Weekly Recap: Mayor's Live Chat, MBTA Cuts, Peacuddy's Closes

Here are some of the highlights from Melrose Patch's news coverage this past week. This is only a small sample—to see all the coverage, click on the News tab on the navigation bar.

To see your neighbors' news, check out our Announcements section under News, and read Local Voices bloggers' latest posts.

A look back at Melrose's top stories of the week.

Top Three Articles of the Week

Mayor Rob Dolan and his administrative team took questions from Melrose Patch readers live on Melrose Patch on Wednesday, with questions ranging from the police management study, to recycling, redevelopment of business districts and more. Read the transcript of the chat.

No protesters interrupted the MBTA's 20th public meeting on proposed cuts for next year's budget, though transportation officials still got an earful from angry commuters Thursday night.

Peacuddy's Café and Bakery has closed after 12 years in Melrose, the last three-and-half years on Franklin Street and prior that as Sweet Tooth Baking Co. on Main Street.

Police and Fire

Melrose firefighters knocked down a two-alarm fire at a duplex-style two-family home at 3 Vine St. Tuesday afternoon that has left an apartment uninhabitable.

A resident holds a man on suspicion of breaking and entering until officers arrive and more in last week's Melrose Police log.

Government

Amenities for bicyclists top the list of priorities for Melrose Main Street corridor improvements in a study completed and released this month.

The majority of people who took last week's poll opposed the governor's proposals to increase the cigarette tax by 50 cents, impose a sales tax on candy and soda and expand Massachusetts' bottle deposit.

MBTA

One hundred and thirty-seven speakers from Melrose, Malden and neighboring communities took to the podium at the MBTA cuts meeting to speak their mind—here's what some of them had to say on video.

The MBTA Advisory Board, which provides public oversight of the MBTA, has presented a new plan—some might call it a third option—for dealing with the MBTA's $161 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2013.

Schools

Twelve students set off from Melrose High School to represent the country of Uganda at the Harvard Model United Nations, one of the oldest and largest Model UN conferences in the world. They're our Whiz Kids of the Week.

Should Melrose Schools use any available cash to prevent the elimination of programs now? Or should it save with an eye toward the future?

Opinion

Melrosian Michael Dell Isola expounds on our recent "Visions for Vacancies" column that asked what Melrosians like to see in the former Sparks lot at Main and Grove, advocating for a boutique hotel.

Katy Kennedy asks Melrosians to consider adding a food gift for donation to their Valentine's Day shopping lists to support the Peanut Butter Valentine's drive.

Election 2012

Each of the U.S. Senate candidates list what they believe are the most important issues in this race on their campaign websites—but we want to know what you think is the most important issue.

Local Voices Bloggers

Why invest a portion of your portfolio internationally? Here are a couple of reasons to consider.

Photographer Matt Wallace shared a recent photo titled "Grid" and asked: Have you ever felt like you were stuck?