Barnd

The following letters from ACMi employees were submitted to the editor in response to this Boston Globe story by Hiawatha Bray.

Wow.

Read your column from Sept. 25, “In Arlington, an AI news site takes root," and was somewhat shocked.

My name is Jeff Barnd, and I’m the news director at Arlington Community Media inc. (ACMi) in Arlington. We air a weekly newscast on our public, education and government channels every day - and post separate news stories to our Facebook and YouTube Pages on a daily basis.

ACMi News is the kind of news-gathering organization that many towns may not have. But Arlington certainly does.

UPDATED Sept. 28: The following announcement and plea is from Erica Schwarz, executive director of the Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA).

A generous Arlington supporter has challenged HCA to raise $15,000 by Oct. 15 for our Homelessness Prevention Program.

Please give today to double the value of your gift
and ensure we secure
a full $30,000 for this program.

              An update reported: "We need to raise the final $3,000 to get a full match for this important program."

Charley Blandy of Lombard Terrace advocates for an Arlington in which all who wish can find a home.

Why do we need meaningful MBTA zoning in Arlington? We have a housing shortage; the state says we have to, to follow our stated principles; so that people, businesses and trees can live here.

Housing is scarce and expensive here; our median sales price just topped $1 million. If you’re an Arlington homeowner, you’re probably aware that your assessment has increased quite a bit over the past 10 to 20 years. Maybe you’re relieved. You might take out a home-improvement loan based on that valuation. And your young-adult kids might be wondering how they can live in town, if not in their old rooms. You might wonder where you’ll live if you want to downsize.

YourArlington's policy about letters to the editor

UPDATED Sept. 14: YourArlington welcomes opinions of all kinds from local residents, including national issues so long as you can draw a local connection. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June on Roe v Wade must have echoes here, too. Letters are reviewed for fairness, factualness and taste.

Factual letters about Arlington issues are welcome. Length of such letters should be no more than 800 words.

NOTE: When emailing a letter to The Advocate & Star, consider copying YourArlington at the same time. Your opinions will be published sooner.

Please support your view with facts and arguments that attempt to adhere to reason.

You may write on any subject, so long as you try to make a connection to Arlington. If you can't do that, then your residence in town will be a sufficient connection.

David Levy, a Precinct 18 Town Meeting member, spells out why he donates monthly to support YourArlington.

In July, Your Arlington has published two excellent articles (among others). One was about the town’s efforts to force our local utility to fix the gas leaks throughout town. The other was about the July 25 meeting of the MBTA Working Group. 

Both were incredibly informative and highlighted real issues with which Arlington residents are dealing.

The updated report covering the MBTA Zoning meeting was one of the best articles I’ve read about an issue in our town in sometime. It highlighted the policy position, the opposition against it and the support for it. And, as we all know, how we comply with this state law is a significant issue for our town.

The Monday morning before the first in-person annual Town Meeting at Town Hall Auditorium since 2019, a three-person camera crew representing Accountability For All conducted what it calls a First Amendment audit. The high-sounding effort obscured deliberately provocative actions in which people film local-government employees without permission.

Josh Abrams, Sandy Pooler on April 24.

Led by Joshua Abrams of Stoneham, who is known to police in a variety of cases (see links below), the self-appointed guardians of free speech showed up April 24 unannounced, as it does at municipal governments in Massachusetts and Connecticut, cameras running. The claimed aim -- an impartial record of how local governments support the First Amendment.

So how did Arlington rate? That depends on the observer. As in all such events, the camera's roving eye reflects its handler, who shapes the narrative.