Echoing the October 4 decision of the Newton City Council’s Public Safety and Transportation Committee, the City Council voted 21-3 to reject a citizens’ petition to repeal Newton’s winter parking ban. Council President Susan Albright, Councilor Andrea Kelly, and Councilor Holly Ryan cast the dissenting votes. The petition, initiated by…
Two different signs have become visible across Newton, representing two points of view about the City’s proposed rezoning plan. Save Our Villages Two months ago, signs saying “Save Our Villages” began appearing on Newton lawns. An anonymous Newton resident who opposes the City’s proposed rezoning plan ordered and paid for the…
Deb Crossley is running for her eighth term as one of two At-Large City Councilors from Ward 5. Her involvement in guiding Newton’s direction began when then Mayor David Cohen appointed her to work on a Comprehensive Plan for the City. Councilor Crossley wrote the Energy and Natural Resources portion…
Andreae Downs is running for her fourth term as one of two At-Large members of Newton’s City Council from Ward 5. Chair of the Public Safety and Transportation (PS&T) Committee, Councilor Downs said her focus in running for office is on building community. In her view, local government is the…
Eight candidates for City Council have written a detailed letter raising concerns about the upcoming debates organized and hosted by Newton’s four Neighborhood Area Councils. The writers – Martha Bixby, Alicia Bowman, Deb Crossley, Vicki Danberg, Andreae Downs, Dan Gaynor, Holly Ryan and Doris Ann Sweet — said that the…
Doris Ann Sweet, a retired academic research librarian, is running to be Ward Councilor for Ward 4. (That seat, which is elected by the voters of Ward 4, is currently held by Chris Markiewicz, who is not running for reelection.) She has lived in Newton for forty-five years. Ten years ago,…
Greg Reibman, President of the Charles River Regional Chamber, endorses the Newton’s proposed Village Center Zoning Redesign and its Village Center Overlay Districts (VCOD). He says the proposed changes in village center zoning allowing development “by right,” rather than by special permit, will gradually increase the supply of homes for…
On September 26, the Zoning and Planning Committee heard comments about the most recent proposed Village Zoning Overlay District proposal, Version 3.0. (See NewTV video.) At one point, there were 290 people on the Zoom call, and at least 50 people had signed up to speak in person in the…
Transformation Summer, Sean Smith’s first novel is, on its face, a “coming of age” story about sixteen-year-old Seth at a time when his divorcing parents are transforming his life – and theirs. The book is set in the late 1970s, when the changing social fabric of life was transforming American…
On Thursday, September 14, members of the Nonantum community and others met at the Ciociaro Social Club with City representatives about the proposed Village Center Overlay Districts. The meeting was arranged by At-Large City Councilor Alison Leary and Ward Councilor Maria Scabeli Greenberg. The panel also included other City representatives…
Rep. Jake Auchincloss has been traveling the Fourth Congressional District, connecting with constituents, giving high marks to the Biden Administration and low marks to the current House leadership. At the top of his list of Administration accomplishments, Rep. Auchincloss noted the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, of which…
The League of Women Voters of Newton (LWVN) sponsored two Ward Councilor candidate forums in advance of the September 12 Preliminary Elections in Wards 2 and 6. Each race includes three candidates for seats in which the incumbents — Councilor Emily Norton in Ward 2 and Councilor Brenda Noel in…
