Flock to these winter birding hot spots around Boston
By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright Globe Correspondent,Updated February 23, 2021, 1:50 p.m.
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Snowy owls are occasionally spotted at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff/file
A snowy owl sighting in Manhattanâs Central Park nearly shut down New York City last month. Crowds of birders and onlookers showed up to see this avian rarity; the last time the fluffy bird was spotted in the park occurred 130 years ago.
Even without such newsy events, birding is having a moment, says Pete Gilmore, field trip coordinator for the Brookline Bird Club. âPeople are getting outdoors more, and if you add birding to the mix, youâre exercising the mind and the body,â he says. Looking for birds, âyou get riveted to the sights and sounds.â As you get into the zone, itâs a mental escape.
Harrison Street Picks Up Boston-Area Senior Asset
The 90-unit community in Watertown, Mass., offers independent and assisted living, along with memory care services. Feb152021
Image via Google Maps
Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, along with partner LCB Senior Living, has purchased The Residence at Watertown Square, a 90-unit senior community in Watertown, Mass. Newmark arranged the acquisition financing for the buyers. Last September, LCB broke ground on The Residence at Penniman Hill, another 90-unit senior community outside of Boston.
According to the
New England Real Estate Journal, LCB is the original developer of the asset that broke ground in mid-2013 and opened its doors in 2014. Three years after its completion, LCB along with Washington Capital Management received a $45 million recapitalization loan, arranged by Cushman & Wakefield, as reported by
2/03/2021
Massachusetts Department of Transportation Boston The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the award of $3,236,762.78 in the third round of funding from the Baker-Polito Administration’s Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program. The program, which was launched on November 10, provides technical and funding assistance to help Massachusetts cities and towns conceive, design, and implement tactical changes to curbs, streets, and parking areas in support of public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce, with a special focus on the particular challenges of winter. The awards made today will support 21 projects in 21 municipalities, of which 43% are designated Environmental Justice communities and 76% are considered high-risk for COVID-19 infections. Additionally, 62% of today’s winners have never received a Shared Streets and Spaces award before.
The Commonwealth’s two largest bikeshare systems are poised to expand further this summer, as Salem plans to join the Bluebikes system with eight new stations, and West Springfield joins the ValleyBike system.
In West Springfield, town officials in December announced plans to install their town’s first stations for the electric pedal-assist ValleyBike system. One station would be located on the town common next to the library, and a second station will be installed on Memorial Avenue near Union Street.
The latter location is in an area dominated by parking lots and strip malls, but it’s also next to two major supermarkets that serve thousands of households on both sides of the Connecticut River.