emerging

  • Lucas Machado (Owner and CEO, Curbs Studio)

Congrats to all of those named to these lists.

influential list

Church Square turns 100

Members of the family that started Church Square 100 years ago and still operate it today turned out to celebrate the shopping center adjacent to Wellesley Square. A ribbon cutting took place outside E.A. Davis, the first occupant of the square. Pauline Elms, granddaughter of  Church Square founder Charles E. Holman, did the honors of cutting a bright red ribbon to mark the occasion.

Pauline Elms readies to cut the ribbon for Church Square's 100th anniversary
Pauline Elms readies to cut the ribbon for Church Square’s 100th anniversary

 

Select Board Chair Lise Olney presents citation to the Church Square family
Select Board Chair Lise Olney (black top) presents citation to the Church Square family

 


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Filed Under: Business, Education

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