As advertised here and on the town communications channels, tonight is Town Caucus where volunteers step up to be nominated for re-election or election to many town roles. After tonight, Weston enters what is known as the Witching Period (with all apologies to the Wiccans) which lasts from Caucus until Town Meeting. It is the period in which the town goes bonkers over rumors, innuendo and social media. So anyone who has just moved here, please know that it shall be over soon–and that hopefully this year will be different from every.single.other.year. Hope springs eternal.

One of the more talked-about topics to be entering the fray this year is the Sustainable Tree Initiative, which is a marketing person’s term for the Tree By-Law. Stunned by clearcutting of large swaths of trees around town, a group was formed almost two years ago now to determine if there should be tree funds to make up for large-scale tree loss, or some other form of discouraging simply mowing down valuable-to-community trees. Yes, the Owl has talked about this before, but now the Planning Board will have more (always open to the public) meetings when they will cover the specifics of the bylaw language.

At the March 16 meeting of the Planning Board (always on zoom and always open to all via the Town agenda links), the Board will discuss the specifics of the bylaw language. There will be posted Public Hearings on the topic at meetings on March 23, April 6 and 20 April. If you are concerned about trees, either as a proponent of private property uber alles or as a tree-hugger, or somewhere in between, the Owl suggests attending those meetings rather than getting your information from social media. Or even the Owl, whose bias is well-known.

In addition, there will be another information session (not yet scheduled) with the League of Women Voters and possibly others. It shall all culminate in a democratic vote at Weston’s Annual Town Meeting on 9 May. Please mark your calendars for any and all of the above.