On Saturday, well more than 100 people came together in Newton Centre to protest the manyviolations of American democracy committed by the Donald Trump administration since January20, 2025. The DOGE czar was singled out for some of the most virulent criticism. The largeenthusiastic crowd gathered at the intersection of Centre…
Posts published by “Letters to the Editor”
The March 11 meeting of the Land Use Committee was a good one for residents and businesses of Nonantum. The owner of 386-390 Watertown Street withdrew their request to rezone it as MU4 (mixed use 4), as well as the application to construct a four-story building after a public hearing in…
Tuesday night was difficult for me as a member of the Land Use Committee. I witnessed a very promising, small infill development proposed for a vacant lot in the heart of a Nonantum be withdrawn by the applicant after months of meetings and negotiations. The proposed building included thirteen very modest-sized…
I read about the NPS future budget dilemma. Any type of override is not the solution. School leaders must reevaluate their spending demands and focus on the type of education system Newton can actually afford. Newton middle class residents can not continue to pay the present 3.5% increase in property…
Forty years after efforts to clean up the Charles River began, we still cannot safely swim in its waters. The only swimming in the Lower Basin — between Watertown and Boston Harbor — occurs through special permits, and these events are often canceled due to poor water quality. Now, we…
We all enjoy the former Walgreens parking lot between Langley and Lyman streets. It daily hosts an ‘overflow’ of 50-60 cars. However, the current success of parking in the Newton Centre Triangle lot depends entirely on this overflow. Have the proposed plans for a plaza considered what will happen when we…
Newton Dialogues on Peace and War holds peace vigils every Monday afternoon in Newton Centre — and has done so ever since its founding in 2002. NDPW aims to foster dialogue particularly around nuclear disarmament. In 2019, Newton’s City Council passed its “Back from the Brink” resolution, originally introduced by NDPW, calling…
After much deliberation, I am deciding that I’m not running for re-election this year. Being a city councilor is a great job—one I’m honored to be allowed to do. Much of the good government can do is done here, at the local level—help people, protect public schools and civil rights,…
I watched the City Council discuss city issues with the Mayor. The meeting was conducted in a very polite and civil manner. The real tough questions facing Newton and its residents were not laid out in a comprehensive way. What I find missing from the Mayor’s leadership is a satisfactory…
I was appalled to learn that Newton’s City Council has overwhelmingly approved a ban on tobacco sales to people born after a particular date. If approved by the Mayor, this law will set a dangerous precedent by creating separate classes of citizens with different legal rights. If this is accepted,…
Last March, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld Brookline’s innovative Bylaw, The Nicotine-Free Generation. Following Brookline’s lead, I with colleagues docketed an ordinance change to protect Newton’s young people from starting a smoking habit. This new law would prevent the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1,…
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