As I write this, it’s been eight weeks since the world lost Setti Warren at the appallingly unfair age of 55. To me, he was a friend, mentor, boss, and big brother. Right until the day he passed, I spoke with Setti just about every day for the 20 years…
Fig City News
“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…
A December 9 article on the recent Newton School Committee decision to align NPS’s graduation requirement with state guidance referenced an interim report from the Chair of the Massachusetts K-12 Graduation Council, Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, that offered an important insight: “Based on information issued by the state last…
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…
At the final City Council meeting of the year and the term, six Newton City Councilors – Alan Lobovits, Bill Humphrey, Andreae Downs, Vicki Danberg, Rick Lipof, and Mayor-elect Marc Laredo – reflected on their time in office. Councilor Lenny Gentile, who was not in attendance, will also retire after…