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Saving Jericho Hill Forest

Saving Jericho Hill Forest

A few weeks ago, just before this crazy pandemic got started, the mayor of Waltham put forth a resolution to take some land to add to a new development for a high school. 6 acres, to add onto another 46 acres already purchased, so that they can build a parking lot.

The whole project will also include a tremendous amount of blasting, to create a giant stone wall which will cause the costs to increase to $400 million, in the best case scenario.  It will be the 2nd most expensive high school in the history of the US, just behind LA.  And all this for half of the number of kids in the graduating class than the numbers they had 30 years ago.  Very little of this overall budget will actually be for resources for the students.

Additionally, the construction and attitudes in this whole process demonstrate a tremendous lack of respect for the open spaces in the town.

Ironically, the forest has never been more beloved and visited as it has in the past few weeks, thanks to the quarantine. All the Waltham Parks and Playgrounds have been closed since the middle of March and everyone has been out exploring this forest, one of the last pieces of open land left to us in the city.

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