Bob Holmes

2 weeks ago | sapiens.org | Bob Holmes

This article was originally published at Knowable Magazine and has been republished under Creative Commons. ✽LISTEN CAREFULLY TO a spoken conversation and you’ll notice that the speakers use a lot of little quasi-words—“mm-hmm,” “um,” “huh?,” and the like—that don’t convey any information about the topic of the conversation itself.

2 weeks ago | homenewshere.com | Bob Holmes

READING – Maybe it was just a coincidence that on the day the fourth quarter tax bills arrived in resident’s mailboxes, Reading held a joint community forum on the Killam School and the Reading Center For Active Living projects at the RMHS Performing Arts Center. The purpose of Wednesday’s forum was to inform residents why Reading is asking them for $130 million to build a new Killam School and $27.9 million to build a new senior/community center.

4 weeks ago | homenewshere.com | Bob Holmes

READING – Tuesday’s third Reading Center for Active Living Forum was filled with assurances to the senior community that they were top dog in the new center. It also had numbers to show the effect of what a new senior/community center and a new Killam School would do to resident’s taxes. “There will be 60-plus activities all day, every day,” said Community Services Director Jenna Wood.

1 month ago | homenewshere.com | Bob Holmes

READING – While the arcade game whack-a-mole isn’t normally a big part of Select Board meetings, you can thank Mark Dockser for using the 50-year-old Japanese game as a launching point to discuss Reading’s future. Tuesday night the board discussed the need for a new Master Plan, how best to prioritize the Capital Plan, and what to do with the Pleasant Street Center.

1 month ago | homenewshere.com | Bob Holmes

READING – With shiny new trash carts coming to households across Reading next month, the Select Board Tuesday approved a new contract for what to do with the yucky stuff you put inside them. On a 5-0 vote, the board approved a six-year contract with Reworld, a Haverhill company formerly known as Covanta. Reworld serves 30 communities from its Haverhill facility. Reworld isn’t the company that comes and picks up your trash. It’s the place those big blue garbage trucks take the trash.