Franny Osman

Franny Osman is an Acton News Initiative founding editor and author.

An alcove inside Danny's Place with a rose window and low grey cushions with backs in a circle on the floor.

Danny’s Place: A Haven in Our Midst

April 30, 2024

by Franny Osman

When Cristina Morales was about to give birth to her second child in Mexico, her husband’s work brought the family to Boston. That was in 2012. They settled in Acton and Morales’s daily running route brought her up Pope Road and down Strawberry Hill Rd. Her children would…

Red, white, and blue Vote Tuesday sign to remind people to vote.

Updated Again, Important Dates for Town Election and Town Meetings

April 27, 2024

Miriam LezakandFranny Osman

The town election is coming up on April 30, followed by the Annual Town Meeting, which begins on Monday, May 6 and continues on Tuesday, May 7. At the Annual Town Meeting, the town will vote on town and school budgets, zoning changes, and other important issues. If…

Ballot boxes at Acton Town Hall.

Updated, Important Dates for Town Election and Town Meetings

April 19, 2024

Franny OsmanandMiriam Lezak

This year, in addition to the town election at the end of April, there are two Town Meetings. The first meeting, on Wednesday, April 17, was a Special Town Meeting called by a citizen petition. The second is the Annual Town Meeting. It begins on Monday, May 6…

Meeting at Acton Paper Store, from left, Operations Manager Rachel Jacobs, Cataldo Aide Kyle Stapleton, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Vice President of Stores Sara Carbonier, CEO Tom Anderson, State Senator Jamie Eldridge, and Acton DIrector of Economic Development Julie Pierce

Paper Store Asks for State’s Help After Thefts

April 12, 2024

by Franny Osman

After a rash of brazen thefts at Paper Stores around Massachusetts and New England, the CEO of the one hundred-store Paper Store chain, Tom Anderson, invited the Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development, Yvonne Hao, to visit the Paper Store at Acton Plaza on Massachusetts Ave. He also asked…

Ballot boxes at Acton Town Hall.

Important Dates for Town Election and Town Meetings

April 1, 2024

Miriam LezakandFranny Osman

This year, in addition to the town election at the end of April, there are two Town Meetings. The first meeting, on Wednesday, April 17 is Special Town Meeting. More details are below. The second is the Annual Town Meeting. It begins on Monday, May 6 and will…

Planning Board members James Fuccione, Michaela Moran, Jon Cappetta, and Pat Clifford at March 19 meeting.

March 19, 2024 Planning Board Hearing

April 1, 2024

by Franny Osman

The Acton Planning Board met on March 19 in the Faulkner Hearing Room in Town Hall. Four members of the Planning Board attended: James Fuccione, Michaela Moran, Jon Cappetta, and Sam Bajwa (remote). Planning Director Kristen Guichard, Senior Planner Kaila Sauer, and Assistant Planner Nora Masler presented to…

Drawing of a hand holding a ballot

Primary Day in Acton

March 23, 2024

by Franny Osman

There are 15,612 registered voters in the Town of Acton. Thirty-three percent of those voters, or 5185, cast a ballot on “Super Tuesday,” March 5, when voters in 16 states and one territory headed to the polls in the largest contest so far in the 2024 presidential primary.”…

Two Towns Collaborate to Plan the Powder Mill Road Corridor

December 14, 2023

by Franny Osman

Maynard and Acton residents gathered around large posters depicting their shared Powder Mill Road Corridor on the evening of November 15 at a public Open House in the Maynard Elks Lodge. The Corridor is the section of Route 62 from Stop and Shop in Acton to the intersection…

A group of people around a stone marker and street sign

Acton Hosts Creative Placemaking Workshop

November 6, 2023

by Franny Osman

Last winter, when the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) was looking for two communities to participate in a Regional Trails Creative Placemaking Project , Acton stepped up. Economic and Community Development Director Julie Pierce recognized an opportunity to use art to enhance our new trails and adjacent business…

People in chairs and brainstorming suggestions written on large sheets of paper

Brainstorming Session about a Potential South Acton Cultural District

October 16, 2023

by Franny Osman

On Sunday night October 15, seventeen people came together in Exchange Hall in Acton to brainstorm about a potential South Acton Cultural District, a gathering hosted by the Acton Boxborough Cultural Council (ABCC). Sergiy Georgiyev, co-owner of Magenta Dance Place, offered the third floor historic dance hall for…

people at a conference room table and big-screen monitor

Planning Board Considers Permits and Hears Updates on the Powder Mill Road Corridor Initiative and Bumble Bee Way Subdivision

September 25, 2023

by Franny Osman

The Acton Planning Board met earlier than its regular time on September 19 at Town Hall in order to join the Maynard Planning Board to hear a presentation by the Planning Department and Sarah Scott of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) on the Powder Mill Road Corridor…

A crowd views people speaking

Danny’s Place New Space Reveal and Community Celebration

September 17, 2023

by Franny Osman

On Sunday, September 17, Danny’s Place Youth Services (DPYS), a 501c3 non-profit, held a ribbon-cutting at their new location in West Acton village, and a community celebration to honor the 20th year of the Danny’s Place vision. Danny’s Place was created in honor of Danny McCarthy, an ABRHS…

Bikes Ready for Rental on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

August 6, 2023

by Franny Osman

Acton’s Planning and Sustainability departments hosted a launch of the new Bike Share Program last Friday, August 11, at the East Acton Village Green, a small park abutting the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail on Concord Rd. The program is a partnership of Acton and Concord, with two stations…

Mural of multiple people and cultural things happening in West Concord

Visitors Tour the West Concord Junction Cultural District

June 30, 2023

by Franny Osman

On Monday, July 17, State Representative Simon Cataldo and the West Concord Junction Cultural District Committee hosted a walking tour of the Cultural District and a roundtable discussion with Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, and Carolyn Cole, Program Officer, of the Mass Cultural Council (MCC). Fifty or so…

Overhead Lattice at Facade of Tavernier Place

Tavernier Place Opens its Doors

June 28, 2023

by Franny Osman

On Monday, June 12, local and state affordable housing advocates and developers gathered at Tavernier Place at 446 Massachusetts Ave. in Acton, across from RJ Grey Jr. High, for a ribbon-cutting for the new building of 31 rental units for seniors and people with disabilities. The development is…

Two women in modern clothes and a man and woman in colonial clothing stand chatting in a cemetery, with U.S. flags in the background.

Acton Observes Memorial Day

June 9, 2023

by Franny Osman

Acton’s annual Memorial Day parade stepped off from the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School at 10:15 am on Monday, May 29, and headed toward Woodlawn Cemetery, with multiple marching bands, members of the Acton Select Board, state legislators, public safety officers, Acton Minutemen historic reenactors, and Scouts. The day…

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