The item in question is an ad promoting an “essay contest” that appeared in the Newton TAB last week asking Newton North students to submit a 200 to 400 word essay on Israeli/ Palestinian peace AND to list the sources that led them to their conclusion. 
 
Prizes for the winning entries included hundreds of dollars in gift cards to “The Mall at Chestnut Hill”. The ad does not appear in the December 7 issue of the newspaper.
 
Joshua Resnek, the person whose email is in the ad, admitted that it was designed to unearth curriculum materials about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that are being taught at North.  He was sure to tell me that “there is nothing sinister, evil or vile” involved with
Show Us Your Bake Sale!

Show Us Your Bake Sale!

by | Nov 8, 2016 | Elections, Newton | 9 comments

I planned my voting time around the Franklin School bake sale, which goes to support the 5th Grade Moving On Ceremony. But at 8am, there still was no table in the back of the gym.  A few minutes later in a flurry of activity, parents and kids arrived carrying plastic...

Wither the Bake Sale

by | Oct 28, 2016 | Elections | 4 comments

In 1994 I had just established my Massachusetts residency and was living in a small apartment on the third floor of a drafty old farmhouse in Newton Centre. One of those great first apartments for a couple with odd ceilings, some cool features, and a nice walk to the...

Investigation: Ongoing

by | Sep 6, 2016 | Crime, traffic | 9 comments

Jonathan Dame has a piece out this afternoon focusing on reaction from cyclists to Newton’s bike infrastructure. The TL;DR version: it’s lacking.  Of course this stems from the ongoing investigation into the crash last week that left a 17-year-old cyclist...
Where are Newton’s drones?

Where are Newton’s drones?

by | Aug 16, 2016 | Newton | 1 comment

The FAA recently released the locations of registered drones around the country. Using that data, the Boston Globe offered up a city-based map showing where the drones are around the state, though I think they got the data wrong. Their count only shows 122 drones in...
Saga of Echo Bridge

Saga of Echo Bridge

by | Jul 8, 2016 | Newton | 20 comments

Echo Bridge in Upper Falls is perhaps the most dramatic man-made structure in Newton.  The huge bridge was built in the 1870’s to carry the Sudbury aqueduct across Hemlock Gorge to bring water to the people of Boston. A key feature of the bridge that makes it so...
Crimewatch – “Trading Up” edition

Crimewatch – “Trading Up” edition

by | Jun 27, 2016 | Newton | 4 comments

Does anyone recognize this bike?   Someone left it in Alicia Bowman’s driveway on Saturday late afternoon in ” exchange” for a much nicer TREK bike in her closed garage. She reported the theft to the police. It was the third Trek silent theft in...