BrooklineCAN Blog

Ailene Gerhardt, Founder of Beacon Patient Advocates, will speak on “Navigating Your Healthcare: Tips and Tools for the Empowered Patient” on May 16 at the Brookline Senior Center, 93 Winchester Street.  Ailene says that “Being an empowered patient means knowing the ways to advocate for oneself and loved ones.  It means becoming/being comfortable asking questions and becoming knowledgeable about health information, medical conditions, and treatment options.”   Refreshment reception 6:00 to 6:30 pm; program with Q & A 6:30 to 7:30 pm.  Free of charge.  Call 617-730-2770 to register for this BrooklineCAN event.

Here is a chance to hear one of Boston’s Premier Chamber Music Ensembles. Composers in their twilight years form the core of Chameleon Arts Ensemble’s 2018-19 chamber music season finale: Brahms’ G Major string quintet, Ravel’s  Sonata for violin and piano, Faure’s Piano Trio, Elliott Carter’s Tempo e Tempi, and.  Arnold Bax’s Elegiac Trio for flute, viola, and harp.

Performances take place on Saturday, May 18 at 8 PM, or Sunday, May 19 at 4 PM at First Church in Boston. BrooklineCAN readers can receive a 30% discount on regularly priced tickets at $47, $36 or $25. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting http://www.chameleonarts.org/ (use discount code CAN2019) or by phone at 617-427-8200.  

Through a proposal for the May Town Meeting, BrooklineCAN is seeking improved street lighting for pedestrians. The proposal calls for formation of a committee to prepare a plan to extend the pedestrian-friendly street lighting in the Town. Several years ago, the Livable Community Advocacy Committee took up concern about hazardous sidewalks at night. Our volunteers surveyed sidewalks at night in much of North Brookline and found many dark spots. Pedestrians are best served when utility poles are close together, light fixtures are low, and the lights positioned to illuminate sidewalks. Currently, Brookline has pedestrian-friendly lighting only in commercials areas. The plan would extend the improved lighting into residential areas where there is extensive foot traffic after dark.  Please ask your Town Meeting members to support Article 22.

This year’s town election is very important. Many town offices, town meeting members and the vote to resolve school overcrowding will be decided in the May 7th election. The Brookline LWV publishes a voter’s guide that gives a description of the offices and the candidates’ views. At the end of the Voters Guide is an overview of the Debt Exclusion that is on the ballot. See http://www.lwvbrookline.org/files/2019_lwvb_vg_final_04_web.pdf

City dwellers of all ages and abilities are reducing their dependence on driving.  Luckily, as seniors in our area transition from driving, they have many choices for travel. The TRIPPS program (Transportation Resources, Information, Planning & Partnership for Seniors) offers the support of a network of volunteers who offer seniors individual, personalized support as they explore and expand their transportation options. In addition, TRIPPS publishes a resource guide with a comprehensive list of travel options; it is online at TRIPPSMass.org and print copies are available at the Brookline Senior Center.   Have a transportation related question?  Want to know more about the MBTA, Uber/Lyft or the RIDE? Contact Maria at  tripps@brooklinema.gov or call her at 617-730-2644.

You don’t need to go to the North End to play Bocce! Join the Brookline Recreation Department’s inaugural season right here in Brookline! The object of the sport of Bocce is for a team/player to get as many of their balls as close to the pallino (small white ball) as possible. Begin the match with the flip of a coin between teams/players. A team must continue to roll their bocce balls until it gets closer to the pallino than the closest ball of their opponents. For a video that shows you how the game works see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmQVO2a9ZEI 
Location: Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Tuesdays from 4:00PM to 6:00PM, 5/7-6/11
Location: Coolidge Park (Kenwood, Columbia & Russell Streets) Thursdays from 1:00PM to 3:00PM, 5/9-6/13
Adult Drop-In Fee: $5

Do you know about BrookONline?  It’s a free app for your mobile phone (iPhone or Android) where you can report problems such as potholes, broken sidewalks, burned-out street lights, sidewalks not cleared of snow, or broken signs or equipment.  BrookONline lets all of us become the Town’s eyes and ears.  You can submit the report from the exact location where the problem exists, because the app can automatically fill this in.

To obtain the app, go to the iPhone App Store or Google’s Play Store from your phone and search for BrookONline. Once you’ve downloaded and launched the app, fill in your own “Reporter” information, then choose “New Request” from the main menu.

Need help? BrooklineCAN is considering having volunteers available to provide one-on-one training. Let us know if you might be interested by calling 617-730-2777 or emailing info@brooklineCAN.org.

The 21^st Age Friendly Cities TV show featured Tommy Vitolo, newly elected State Representative for the 15^th District Norfolk County.  Tommy has been a resident of Brookline since 2002, a Town Meeting Member since 2007 and Constable since 2010.

Tommy requested and was granted assignment to the Elder Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives and intends to reach out to the older adults of Brookline.   You can view this program on the BrooklineCAN website http://www.brooklinecan.org or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hut3eOMgrvc

The 4th Tuesday of every month from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, Tom Faulhaber challenges your thinking with a non-fiction book discussion group centered on public issues, history, current events and other topics. The April 23rd book is Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Hochschild. On May 28th the book is Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The Brookline Public Library Coolidge Corner branch will have copies of the books available several weeks ahead of each meeting. Discussions take place at the Brookline Senior Center.

BrooklineCAN and the Council on Aging are sponsoring an election forum on Tuesday, April 30 at the Senior Center from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. This year in the annual Town election (May 7), voters will choose one Select Board Member and consider Debt Exclusion proposals for elementary school construction (Driscoll and Baldwin). The forum will focus on the Select Board race and the Debt Exclusion proposal. Three candidates are competing for the Select Board seat. Candidates will make brief opening statements followed by questions from the audience. Candidates will be asked to give special attention to senior concerns. Both proponents and opponents of the Debt Exclusion proposal will speak.