The Harvard Press

02/28/2025

The Harvard Select Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to censure former Select Board Chair Don Ludwig and request that he resign his seat on the board immediately. The action was in response to numerous complaints by residents about his posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, denigrating women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community.

The Harvard Select Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to censure former Select Board Chair Don Ludwig and request that he resign his seat on the board immediately. The action was in response to numerous complaints by residents about his posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, denigrat...

02/26/2025

MassDevelopment announced this week that interim Executive Vice President of Devens Operations Meg Delorier can now remove the word “interim” from her title.

https://harvardpress.com/News/News-Articles/massdevelopment-appoints-delorier-permanent-executive-vp-for-devens

02/26/2025

Select Board censures former Chair Don Ludwig and requests his immediate resignation

The Harvard Select Board voted unanimously tonight to censure former Select Board Chair Don Ludwig and request his immediate resignation in response to numerous complaints by residents about his posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

The Harvard Select Board voted unanimously tonight to censure former Select Board Chair Don Ludwig and request his immediate resignation in response to numerous complaints by residents about his posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, denigrating women, people of color, and members of th...

02/24/2025

I have two growing boys currently consuming four dozen eggs per week, on average, plus a daughter who delights in baked goods. I headed to Roche Bros. supermarket in Acton midweek to replenish my supply and suffered sticker shock when I paid $7.50 for a dozen eggs.

Photo 1: Arlene Genova pets Sky while Lovey (left) and Snowy (right) wait their turns. (Photo by Julie Gowel)

Photo 2: A Silkie Bantam. (Courtesy photo)

https://harvardpress.com/Features/Feature-Articles/more-than-just-eggs-why-raising-chickens160is-a-labor-of-love-not-a-money-saver

02/21/2025

All is going well with the $7.1 million project to connect Harvard’s water supply to the Devens water system. At the Water Commission’s Feb. 5 meeting, Tighe & Bond engineers said the project is on track to meet the scheduled 2026 completion date within budget. The commission also began discussing betterment fees for all the properties along Depot Road, which will be able to replace their existing well water with Devens water, which is treated for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

https://harvardpress.com/News/News-Articles/devens-water-connection-on-schedule160commission-mulls-betterment-fees

02/19/2025

Last week, as the Select Board contemplated a deficit of nearly $1.3 million for the town’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget, the members debated whether to give final approval to a 3.19% cost-of-living increase for the town’s nonunion employees. The raise is already accounted for in the budget, so it would not increase that deficit, but the Select Board had never officially approved the amount.

https://harvardpress.com/News/News-Articles/select-board-approves160cost-of-living-increase-for160nonunion-town-employees

02/18/2025

BREAKING: Select Board Chair Don Ludwig said Monday afternoon in an email to his colleagues that effective immediately he is resigning his position as chair of the Select Board and suspending his campaign for reelection.

https://harvardpress.com/News/Breaking-News/ludwig-resigns-as-select-board-chair-suspends-campaign-for-reelection-as-online-tweets-draw-resident-complaints

02/17/2025

Faced with rising costs, the School Committee voted this week to approve a number of new or increased fees to take effect in fiscal 2026. The fees cover parking, bus transportation, sports, and preschool tuition. They are expected to produce about $54,000 in revenue. Together with a proposed savings of $12,000 in technology leases, the income would allow the schools to reduce the amount the schools are seeking in the omnibus budget by about $66,000.

Faced with rising costs, the School Committee voted this week to approve a number of new or increased fees to take effect in fiscal 2026. The fees cover parking, bus transportation, sports, and preschool tuition. They are expected to produce about $54,000 in revenue. Together with a proposed savings...

02/17/2025

Thanks to an increase in the Community Preservation Act surcharge on property taxes and a change in accounting protocol, the Community Preservation Committee has over $1.7 million in its coffers to spend for fiscal 2026. It is recommending using all but $175,000 to pay for projects that include a down payment on renovating McCurdy Track and a hefty contribution to the Conservation Commission to build its reserves to preserve open space.

Thanks to an increase in the Community Preservation Act surcharge on property taxes and a change in accounting protocol, the Community Preservation Committee has over $1.7 million in its coffers to spend for fiscal 2026. It is recommending using all but $175,000 to pay for projects that include a do...

02/16/2025

Members of the Finance Committee gathered Tuesday—fiscal doctors in a fiscal intensive care unit—to ponder treatment of the projected $1.2 million gap between town revenue and expenses in next fiscal year’s fevered budget.

Members of the Finance Committee gathered Tuesday—fiscal doctors in a fiscal intensive care unit—to ponder treatment of the projected $1.2 million gap between town revenue and expenses in next fiscal year’s fevered budget. There was one bit of good news. The School Committee’s decision this ...

