Recently we were guests on Ken Parker’s NewTV program, Common Ground, for a discussion regarding the proposed Village Center and MBTA-related zoning changes. (See NewTV’s video here.) We are sharing it here with you, as it offers a much-needed critique and additional photo-realistic illustrations of the actual impacts of the…
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I am a retail development consultant with 30+ years’ experience. I worry about the impact the proposed new zoning code would have on our Village Centers and its retail shopping environment. The proposal reflects outdated mid-20th century thinking instead of 21st century retail realities. The fact is the current generations…
Cultural awareness days are student-led by design, giving student’s agency and voice in sharing their background with other students and staff. These days are important to our students in building awareness of and respect for the many different cultures and identities that make up our diverse community. So far this…
I urge all parents of students at Newton North to keep their sons and daughters home from school this April 14, as a protest against the school’s plan to have them view a self-described “whore”, a man dressed as a woman, exhibit, at taxpayer expense, sexually provocative, indecent behavior. Ask…
Municipal budgets, such as for our schools, are effectively a zero-sum game. Once a budget is allocated to our schools, when we shift money to fund one program, it comes at the cost of another program. Over the past week or so, quite a few interest groups have sprung up…
On March 29, the Newton Public School District released a proposed school budget that includes removing strings and orchestra from the elementary schools. We support a strong music program that includes strings and orchestra in Newton’s elementary schools. The lifelong and transferable skills that playing a musical instrument cultivates in…
Understanding our Differences has a 45-year history of providing unique, hands–on disability awareness programs to 3rd–5th graders. By exposing young children to what it’s like for a person to live with a disability, UOD creates the beginnings of compassion that lasts a lifetime. As a person with a disability, I…
I urge the Newton School Committee to reinstate Understanding Our Differences (UOD) in its budget. For very few dollars, this program has an outsized impact on the culture of our community, teaching students (and parent volunteers) to see each individual person in their entirety. I cannot overstate the beneficial impact…
In Mayor Fuller’s March 24 Newsletter, the headline item was the residential and business water meter replacement program. In it, Mayor Fuller stated, “The lifespan of the water meters in our homes and businesses is about 10 years.” This struck me as absurd. An industrial component such as a water meter should have…
Last week, Damien Croteaux-Chonka’s letter cited Minneapolis as an example of a place where rents have gone down from building many more units and as a model for creating affordable housing elsewhere. Lacking direct evidence, he cites an article by Christian Britschgi, in the libertarian magazine Reason, who pays homage…