UPDATED Oct. 20: The following letter by David Bean of Arlington is republished with the author's permission. It appeared in the Monday, Oct. 18, Boston Globe here >>

 Smartphones are not just communication devices. They are the necessary link between a person and “the hive.” Most of us have ourselves experienced impulsive, compulsive, and obsessive thinking. Imagine that going on in your child’s developing brain.

The geniuses of social media, people like Mark Zuckerberg, are working full time to suck everyone in to an existence that involves the substitution of a virtual-reality world, the “metaverse,” for the real world — a VR world with nonstop commercialism, nonstop data gathering, and nonstop insanity.

UPDATED Nov. 23: The story about Sue and Jeff Thompson has touched Arlington deeply. Read it here >>  So has the opinion column about the unexpected passing of Jim Swan. Read it here >> 

Tears turn to hope, as the heart of our community swelled with generosity.

As of Tuesday, Nov. 23, the couple's needs have drawn $64,715. That's more than $53,000 sent since Oct. 22, when YourArlington published the story. Ann Seymour organize the fund-raiser on Oct. 10.

As of Nov. 23, the effort to support the Swan family, organized by Annie Clarke-Lauer on Nov. 9, has received $68,197.

These responses are clear testimony to the bountifulness of Arlington residents and neighbors as well as to the power of a local-news website spreading the word.

Jim Swan with Henry and Laura. 

You could not miss Jim Swan on Arlington social media. Now all will miss him.

James W. Swan, a recently tenured associate professor of chemical engineering at MIT, died Nov. 5, following what the school describes as "a medical event."

His unexpected passing at age 39 has spurred a fund-raising plea to help his wife, Laura, and son, Henry, 10.

Contribute at GoFundMe >> 

$63,682 raised of $65,000 goal as of Nov. 17.

On Arlington Facebook groups, Jim was probing, funny and acerbic. His last post to the Arlington A-List, On Oct. 30, pictured a monstrous pumpkin the family carved, explaining to a confused poster that it mimicked a Dungeons & Dragons creature.

Zane T. Crute, president, Mystic Valley Area Branch of the NAACP and the assistant secretary, New England Area Conference of the NAACP, writes the second in a series calling for dialogue around police reform and racial justice in Arlington. Contact those involved in this series at arlingtonma.voices at gmail.com. 

The role of race in policing, and in our overall legal system, is rooted in the founding of our nation. This history is so infamous that it is omnipresent in our literature and film.

Take Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. In Lee’s classic, the mere word of a white woman controls the fate of a black man in the court system. The history of the African diaspora is the history of peoples who have always been treated as less than human in the eyes of the law. This includes, but is not limited to, unjust policing in our communities, a war on drugs that disproportionally results in the incarceration of black people, and the school to prison pipeline that further overpopulates our prisons with black people.

Greg Christiana, cochair of the Envision Arlington Standing Committee and Precinct 15 Town Meeting member, writes the first in a series calling for dialogue around police reform and racial justice in Arlington. Contact those involved in this series at arlingtonma.voices at gmail.com.

In October 2018, social-media posts began circulating about hate-filled, violence-inciting articles written by a member of the Arlington Police Department in a Massachusetts Police Association newsletter. The author, Lt. Rick Pedrini, ignited a firestorm of controversy, distrust and raw emotions that remain with us to this day.

The response from most Arlingtonians has been unequivocal condemnation. Yet, this near-consensus reaction has failed to translate into solidarity among the broad range of Arlingtonians outraged by the writings. We all bear some responsibility for that failure. Similarly, we share in the responsibility of building solidarity in the pursuit of sustainable progress and justice.

As if to prove that people naturally subdivide into factions, Arlington's progressive population subdivides roughly into a moderate pragmatic camp and a woke activist camp. (Moderate is a term relative to time and place, as few places in the U.S. today would consider these "moderates" in any way moderate.)

Welcome to the new YourArlington. What began 15 years ago as a community-oriented news site continues its mission but with a new look and a fresh approach. YourArlington is now a nonprofit organization.

That means no more paid advertising, but a site relying on community and foundation support. YourArlington also has a new overall design. The two-column format is easier to read, including on mobile devices.

I launched the site in 2006 full of hope for the community as a way for residents to learn about the remarkable people who live in our town and the challenging issues we face.

As local newspapers throughout the country continue to struggle, local news websites are becoming more important in keeping citizens informed. Today, I am convinced that local news that binds together communities with solid information is more important than ever to the strength of Arlington.

The following letter to the editor about the proposed "stretch" building code was written by the Arlington Clean Heat Steering Committee: Amos Meeks (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Anne Wright (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Pat Hanlon (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Last December, Town Meeting, by a vote of 225-18, adopted a Clean Heat Bylaw that would in most cases prevent on-site combustion of fossil fuels in new buildings and major renovations. After  Brookline we were the second Massachusetts town to adopt a Clean Heat Bylaw. Since then, others -- including Lexington, Concord and Acton -- have followed. 

There was a catch, however. The municipalities adopting Clean Heat bylaws needed to petition the state Legislature for authority to implement them. In our case, the legislation was introduced by Rep. Garballey and Sen. Friedman, with Rep. Rogers in full support. The Clean Heat bills have had a hearing but are still in committee. 

Why did we have to seek special legislation for this? The reasons are complex, but the main one was this: Our hands were tied by the state building code.