HOLLIS – Tired of getting information – and misinformation – from social media, one Hollis resident and a couple of other members of the Rotary Club of Hollis-Brookline, decided to take steps toward some type of blog for residents.

This spring, Juliana Rowland of Hollis assembled the first version of www.hollisbrooklinenewsonline.com, a nonprofit service project of the Rotary Club aimed at restoring the flow of local information throughout the two communities.

“We saw the need … we thought we could step in and provide this service,” Rowland said this week, adding that the greatly diminished stream of information about “what was going on in town” was eroding the ever-vital connection between the town’s residents.

Rowland said she’s currently in the process of convening a committee of fellow Rotarians to help drum up posts for the site, although so far plenty of submissions have come her way since she launched it in April.

Because the site is affiliated with the Rotary Club as a non-profit, there are no fees, and besides the occasional, small “thank-you” ad for the Rotary’s business partners, there are no advertisements.

Rowland said the main focus is on community events and happenings, with strong content and good photographs.

An events calendar offering day-by-day listings of upcoming events such as shows, plays, performances, music concerts, art openings and exhibits and other community events, will appear on the site, Rowland said.

An 11-year Hollis-Brookline Rotary Club member who served a term as president, Rowland said the site gives Rotarians and other residents an alternative to Facebook.

Newsletter