Newton Fire Chief Greg Gentile announced that Chief Murphy, 86, died at Newton-Wellesley Hospital on December 9. Chief Murphy began his career in the Newton Fire Department in 1961, after serving in the Navy, and rose through department ranks, promoted to Captain, Deputy Chief, Acting Chief, and Chief of the…
Posts published in December 2025
At the final City Council meeting of the year and the term, six Newton City Councilors – Alan Lobovits, Bill Humphrey, Andreae Downs, Vicki Danberg, Rick Lipof, and Mayor-elect Marc Laredo – reflected on their time in office. Councilor Lenny Gentile, who was not in attendance, will also retire after…
Although Sydney, Australia is more than 10,000 miles away from Massachusetts, the December 14, mass shooting on Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration was top of mind for crowd members gathered at the Newton Centre Green to mark the Jewish Festival of Lights. The holiday event, coordinated by the local…
Every week, staff members at Good Shepherd Community Care competed for the privilege of driving Theresa Nicolazzo home. The elderly woman lived with physical challenges and ongoing health needs. For her to volunteer at the Newton-based hospice’s offices, someone had to pick her up at her house, work carefully with…
Over the course of this fall, Newton Public Schools (NPS) presented its first comprehensive long-range facilities plan since 2019. This follows a Demographic Study and ten-year projection completed by Cropper GIS McKibben in late 2024, following the dissolution of the Underwood-Ward Task Force, which had been created by the previous…
Highlights this week… City Council City Council will meet on Monday and is expected to vote on the following requests (see Reports Docket): The New Docket includes appeals (to be referred to the next City Council) of Traffic Council decisions to approve trials to: Real Property Reuse Committee will meet…
The Financial Audit Advisory Committee reviewed the following financial highlights, the management letter, and special projects (see the report and watch the meeting video): Zach Fentross “explained that in the statement of net position, the City has liabilities of $1.2 billion, which are primarily made up of long-term liabilities. He…
The Land Use Committee approved the following (see the report and watch the meeting video): Request to allow non-accessory parking, associated dimensional waivers relative to surface parking lots and to allow a retaining wall exceeding four feet in height at 56 Chapel Street (5-2-1, Councilors Kelley and Lucas opposed, Councilor…
The Finance Committee approved the following (see the report and watch the meeting video): Acceptance and expenditure of a $5,000,000 FY2026 MassWorks grant for the Crafts Street Culvert Replacement project. The Committee approved acceptance of a competitive state grant to support replacement or lining of a deteriorated culvert segment near…
The Zoning & Planning Committee approved the following (see the report and watch the meeting video): Zoning map amendment for 41 Farwell Street. The Committee approved a zoning map amendment to rezone the property in support of a proposed redevelopment project, finding that the change was consistent with surrounding zoning…