I am disappointed that the Public Facilities Committee swiftly voted to approve a road diet of Washington St. without further consideration for feedback from residents who will be most impacted. In 2018 the Newtonville Area Council conducted a thorough survey asking residents for input on desired improvements to Washington St.…
Posts published in “Letters to the Editor”
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The schools in Newton have always been the shining gem of our community. Education was highly valued, and, therefore, funded. And now, they are running on fumes. School personnel are what make education in Newton phenomenal. Despite the crumbling buildings, the out of date texts, and lack of technology, our schools…
Any proposal for changes to Washington Street between Lowell Ave. and West Newton must account for its varied uses and future development: It functions as a residential street, a business district and an east-west thoroughfare; construction at the Armory and Dunstan East will add 335 more households and 8,000 sq ft…
I fully support our teachers and appreciate all they do and yes, they should get paid more. I was taught by wonderful Newton teachers. Reading the news, though, you would think that Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is on par with the worst fascists of the century. Protest signs have her likeness…
Mike Zilles, head of the Newton Teachers Association, spearheaded no-confidence votes on Newton’s elected mayor and elected school committee. This followed a no-confidence vote on our last superintendent, David Fleishman, because the NTA disagreed with plans to return to in-classroom education. Now the NTA is illegally striking, shutting students out of…
I think that there is impartial evidence that Mayor Fuller and the NPS School Committee have not been negotiating in good faith. Superior Court Judge Barry-Smith decided today to LOWER the daily fine to the NTA to a consistent $50,000, instead of increasing it to $400,000, and he came to…
Regarding comments by NTA President Mike Zilles about Mayor Fuller’s designation of federal pandemic funds for Newton Public Schools (NPS), I’d like to clarify the information. Mayor Fuller invested over $28 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and CARES funds, approximately 40% of the City’s total, in the…
Kudos and thanks to the members of the Newton School Committee! They have shown exceptional diligence, patience and flexibility, offering many substantive proposals and adjustments in their responses to the demands of the teachers union. At the same time, they have, as they are expected to do, defended the taxpayers…
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…
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…