The Land Use Committee voted to approve the following (see the report and watch the meeting video): The committee voted to hold the following: The Committee supported a consistency ruling from the Commissioner of Inspectional Services to allow for an increase in lot coverage granted in a special permit for…
Posts published in March 2025
The Public Safety & Transportation Committee voted to hold the following (read the report and watch the meeting video): The City said Lyman Street will be made one-way and that local businesses were positive on the new plan. The budget is still $300,000 from COVID ARPA funds, plus the separate…
On Monday, March 10, former Newton State Representative Kay Khan hosted a luncheon to honor the work of two Suffolk University faculty who have spent much of their academic careers researching the range of challenges for incarcerated women. Among her last acts as state representative, Rep. Khan issued proclamations for…
While some jewelry is inspired by nature, every glittering accessory at Carla Shaw Sustainable Fashion in Newton Centre literally has a piece of nature at its core. If you could peer inside the Union Street shop’s earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings, you’d find an individual leaf, flower, or even coffee…
Margaret Morganroth Gullette has published six books on age and ageism, most recently American Eldercide. How It Happened, How to Prevent It, by the University of Chicago Press. The book has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. See her interview in Nonprofit Quarterly. Jameson White…
Highlights this week… City Council City Council Committee Chairs will meet on Monday to discuss current practices and Open Meeting Law issues. City Council will meet on Monday to vote on the following requests (see Reports Docket): The New Docket includes the following requests: Programs and Services regularly scheduled meeting…
Tuesday night was difficult for me as a member of the Land Use Committee. I witnessed a very promising, small infill development proposed for a vacant lot in the heart of a Nonantum be withdrawn by the applicant after months of meetings and negotiations. The proposed building included thirteen very modest-sized…
The Newton Food Pantry announced plans for the construction of Newton’s first standalone food pantry, to be completed by Spring 2026, according to a March 3 press release. The single-story building, to be built on an empty lot at 131 Rumford Avenue in Auburndale, will be an upgrade from the…
Two long-time, well known Newton residents have recently written and published book-length memoirs. The two memoirs are not at all alike. But in deep conversations with both John Stewart and Bob Burke, I have seen that the experience of writing a memoir had changed each of them. John Stewart: My…
After much discussion and debate in the March 11 Land Use Committee meeting, the owner of 386-390 Watertown Street withdrew his request for a zoning change and a special permit. At the March 4 City Council Land Use Committee meeting, members had learned that the ongoing zoning change and special…