by Bryan Barash | Aug 4, 2017 | City Council |
This morning Jay Harney announced his campaign for Ward 4 Councilor would be coming to an end, one week after nomination papers were due.As a result, the Ward 4 Ward Councilor seat seems likely to go to Chris Markiewicz, whose name was included on the city’s candidate list as of the July 25th deadline to the surprise of many.
Who is Chris Markiewicz? I haven’t met him, so I did some googling to try to find out more. Suffice it to say I had a
by Bryan Barash | Aug 4, 2017 | Newton |
The following press release arrived this morning from City Councilor Jay Harney. Note that the deadline to hand in papers to run for office was July 25th. City Councilor Jay Harney announced today that he will not be seeking re-election. Harney has been the Ward 4...
by Bryan Barash | Aug 2, 2017 | Mayor's race, Newton |
We are blessed with a number of impressive candidates who have stepped up to run for Mayor. But now you have to choose! So how better to make an informed decision than to attend one or several of the many upcoming mayoral forums? EDIT: Note that the Transportation...
by Bryan Barash | Jul 31, 2017 | Candidate columns, Newton |
I am excited to be campaigning for re-election as your City Councilor at Large, W-3. My background is well grounded in family values growing up in a family of 8 children, to now being a parent along with my loving wife Albie of 10 children. Albie, a Newton North grad,...
by Bryan Barash | Jul 27, 2017 | Candidate columns, City Council elections |
Hello! My name is Nicole Castillo, and I’m asking for your vote for Ward 1 City Councilor at-large. I first came to Newton in 2013 to work at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where I served as the domestic and sexual violence advocate and program coordinator. I have served...
by Bryan Barash | Jun 21, 2017 | Affordable housing, development |
In light of all the recent conversation, both at the local and the state level, about development, I wanted to share for discussion this recent presentation by the non-profit Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
Some of the highlights:
- Housing production has sharply declined in Massachusetts despite increases in population and employment
- Massachusetts now has one of the lowest rates of housing production in the U.S.
- Without adding any new people or new jobs, the state’s housing supply is already about 44,000 units short of demand. Most of that shortfall is in metro Boston.
- Most of the regions with which we compete for skilled workers are building more housing and have lower housing costs
I pose this question to my neighbors: At what point does this become our problem?
Surrounding communities that welcome development such as
by Bryan Barash | Jun 1, 2017 | Newton
Join the Newton Human Rights Commission for Newton pride on June 6th at 6pm, honoring special guest Bob Parlin, and featuring our Mayor Setti Warren. The event and details are on Facebook here. I’ve never met Bob, but his story seems fascinating. Here’s a...
by Bryan Barash | Apr 19, 2017 | Newton |
Our Congressman Joe Kennedy III has made it a tradition to march in the Pride parade every year with supporters and constituents from his district. This has been a tradition since at least 2013, when he marched with his former college roommate and NBA pro Jason...
by Bryan Barash | Apr 1, 2017 | Newton |
In a gesture of goodwill, Mayoral candidates Scott Lennon and Ruthanne Fuller are pledging that no matter who wins, they will both play a significant role in the next administration. In a join press release, they laid out a plan to create the position of ‘Deputy... by Bryan Barash | Mar 13, 2017 | Newton |
MBTA weekend commuter rail service and transit services for individuals with disabilities are on the Baker administration’s “menu” of potential service cuts to help close a $42 million gap in the transit agency’s $2 billion budget. “This... by Bryan Barash | Mar 1, 2017 | Newton
From State House News Service briefs: According to the conference [of mayors], [New Bedford Mayor Jonathan Mitchell and Newton Mayor Setti Warren] “will stress that while cities are home to innovation, creativity and cultural diversity, they still need federal...
by Bryan Barash | Jan 23, 2017 | Newton |
The Charter Commission is wrapping up its recommendations in advance of a preliminary report which will be put to the public and sent for approval to the Attorney General’s office. A clean draft of our current charter proposal is available here. There are...
