“Education shapes individuals, and individuals shape education,” is the idea driving hundreds ofyoung people to advocate for interdisciplinary climate education in their schools. Climatechange, the defining issue of the 21st century, is slipping through the cracks of Massachusetts’top-tier education system and leaving youth ill-prepared for the future. As stronger storms…
Posts published in “Letters to the Editor”
We publish here Letters to the Editor with the intent to reflect a broad range of opinions and insights of Newton residents. Please note our submission guidelines and send letters (maximum of 300 words) to [email protected].
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Thank you for providing a strong source of local news. In an era when so much information comes at us continuously through online channels, Fig City News stands out as a reliable and genuinely local publication. I especially enjoy the special print editions. They offer a welcome break from the…
Our middle school selves might not forgive us for writing this. As parents, we are pleased that the Newton School Committee is proposing a reform of the NPS homework policy outlined below. We are excited that this continues the positive, energetic reform process set by Superintendent Anna Nolin. Homework levels…
Rachel Carson’s birthday, May 27, is an annual call to action for policies and safeguards protecting our health and community. Rachel Carson was a marine biologist and ecologist who gave us an ethic of ecology — that we are all connected and interdependent. In 1962 her book, Silent Spring, alerted…
In your retirement system article, you missed the most important Retirement Board vote. When the City began its pension obligation fund catch-up, the annual payments increased each year by 9.6% with a fully funded date, 2031. This aggressive approach crowded out essential city and school services. Current residents were unfairly…
Diesel bus tail pipe emissions cause significant health problems. Headaches, dizziness, eye irritation, nausea are a bad way to start the school day! Emissions are also linked to asthma, cancer, and heart disease. Sitting inside the bus with windows closed does NOT protect from emissions. Research shows quite the opposite:…
I am sorry indeed to hear of Barney Frank’s impending demise. Our world will be poorer without him in it. Still, to hear of his criticism of progressive Democrats and not an apology for the impotence of Dodd-Frank nor his subsequent taking of a job with a large bank, rankles…
I had accepted the narrative that Newton Public Schools (NPS) would have been fully funded, had “unforeseen costs” not arisen. A closer look at Mayor Laredo’s FY27 budget reveals this is a fiction. The numbers simply do not add up. While Mr. Laredo touted an increase for NPS of over…
The City’s plan for selling Pension Obligation Bonds has significant risks. After a century of U.S. equity returns exceeding taxable investment-grade funding costs by about 4% annually, and an even more booming stock market for the past 17 years, it is human nature to extrapolate leveraging pension debt into largely…
In a January 2024 interview, I discussed Newton City finances, pension and benefit obligations, and NPS negotiations. I supported the City fully funding its pension liabilities but cautioned that doing so by 2032 — eight years prior to the 2040 Commonwealth deadline — might jeopardize funding for other vital City…
Given the federal government’s recent attack on the US Forest Service, it is especially important to celebrate our local environmental groups dedicated to preserving, protecting and expanding Newton’s tree canopy and natural areas. In Newton, along with Newton’s Urban Forestry Program, the local groups that provide resources and volunteer opportunities include…
Deep, painful cuts are coming to NPS next year once again. To avoid them, different solutions have been presented to Mayor Laredo, from free cash to establishing a special education stabilization fund, to considering school choice. All were swiftly shut down without discussion. No alternative is more evident, viable, and prudent…