Dave’s Photo Blog

Although I love, and I mean love winter, there is one thing about spring that I really appreciate. I can start taking walks in the Middlesex Fells Reservation again without worrying about snow, mud and other off-season problems. Today was a perfect day for my first tip in with the kids in the new year. They love going on hikes and walks. They were begging me all day to go, but there was some pesky rain about and we had to wait until the afternoon. Still, there was plenty of time for a Medford Fells two-fer. Wright’s Tower and Panther Cave.

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Hilary Rappaport looks on through the window of the conference room, which is standing-room only, as Tim Cahill, the Chairperson of the Massachusetts School Building Authority Board of Directors, speaks. A few minutes later, she is able to get in the room to see the board vote to approve moving the Thompson Elementary School Statement of Interest (SOI) to the feasibility stage. While that doesn’t guarantee that the school will be rebuilt, it is a very important step forward in the process. If you couldn’t attend this important meeting, read on for a full summary and pictures.

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In a very positive development communicated by the office of State Senator Ken Donnelly, it was confirmed today that the consideration of the Thompson Elementary School will be on the Agenda for the March 25th meeting of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The Thompson Rebuild/Equity Task Force is urging as many people as possible to attend the meeting.

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Meg Moloney and Hilary Rappaport’s addresses to the Arlington school committee in last week’s meeting have led to the release of a lot of information about the condition of the school. Some of this information had been available previously. However, in light of the questions raised at the meeting, the equity task force, principal, fire department and concerned parents have distributed the most recent information about many of the issues highlighted by the school committee. Read on for a summary of all of it, good and bad.

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Two parents of students attending the Thompson Elementary School in East Arlington spoke before the school committee meeting last Tuesday. Their message was pretty clear: the concern in East Arlington over the condition of the school is turning into anger. In two articulate speeches, Meg Moloney and Hilary Rappaport took their frustration straight to the school committee.

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One of the best kept secrets in Arlington, Massachusetts might be the Regent Theatre in Arlington Center. If it is a secret, it shouldn’t be. This beautiful 500 seat theater is an amazing place to see a live performance. On Sunday, the Asperger’s Association of New England ran a benefit there with Ronnie Earl. It was a great cause with fantastic music in a wonderfully intimate setting.

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It snowed about a week ago, blanketing the icy crud that was the remnants of the winter of 2009 up until that point. It was cold and the weather held for much of the week. There are many kinds of snow, but this fresh coat was the best kind. It was powdery and dry, but without being fluffy and prone to the wind. And as the temperature started to rise at week’s end, the snow was quickly eviscerated, leaving fallen branches and snowplow ejecta wildly arranged in the diminishing piles.

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There’s been a bit of chatter about this little red hut in West Medford in a gallery in Facebook. The gallery is part of a Facebook group called Only people who aren’t from Medford call it Meffa!. And I thought that was pretty funny, so I joined and posted some photos of the West Medford Train Station. Time passes. Some comments are made about people drinking in the hut. I add my two cents. More time passes. And today, I am blogging about the hut because I was at the station this morning and things were a little different.

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I’ve been very late in writing up this story, which is about another abuse of gullible musicians by Fender®. OK, so I think Fender makes great guitars, but they really annoy me when they try to market their way into a new purchasing demographic. I wrote about this last fall when I pooh-poohed the Fender custom guitars that are replicas of instruments played by famous guitarists. But this line, the Fender Road Worn line, is even more insidious in its vacuous nature. These new Fender guitars and basses are supposed to look like vintage classics, and feel like old friends. Give me a break.

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I first saw Seth Glier perform at Johnny D’s last December in a show run by the New York Songwriter’s Circle. We got to talking and he agreed to do an artist profile for me. Seth released a full length album (his fourth), The Trouble With People, last fall. He has just embarked on an impressive tour in support of the album, playing from Montréal to Texas over the new few months. Seth is no stranger to the Boston area  – although he lives in Western Massachusetts, he attended the Berklee College of Music and has played in many of Boston’s venues. I caught up with Seth last week at C3 in Cambridge where he was playing with Ryan Hommel.

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