Back around 2000, I learned that Newton would be updating its Comprehensive Plan, and that the effort would be led by an urban planner named Phil Herr. Being interested in this process, I made a point of attending a community meeting that I knew Phil would be attending. I introduced…
Fig City News
City Councilor Rick Lipof kicked off his campaign for the 12th District House seat at a familiar Democratic party venue: the home of City Councilor Vicki Danberg. About sixty people attended the official launch of his campaign to succeed Rep. Ruth Balser, who is retiring at the end of this…
Mary Fitzgerald is organizing Newton’s Vegan Chef Challenge (May 1-31), pulling together local restaurants (currently 18), suppliers, volunteers, and community groups to highlight the benefits of plant-based eating. Participating Newton restaurants (map) will feature plant-based menu options throughout May. Customers can vote for their favorite dishes, and winning dishes will…
Finding a personal and meaningful gift for Mother’s Day is now easier thanks to Third Piece, a Boston-based knitting business with a new studio in Newton. Third Piece has partnered with Women’s Lunch Place, a daytime shelter for women in Boston, to offer a Learn to Knit Kit and Card…
Coach Alex Kushkov established the Dynamo Fencing Center in Newton Center 11 years ago. Since then, he has shaped hundreds of talented young people into world-class fencers, giving back to his homeland of Ukraine all the while. Three of Kushkov’s students — Oleksandr Shirpal, Andrii Slastin, and Kushkov’s son, Daniel…
Newton will send three delegates – Newton Democratic City Chair Sharon Stout, former City Councilor Holly Ryan, and high-school senior Alan Cai – to the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, August 19-24. They were elected on Saturday, April 27, at the Massachusetts Fourth Congressional District Caucus, chaired by Rep. Jake…
On the morning of Wednesday, April 24, a fire broke out in a vacant, 10-room Victorian home undergoing renovation at 8 Central Avenue in Newtonville. The Newton Fire Department responded around 11:30AM to reports of heavy smoke from the 2½ story, wood-framed structure. On arrival, firefighters found heavy fire in…
Ed. Note: This article has been updated with additional information about October 7th hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who appears in a video released by Hamas on April 24. On Sunday, April 7, more than 2,000 people gathered on Homer Street for the rededication of “the Hostage Wall,” a long fence in…
On Sunday, April 21, about 1,000 people learned about the latest green technology while listening to music, getting their faces painted, and meeting some adorable animals, among other activities, at Newton’s third-annual Earth Day Festival. The event, organized by Green Newton, the city’s Climate Team, and the EV Task Force,…
The School Committee will hold a hybrid public hearing regarding School Choice on Wednesday, April 24 at 5:30PM, followed by a Regular Meeting. (Zoom link. Agenda.) School Choice The public hearing is on whether Newton Public Schools (NPS) should participate in Massachusetts’ Inter-District School Choice Program. As previously covered by Fig City…
At the age of 28, (mostly) lifelong Newton resident Alex Jablon is a Democratic candidate for State Representative for the 11th Middlesex district, the seat currently held by Rep. Kay Khan, who has announced she plans to retire at the end of this year. Currently, Jablon is an internal auditor…
The LigerBots, Newton’s dual-high-school FIRST Robotics team, traveled to Houston last weekend, April 17-20, to compete in the FIRST World Championship — an international competition that caps the FIRST robotics competition season. This was the first time in six years that the LigerBots had qualified for “the Worlds” — joining…