UPDATED Nov. 23: The second in Arlington Historical Society’s yearly programming series “Relevancy – Connecting Historical Themes and Contemporary Topics” is set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Arlington Town Hall, 730 Mass. Ave.

The program is cosponsored by Arlington Veterans Services and is free of charge for all visitors. The program has been rescheduled from an earlier date.

William Rapp, Ph.D., a retired major general and scholar, plans to discuss the Lakota (Sioux) and Northern Cheyenne in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, when they fought to retain their lands and way of life against the wave of Euro-American western migration. The title of his talk is “Lakota at Little Bighorn and Ukraine in the Donbas.”

First Lights returns to Whittemore Park at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, featuring Arlington High School Honors Orchestra and Arlington High School Madrigal Singers. 

Here's the schedule:

6 p.m.: Open house at Cyrus Dallin Art Museum, live ice-sculpting demonstration, cookies and hot chocolate, candy canes, giveaways and strolling characters.

6:10: Lighting of the park;

The Arlington Redevelopment Board on Monday, Nov. 21, began holding preliminary discussions of four potential zoning amendments, which may come before the spring Town Meeting. The proposals and their proponents are:

• Open-space requirements for multifamily and mixed uses (Laura Wiener, Xavid Pretzer, James Fleming and Patrick Hanlon);
• Eliminating minimum parking in B5 District (Fleming);
• Eliminating usable open-space requirements (Fleming); and
• Affordable housing on nonconforming parcels (Barbara Thornton).

Next up at Arlington Friends of the Drama -- the town's century-old community theater organization -- is the fast-paced comedy “Light Up the Sky” by Moss Hart, as AFD continues its centennial season.

The show is set to open Friday, Dec. 2, and to run through Sunday, Dec. 11, with an extra Thursday performance added on Dec 8. Performances start at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, with Sunday matinees scheduled at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $25. Buy them at www.afdtheatre.org/buy-tickets, or leave a message for the box office at 781-646-5922 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

One of AFD's favorite shows in the second quarter of its 100-year history, the play was first performed in Arlington in 1950, just two years after opening on Broadway.

“Light Up the Sky” tells of a truck driver whose play is chosen for the stage by a New York City producer and whose cast is being led by a famous if overly emotional director.

Headlining the show is one of Broadway's top stars, and so everyone is sure it will be a hit during its out-of-town tryout at the Boston Colonial Theater. But when opening night rolls around, all the backstage drama comes into sharp focus, revealing the highs, lows and laughs of the theater world.

More than half of the AFD Theatre cast are Arlington residents:

Board member Jo Anne Preston expressed concerns about employing an agency to collect money from residents.

The Arlington Housing Authority discussed grant money, upcoming resources for seniors, a contract with a collection agency and meetings with tenants at its Nov. 16 regular board meeting in the Winslow Towers Community Room. 

During the updates at the beginning of the meeting, Executive Director Jack Nagle said four units have been successfully leased out, and three more offers are in progress at Chestnut Manor following last January's fatal fire, which damaged 18 units. 

“We are committed to filling these units as soon as possible,” Nagle said. 

He also noted the electrical shutdown set for Chestnut Manor the following day, Nov. 17, part of the testing for the electrical-panel upgrades.

All 132 units at Winslow Towers are to receive air-source heat pumps. The aim is to save the AHA money and move to more energy-efficient technologies. Replacements have begun, with continued updates to residents about their progress. Nagle encourages any residents with questions to reach out.  

The board is waiting for a start date on weatherization work at Menotomy Manor and will keep residents updated and try to get it scheduled as soon as possible. 

The state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) staff conducted site evaluations at two locations and are working to determine where to build a housing project dedicated to special-needs individuals under Chapter 689. The area in front of Chestnut Manor, at 54 Medford St. is one recommended location from the DHCD staff architects, but an official recommendation is expected soon.  

Vigil for Transgender Day of Remembrance at First Parish.  / Helene Newberg photo

UPDATED Nov. 22: Approximately 75 people attended a candlelight vigil the evening of Sunday, Nov. 20, on the meetinghouse lawn of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Kym Goldsmith, a member of Arlington’s LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Commission, opened the event by mentioning the fatal mass shooting that took place in a LGBTQIA+ nightclub in Colorado Springs the night before and the latest bomb threat made against the transgender health program at Boston Children’s Hospital just days earlier. 

“We still have a long way to go before LGBTQIA+ people can live their lives in safe, affirming spaces and communities without the threat of violence,” Goldsmith said. “That is why we are here tonight. It is clear that there is important work to be done, and I’m grateful we are all making a point to do it today and every day.”

See more photos here >>

Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place annually on Nov. 20. The day is marked by events around the globe honoring transgender and gender-diverse people who have lost their lives to violence motivated by bias.

Transgender Day of Remembrance grew out of the reaction of greater Boston’s LGBTQIA+ community to the 1988 murder of Boston resident Rita Hester and the media’s reporting about the event, which included misgendering Hester in its coverage.