02/11/2025

The Harvard Public Library hosted a “Tiny Art” show Saturday, Jan. 25, in Volunteers Hall. While the pieces on exhibit were no larger than a Post-It note, the creativity shown by the artists was enormous.

Photo caption: Connie Barton’s miniature sweater on view at the Tiny Art show required tiny knitting needles. (Photo by Jen Manell)

https://www.harvardpress.com/Features/Feature-Articles/tiny-art-show-highlights-talent-of-all-ages.

02/10/2025

Town Election: How to run for office

There are a total of seven open seats in the May 6 election. All terms start immediately after the election, except for the terms of School Committee members, which start on the first business day of July after the election.

The Select Board is a five-person board with three-year terms; two seats are open. Terms are expiring for board members Don Ludwig and Charles Oliver. Ludwig is running for reelection, but Oliver is not.

The School Committee is a five-person committee with three-year terms; one seat is open. Committee member Suzie Allen, whose term is expiring, is not running for reelection.

Harvard Public Library Trustees serve three-year terms on a six-person board; two seats are open. Terms are expiring for Stacie Cassat Green and Marty Green. Stacie is running for reelection; Marty is not.

Warner Free Lecture Trustees serve three-year terms on a six-person board; two seats are open. Sheila Simollardes’ term is expiring, and she is running for reelection. The second seat is currently vacant.

There are a total of seven open seats in the May 6 election. All terms start immediately after the election, except for the terms of School Committee members, which start on the first business day of July after the election. The Select Board is a five-person board with three-year terms; two seats ar...

02/09/2025

The Town Caucus may have fallen victim to the pandemic, but this is still nomination season. Would-be candidates have a little more than five weeks to collect signatures on nomination papers if they want to run for one of the seven open seats in this year’s May 6 Town Election. Two seats on the Select Board are up for grabs, along with one seat on the School Committee, and two each on the Library Trustees and Warner Free Lecture Trustees.

The Town Caucus may have fallen victim to the pandemic, but this is still nomination season. Would-be candidates have a little more than five weeks to collect signatures on nomination papers if they want to run for one of the seven open seats in this year’s May 6 Town Election. Two seats on the Se...

02/09/2025

Local leaders and elected officials have reacted quickly to a new federal directive allowing immigration agents to make arrests at schools and churches—locations where they were previously barred. The directive, issued Tuesday, Jan. 21, reversed a policy that had been in effect since 2011 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and since 2013 for Customs and Border Protection.

Local leaders and elected officials have reacted quickly to a new federal directive allowing immigration agents to make arrests at schools and churches—locations where they were previously barred. The directive, issued Tuesday, Jan. 21, reversed a policy that had been in effect since 2011 for Immi...

02/06/2025

Even as the School Committee and district administrators struggle to lower their budget requests for the next fiscal year, school expenses for the current year are running ahead of budget. And more than $180,000 the schools received as rental income or applied for as reimbursement from the federal government sits in the town’s general fund, inaccessible to either the town or the schools.

Even as the School Committee and district administrators struggle to lower their budget requests for the next fiscal year, school expenses for the current year are running ahead of budget. And more than $180,000 the schools received as rental income or applied for as reimbursement from the federal g...

02/04/2025

Harvard’s Bodylines Pilates studio celebrated its move to a new location on Friday, Jan 24, with an open house that offered complimentary classes and light refreshments. Eager to welcome clients into the bright, spacious, second floor suite at 198 Ayer Road, owner Kim Casto treated current members and curious visitors to tours and free mini-classes held throughout the day.

Photo: Louise Helmer cues an introductory jump-board class on the reformers at the Bodylines grand reopening, Friday, Jan. 24. Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz

https://www.harvardpress.com/Features/Feature-Articles/bodylines-pilates-finds-a-bright-future160in-its-new-light-filled-location

02/02/2025

During the cold, bleak months of winter, the town turns its attention to how to spend its money in the coming fiscal year. The Capital Planning and Investment Committee typically gets its work done in January, and this year members voted to recommend spending $1,992,000 for a variety of purposes, from buying land for a new athletic field to replacing the seats in Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School.

https://www.harvardpress.com/News/News-Articles/cpic-recommends-nearly-2-million-in-capital-spending-for-fiscal-2026

02/01/2025

The latest financial forecast for fiscal 2026 landed like a worrisome medical diagnosis this week, with bad news for taxpayers and challenges for the town’s providers of services.

https://www.harvardpress.com/News/News-Articles/balancing-the-budget-another-year-of160hard-choices