Approximately 500 women, men, children, and dogs stood on a line along Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands on January 27 to sample a wide variety of soup offered by local restaurants and served by Newton City Councilors. In its third year, the WinterFEST Soup Social is a highly successful collaboration…
Posts published in January 2024
Newton Teachers Strike: Four Fig City News articles since Saturday morning: City Council No City Council meetings this week. School Committee No public meetings of the School Committee are scheduled. The Negotiation Committee continues to meet in Executive Session on contract negotiations. Boards and Commissions Newton Cultural Council will meet on Monday:…
On January 17, the School Committee and Newton Teachers Association (NTA) continued their negotiations, from 8:30AM until about 9:30PM. The core of the NTA negotiating team stayed in the negotiations and did not attend the NTA’s afternoon rally at City Hall. After the day of negotiations, the two sides presented…
The Newton Teachers Association held a rally on the steps of the Newton City Hall War Memorial on Saturday, January 27. A crowd approaching 2000 people – including teachers, parents, students, as well as supporters from area schools and labor organizations – gathered to protest the lack of progress in…
The State Department of Fire Services released a statement informing the community of the passing of an 80-year-old Newton man who had been rescued by Newton firefighters from a two-alarm house fire at 16 Lincoln Road in Nonantum on January 24. Newton Fire Chief Gregory Gentile said at a press…
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…
On January 26, legal representatives of the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) attended two hearings in Middlesex Superior Court, after which the judge issued a ruling that assesses a coercive fine of $50,000 per day that the strike remains in place, starting at 8PM on Sunday, January 28. No fine will…
The League of Women Voters Newton will host a book signing featuring Ellen Clegg (former editor of the Boston Globe) and Dan Kennedy (Northeastern University professor of journalism) speaking about their new book, What Works in Community News: Media Startups, Media Deserts, and the Future of the Fourth Estate. The…
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…
On January 27, 10AM-2PM, Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) in Newton will host a free blood bank screening drive for eligible pets at 165 Needham Street. Pets that meet the set criteria for screening will also receive a complimentary physical exam, some treats and toys, and a chance to enter a raffle for…
Newton Community Pride (NCP) will host its third annual WinterFEST during the weekend of January 27-28 with events — all free and open to all — in Cold Spring Park, Newton Highlands, Newton Centre, and Newtonville. (Download flyer.) January 27, 10AM, at Cold Spring Park: Newton Conservators and Olaf from…