The inauguration of Newton’s new Mayor, City Council, and School Committee took place at noon on January 1. See this year’s gallery at https://photos.figcitynews.com/2026/2026-City-of-Newton-Inauguration/n-PHstRm. Photos by Jack Prior.
Posts published in “News”
From a historic mayoral transition to school budget battles, from Bachelor watch parties to weekly protests, 2025 was a year that reminded Newton residents why local news matters. Fig City News published 435 news articles in 2025 tracking the stories that shaped our community. Here’s a look back at the…
On her second-to-last day in office, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller reflected on her eight years leading Newton through a global pandemic, political polarization across the country, and ongoing development in the city, ahead of Marc Laredo taking office Thursday. In an interview with Fig City News, when asked what advice she…
“I’ve always been part of the community,” Newton Police Chief McMains told Fig City News two weeks before his scheduled retirement on January 8, 2026. His first community was Dunlap, Iowa, where he was born and raised on his family’s farm in a rural town where people helped one another. …
When Marc Laredo steps into the Mayor’s office January 1, he will do so with an unusual distinction: having served both as Chair of the School Committee and as President of the City Council. Laredo believes this background will be an asset in his new role. “Especially with a brand-new…
The Fig City News restaurant directory has grown from 147 entries in May 2023 to 160 today — a net gain of 13 restaurants. That gain is the result of at least seven closures and roughly 21 new additions over the past two and a half years. Closures and their…
When Newton North High School student Sean Choi first began to explore the world of architectural design, he was drawn to the idea of playing with physical space in a way that expresses emotion. “I originally came from an art background, where storytelling and expression were central to my work,…
Jill Mercurio will leave her position as Director of the Newton Free Library to take on the same position at the Brookline Free Library. She started in the Newton Free Library in 2011 as Supervisor of Youth Services and became Assistant Director in 2014 and Director in 2019. As Director,…
As confirmed in the December 16 Zoom meeting of the Board of License Commissioners, several Newton establishments will lose their licenses to serve alcohol at the end of December because they failed to apply for renewals on time or satisfactorily complete their applications. As a result, their licenses will expire…
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…