In brief

Allston-Brighton Family Network accepts HSPH-sponsored award

The Allston-Brighton Family Network (ABFN) – a group of service providers, parents, and neighborhood residents who develop free activities and programs that support the positive and healthy development of young children and families in that Boston neighborhood – has been named the recipient of the 2006 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Children’s Health. Given jointly by the city of Boston Mayor’s Office, the Harvard Center for Society and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), and Children’s Hospital Boston, the $10,000 award recognizes community-oriented programs that improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents living in Boston.

Part of the Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts, a community-based nonprofit whose goals include promoting healthy families and communities, ABFN was recognized at an awards ceremony Nov. 27 at Winshop Elementary School in Brighton, Mass. Speakers included Mayor Thomas M. Menino and HSPH Dean Barry R. Bloom.

MAC renovations begin in March

The Malkin Athletic Center (MAC) will close for renovations the week of March 19 and will remain closed through the end of October 2007. This scheduled closing has been set back from the originally published February date to help provide greater flexibility in the relocation of existing programs.

The Department of Athletics, Harvard College, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Office of Physical Resources are actively determining alternative spaces for the activities that will be affected by the closing. Activities currently scheduled in the MAC gymnasium will move to Lavietes Pavilion, the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center (QRAC), and Hemenway Gymnasium. Pool activity will move to Blodgett Pool with expanded hours. Exercise equipment will potentially move to a combination of QRAC, House gyms, Yard spaces, and athletic facilities at Soldiers Field. Club and intramural activities will be accommodated at a combination of QRAC, Soldiers Field athletic fields and facilities, and activity space at Hilles Library.

The University appreciates the community’s flexibility with respect to time-specific space and walking distance, and expects to be able to maintain a broad range of recreational programming throughout the renovation. More detailed information will be posted at the MAC and on the Athletics Department Web site (http://www.gocrimson.com) as it becomes available.

Landscape Institute newsletter seeks submissions

The Landscape Institute Newsletter (LINewsletter) is currently accepting articles, interviews, exhibit or lecture announcements, commentary or editorial, or any other offering or developing news about the Arnold Arboretum, the institute, and the landscape professions of design, architecture, history, preservation, environmental science, horticulture, and construction. The LINewsletter, first circulated by the Landscape Institute of the Arnold Arboretum in November, is distributed via e-mail to students, alumni, faculty, and friends of the institute. Depending upon the availability and quality of submissions, the institute hopes to regularly put together a monthly or quarterly newsletter.

Individuals interested in submitting articles or announcements should contact Ann Greaney-Williams at (617) 495-8603 or via e-mail, amgw@arnarb.harvard.edu.

‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ kicks off season

The Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players (HRG&SP) – an independent, nonprofit student theater group dedicated to performing comic operas – will kick off its 50th anniversary this evening (Nov. 30) with an 8 p.m. performance of “H.M.S. Pinafore.” One of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famous operettas, “H.M.S. Pinafore” tells the story of love transcending social class aboard the high seas. In addition to “Pinafore,” the players will present the duo’s only one-act collaboration, “Trial by Jury,” as a special double bill.

“Trial by Jury” and “H.M.S. Pinafore” will be showed sequentially at the following times: Dec. 1 at 8 p.m., Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. Shows then resume Dec. 14. For a complete schedule of performances and ticket information, visit http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hrgsp/.