On March 2, the School Committee, including Mayor Marc Laredo, met with Superintendent Anna Nolin and NPS Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Liam Hurley in a public but unrecorded budget meeting at the Education Center. The meeting was also attended by Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Ayesha Farag and observed…
Fig City News
The West Newton Cinema continued its run of dynamic, creative programming with a film screening and panel discussion on March 1. In time for basketball tournament season, the Cinema presented the memorable 1986 film Hoosiers. Hoosiers, starring the late Gene Hackman, was inspired by the “Milan Miracle of 1954,” when…
Emily Craven — Newton North HS ’22, now studying at University of Vermont — was the primary fundraiser for last year’s Fig City News summer internship program, and she’s back with a higher goal. On April 20, Emily will once again run the Boston Marathon to raise $8,500 for the Fig…
When three contiguous parcels (206-208 Concord Street in Lower Falls) were put on the market at the same time, Lower Falls resident Tori Zissman began to worry about the possibility of a developer tearing down the existing homes to make way for a new, larger project. Zissman, who had long admired…
While each Newton village has its own personality and quirks, city residents attending Mayor Marc Laredo’s listening sessions across the city voiced many of the same concerns no matter where they lived. During recent meetings at Day Middle School and the new Cooper Center, attendees echoed worries expressed earlier during…
Daniel Mola discovered Brazilian jiu jitsu at 12, and it never let go. He now owns and operates Atom Jiu Jitsu & Science at 118 Needham Street, where he teaches multiple classes a day – demonstrating positions, watching as students work through them, and stepping in with small corrections or…
A large snow mound left over from clearing the road from the February 23 snowstorm was blocking the Commonwealth Avenue carriage road at Bristol Street late Friday afternoon, forcing pedestrians and runners to either pick their way through the mound or venture out into Commonwealth Avenue traffic on one of…
Someday you’ll hear someone ask, “Do you have any photos from that storm back in ’26?” Fig City News managed to get out and around in Newton Center to take some photos during that historic February 2026 storm. For future reference, here’s what it looked like. See these photos and…
This month, Fig City News profiles two particularly generous members of our community – Josephine McNeil and Lionel Porter – in celebration of Black History Month. Josephine McNeil Josephine McNeil is the founder and executive director of the Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization (CAN-DO), a community-based, nonprofit…
After the recent blockbuster snow storm, City officials expect costs of snow and ice removal in Newton to surpass their $5 million budget as expenditures continue to rise. The City Council’s Finance Committee unanimously approved the recommendation to transfer an additional $1.5 million from the snow and ice reserve in…