Week in Review: Power Outage, Parking Ban, Jake N’ Joes and More

Miss anything in Foxborough this week?

Here's your chance to sit back and catch up on some Patch. Below is a recap of this week’s biggest headlines on Foxborough Patch:

Over 1,000 National Grid customers in Foxborough woke up to no power Friday morning after arcing wires caused a “circuit to pop” on Main Street, according to Foxborough Fire Chief Roger Hatfield.

“National Grid was on scene and it sounds like [the arcing wires] popped the circuit,” Hatfield said.

The power outage took place at 6:29 a.m., according to National Grid’s website and affected 1,021 customers in the area of Main Street.

Estimated restoration, according to National Grid was 8:45 a.m., but Hatfield informed Foxborough Patch just before 8 a.m. the power was back on in the area.

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Grand Slam Restaurant Concepts Foxborough LLC DBA Jake N’ Joes agreed to buy the Piccadilly Pub property in Foxborough on July 25 after the , according to the company’s application to the town. Grand Slam Restaurant Concepts Foxborough LLC, which is also associated with The Chateau restaurant chain, is interested in bringing Jake N' Joes to 25 Foxborough Blvd.

Jake N’ Joes' proposed layout of the restaurant will feature two dining rooms and one bar. The bar will seat 28 while dining room one will seat 80 patrons and dining room two will seat 92, according to the company’s proposed floor plan.

The square footage of the restaurant space, currently at 7,800, is expected to remain unchanged as a result of the renovations, according to the application.

The target date of opening Jake N’ Joes on Nov. 21, according to the company’s application to the town.

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Jake N’ Joes Sports Grille is coming to Foxborough and will be looking to hire 60 to 65 employees from the area when it gets closer to its November opening, according to Gerrard D. Fruggiero, the restaurant’s manager.

“We expect to hire 60 to 65 people from the local communities to work for us,” Fruggiero told the Foxborough Board of Selectmen at Tuesday’s public hearing regarding the liquor license transfer from Piccadilly Pub to Jake N’ Joes. “Once we get into a timeline of opening and are four weeks from anticipated training of staff, we will do on-site hiring where we will set up a trailer to do interviewing and hiring.”

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"The Boss" returned to Foxborough for the first time since 2008 last Saturday and was greeted by a mostly well-behaved crowd of 46,700 at Gillette Stadium, according to Foxborough Police.

The crowd at last weekend’s Bruce Springsteen concert, according to police, presented "few problems." No arrests were reported in the Foxborough Police logs and 64 people were taken into protective custody.

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Foxborough Chief of Police Edward O’Leary told Foxborough Patch prior to Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting that Foxborough Police arrested two teens Monday night after they allegedly broke into “a booth at the fields near the playground behind the Igo School.”

“The two teens took some merchandise from the booth,” O’Leary said. “The alarm went off and the evening shift [officers] did a great job of responding to the situation.”

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Foxborough's ban on parking for a fee in residential neighborhoods during events is now in effect and local authorities are ready to put it into action.

"[Monday] night, in my personal car, with my sunglasses on and a hat – I looked like a movie star – I drove down North Street and was waved in [to park for a fee] by 11 homeowners," said Foxborough Building Inspector Bill Casbarra, referring to activity prior to Monday night's Patriots game. ... "On Friday, I'm going to be back and if you are someone that is charging [to park], you are going to get a ticket."

The parking ban was not in effect for Monday's Patriots game against the Philadelphia Eagles but will be for this weekend's New England Country Music Festival.

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Student lunches will cost 25 cents more around the Foxborough School District this year to meet federal guidelines but it’s the improvements to food services that has caught Schools Superintendent Debra Spinelli's attention this summer.

Under the direction of new Food Services Director Allison Johnson, the district will be offering healthier foods and more "scratch" recipes. Johnson, along with Foxborough Schools Business Administrator Bill Yukna, highlighted several improvements to food services, which will take effect this year, at the Aug. 13 School Committee meeting.

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Joan Gallivan presented the town of Foxborough - through its Board of Selectmen - the Charles James Fox monument and a fund of $24,000 to be used to find a permanent, and hopefully, prominent home for the memorial.

The $24,000 is from a fund that was established to raise money for the monument and in Vincent Gallivan's memory.

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As the calendar turns to the end of August – and summer – families will be spending the next 12 days readying their children for another school year in Foxborough.

For some students, it will be their first day at their respective school while others – the seasoned veterans of Foxborough education – will be embarking on their final year in the district.

No matter the experience, however, every student, teacher and administrator will notice changes throughout the district in 2012-13.

Among the changes this year are new principals at the Igo Elementary School and Foxborough High School, a new Food Services Director in the district, a new Athletic Director at the high school, a new K-12 wellness department head and a new art department head.

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When Kingston resident Jack Curran was four years old, he was diagnosed with Acut Lymphoblastic Leukemia and spent six weeks receiving his initial medical care at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

A year later, Curran still suffers from Leukemia and receives treatment through the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber but on Monday, he received the thrill of a lifetime when he served as the New England Patriots ball boy during the team's preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on Monday Night Football.

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The percentage of income Foxborough residents give to charity is less than the county, state and country averages, according to a study released this week.

However, those making less in Foxborough give the most, percentage-wise.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that Foxborough residents, with a median discretionary income of $65,194, had a median contribution of 2.6 percent, or $1,719, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected.