On Monday, February 2, Ward 2 City Councilor Susan Albright raised a charter objection to the Public Safety and Transportation Committee’s recommendation to shorten the Newton Centre Plaza pilot to May 31. This effectively delayed consideration of that recommendation until the next City Council meeting. (The City’s Charter allows any…
Fig City News
The regularly scheduled February 2 School Committee meeting focused on the ongoing revisions to the Newton Public Schools (NPS) math curriculum. Ahead of the curriculum presentation, the School Committee approved proposed fee increases for various ancillary NPS programs such as musical instrument education, early-morning and after-school programs, and athletics. Increases…
Concerned about how a proposed 234-unit multi-family development in Nonantum would impact traffic, parking, and affordability in the city, dozens of people showed up to speak at the January 28 Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting. Adam Lunin, a Newton resident who lives near the proposed project, said he is…
Across the United States, affordable housing has become a defining crisis of our time. Rising costs, limited supply, and growing economic segregation are reshaping where people can live, work, and raise families. The consequences are no longer abstract: they show up in workforce shortages, longer commutes, declining school enrollments, and,…
NPS’s Literacy Night presentation on January 28 focused on the NPS Literacy Program and how parents of children in Grades K-5 can help them at home. It was led by Dr. David Kloker, the district’s new Director of English Language Arts & Literacy PK-12, who was hired last summer. He…
At noon on Saturday, January 31, despite 14°F weather, 122 people gathered in Newton Centre for what has become a weekly protest against Trump administration policies. People lined the sidewalks around all sides of the Centre Street / Beacon Street intersection. They held signs, danced, and chanted — and were…
Congressman Jake Auchincloss, drawing a direct line to the American Revolution, said Friday he supports using the Massachusetts National Guard to counter federal immigration enforcement operations if they escalate in the state. “250 years ago, we refused to quarter the King’s troops,” Auchincloss said in a Fig City News Podcast…
On January 28, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro spoke to a packed house of over 400 at the Newton JCC’s Riemer Goldstein Theater about his new book, Where We Keep the Light: Stories From a Life of Service. Shapiro is an influential governor widely speculated to be preparing a 2028 run…
Full transcript of Fig City News podcast interview with Rep. Jake Auchincloss in his Newton District Office on Friday, January 30, 2026.
From starring in Newton South High School’s theater productions to singing the national anthem at a recent Patriots game, senior David Rosemberg channels his passion for singing and performing in a variety of ways. Rosemberg’s love for music goes back as far as he can remember. He said that his…