The City Council approved virtually all aspects of the NewCAL project — the site plan review, funding, and acquisition of the adjacent two-family house — at its Full Council meeting on Monday, August 8. The site plan, recommended by the Design Review Committee, was reviewed and approved by the Public…
Posts published in “News”
The Charles River Food Co-op has launched its inaugural membership drive, aiming to create a retail grocery in the Newton-Watertown-Waltham area to at least partially fill the void left by the closing of Russo’s. The Co-op will be a hybrid, owned half by consumers and half by workers. A consumer…
High up on a hill overlooking the area where Otis Pettee established the Saco Pettee Machine Shop sits one of the most important properties of Upper Falls history — the Otis Pettee Sunnyside House, at 277 Elliot Street. Now the centerpiece of The Stone Institute, the building will be up…
Newton State Representative Ruth Balser, a longtime “choice” activist, joined Vice President Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in a bipartisan meeting to underscore broad bi-partisan support for Massachusetts’ new “Act expanding protection for reproductive and gender affirming care,” which Governor Baker signed into law in July. The new…
The Charles River Regional Chamber has awarded scholarships to four outstanding students in the communities it serves. This year’s recipients are: Chaerin Lee of Needham, Grace Campbell Maillet of Newton, Theresa Cabral of Watertown, and David Fils-Aime of Wellesley. Recipients are chosen based on academic performance and extracurricular activities, as…

Newton North HS Athletics places #40 in U.S. in MaxPreps best all-around high-school sports programs
MaxPreps, owned by CBS Interactive, covers high-school sports and annually identifies and ranks its picks for the 100 best all-around high-school sports programs. This year, it ranked Newton North High School #40 on its nationwide list, citing these particular achievements: Fall state runners-up: Girls Volleyball, Boys Soccer Winter state champions: Boys Indoor…
Metro West Collaborative Development and Civico Development — the developers that will convert the West Newton Armory into affordable housing — held an open house on August 1 to explain the project to the public and introduce its revised design. In response to public input, the revisions addressed building height…
The Newton Historical Commission (NHC) met — for the fourth time — to review remediation plans for the Gershom Hyde House, located at 29 Greenwood Street, regarding the developer/owner’s April 2021 unauthorized demolition of the house, which had been designated as a local landmark — one of 30 landmarked properties…
Acknowledging input offered by the Newton Conservators, Green Newton has written a second letter to the Mayor, this time expressing support for a request by the Newton Cemetery and Arboretum (NC&A) for a waiver from compliance with the Tree Preservation Ordinance for its Phase II expansion. The Newton Conservators had…
Ms. Mohamed joins fellow Newton residents Matt Hills and Martin West On Wednesday, July 27, Governor Baker appointed Newton resident Farzana Mohamed to a 5-year term on the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). Tricia Canavan of Springfield, MA was also appointed. “Both Ms. Canavan and Ms. Mohamed…
Plans are underway for the second phase of community engagement on Village Center Zoning. On August 1, in the third meeting of the Community Engagement Network, Network members had an opportunity to review the finalized engagement material and get answers to questions regarding the community engagement plans. This next phase…
On Tuesday evening, the Friends of Hemlock Gorge honored Rep. Ruth Balser for her ongoing support of conservation and improvement projects in the Gorge and surrounding area. In 2020, Rep. Balser secured $50K in state funding to replace the roof of the historic Stone Building at the northeast corner of the park.…














