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By Carol Britton Meyer There's no better way to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of spring and summer than to stop by the Beach House snack shop at Hingham Harbor, which opened this week for the season. The snack shop is located in the new Bathing Beach bathhouse/community room building. Beach food and a variety of ice cream flavors -- everyone's favorite on a sunny day! -- are available, with a spectacular view of the harbor from the deck. The owners of Stars on Hingham Harbor, Tosca, Caffe Tosca, and Fireking -- which are all part of Eat Well, Inc. -- opened the Beach House for the first time last fall to rave reviews and are looking forward to a very busy season. Tosca Chef Kevin Long is overseeing the snack shop kitchen and creating the menu items. "It's a really nice spot, where families and other customers can sit on a blanket or beach chair by the water while enjoying a hamburger, hotdog, lobster roll, taco, and other offerings -- and an ice cream!" Fireking owner Greg Acerra said recently. "That's what summer is all about!" Hours of operation are seven days a week, from the end of April until October 1 and maybe later, 11:30 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. to begin with, and likely until later during the peak season.  By Carol Britton Meyer
Mark your calendars! The date of Town Meeting 2021 has been postponed from Monday, April 26, to Saturday, May 8, at 2 p.m., to allow for an outdoor session due to the pandemic. The rain dates are the following weekend -- Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, at the same time -- because May 9 is Mother's Day. The Selectmen recently voted in favor of reducing the usual 300 quorum to convene a Town Meeting to 200 due to COVID-19 considerations, which is allowed under state law. The in-person town election has been rescheduled to Saturday, May 22. The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. As an alternative to in-person voting on the day of the election, vote-by-mail applications are available at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/2021-Vote-by-Mail-Application.pdf or by calling or emailing the Hingham Town Clerk's office: (781) 741-1410 or [email protected]. There are five races in the town election: Selectman, Town Clerk, board of health, municipal light board, and board of assessors, which makes for a busy election season! By Carol Britton Meyer The proposed $15.3 million improvement project for the Route 3A, Hingham Rotary, and Summer Street corridor includes a permanent "road diet" and shared-use waterfront paths. The proposal -- which has been in the development stage for more than a decade -- includes a safer modern roundabout replacing the current rotary, new sidewalks, updated traffic signals, and a 10-foot shared-use path with a buffer along the waterfront -- all part of the effort to make the harbor front safer and more user-friendly for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. The permanent "road diet" on Summer Street between Martins Lane and the Rotary involves the elimination of one lane in each direction along that stretch. A 2018 pilot "road diet" -- deemed a success by town officials -- was a cooperative effort among Hingham, Hull, and Cohasset town officials due to speeding issues and the high number of accidents that posed serious safety concerns in that area. Most of the costs will be paid with state and federal dollars, with Hingham covering the design costs. This year's Hingham Town Meeting will be asked to appropriate $200,000 to pay for the remaining design engineering work through construction, in addition to earlier-approved funding for this purpose, totaling $819,000 for Hingham's share. The Town of Hingham would need to commit to the full design and related funding in order for the project to move forward.   By Carol Britton Meyer
There's good news for ferry and commuter rail riders! The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board voted recently to resume as soon as possible full weekend commuter rail, Hull/Hingham ferry, subway, and bus service, which all experienced cutbacks a few months ago due to COVID-related low ridership numbers. A specific timeline has not yet been set, however. The decision was made to restore service to pre-COVID-19 levels even though ridership is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in the near future. The Towns of Cohasset, Hingham, Hull, and Scituate earlier teamed up to launch the “Save the Greenbush-Save the Boat” campaign in opposition to proposed cuts to transit services on the South Shore. This group, and the "Save the Ferry" grassroots campaign advocating for the continued operation of Hull/Hingham commuter ferry service, played a major role in the T's earlier decision to take the proposed suspension of the Hull/Hingham ferry line off the table. Cheers to members of these two groups for making a difference!  By Carol Britton Meyer
The Advisory Committee and Selectmen have unanimously voted to support the proposed $61.8 million school budget for the coming year, which includes 32 new positions to help address the learning gap experienced by students as a result of the pandemic and associated social-emotional issues. In addition, AdCom and the Selectmen support an overall fiscal 2022 $132 million town budget -- including the schools, municipal departments, capital outlay, and shared expenses. Four new positions are included on the municipal side. Voters at the May 8 Town Meeting will have the final say on the municipal and school budgets. Funding is in place for fiscal 2022, but how the costs associated with the new positions will be funded in the future is a concern and will likely lead to an override vote in 2022, Selectmen Chair Mary Power predicted recently. In the meantime, the Advisory Committee and Selectmen will be working with the School Committee to craft a long-term strategic plan for the schools to help address budget and other issues and to create a path forward. |
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March 2024
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