The 10 Most Popular Lexington Patch Posts of 2012

A special education scandal, politics, prostitutes, personal tragedy and an apocalypse that wasn’t: A look back at the year that was in Lexington.

  It’s almost impossible to be objective when considering the biggest stories of any given year. An issue of the utmost importance to one person or group may matter not at all to another segment of the population. And so, as we look back onthe year at the year that was in Lexington, we're leaving the deciding up to you – or to UVs, to be more precise. What you’ll find below are the top Lexington Patch posts in terms of pageviews, which is to say these are most widely read stories, polls, updates and photos galleries from 2012.    What you won’t find in the list below is our coverage of the Busa Land and its farming future, the redevelopment of the Dana Home as the Inn at Hastings Park, Hurricane Sandy or the start of Lexington’s …

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Older Man Allegedly Exposes Himself to Couple Near Arlington Reservoir

The alleged incident took place Sunday evening on a walking path near Busa Farms and the town Lexington line.

An older man allegedly exposed himself Sunday evening to a couple walking along the Arlington Reservoir. Police were called to the area of Reservoir Beach at about 6:09 p.m. on Oct. 21. There, the reporting party said he was walking with his wife on the path near Busa Farms, on the Lexington town line, when they saw a man just off the path looking at them with his pants around his ankles. The man was “blatantly” touching himself in an “inappropriate” manner, the reporting party told police. He described the man as older, most likely in his 50s, with “disheveled” gray hair, a blue jacket and shirt. He said the man had chest hair popping out of his shirt. The man “was in no rush,” according to the reporting party. He eventually pulled his …

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Farming in the Face of a Future Uncertain (Photos)

In what's probably his penultimate growing season on the family land, Lexington farmer Dennis Busa reflects on the past, present and future of his family’s farm.

  It’s a grey and rainy Friday afternoon down on the farm and Dennis Busa is replacing an old tractor's worn out bolts with some shiny new ones. It's a fairly ordinary task but, in some ways, it reflects a larger change taking root here in East Lexington. Busa Farms is in transition in ways that have nothing to do with the weather or growing season. This historic farm is readying for its journey from its old, familiar family-owned status to an uncertain future as a “community farm” owned by the town of Lexington. In what's probably his penultimate growing season on the family land, Lexington farmer Dennis Busa spoke to Patch about the past, present and future of the farm. A Brief History of Busa Farms Busa Farms, an 8-acre parcel in East …

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For the Busa Land, Community Farming’s Another Year Away

But an Agricultural Committee could be in the immediate future.

  Over the past several weeks, the Board of Selectmen have heard from a lot of concerned residents concerning the state of a request for proposal to operate a community farm on the town-owned Busa Farms parcel in East Lexington. At their Sept. 24 meeting, the selectmen's took some time to try and answer public concerns and re-evaluate an RFP regarding the farm. Ultimately, the board saw the need to wait another year to complete the RFP and expressed the desire to create an Agricultural Committee to study the avenues for either a for-profit or not-for-profit organization to take over the farm. Public Comments Addressed The selectmen began by detailing all the questions they have received regarding the farm and its future, queries like, What…

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Busa Land: Officials Soliciting Comments on Draft RFP

Feedback will be accepted through Sept. 21.

Lexington’s Board of Selectmen has drafted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for leasing the Busa Farm property for agricultural use, and is socliciting comments on the RFP until Sept. 21. Those comments should be sent to selectmen@lexingtonma.gov, and questions should be addressed to the Selectmen's Office at that email address or or 781-862-0500 x208, according to a press release from the town. The town purchased the Busa Farm property on Lowell Street back in 2009 and, earlier this year, officials opted to move forward with a plan to keep the land largely in agricultural use, with a smaller portion reserved for affordable housing. Playing fields were also part of the consideration, dating back to the original proposal to use Community …

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Housing Limited to Half of Lowell Street Stretch of Busa Land

Selectmen delineate half the length of Busa Land streetscape for four units of affordable housing; details about housing design and community farm still TBD.

