Gas is not safe, not clean, not green. With our own eyes we see how the climate crisis is increasing the social and financial costs of increasingly extreme weather. The answer is to stop burning fossil fuels while transitioning to a rapid, equitable transition to carbon-free energy sources. On March…
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I am a long time Newton resident whose children attended our wonderful public schools. I will be voting NO on all three of Newton’s proposed override questions. Why I am Voting NO and How to Make Me a YES The clear fundamental issue in the City’s budget is the massive…
When data analysts in Cambridge, MA saw through satellite imagery that the urban tree canopy of the city had precipitously shrunken, the City Council called it an emergency; a moratorium on removing healthy trees was put in place and the City Council of Cambridge enacted a new ordinance protecting healthy…
With the controversy around the siting and permitting of the Newton Center for Active Living (NewCAL) now behind us, it is time for the community to focus on the interior design of the building, specifically its accessibility to older adults, including those who are visually impaired. Newton’s Senior Center has…
On the two-year anniversary of the police killing of our neighbor, Michael Conlon, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller sent a city-wide email that regrettably did not center Michael as a person, celebrate his life or mourn his death. Nor did the email talk about the importance of mental health or offer…
For years, members of Mothers Out Front, 350Mass Newton, and Green Newton watched in frustration as the DPW and Newton’s Public Facilities Committee agreed to National Grid’s whack-a-mole scattershot approach to gas pipelines. They have not reduced the many high volume and dangerous leaks nor curbed methane emissions. At the…
The development projects 28 Austin Street and Trio, which opened a few years ago, provide critical case studies by which to evaluate other, forthcoming large developments. One of the presumed benefits of both projects has been that large numbers of their residents would use public transit. That is why the City Council…
Newton has faced a variety of contentious local civic issues in the past few years – and is about to face another. The Mayor has proposed a tax override ballot measure with the vote scheduled for March 14, 2023. The debate about the override has begun, and if history provides…
It’s time to fix the roof! No homeowner likes to hear that since roofs are expensive and not a particularly fun home improvement. But a well-functioning roof is essential to have a safe, usable home. So every so often we need to tighten our belts and repair or replace the…
In 1970, the committee work on the Board of Aldermen was often conducted in private. The public and Aldermen were, at the whim of the chair, prohibited from attending committee meetings. With the decision to prohibit the public from using graphics at Zoning Redesign meetings, is ZAP returning to those…