The Open Space Preservation Commission at its meeting Thursday night voted 3-0 to create an ad hoc committee to discuss the potential purchase by the town of a 60-plus acre wooded property in the Springwood neighborhood that was slated to be clear cut for possible...
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Video: High-speed police pursuit along Main Street ends with crash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKQ5b0r5Q5U When constructions crews installed high curbing on the sidewalks along the western portion of Main Street last summer as part of the Main Street Construction Project, it generally was not well received. On Wednesday morning,...
Sympathetic property owner puts hold on Springwood tree clearing, although ‘logger wouldn’t stop’ cutting
Two neighborhoods abutting a contentious property off of Kimball Road joined forces to stop the tree clearing planned for the 60-acre site by working with the property owner to address their concerns. Michael Cooper, a resident of the Springwood neighborhood and an...
Select Board roundup: Fire chief to depart June 11; LNG drill ‘excellent,’ but residents express concerns
During Tuesday's Select Board meeting, Fire Chief Bill Miller shared that his last day with the department will be June 11. After 22 years in Hopkinton, including the last two as chief, he has accepted a position as chief in Bellingham. “I don’t want to see you leave,...
Select Board discusses future of Upper Charles Trail Committee
At Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, board members discussed the future of the Upper Charles Trail Committee following the May 2 Town Meeting non-binding vote to disband the committee. Select Board chair Amy Ritterbusch said she felt a “need to take a major action” —...
Former Deputy Police Chief Porter pleads not guilty to child rape
Former Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief John “Jay” Porter entered a plea of not guilty to three counts of child rape during a noon hearing at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on Tuesday. The alleged incidents occurred nearly two decades ago, in September 2004 and June...
Real Estate Transactions, May 10 edition
Planning Board approves site plan for pickleball/tennis facility off Fruit Street
The Planning Board on Monday night approved the site plans for the eagerly anticipated pickleball/tennis facility at 17 Pratt Way, off Fruit Street, the only hearing on the agenda. Vice chair Mary Larson-Marlowe chaired the 30-minute meeting in the absence of Chair...
Khumalo: Town had no choice but to accept Porter’s resignation from HPD
Former Deputy Police Chief John "Jay" Porter resigned from the Hopkinton Police Department last Friday, three days before he was charged by the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office with rape of a child dating back to his stint as school resource officer in...
Future of Upper Charles Trail Committee to be considered by Select Board on Tuesday
The future of the Upper Charles Trail Committee is to be discussed at the Select Board meeting on Tuesday, May 9, after Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved of the committee’s abolishment by voting in favor of a non-binding article. Article 47, which town counsel...
Main Street Corridor Project update: Full-depth excavation starts Monday
As part of the Main Street Corridor Project next week, the town announced that Phase 3 of full-depth excavation from Muffin House Cafe to the east end of the project begins Monday, May 8, and is expected to take three weeks to complete. Full-depth excavation includes...
Voters make statement to UCTC by calling for committee to be abolished
The Hopkinton Upper Charles Trail Committee was sent a strong message by Town Meeting on Tuesday, with passage of a non-binding article calling for the committee’s abolishment as well as an article to withhold spending on the controversial proposed Segment 7 along...
Town Meeting Day 2 recap: Residents vote down South Street rezoning, gun club restriction
A citizens’ petition generated loud and unanimous opposition during the second night of Town Meeting on Tuesday, as residents of the Lake Maspenock area spoke out against the rezoning of a residential parcel in their neighborhood. Article 29, proposed by engineer...
Springwood residents seek answers after tree-cutting begins without warning to town
Public officials joined Springwood neighborhood residents in expressing surprise and frustration last week regarding a state-approved permit allowing a developer to cut down 60 acres of trees with no prior notification to the town, with concerns that a solar array was...
Real Estate Transactions, May 3 edition
Town Meeting Day 1 recap: Budget, school projects pass easily; session to continue Tuesday
Hopkinton’s Annual Town Meeting kicked off Monday night at the middle school auditorium with a robust turnout of about 500 voters — well above the 128 needed for a quorum — unanimously approving the fiscal year 2024 operating budget, among other budgetary items, after...
Former Deputy Police Chief Porter charged with raping student during time as Hopkinton’s school resource officer
Former Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief John “Jay” Porter, who was placed on administrative leave last year, has been charged with raping a student during his time as a school resource officer in town, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday....
Emotions high as School Committee candidates debate again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVevau5P1cE&t=583s The three candidates for the two available seats on the School Committee appeared in a debate Friday to illustrate their different perspectives as voters prepare to vote in the Annual Town Election on Monday, May...
Town counsel: Town Meeting cannot require UCTC to be disbanded via article on this year’s warrant
At Thursday's Upper Charles Trails Committee meeting, Assistant Town Manager Elaine Lazarus presented a report from town counsel regarding questions about the legality of two citizens’ petitions authored by resident Peter LaGoy that will be voted on at Annual Town...
School Committee candidates debate issues at Women’s Club forum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k91nI9SB5Bk School Committee candidates Ashley Fogg and Susan Stephenson took center stage as two of the three candidates vying for two open three-year terms during the annual Meet the Candidates Night held Wednesday night at the HCAM...