Washington Street can look to the future, but some want to keep us in the past
I spent Monday night in my kitchen watching the Washington Street presentation over Councilor Emily Norton’s shoulder. Thanks to the Facebook feed of the live discussion, I had a chance to sit in even as I took care of dinner, and monitored homework while my wife...
Stop & Shop Opens on Needham Street
The N-Squared Innovation District has a much-needed amenity. Today the Stop & Shop finally opened up in the Newton Nexus shopping center. Now, before we start getting the complaints about traffic and parking just one note: that shopping center has more than 500...
What if we lose our commuter rail stations?
This past week I happened to be at a networking event talking with someone who has worked with the MBTA and knows Newton well. In fact, this person lived in Newton and spent part of his life commuting to Boston through one of the three commuter rail stops we have. He...
Kids Robotics Event on Saturday
It’s that time of year again when the LigerBots host a FIRST LEGO League tournament. We do this every year and it’s a great time. This one is a “qualifier” round with the Eastern Massachusetts State Championship coming up in December. On...
Lime commits $3 million to safety
This isn’t just a Newton story, but since the issue of safety in regards to Lime bikes has come up here I thought I’d share this TechCrunch story. Lime is putting $3 million toward a new safety initiative called “Respect the Ride.” The gist of the...Washington Street, cars, parking and courtyards
Hello Washington Street! October 24, 2018 from NewTV on Vimeo.
When the Hello Washington Street event kicked off at Newton North on Wednesday night, the room was packed. By the time public comment started at a little after 8pm, and the first pitch had been thrown at Fenway, the room was far emptier and, from the sounds of those few who (before I left myself) it sounded like the majority of those who stuck around were opposed to much of what they saw.
The true test will come online, where people can leave comments without having to attend a meeting that happens to run concurrently with the Red Sox, daycare pickup time, and dinner. Video from the meeting as well as the plans will be online soon, as well an online platform allowing for comments.
This meeting focused on a few major concepts, but most came back to the tension between the car and the human.
First is the road diet that Principle Group has suggested before, only this time they noted that we people have been loud and clear: we want
Newtonville Pizza Changes Hands
Newtonville Pizza has been owned by the Triantafilles family for 44 years, but today it has a new owner. I had a very brief conversation with Harry, son of Charles, who had owned it. He said the new owners are Nick and Mush. Why are they selling after so long in the...
New Coffee Bar in Newton Highlands
Remember Fleck? It wasn’t closed all that long ago, but the corner spot is already becoming something news. Stacks, which operates a few coffee bars in the Albany, NY market, bought out Fleck and is now having a “soft opening.” I spent a few minutes...
What Can Lime Bikes Teach Us About Safer Cycling?
A lot of people wondered why the helmet discussion touched a nerve. And let me say before we start, I ride with a helmet, and I always have. When my son went to college we bought a bike out there, but he carried his helmet in his carry-on so he had it right away. All...
Recycle your pizza boxes!
Pizza boxes are somewhat controversial in our house. For years we’ve been told that we can’t recycle them because they’re covered in grease. I once watched a video of a guy who claimed to discover the “greatest pizza box on Earth” at...Newton’s News Desert: We’re not alone
On this site a lot of pixels have been devoted to the loss of real reporting in this city of 85,000. I’m not alone in remembering receiving two weekly papers on my doorstep when I moved here in the mid 1990s. Those soon merged into one and now we have just a few...