Select Board vice chair John Coutinho, the town’s liaison to the Boston Athletic Association, is working to create a memorable experience in September for Boston Marathon runners who are fundraising for local charities. While there won’t be a traditional Boston...
Jerry Spar
Planning Board votes to send solar overlay map to Town Meeting
At its Monday night meeting the Planning Board voted on a Commercial Solar Photovoltaic Overlay District map that it plans to send to Town Meeting voters, acting to limit commercial solar in residential areas and where deforestation is necessary. The map is limited to...
Hopkintonians support Black Lives Matter movement with vigil on Town Common
The Black Lives Matter movement had a presence in Hopkinton on Sunday evening, as about 200 individuals showed up to the Town Common to encourage respect for their fellow Americans. What started out as a post on a local Facebook group inviting people to attend a...
Photos: Happy Birthday, Scotty Mackin
Scotty Mackin, who has served as a manager of the Hopkinton High School football team since he was a teenager and added baseball and basketball to his resume about 20 years ago, celebrated his 56th birthday Sunday morning with a drive-by celebration in front of the...
Boston Marathon live race canceled, virtual event planned
For the first time in its 124-year history, there will not be an in-person Boston Marathon. The Boston Athletic Association, deferring to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's decision to cancel mass participation events, announced Thursday that the race will instead be held...
Conservation Commission votes against herbicide application in Lake Maspenock
At its Tuesday meeting, the Conservation Commission voted 4-3 against allowing the use of chemical herbicides to Lake Maspenock this year to combat invasive weed growth. Following a recommendation from a Citizens Input Group appointed by the Select Board, and after...
Independent Thoughts: Olde Towne Pound slated for makeover
If you’ve ever driven by the Olde Towne Pound sign and structure on West Main Street (just west of the intersection with Wood Street) and wondered what it was, you’re going to get your answer. Resident (and Planning Board member) Jane Moran recently was granted...
BAA ‘exploring all options’ regarding Sept. 14 Boston Marathon
Following his press conference Tuesday about the state's reopening plan, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said his office continues to discuss the Boston Marathon. The race, which has been run every year since 1897, was rescheduled from April 20 to Sept. 14. “Certainly when...
Town Meeting delayed again; Hopkinton receives $1.6M in federal funding
At its Tuesday night meeting, the Select Board voted to delay Town Meeting again, pushing it back from June 22 to a likely September date still to be determined. Town Election remains set for June 29. With Town Meeting being held after the close of the fiscal year on...
Rolling rally car parade to celebrate HHS graduates set for May 30
Hopkinton High School's plan for a rolling rally car parade to celebrate the Class of 2020 on Saturday, May 30, was approved by the Select Board on Tuesday night, and principal Evan Bishop shared some additional details for the event. The parade will leave the high...
Town health director: Golden Pond down to single active case of COVID-19
Hopkinton Health Department director Shaun McAuliffe, appearing on the Select Board Zoom meeting Tuesday night, reported that the Golden Pond assisted living facility is down to one active case of COVID-19. The facility had an outbreak of the disease last month, with...
Gov. Baker details Phase 1 of reopening plan
Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced plans for Phase 1 of his four-phase approach to reopening the state. As they reopen — or remain open — businesses are required to follow...
Marathoners look forward to unique Boston
Preparing for a marathon is tough enough. Having it pulled out from under you a month before it was to happen and rescheduled to five months later can present a new set of mental and physical challenges. But local runners we spoke to say they’re taking it all in...
Independent Thoughts: Local RE/MAX agents start Project Feed the Frontline
Like many of us, longtime Hopkinton resident Sandy Lucchesi and her fellow real estate brokers from RE/MAX Executive Realty wondered how they could help once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Broker Bill Wright, who founded the RE/MAX Executive Charitable Foundation, which...
Health director expects no immediate decline in town’s COVID-19 cases
Hopkinton Health Department director Shaun McAuliffe provided an update during the Select Board’s Tuesday night Zoom meeting, indicating that he continues to be in regular contact with Golden Pond assisted living facility, where a number of residents tested positive...
Khumalo: Main Street Corridor Project ‘fully funded’
During Tuesday night’s Select Board meeting, Town Manager Norman Khumalo announced that he had “two good things to report” regarding the Main Street Corridor Project. One is that the project now is “fully funded,” as on April 30 the state approved the budget in the...
Town Election on track for June 29; absentee ballots encouraged
The Town Election scheduled for June 29 is on track to proceed as scheduled, even if Town Meeting were to eventually get pushed back until September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If Town Meeting does get delayed again and there are items from Town Meeting that require...
Timlin 5K organizers eager to see response to virtual platform
While local traditions continue to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the Sharon Timlin Memorial Event have plans to make this year’s event memorable in a new way. The Timlin 5K road race, scheduled for June 20, is shifting to a virtual activity....
Golden Pond has first COVID-19 fatalities; town health director laments state bureaucracy
The town has seen the first COVID-19 deaths from Golden Pond assisted living facility, where 37 residents had tested positive earlier this month. According to Shaun McAuliffe, the town’s Health Department director, four Golden Pond residents have died after...
Planning Board works to establish commercial solar district
Seeking to update the bylaw to give the town more control over where commercial, ground-mounted solar installations are located, the Planning Board has been hearing from frustrated residents as well as property owners who have expressed an interest in having their...