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Arlington was named the second greenest community in Greater Boston, according to a recent ranking by Boston Magazine.
Boston Magazine awarded points to each community based on 19 different factors, such as energy aggregation plans, the percentage of hybrid or electric municipal vehicles, online climate action promotion and the presence of a full-time climate action coordinator.
Each town could get a score from 1 to 5 in each category, making the maximum score of 95 points. Arlington scored 87 points, good enough for second on the list behind Cambridge, which scored 90 points.
The study praised Arlington s ability to secure funding for green initiatives through grant applications, as well as the leadership of Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine.
When COVID turned the world upside down last year, municipal governance didnât stop, but it did have to adapt. That adaptation could be key to making local democracy more accessible â even after we hopefully leave this pandemic in the rearview mirror.
As select board meetings and zoning hearings moved online, and officials and constituents alike could simply log on to Zoom to discuss important community issues instead of packing into town offices or a gymnasium, officials noticed an upside to going digital: meeting attendance is way up.
In Hinsdale, Richard Scialabba, who chairs the townâs Select Board and Planning Board, told The Eagle that âZoom makes it easier for everyone to be there.â The numbers donât lie: A recent Hinsdale Planning Board meeting saw about 100 residents log in to listen â more than twice the capacity of the townâs physical meeting room. Thatâs a considerable uptick in the amount of people able to join the conversat
Wendy Penner likes to be able to âpop inâ to a town government meeting remotely on her computer. ¶ Sheâll typically view discussion about the agenda item she finds of interest, possibly add a comment and then pop out of the meeting and get on with her evening. ¶ Penner, a member of the Williamstown COOL Committee, said she likes many aspects of the now-ubiquitous remote civic meetings through Zoom or other teleconferencing software.
âItâs like a whole new paradigm â a whole new world,â she said. âAnd a lot of it has been absolutely fabulous. I think there is a democratizing element in some ways. More people can access the meetings, and they donât have to rearrange their whole lives to go there in person.â