Marlborough City Council President, Arthur G. Vigeant, candidate for State Representative for the 4^th Middlesex District, announced today that he has received the endorsement of Marlborough Mayor Nancy E. Stevens and several of his City Council colleagues in his bid to replace former Representative Stephen LeDuc who resigned his seat several months ago. On Monday, August 18, Mayor Stevens and fellow City Councilors Joe Delano, Paul Ferro, Scott Schafer, Rob Seymour, Steve Levy, Trisha Pope and Mike Ossing joined Arthur for a photo opportunity endorsing his run for the now vacant seat in the Massachusetts Legislature for the 4^th Middlesex District.

Of Vigeant’s bid for office, Mayor Stevens said, “No one is more dedicated, committed and knowledgeable of our community than Arthur Vigeant. His passion for our City is unsurpassed. I look forward as Mayor having Arthur represent this City on Beacon Hill.”

Vigeant acknowledged the enthusiastic support from Marlborough’s Mayor, “It is certainly an honor to receive the Mayor’s support. I have worked with Mayor Stevens for many years in her roles on the School Committee, City Council and now as Mayor. There has always been a cooperative spirit between us, even when we had opposing views. To receive the Mayor’s official endorsement for this state race illustrates for the voters of Marlborough and the entire district that she is confident that I am the best candidate for this position given our accomplishments together over the years. Success in the City’s plan of government is directly related to the cooperation between the Mayor and City Council. Without that cooperation – which must be reciprocal – nothing much gets accomplished. Being a long sitting member of the City Council, I have seen it both ways. The City benefits when officials from both sides of the political spectrum work together for what is best for their constituents, leaving politics behind.”

Vigeant had these words to say in regard to the overwhelming support of City Councilors. “As far as getting the show of support from my fellow councilors, words can hardly explain how proud I am that they support my bid for state office. In political office, you meet and work with many people. I have been lucky in getting to know so many fine and talented men and women over the fifteen years that I have served as Marlborough City Councilor-at-Large. I am thrilled today that seven of my colleagues have been able to support my candidacy. I understand, however, that due to party affiliations, other councilors have decided not to publicly support me. In the end, it feels so much better when people you work with week after week and, in some cases, year after year, can step up to the plate and support your efforts. For this, I will be forever grateful.”

Having the support of Mayor Nancy Stevens and seven sitting City Councilors in Marlborough’s municipal government – crossing party lines – shows the kind of cooperation Arthur Vigeant has encouraged and will continue to encourage at the State House.

Ed Mills, a Democratic candidate for state representative in the Eighth Middlesex District, received the endorsement of Worcester Sheriff Guy W. Glodis. "Ed Mills will be a prolific advocate for public safety," Glodis said.

Ed is the son of a Boston police officer. During Ed’s early career, he served as a corrections officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after completing training classes at the Massachusetts State Police Academy. Afterwards, Ed’s family founded a private fingerprinting company. Ed Mills is considered an FBI credentialed fingerprinter.

Ed Mills will fight for the resources for each town’s police department to keep the towns safe and clean. In particular, he will find creative strategies to fund the staffs’ necessary long-term training needs for community policing and homeland security.

Preliminary Office Park Ideas for Verizon Property unveiled

Last night at a joint meeting of the Southborough Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board along with other town officials, William S. Zielinski of SKW Partners, Inc and Al Spagnolo of Spagnolo Gisness and Associates Inc. presented their first presentation of what they would like to bring to the town.

In December of 2007, SKW Partners purchased the property at 325 Turnpike Road from Verizon. Verizon currently is still utilizing the warehouse. Mr. Zielinski visions a high end office complex with courtyards and open spaces. He spoke that the buildings would be environmentally friendly and utilizing some of the newest energy savings techniques.

Currently the Verizon warehouse is around 350,000 SF. SKW Partners would like to have the area rezoned so that they would be allowed to build under their first option which is a campus style that would include 987,000 SF of office space within two five story, two four story and two parking structures. Currently the town of Southborough allows three stories. Another option being looked at would be 712,000 SF with several buildings no higher than the three stories.

