Community - Page 2

Java with John: Budgets, buildings, and the everyday work of running Acton

December 20, 2025
On a cold December morning at the Senior Center, Acton Town Manager John Mangiaratti did what he has been doing since 2018: shared coffee, invited questions, and offered residents a candid look at how their town is being run. The December 12 edition of Java with John featured a wide-ranging discussion of budgets, construction projects, housing, traffic, energy, and public safety, grounded, not in abstractions, but in the practical realities of municipal governance. Mangiaratti opened with a reminder that while most residents are thinking about the end of calendar year 2025, town officials are already halfway through Fiscal Year 2026.…

The Bulletin Board – December 6, 2025

December 6, 2025
What’s happening today in Acton? Tomorrow? —––––––––> See the Calendar. <–––––––––– Reminder to readers: Our front page can’t hold all the news. To see all of this week’s new articles, go to the All News page. The Acton Exchange Bulletin Board is for volunteer opportunities and other announcements…
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Board of Health Notes: November 5, 2025

December 6, 2025
Environmental health At the November 5 meeting of the Board of Health (the Board), Acton Environmental Health Director Matthew Dow provided updates to the Board. With the end of year fast approaching, the Health Department (the Department) was trying its best to get all inspections completed, as well…

The future on display at DiscoverSTEM 2025

November 22, 2025
Robot ring-toss, AI demos, and hands-on technology drew more than 500 students and families to DiscoverSTEM 2025 at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (AB) on Friday, November 7, for a career exploration night. Hosted by AB STEAM, DiscoverSTEM featured 48 exhibitors, including tech companies, university research labs, industry experts,…

Acton Woman’s Club celebrates its 110th anniversary

November 22, 2025
On October 25, the Acton Woman’s Club (AWC), the oldest continuing organization in town, celebrated its 110th Anniversary with a cocktail party at its Acton Center historic Clubhouse. Invited guests included Town and State officials. Commendations were presented by Select Board chair Dean Charter, and State Senator Jamie…

Boxborough principal spends a night on the roof

November 22, 2025
Blanchard principal Michael Votto is a man of his word, even if it means sleeping on the school roof on a night that hovered near freezing. Earlier this year, Principal Votto made a challenge to the Blanchard Parents, Teachers and Friends (PTF) group. If they raised $25,000 during…

The Bulletin Board – November 22, 2025

November 22, 2025
What’s happening today in Acton? Tomorrow? —––––––––> See the Calendar. <–––––––––– Reminder to readers: Our front page can’t hold all the news. To see all of this week’s new articles, go to the All News page. The Acton Exchange Bulletin Board is for volunteer opportunities and other announcements…
A pen and ink drawing of a kitchen counterand sink piled high with dirty dishes. In the foreground, a pair of legs rests on the sofa.

Acton Exchange takes nap(s)

November 22, 2025
The Acton Exchange Editorial and Tech teams will be taking a few rest periods this holiday season. We will not publish an issue on Thanksgiving week, and we will also take a break for two weeks from Christmas through New Year’s. Our experience with past vacations shows us…
A composite of eight people, all standing in front of the microphone telling their stories.

“Moth”-style storytelling at Community Compass

November 22, 2025
The Moth-style story night last week at Acton Boxborough Community Compass (ABCC) was one of many storytelling events over the past many years organized as fundraisers for the ABCC (formerly Acton-Boxborough United Way), produced by Acton resident David Gerratt’s Fugitive Productions. On Wednesday, November 12, a full house…

Acton-Boxborough Community Band performs show tunes

November 22, 2025
Thursday, November 13 was a wonderful evening for lovers of show music. The Acton-Boxborough Community Band, led by Conductor Dr. David Manuel Garcia, performed a concert they called “All the World’s a Stage”. The band performed in the Douglas/Gates cafeteria, presenting a program of music from well-known stage…

Friends of Pine Hawk takes a field trip to Hockomock Swamp

November 22, 2025
On a bright and clear All Saints Day, more than a dozen hikers joined former town conservation staffer Bettina Abe and historian Dan Boudillion, author of “History of the Nashobah Praying Indians: Doings, Sufferings, Survival, and Triumph,” for a hike through the Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area (WMA)…
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Select Board Notes – November 17, 2025

November 22, 2025
Opening remarks Hearing: Marcus Lewis Racquet Club permits It was standing room only in Town Hall’s Faulkner Room as the Board returned to the application of Marcus Lewis for permits to build racquet sports facilities at 45 Nagog Park and 62 Nonset Path. The Acton Exchange previously reported…

AB’s fall arts season brings Broadway, jazz, and student creativity to local stages

November 15, 2025
This autumn, Acton-Boxborough students are transforming school auditoriums into professional-grade performance venues, offering the community a rich lineup of musical theater, choral concerts, and instrumental showcases. From Broadway classics to student-directed a cappella groups, the district’s middle and high school arts programs are delivering quality entertainment right in…

A superpower hacked Littleton’s water supply

November 15, 2025
Littleton, Massachusetts, is a quiet “bedroom community” of about 10,000 residents. It is the kind of place that seems a world away from the high-stakes chess match of global geopolitics. With no major military base or obvious connection to national security, it is, by all accounts, an ordinary…

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