The Newton Beacon

12/15/2025

Happy Chanukah, Newton! Some photos from today's menorah lighting in Newton Centre.

12/09/2025

Your community. Your news source.

The Newton Beacon delivers fair, independent, professional local news coverage.

Local news isn't just nice to have. It's essential for an engaged community.

Support nonpartisan news that makes our city a better place to live.

Reminder - Right now your donation goes twice as far through NewsMatch—every dollar you give will be matched until December 31st.

Visit www.newtonbeacon.org

👉 Make your tax-deductible donation today: www.newtonbeacon.org/give/

📸: Bryan McGonigle

12/08/2025

It's the holiday season, and Nonantum is lit! The Nonantum Children's Christmas Party Association held its annual Christmas tree-lighting in Coletti-Magni Park. 🎄

12/07/2025

And here's Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, casually making a basket on the first try in front of a full gym.

12/07/2025

Named for longtime NPS employee and tireless community advocate Audrey Cooper, the Cooper Center for Active Living is a state-of-the-art facility that promises to revolutionize what it means to age in Newton.

The Cooper Center for Active Living opened its doors on Friday, capping off a journey that brought a bold vision to brick-and-mortar, as Newton looks to revolutionize the concept of aging-in-community. “Today we are celebrating [...]

12/05/2025

Newton's City Council members-elect picked a new president, but not without some drama.

John Oliver is Newton City Council’s next president. Members of the City Council who will serve in the next term, along with newly elected members-to-be, gathered in a room at City Hall Thursday night to [...]

11/24/2025

Attending the opening of a chocolate shop with countless trays of samples to enjoy was tough work, but it's worth it for journalism.

West Newton just got a little sweeter. Hilliards Chocolates—an iconic 101-year-old, family-owned New England chocolatier—opened its store on the corner of Chestnut and Washington streets. The move is a homecoming of sorts, because years ago, [...]

11/21/2025

“The violence continues because we have a government that condones it,” Holly Ryan said. “We have to fight to protect everything that we have gained. Everything that we have fought for. We cannot go backwards.”

In May, 1995, a transgender woman named Debra Forte was beaten and stabbed to death in Haverhill. A few months later, on Nov. 20, 1995, a 23-year-old transgender woman named Chanelle Pickett was brutally murdered [...]

11/21/2025

Rev. Debra Haffner of First Unitarian Society in Newton speaks during their Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony.

11/21/2025

Holly Ryan, transgender activist and former City Councilor, speaks at First Unitarian Society in Newton during their Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony.

11/07/2025

On Thursday, thousands of people—city officials, legislators, members of Congress and everyday Newtonians alike—stood in a line that stretched through two floors of City Hall and out to the roundabout outside to say a proper farewell to a friend, leader and city icon.

On Thursday, thousands of people—city officials, legislators, members of Congress and everyday Newtonians alike—stood in a line that stretched through two floors of City Hall and out to the roundabout outside to say a proper [...]

11/05/2025

Aaron Goldman considered Setti Warren to be like a brother and went to work for him in City Hall. Now, he and the city are coping with Warren's sudden death.

To Aaron Goldman, former Mayor Setti Warren was like a brother. Now, Goldman is among many left coping with the news of Warren’s sudden death on Sunday. “It’s a huge void that will never be [...]