Man About Canton: New Hotel Breaks Ground in Canton

DID YOU KNOW …

A new four-story hotel with 98 planned units recently held a groundbreaking ceremony at 50 Royall Street in Canton. Ron Kendall, president of Buffalo Lodging, along with Canton attorney Dick Staiti and dignitaries from the Canton Board of Selectmen and Canton Planning Board, were present to put the first shovel into the ground. The new hotel will be called Homewood Suites and is part of the Hilton chain. It will be located directly on the left as you enter Royall Street. History buffs say it will be the first hotel constructed in Canton since the three-story Massapoag House, constructed in 1789, was converted to a hotel in the mid 1800s. It was acquired by the Canton Catholic Club in 1909 and burned down in 1918. Today, the Canton Post Office occupies the site.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is expanding its partnership with AAA so drivers can conduct business at the motor club’s branches in Worcester, Plymouth, and Framingham. MAC assumes the service will ultimately be expanded to include other registry offices as well.

If you need a U.S. passport, you will now have to pay more for it. A first-time passport for an adult (age 16 and older) has increased from $100 to $135, and a renewal for an adult passport has jumped to $110 from $75. A first-time passport or renewal for a minor (under 16) will now cost $105, up from $85, and express passport pages to accommodate visa/stamps now cost $82. First-time passport cards for an adult now cost $55 and $40 for a minor.

Tina Prisco of Milton has purchased the vacant store at 630 Washington Street in Canton’s Downtown Business District between Hal’s Barber Shop and Barbara Walsh’s Unity Feeds Store. It is located where the former Flower Kart florist shop was located. After complete interior remodeling, Ms. Prisco plans to open a beauty salon called T.E. Spa sometime in September.

By now you may have noticed that the Good Name Pizzeria has closed after being opened for only a couple of months. Located at 588 Washington Street, where Jim’s Variety Store was formerly located, it has reopened under the name “The Chubby Chickpea.” Specializing in Middle Eastern food, it is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

There is a new exercise craze called “Pickleball,” which is a hybrid of badminton and tennis, that is all the rage at retirement communities and senior games. It can be played indoors or outdoors, singles or doubles, and it is easy for beginners to learn. The game is played with a whiffle ball and large paddles and is named for a co-inventor’s dog.

In case you didn’t notice, another of our so-called Massachusetts “blue laws” has now ceased to exist. In a move that is supposed to be a financial windfall for restaurants and the Commonwealth, alcohol can now be served in restaurants as early as 10 a.m. on Sundays. Restaurants and bars were formerly prohibited from selling alcohol before noon on Sundays. Liquor stores, which still cannot sell alcohol until noon on Sundays, are unaffected by the new change in the law.

Those of you who enjoy going to the beach will find that the cost of parking has increased. However, there is a way to park more efficiently at Nantasket and other Massachusetts beaches. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation now offers $35 parking passes that allow unlimited parking at Nantasket and other state beaches all year. If you are 62 or older, you can sign up to receive a free senior pass for free year-round senior parking at state beaches, even if you are not the person driving. If you are interested, contact the DCR for more information about the Park Pass Program and Senior Pass Program.

If you build a campfire or if you smoke, you need to be extra careful when extinguishing that fire or disposing of your cigarette butt because brush is tender dry. A fire recently broke out in the wooded area between Wardwell Road in Canton and the Irish Cultural Centre near the Stoughton town line, and it reportedly took Canton, Stoughton, and Sharon firefighters 90 minutes to put it out.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has voted 121 to 21 to allow the nine state colleges to rename themselves universities, and the bill now goes to the Senate for action. Proponents say the change would allow the schools to earn more grants, draw more applicants, and make students more attractive to employers. Another factor for the change is that public universities offer doctoral programs while colleges do not. So far, 45 states have transformed their state college systems into state university systems. Massachusetts colleges that would be involved in the proposed change would be Salem State, Fitchburg State, Bridgewater State, Framingham State, Westfield State, Worcester State, Mass Maritime, Mass College of Art and Design, and Mass College of Liberal Arts.

In the case of the “Forgotten Book” from last week’s column: The man was returning an overdue library book.

I’ve been around a long time, and life still has a whole lot of surprises for me.

This is all for now folks; see you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=3204

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Jul 22 2010. Filed under Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.