Thank you to David Mickley for his 1/9/24 Letter to the Editor, criticizing Greg Vasil’s Boston Globe editorial (Massachusetts can make housing more affordable, 12/27/23). Vasil called the Newton zoning law “watered down” and claimed that suburban voters fear that “apartment buildings and dwellers will change their neighborhood’s character and…
Posts published in January 2024
A recent Boston Globe Op-Ed compares Newton’s and Brookline’s zoning updates to address the regional housing shortage. Brookline is framed as the housing hero that “adopted one of the most significant zoning reforms in town history” while Newton is described as passing “a watered-down housing plan.” As a current Newton City Councilor…
Fig City News board member Tamirirashe Gambiza will run the 128th Boston Marathon to raise funds for Fig City News. He aims to raise $5,000 to expand our payments to local reporters and student interns. You can donate here and then join Fig City fans along the route cheering Tami…
This week, the City of Newton achieved Safe Harbor status with regard to a state housing law, Chapter 40B — over 50 years after the law was enacted in 1969. In communities where Safe Harbor status has not been achieved, developers may bypass some local zoning requirements for projects that…
As shopper after shopper visited Auburndale gift store Just Next Door this week, they greeted owner Amy Shih with praise, gratitude, and wistful regret that she will soon be shuttering the beloved business. When customer Jenny Rosenthal — a Newton resident who has been buying presents there for 10 years…
Unresolved NTA Contract Overhangs Meeting Agenda. The School Committee meeting on January 8, consistent with prior meetings for the past few months, began with several public commenters advocating for higher City budget allocations to Newton Public Schools (NPS) in order to settle the outstanding negotiation with the Newton Teachers Association…
“The reason grief can be so hard is because it can feel so isolating,” Julia Ong reflected while discussing the 2021 death of her younger child, Avery. Even before their daughter died, the Newton resident and her husband, Jordan Bray, experienced the crushing weight of grief upon learning the baby’s…
Recent honors, appointments, and arrivals for people who live or work in Newton…
The Zoning and Planning (ZAP) Committee held its first meeting of 2024 on Monday, January 8 with its new chair, veteran City Councilor Lisle Baker, presiding. In a memo to the Committee, Councilor Baker proposed that the members engage “in a preliminary discussion about where the Committee might spend its…
Soon after being sworn in by Mayor Fuller on January 4, the Newton Highlands Area Council elected officers for the new term: Jeremy Freudberg, President; Barbara Darnell, Vice-President; Groot Gregory, Treasurer; and Srdjan Nedeljkovic, Secretary. City Councilors Bixby, Farrell, Getz, Lobovits, Lucas, and Wright attended the meeting. The Area Council…