The Newton Beacon

01/11/2024

Local cultural advocacy groups have asked the mayor to apply for Cultural District designation for a section of the city connecting West Newton and Newtonville.

More than a decade ago, Massachusetts lawmakers created a Cultural Districts program, in which cities and towns may designate sections of their communities as centers for local arts, entertainment, dining...

01/11/2024

Newton has always opted out of School Choice. That may soon change. Here's why.

Newton may soon join the state’s Interdistrict School Choice program, with the city searching for new school funding sources and the program offering thousands of dollars per student the city...

01/10/2024

What a storm. Newton Cemetery is flooded. Photo by Joe Hunter

01/10/2024

Sad news out of Franklin School.

Franklin Elementary School in West Newton was closed on Tuesday after a longtime school custodian suddenly passed away while at work. The school district posted a message on Facebook late...

01/10/2024

Hi Newton! Editor Bryan McGonigle here. If anyone gets storm photos they'd like to send the Newton Beacon, feel free to email them to [email protected]. Include your name so I can give credit. And be careful if you head out!

01/09/2024

That was fast. And congrats, Newton.

Second week of January and Newton has reached its Chapter 40B goal, now that Dunstan East has gotten its building permit.

On Friday afternoon, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced that the city was on track to reach its Chapter 40B affordable housing threshold in 2024, possibly in January. On Tuesday, Fuller sent...

01/08/2024

Mayor Fuller says Newton is very, very close to reaching its Chapter 40B goal this year. Maybe even this month.

More than 50 years after Massachusetts set an affordable housing inventory threshold for cities and towns via Chapter 40B, Newton is almost at that goal and on its way to...

01/04/2024

Forgetting to return a library book just got a little less messy.

Library late fees are so 2023. In Newton, anyway. The Newton Free Library has announced that effective Jan. 2, they will no longer charge fines for late returns or renewals....

01/02/2024

Amy Davenport and Barry Greenstein are now members of the Newton School Committee.

01/02/2024

New School Committee Chair Christopher Brezski delivers his speech at City Hall after being sworn in, calling for the district and community to learn from the past and move forward.

01/02/2024

Newton started the new year off with some new faces in government.

Newton started the new year off with a new City Council and a new School Committee. Both bodies of the city’s government had their members sworn in on Monday at...

01/02/2024

Inauguration Day ceremony.

01/01/2024

Newton's 150th anniversary party paid tribute to Newton's long history of snowmen and bears.

01/01/2024

Newton Inauguration Day celebration and 150th anniversary of the day Newton officially became a city.

12/30/2023

2023 brought you an override campaign, an election, an epic battle over zoning, and more.

It’s been quite a year. Inflation has gone down but still persists. A former president was indicted four times on 91 offenses. And Taylor Swift started dating a guy with...

12/21/2023

Winter officially starts today. And the city is prepping for lots of snow.

Many Newtonians may be dreaming of a white Christmas. Newton’s Director of Streets Bernie McDonald isn’t one of them. He certainly won’t be singing the song of that name made...

12/20/2023

Progress or bad faith bargain? It depends who you ask.

Following another state mediation session with Newton Teachers Association and an NTA vote of “no confidence” in Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the Newton School Committee, the Committee is offering a...

12/19/2023

https://www.newtonbeacon.org/videos-nta-turns-up-heat-on-mayor-school-committee/

Lacking three ghosts to send Mayor Ruthanne Fuller this week, the Newton Teachers Association opted for a press conference highlighting their ongoing battle for a contract. “We would like to...

12/19/2023

Committee assignments are in. Here's a look at who will be on which.

City Council President-elect Marc Laredo and Vice President-elect David Kalis have picked which councilors will be on which committees for the next two years. “We are grateful for the time...

12/19/2023

Leah Vashevko speaks on why students are frustrated with the mayor and School Committee over lack of programming and lack of a teacher contract.

12/19/2023

Newton parent and Watertown educator Alli Franke, at yesterday's press conference, on why she backs Newton teachers in their contract fight.

12/18/2023

Corner of Commonwealth and Center this afternoon. Photo sent by Howard Sholkin. That is some wind gust to do that to a tree.

12/18/2023

Look who stopped by Nonantum this afternoon.

12/14/2023

The vote was 99.6 percent in favor, as the intense contract dispute heads into the holiday vacation.

The Newton Teachers Association on Wednesday night cast a vote of “no confidence” in Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the Newton School Committee, in the latest development in an increasingly heated...

12/12/2023

The Council has passed the zoning reform ordinance...when does the construction of new housing begin? or will it?

The City Council passed the Village Center Overlay District rezoning plan last week, but not before a slew of amendments were adopted, many of which scaled back the ambitious proposal....

12/08/2023

Councilor David Kalis, who was the first to switch his vote to break a stalemate in the presidential vote, was elected vice president of the City Council last night.

12/08/2023

City Councilor Marc Laredo will soon be City Council President Marc Laredo.

Marc Laredo, at-large councilor from Ward 7, will be Newton’s next City Council president. After several tie votes, a few other nominations and one councilor eventually flipping his vote in...

12/05/2023

Zoning is done. For now, anyway.

It is done. For now. Newton’s City Council approved the Village Center Overlay District proposal—or, at least, a chopped up, scaled down version of it—Monday night after months of planning...

12/03/2023

After a seven-hour process the vote gap between the candidates narrowed to 15, but Bixby's victory held on.

A recount of the Ward 6 City Council seat race ballots declared Councilor-elect Martha Bixby the rightful winner Saturday. Lisa Gordon, Bixby’s opponent, requested the recount after she came up...

12/02/2023

Ward 6 recount is underway.