The proposed Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) was reported out of the Zoning and Planning (ZAP) Committee on Monday night, November 25, after two hours of contentious public comments. BERDO will now be discussed and voted on or amended at the full City Council meeting on December 2. …
Fig City News
It could have been awkward. Thirty-eight years ago, Fran Clancy was a born-and-raised Catholic, a parishioner at Our Lady’s, and the mother of two young daughters, and she needed a new job. When she applied for the advertised position of Secretary at the First Unitarian Society in Newton (FUUSN), she…
The Newton Turkey Trot is an annual event — featuring both a 1-mile family race and a certified USATF 5K road race — on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, starting and ending at Zervas Elementary School. It started 11 years ago with 100 runners, but this year has grown to 1,700…
Highlights this week… City Council City Council is not scheduled to meet this week. Zoning and Planning will meet on Monday to discuss BERDO — a possible ordinance to require owners’ annual reporting of energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions by large properties (campuses and large commercial buildings), in…
Following the unanimous recommendation by Newton’s nine-member Police Selection Committee, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced that George McMains, the Acting Chief of the Newton Police Department (NPD), will succeed John Carmichael as the department’s new chief. Former Chief Carmichael resigned at the end of August, after a three-month personal leave. Acting…
The Community Day Center of Waltham (CDCW) — a fifteen-minute drive from Newton — provides shelter and support for the unhoused. Starting in a church basement twenty years ago, CDCW has grown as both a drop-in day center and an extension of the MetroWest community. Newtonian volunteers are essential to…
Next Wednesday, November 27, Newton Public Schools (NPS) will host its inaugural Alumni Breakfast at 9AM-11AM at the Education Center (100 Walnut Street). All alumni of the Newton Public Schools are welcome. This event is intended to be a relaxed gathering between old high school friends to catch up, learn…
On November 18, the City Council approved Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s nominations of former City Councilor Deb Crossley and Charles Eisenberg for one-year terms as associate members on Newton’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The vote on Crossley’s nomination was inverted, in that Yes vote signified denial of the nomination and…
On November 18, the Newton City Council voted to shift more of Newton’s 2025 tax levy to the commercial/industrial/personal property owners to pay for the Mayor’s FY2025 budget approved last Spring. Since the amount of increase to last year’s budget allowed by law is 2.5%, the dollar amount is $10,521,712…
As the inaugural Newton Children’s Book Festival approaches, it’s a fitting coincidence that participating author Elly Swartz’s upcoming novel, Same Page, focuses on “the freedom to read and the power of kids to change the world.” Swartz is one of more than 60 Newton-area authors and illustrators who will be…