The new owners have approached the MA Highway department requesting a bridge preferably rather than the flyover that EMC was requesting. The bridge seems to work better for the Verizon property allowing the owners to incorporate more features and a smoother flow of traffic rather than the traffic light, which under the Flyover still incorporates the light.

After the PowerPoint presentation the meeting was open to the boards, town officials and town residents several questions and points were raised. Several residents of the abutting Orchard Road were very concerned with the height of four and five story buildings and the view that might be seen from their homes. Other concerns were traffic, hours of operation and lighting and how they might affect the neighborhood. Planning Board member Don Morris explained to the developers and the audience the master plan and then work the new committee is doing and emphasized that Southborough is a town of Neighborhoods and they like to protect the neighborhoods. Mrs. Phaneuf explained that the business district is on route 9 and that she would like to see more tax revenue from these parcels on Route 9 that are coming up for development.

Mr. John Bartolini spoke about the overlay zoning and as a commercial land owner across the street would special overlays on the properties devalue the smaller individual owners. Mr. Zielinski did not think so but offered to speak with Mr. Bartolini in the future about his concerns. Planning Board member Mary Hynes mentioned that she has been at many meetings where PowerPoint presentations were made and initial concessions hammered out to only have town meeting approve re-zoning and then the developer disappear with the promises. Selectman Boland made sure that the residents attending the meeting knew that this was a very preliminary meeting and advised the residents of Orchard Road to gather the residents together, appoint spokespersons and to work with the developer.

SKW Partners, Inc. will be initiating within the next few months applications to MEPA and the various town boards to get the process moving so that at the Annual Town meeting a zoning article can be drawn. Mr. Zielinski said that he has approached the town with a “not down your throat” attitude and looks forward to working with all concerned.

Classes for students 8 years to advanced levels offered are for Classical Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern and Adult Classes.

  266 Main St. in Northborough. Enjoy family fun with children’s Giant Inflatable Play Land, plus lots of games and activities for kids and adults. The fun also includes prizes, sweet treats, a flea market, the $10,000 Mega Cash Raffle, Sweepstakes Raffle, sports and gift basket raffles, Bingo, and more. General admission is free.

For the first time, the Festival will host a Children’s Favorite Character Breakfast and Magic Show where kids can eat with Elmo, Dora, Batman, Sponge Bob, and other favorite friends. A Teen Dance including pizza, soda, and chaperones begins at 7 PM on Saturday. Dinner at the festival, Porketta on Friday and BBQ Chicken on Saturday, is a tasty tradition.

Tickets for the $10,000 Mega Cash Raffle are on sale now. All-Access ride passes, Mega Cash tickets, and tickets for special events can be purchased in advance by calling 508-393-2838 or emailing: stbernadetteparish@charter.net or visit: www.stb-parish.org for a complete schedule of events.

The St. Bernadette School and Parish community includes over 26 area communities, including Southborough. All Festival proceeds will benefit parish and school programs including financial aid, academics, athletics and the arts

“Building for the Future”

Algonquin Regional High School

79 Bartlett Street, Northborough, Massachusetts

Grand Opening

You are invited to attend

An Open House and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

of the

Addition and Renovation

to

Algonquin Regional High School

on

Thursday, September 4, 2008

from

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Other events: guided tours, showcase of student work,

department highlights and refreshments

by Barbara Kingsolver

Holliston -- From his campaign headquarters, Edward J. Mills of Hopkinton is announcing a petition drive starting this Saturday. At this point in his race to secure the state representative seat on Primary Election Day for the Democratic Party, Mr. Mills has knocked on over 3,000 doors in the communities of Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway, Southborough, and Westborough. Among the issues he has heard from the voters is that it is wrong for commuters in metro-west to shoulder the burden of paying for the Big Dig fiasco. Just this week the Secretary of Transportation has gone on record telling us that there will be no tolls on Route 93, information on where relief will not come from but no information on help for the commuters of metro-west. Friday, the head of the Mass Turnpike called for the elimination of the fast lane discount. This is the equivalent of an immediate toll increase for metro-west communities. Enough is enough!