Week in Review: Kraft Group Owes Town Nothing, Trader Joe’s Opens, Back to School and More
A recap of this week's headlines from Sept. 2-7.
Town Documents Show Kraft Group Doesn't 'Owe' Foxborough Money for Sewer
Contrary to popular opinion among some Foxborough town officials, The Kraft Group does not owe the town $7.5 million – or any money for that matter – from a failed proposal involving the development of a waste water treatment facility for the town located at Gillette Stadium, according to town documents.
In 2007, the Kraft Group and the town of Foxborough successfully negotiated the development of Patriot Place and with it the town has received annual town revenue of $3 million.
However, five years and millions in revenue has not changed the perception of some town officials that The Kraft Group “owes” Foxborough $7.5 million for what they consider to be false promises of a waste water treatment facility on Route 1 as part of the 2007 agreement for 12 liquor licenses and the development of the shopping, dining and entertainment complex.
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VIDEO: Trader Joe’s Celebrates Grand Opening in Foxborough
With a long line of customers waiting outside Trader Joe's doors in Foxborough Friday morning, Chris Maguire, the grocery store chain's Regional Vice President, excited the crowd the following message:
"This is your Trader Joe's Foxborough."
And it truly is. The decor incorporated throughout the 16,000 square foot grocery store touches on local landmarks like Town Hall and community pride like the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium.
Hundreds of customers enjoyed the store's opening Friday morning - loading up carriages with some of their favorite foods trademarked by the neighborhood grocery store.
Dave Ford, Captain (store manager) of Trader Joe's at 350 Patriot Place in Foxborough thanked the crowd for coming out to celebrate the first day of business.
"It is absolutely amazing to see all you guys here this morning," Ford said. "It is going to be one heck of a store and I can’t wait for you guys to come in and be able to see what we’ve been working so hard on. ... I know a lot of you have been knocking on the door the past couple of weeks and you’re actually going to be able to come in today."
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Selectmen Want Kraft Organization to Present Plans for Rte 1 Development at Next Meeting
Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen has invited representatives from the Kraft Organization to attend the Sept. 18 meeting to discuss and present potential development plans at Patriot Place and along Route 1.
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Foxborough Man Who Threatened Selectman Over Casino Vote Arrested Again
Michael Viscardi, 40, of 1 Spruce St. Foxborough was arrested for allegedly violating the harassment prevention order that was a condition of his probation after pleading guilty to threatening a Foxborough selectman over a casino vote in April.
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Spinelli Right at Home in Second Year as Foxborough Schools Superintendent
Debra Spinelli has been a Foxborough resident for 32 years and enters her second as Foxborough Superintendent of Schools with the intent of taking the district from “great to greater.”
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New Igo Principal Ready to ‘Make a Difference’ in Foxborough
Michael Stanton takes over as principal of the Igo Elementary School in Foxborough after spending the past seven years as principal of Boyden Elementary School in Walpole.
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PHOTOS: Foxborough Students Begin a New School Year
Upload your back to school photos to this article and share with friends and family members!
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The Way We Work: Jobs That Are Gone in Foxborough, Around the Country
For Labor Day, Patch looks at how jobs have changed during the last century and some of the old mills in Foxborough.
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Robert Jubinville Wins Governor's Council Primary
Election officials announced Thursday night that Robert Jubinville won the highly-contested primary for the second district of Governor's Council.
Jubinville won the popular vote in many of the 40 towns in the second district.
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Kennedy and Bielat to Face off for Fourth Congressional District Seat
After months of campaigning across a large and newly redrawn district, the pool of Fourth Congressional District candidates has officially been whittled down from six to two.
Democrat Joe Kennedy III and Republican Sean Bielat will be the two names on the November ballot for the Fourth Congressional District, according to reports from the Associated Press.
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RESULTS: A Strong Showing for Republican, Democrat Favorites in Foxborough During State Primary
The light voter turnout was as expected as the results in Foxborough for Thursday's State Primary.
Foxborough Town Clerk Bob Cutler said he wasn't surprised by the low turnout at Ahern Middle School Thursday because primaries typically don't draw many voters.
"It was relatively light but it was expected," Cutler said. "It was in line with the trend of all primaries. ... We projected about 15 percent [turnout] and we got probably right around 14 percent [at 1,471 voters]."
