Climate Leader

Acton hailed as Climate Leader Community

May 18, 2025

by The Acton Exchange Team

Acton’s longtime commitment to sustainability was recognized on Friday as state officials designated the Town as a Climate Leader Community. The Town was one of 19 communities honored at a ceremony on Friday, May 2, at the construction site for Watertown’s new net-zero High School. To be recognized…

The Sponsors of Mass Save® recognize Acton-Boxborough as a 2024 Climate Leader in State House ceremony

February 1, 2025

by Diane Baum

The Acton-Boxborough School District was one of nineteen entities honored at the Massachusetts State House on January 21 for their commitment and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in support of the Commonwealth’s ambitious goal of achieving a net zero future. Tilak Subrahmanian, Vice President of Energy Efficiency…

Acton-Boxborough schools recognized as Climate Leader

October 12, 2024

by The Acton Exchange Team

On October 2, the sponsors of Mass Save® announced nineteen 2024 Mass Save Climate Leaders across Massachusetts, recognizing them for long-term commitments to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. One of the honorees was Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, specifically for the Boardwalk Campus project. That project allowed the…

State grant brings high school closer to clean energy goals

October 18, 2025

by Karen Root Watkins

In another step toward cost efficiency and clean energy goals, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is on track to replace eleven 1998-vintage gas-fired roof top air conditioning/heating units with new all-electric heat pump units. Superintendent Peter Light responded to the grant award of $500,000 from the Massachusetts Department…

ABRHS wins $500K grant for clean energy

September 13, 2025

by The Acton Exchange Team

The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has awarded Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) a $500,000 grant through the Green Communities Competitive Grant program, according to a press release from State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough), State Representative Simon Cataldo (D-Concord), and State Representative Danillo Sena (D-Acton). The funding will…

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Select Board Notes: June 2, 2025

June 7, 2025

by Tom Beals

Opening remarks: Acton-Boxborough School Committee members Tori Campbell and Leela Ramachandran referenced a memorandum to the Select Board concerning a budget amendment scheduled for a June 12 School Committee vote, and requested the Board to communicate its response to the School Committee. Board Chair Dean Charter commented on…

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School Committee June Update

July 5, 2024

by Diane Baum

School Committee Summer Workshop Focuses on Strategic Budgeting The School Committee held its annual summer workshop on June 24, which featured author, consultant, and speaker Nate Levenson of New Solutions K12. Levenson has helped over 250 school districts deploy creative solutions to decrease spending while maintaining high standards…

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School Committee end-of-year update

June 14, 2024

by Diane Baum

School Committee Considers a New Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) Policy Policy Subcommittee Chair Liz Fowlks reported on June 6 that the subcommittee has been working with the district Energy Manager, Kate Crosby, to develop a Zero Emissions Vehicles policy. If approved, the new policy, which was presented to…

Sunshine, speeches, and shared values at the 38th Annual Acton-Boxborough Democratic Picnic

October 11, 2025

by Greg Jarboe

The 38th Annual Acton-Boxborough Democratic Picnic took place on Sunday, September 28, 2025, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the NARA Park Picnic Pavilion in Acton. It was a beautiful late-September afternoon — warm and in the 80s — perfect picnic weather. Families from 10 or so towns…

Red House Pocket Park Launch Event

August 30, 2025

by Karen Root Watkins

The Town of Acton and the Acton Water District celebrated a new resilience project on August 20, with the launch of the “Red House Pocket Park” at 468 Main Street, across Woodbury Lane from Town Hall. The Pocket Park, though small, is an inviting green space with gardens,…

AB United Way becomes AB Community Compass

June 28, 2025

by David D. Martin

At their annual meeting on Wednesday, June 18, the organization previously known as Acton-Boxborough United Way announced a new name for the organization: Acton-Boxborough Community Compass — a name to capture the heart of their work and the direction they’re heading. According to organization leadership, the move away…

Democrats rally for democracy

March 8, 2025

by James Conboy

March 1, Acton-Boxborough High School Upper Gym: An assembly featuring six speakers, ranging from eighteen years old to the mid-sixties, attracted about four hundred people on Sunday afternoon, March 2. The event, organized by the Acton Democratic Town Committee (ADTC), was promoted with an online poster that asked…

Representatives Cataldo and Sena share legislative priorities

February 15, 2025

by Greg Jarboe

Acton has two state reps. State Rep. Simon Cataldo (14th Middlesex) represents Precincts 1, 2, 6, and 7 of Acton, while State Rep. Danillo Sena (37th Middlesex) represents 3, 4, 5, and 6A of the town. So, some voters think our community’s political clout is split in half,…

Acton staff and electeds learn and win an award at Connect 351

February 1, 2025

by Alissa Nicol

This past weekend, several elected and appointed leaders of Acton’s government attended the annual conference, newly named “Connect 351” and in a new venue, hosted by the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA). The number 351 is a reference to the 351 towns and cities in the Commonwealth. The MMA…

Changes in Economic Development bill break down barriers for immigrants

December 7, 2024

by The Acton Exchange Team

BOSTON – On Nov. 14, State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough) and State Representative Danillo Sena (D-Acton) voted in favor of a sweeping economic development bill which included a measure that will remove the citizenship requirement to securing a restaurant liquor license, a priority that both worked towards. The…

The Bulletin Board

December 7, 2024

by The Acton Exchange Team

The Bulletin Board The Acton Exchange team is working towards a new calendar function that allows more flexible and powerful access to Acton-relevant calendar information. In the meantime, short notices of upcoming events are published in the Bulletin Board. For now, email your Acton-relevant calendar notice (<150 words)…

Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness process invites feedback

November 22, 2024

by Karen Root Watkins

What would you do if a forest fire broke out in Acton? Does your household have a plan for where to go and where to meet? Weather extremes, such as the current drought, make these questions more immediate. The issue of wildfire is just one example of the…

Acton resident helps bring stoves and solar to Maasai people

October 19, 2024

by Meg Stafford

Acton resident Debra Strick first learned about Bob Lange’s ambitious mission to bring new stoves to the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania 14 years ago. A friend had contacted Strick, a marketing, fundraising, and communications professional, to see if she could help Lange get the word out about…

A grey-haired man and a woman stand next to a table that has a poster with the title "Oh Deer!" A girl stands on the other side of the table holding a certificate from the League of Women Voters that says "Excellence in Advocacy awarded to Elsa Meng.

Civics Fair held at RJ Grey Junior High School

June 14, 2024

by Leslie Hogan

Hundreds of students, parents, and community members gathered last week at a Civics Fair held at RJ Grey Junior High School. Student-led civics projects became part of the State of Massachusetts Junior High and High School curriculum through the enactment of S2631, an act to promote and enhance…

A man wearing a suit and a yarmulke talks with a very tall woman wearing a jacket and flowered dress. They are on the patio of a building (Congregation Beth Elohim) and there is a trellis in the background.

Representative Lori Trahan presents SUNNY Award to Congregation Beth Elohim

May 16, 2024

by Karen Root Watkins

U.S. Representative Lori Trahan visited Acton’s Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) on Sunday, May 5th, to present the U.S. Department of Energy SUNNY Award for CBE’s solar carport arrays project. The $12,500 SUNNY Award, one of only five in the nation, celebrates community solar projects deploying “best practices that…