Following the unanimous recommendation by Newton’s nine-member Police Selection Committee, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced that George McMains, the Acting Chief of the Newton Police Department (NPD), will succeed John Carmichael as the department’s new chief. Former Chief Carmichael resigned at the end of August, after a three-month personal leave. Acting…
Fig City News
The Community Day Center of Waltham (CDCW) — a fifteen-minute drive from Newton — provides shelter and support for the unhoused. Starting in a church basement twenty years ago, CDCW has grown as both a drop-in day center and an extension of the MetroWest community. Newtonian volunteers are essential to…
Next Wednesday, November 27, Newton Public Schools (NPS) will host its inaugural Alumni Breakfast at 9AM-11AM at the Education Center (100 Walnut Street). All alumni of the Newton Public Schools are welcome. This event is intended to be a relaxed gathering between old high school friends to catch up, learn…
On November 18, the City Council approved Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s nominations of former City Councilor Deb Crossley and Charles Eisenberg for one-year terms as associate members on Newton’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The vote on Crossley’s nomination was inverted, in that Yes vote signified denial of the nomination and…
The Newton Free Library was the site of a sometimes contentious meeting between Newton Highlands residents and the Newton Public Works Department on November 14. This was the sixth community meeting addressing the Newton Highlands Village Enhancement Project, which could create substantial changes to Newton Highland’s center. The Project is…
On November 18, the Newton City Council voted to shift more of Newton’s 2025 tax levy to the commercial/industrial/personal property owners to pay for the Mayor’s FY2025 budget approved last Spring. Since the amount of increase to last year’s budget allowed by law is 2.5%, the dollar amount is $10,521,712…
As the inaugural Newton Children’s Book Festival approaches, it’s a fitting coincidence that participating author Elly Swartz’s upcoming novel, Same Page, focuses on “the freedom to read and the power of kids to change the world.” Swartz is one of more than 60 Newton-area authors and illustrators who will be…
The Newton Fire Department received a Group Citation for Meritorious Conduct at the 35th annual Massachusett Firefighter of the Year Awards ceremony. The award cited Captain Karl “Gus” Svartstrom, Lieutenant Joseph DeLuca, and Firefighters Richard Busa, Ryan Doherty, Michael Pohlman, Lawrence Quinn, Andrew Sbordone, and Joseph Yerardi for their service in an…
Across the Commonwealth and the nation, election turnout was lower in 2024 than in 2020. Notwithstanding the many options for voting available, nearly 3,000 fewer voters cast ballots in Newton this year compared with 2020. According to John Doyle, Newton’s Election Supervisor, 47,344 voted on in the November 2024 election,…
Standing proudly in the heart of Newton Highlands, Highland Opticians has been selling eyewear to the Greater Boston community for over forty-five years. The business, founded by Jefferey Mann in 1976, has since been passed down to his daughters, Emilie Brassil and Julie Mann. “[We make] sure that people get…