Weekly Buzz | Cuppa Coffee, Anyone?

Happy Sunday, Burlington!

Burlington Buzz launched a short 28 days ago, and the last month has been such an amazing kickoff to this project. My goal has always been awareness - to bring to residents of Burlington answers to the questions that, in many cases, they never knew they had. Since that very first announcement, we’ve been able to build up a subscriber base of hundreds of Burlington residents who read these quick posts loyally every single day. We have added Local Government, Community Information, and Election sections, in which many of my ratty Facebook profiles have already been collated, along with new profiles and community information. We’ve been able to bring press releases to you, and we just debuted our first guest column yesterday (Thanks, Judy!).

I couldn’t have done it without you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve got more ideas up my sleeve, but they’ll likely have to wait until the election is over. For now, I have a cool announcement for you.

Since beginning the Buzz, I’ve had a lot of readers praise my work and ask how they can contribute. The best (and free!) way for you to contribute is to share the Buzz with everyone you know in Burlington and be sure they sign up. Shout it from the rooftops! If you don’t mind spending some time watching meetings and giving me a few bullets from each meeting, I’d love that, too. But some of you wish to contribute financially.

One great thing about the Buzz is that it appears in your inbox each morning without your having to lift a finger, and that it’s a quick read. The other great thing is that it’s free to everyone. Most of the content will remain free forever, because I think it’s important for all residents to have the kind of quick access and easy connection the Buzz was designed to create. But, for those of you who want to contribute financially, there are a few ways. Already there was a $5/month or $50/year plan, and lots of readers have converted from free to one of these plans (which is amazing and suggests my work is of value!).

In honor of the first monthiversary of the Buzz, I’ve enabled a new plan called Set Your Own Annual Rate. This is an annual plan with mostly the same features as the others, but it allows readers who wish to contribute more to do so. The suggested donation (auto-filled by Substack) is $150, but you can insert any number from $51 up.

Now, here’s a fun story for you. My son is almost 2, and one of his favorite things to do is to make me “coffee.” I give him a cup and a French press and some cold water, and he just pours stuff back and forth. Well, the other day, the French press fell to the ground and shattered. Bummer. So then the next morning I went to make coffee with my other coffee maker, and it was broken, too! Super bummer. But, I’ve been meaning to set up a Ko-fi for a bit, and this felt like the universe trying to point me in that direction.  So - another way you can contribute to the Buzz is to give me a quick tip, otherwise known as Buy me a coffee! If you read something on the Buzz that you particularly appreciate, you’re welcome to throw a few bucks in the tip jar.

Alright. Now, on with the week ahead. Remember, the schedule and agendas have the potential to change, so don’t forget to check the Daily Buzz each morning for full details.

Monday, March 21

• 12:00 PM - Disability Access Commission meeting is cancelled.
• 5:30 PM - Shawsheen Negotiation Subcommittee meets to discuss contract negotiations.
• 5:30 PM - Zoning Bylaw Review Committee Sign Subcommittee meets to continue the conversation around creating a permanent Design Review Committee and further discuss design guidelines and Article XIII.

Tuesday, March 22

• 8:00 AM - Ways & Means Subcommittee meets to review a variety of different budgets around town.
• 9:00 AM - Ways & Means Subcommittee meets to discuss the Veteran Services and Disability Access Commission budgets for the coming year.
• 6:00 PM - Shawsheen Curriculum Subcommittee meets to review the program of studies.
• 7:00 PM - Board of Health meets for their regular meeting.
• 7:00 PM - Capital Budget Subcommittee meets to review DPW capital requests for the coming year.
• 7:00 PM - Land Use Committee meets for several presentations. Stay tuned or click the link to see the agenda, because there are several conversations from different departments coalescing here and it’s fascinating to see.
• 7:00 PM - School Committee meets for their regular meeting.
• 7:30 PM - Shawsheen School Committee meets for their regular meeting.

Wednesday, March 23

• 9:00 AM - Ways & Means Subcommittee meets to discuss the Building Department budget for the coming year.
• 6:00 PM - DEI Subcommittee
• 7:00 PM - Ways & Means Committee reviews the budgets discussed in subcommittees this week.

Thursday, March 24

• 10:00 AM - Ways & Means Subcommittee meets to discuss the MIS budget.
• 6:00 PM - Ways & Means Subcommittee meets to discuss the School Department budget.
• 7:00 PM - Conservation Commission meets for their regular meeting, including continuing the discussion of the proposed changes to the stormwater bylaw.
• 6:00-8:00 PM - BCAT Debates! School Committee and Board of Health Candidates chat on the BCAT stage with a few of us from local media.

Friday, March 25

• Nothing on the agenda quite yet!

That’s it for this weekend. I hope you have a restful Sunday!

Nicci