The exciting news of a large tract of land for sale in Newton is an opportunity for the City of Newton to consider the development into affordable single-family housing like we did post WWII for returning veterans. There are wonderful models of cluster housing with shared open space. The houses are…
Posts published in November 2022
Just after the 2022 midterm elections, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-CD4) hosted a climate summit at Needham’s Olin College of Engineering with experts in climate and energy. (See video.) Opening the summit, Olin College President Gilda Barabino highlighted the current climate emergency and noted that Olin students are taught to…
Early in the pandemic, Massachusetts established rules to facilitate outdoor dining, and those rules are set to expire in March 2023. (See Newton’s restaurant guidelines.) The Charles River Regional Chamber has started a petition in support of making the outdoor-dining rules permanent, at least on the local level, and the petition currently has over…
The Newton Public Schools Superintendent Search Committee is conducting focus groups — both in-person and virtual — with both NPS parents/guardians and members of the overall Newton community. Topics to be covered include: Each focus group is one hour. There are several dates and times available November 17-20 for individuals…
Since Monday’s Fig City Local Government Meetings & Reports, several additional meetings have been posted: The Newton Citizens Commission on Energy will meet virtually (Zoom link) TONIGHT, Wednesday, November 16 at 7PM and will hear updates on the Residential Sector working groups, which began meeting on November 8 and November…
A significant change could be on the way for the Newton Police Department as a group of officers will soon begin a pilot program for body-worn cameras, according to Chief John Carmichael. “I recognize that there are pros and cons to it,” said Carmichael during a recent phone interview. “I…
A ballot-question committee, Vote Yes for Newton, has been formed to advocate for the approval of three override proposals totaling $14.9 million. The three questions will be decided in an election in March 2023. The committee is co-chaired by Christine Dutt and Kerry Prasad, and Kevin Spector is treasurer. Kerry…
The November 7 School Committee meeting began with five NPS high school students winning the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Academic/Blumer Book awards: There were eight public commenters, a large amount compared with most public comment periods, addressing NPS’ announcement during the October 27 School Committee meeting that, due to…
At the corner of Walnut and Floral Streets in Newton Highlands, in a row of shops that formerly held Takara Sushi and Coffee Corner, there’s a letter-sized sign taped to a shop window: “Help Wanted — Inventor’s Assistants — kimatlab.com” — along with a one-page, densely typed “Partial List of…
Regarding the Gershom Hyde home at 29 Greenwood Street, we are watching Newton’s History rot while the City, a developer and the Court try to decide what Newton’s history is worth. Families lived in the Gershom Hyde home, for 267 years. The last family, the Edward Friedmans, lived there until…