New housing will occupy no more than half of the stretch of the town-owned Busa Land along Lowell Street and that had been under consideration for as many as eight new units. In a 3-to-2 vote on Monday, July 30, the Board of Selectmen decided the property would hold four units of housing on a strip of land not exceed half of the frontage along Lowell and only as deep as the least practical need.  The nay votes belonged to selectmen Hank Manz and Peter Kelley. Manz would have preserved more of the Lowell Street frontage to allow more flexibility on the housing plan, while Kelley hoped to limit footprint to one-third of the land along Lowell Street. In later discussion, the selectmen and Town Manager Carl Valente took up a series of …

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Patrick Ball

11:05 am on Friday, August 3, 2012

Indeed it was a complicated vote. To add a little more context, Hank actually changed his vote to vote in favor of the amendment after originally voting against. What appeared to change his mind was that the chair -- whose vote I'll admit that I did not hear -- announced that the board was 3-2 against expanding from one-third of the frontage to half. Hank then said he would vote iin favor of …   more ›

Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: July 30

Busa Land at the BOS, a paint and pour business looking at Lexington, plus three other things you need to know today.

1. Busa Back at the BOS: Among the agenda items tonight for the Board of Selectmen include "Busa Land Use Delineation" and policy questions regarding the Cmmunity Farming Draft RFP. The open session portion of the meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Town Office Building. 2. Paint and Sip Concept: Another item on the selectmen's agenda is a concept for a liquor license at a "Paint and Sip Establishment." For an idea of what that might mean, there's a business called the "Paint 'n Pour" in Maynard Center. 3. Waldo's Still on the Lam in Lexington: Throughout the month of July, the Elephant's Trunk Bookshop is hosting a month-long scavanger hunt for the red-striped Waldo hidding in 20 local businesses. Waldo spotters will be eligible for prizes, …

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Week in Review: March 18 to March 24

A look back at the week that was in Lexington.

Monday was the day many had been waiting for: The Board of Selectmen decided about a use for the Busa Farms property and moved to move forward with a request for proposal to operate a community farm on the town-owned parcel in East Lexington. Later in the week, Patch caught up with Recreation Director Karen Simmons to get the recreation reaction to the selectmen’s decision not to include a playing field on the nearly eight-acre parcel. Simmons said they’ll keep looking for land elsewhere in town, and consider some out-of-the-box ways of improving utilization of existing playing fields. Our Best of Patch Readers’ Choice poll this week sought your favorite place to work out in Lexington, and Get In Shape for Women edged out Fitness Together…

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Recreation Reacts to Busa Land Use Decision

Playing fields are not in the future plans for the town-owned Busa Farms property.

The Board of Selectmen’s decision Monday night to move forward with plans for a community farm on the bulk of the Busa Farms property and affordable housing along Lowell Street left no room for playing fields on the almost-eight acre parcel. While disappointed, recreation supporters haven’t spent the past few days sulking. Rather, they’re already moving on to the “out-of-the-box thinking” they anticipate must be done to meet the recreational needs of the Lexington community, particularly as it pertains to playing fields. “Tuesday was another day,” said Director of Recreation Karen Simmons on Wednesday afternoon. “You get knocked down, you get back up and start looking.” They’re looking for land, yes, but there’s a limited availability of …

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A Farming Future for the Busa Land

The Board of Selectmen officially decided Monday, March 19, to pursue a community farm on the bulk of the town-owned Busa Land.

For several generations now the Busa Land in East Lexington has been a working farm, and its newish owner—the town of Lexington—doesn't plan on upsetting the status quo anytime soon. The Board of Selectmen officially decided Monday, March 19, to pursue a community farm on the bulk of the almost 8-acre parcel, which the town purchased for a little more than $4 million in 2009. The remainder of the property will be used for affordable housing, but the size and scope of that project is yet to be determined. Earlier this month, the Board of Selectmen had designated uses for the property as open space and affordable housing, as is required under the Community Preservation Act, which was used to purchase the Busa property. On Monday, the …

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