Helter skelter

April 17, 2026

Welcome back!

It was a wildly busy week in Sudbury. So let’s just get going.

Here’s what we have for you this week:

April 17, 2026 Edition

Let’s get into it!

Put May 4 Annual Town Meeting on Your Calendar

NEWS
By the League of Women Voters of Sudbury

Sudbury will have two town meetings this May: Annual Town Meeting that begins May 4 and a Special Town Meeting May 20. Town meeting is the legislative body of Sudbury, and the registered voters who attend are the legislators. Town meeting votes on bylaws, spending (including budgets and borrowing), resolutions, and more. 

This year’s Annual Town Meeting begins Monday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, 390 Lincoln Road. The meeting is likely to continue Tuesday, May 5, and may continue Wednesday, May 6, and Monday, May 11, if necessary. 

350 Years Ago…

FEATURES
By Jan Hardenbergh

350 years ago, as opposed to the usual 250 years ago, on April 21, 1676, a coalition of Nipmuc, Wampanoag, and Narragansett fighters besieged the Haynes Garrison house on the West Bank of the Sudbury River. Later, they ambushed the company led by Captain Wadsworth as they marched back from Marlboro. This day is known as the Sudbury Fight, and in some sources, the Battle of Green Hill. The English militia lost 74 men; the losses of the indigenous coalition have no reliable estimate, perhaps fewer than a dozen, perhaps hundreds. This was the last battle in eastern Massachusetts of the King Philip’s War. 

As Town Historian, I drafted and the Select Board signed this proclamation:

Sudbury Food Pantry Expands Just as Need Expands

FEATURES
By Nancy Brumback

Even in affluent Middlesex County, a large number of families are experiencing hunger, and the Sudbury Community Food Pantry has exponentially increased its ability to help with a new, dedicated location.

When the food pantry moved from its long-term quarters in the basement of Ascension Parish Catholic church last summer to a building it was able to purchase because of a major donation, “it was a huge improvement in our ability to manage inventory and daily operations,” said John Thomas, executive director.  

“We are able to manage a much larger percentage of perishable products. The freezers and refrigerators we have now have increased our capacity by 170%. If you add the space in a walk-in cool room, our perishable capacity is up 430%.” A temperature-controlled storage container outside keeps more food fresh summer and winter.

Ramen Haven Brings Authentic Japanese Cuisine to Sudbury’s Meadow Walk

NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise

Sudbury’s dining scene is getting a flavorful new addition, and the timing couldn’t be better.

Ramen Haven, a highly anticipated Japanese restaurant, is officially opening its doors in the bustling Meadow Walk plaza. With a soft opening currently slated for late April and a grand opening set for late May, local foodies are in for a serious treat.

In a recent interview with Joe Ma of Ramen Haven, Sudbury Weekly got the full story. 

Ramen Haven has operated a successful location in Berlin, which opened in 2025. But an aggressive expansion plan is already underway. 

Sudbury Public Schools Awards Extended Day Contract to Sudbury Extended Day

NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise

Following a procurement process, the Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee has officially awarded the district’s Extended Day contract to Sudbury Extended Day (SED). The decision was formalized during the Committee’s meeting on Monday, April 13, 2026. The decision extends a decades-long relationship with SED for the district.

The announcement, shared in a April 17 communication to the SPS community, ensures that SED will continue its ongoing partnership with the district to provide before- and after-school care for local students.

The communication emphasized that the selection process strictly adhered to Massachusetts procurement laws. The Request for Proposal (RFP) process was overseen by the School Committee and managed on a day-to-day basis by the district’s Procurement Officer, Don Sawyer.

THE BRIDGE THAT ‘YANKEES SUCK’ BUILT

FEATURES
By Nate Homan

An interview with “Fenway Punk” author Chris Wrenn on how a crew of rowdy hawkers funded an iconic Boston hardcore label

[Photos courtesy of Chris Wrenn]

The Boston Red Sox suck this season. 

Sit at any bar or enter any locker room in New England this week, and you will hear some form of that lament.

In more savage years past, however, through decades of heartache and raw humiliation, before the Sox finally shattered the forsaken Curse of the Bambino, a much more common refrain around Fenway Park—the unifying war cry—was Yankees Suck.

It was the 1990s. A bunch of punk kids made some moves and founded Sully’s Brand, a snide, sarcastic, and often offensive T-shirt and Mass merch line. Pushing parodies of corporate logos in the footsteps of so many skate brands and that master of interpolation Andy Warhol, many of their bait-and-switch slogans fueled new clever foolproof ways to cash in on the city’s longheld baseball agonies by slinging tees, stickers, and pins to Fenway faithfuls. 

This article is syndicated by the MassWire news service of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. Read the original here. If you want to see more reporting like this, sign up for BINJ’s free weekly newsletter at https://binj.news/signup/.


Planning Board Supports Article Funding Sewataro Consultant Services

NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise

The Sudbury Planning Board voted on April 8 to support Article 19 at the Annual Town Meeting. Article 19 would appropriate $20,000 for consultant services—related to the ongoing planning and visioning process for the Sewataro/Liberty Ledge property—if passed by Town Meeting.

Events!

Opinion

Reading The Region

Onward!