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Snow day blahs? This may cheer you up

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Snow day blahs? This may cheer you up

We’re using the occasion of today’s winter storm to announce that we’re bringing back “Spring Seasoning: A Taste of Our Towns,” April 8 at the Newton Marriott.
 
The annual tasting event -- featuring 40 of our region’s best restaurants and beverage purveyors -- has always been the most popular community event we host.

Start preparing by working off some calories while shoveling today.

Want to connect your brand to this event? Contact Lise Elcock about sponsorship opportunities.

Garlick won't seek re-election to Needham House seat 

Three days after Newton state Rep. Ruth Balser announced she will not seek reelection for a seat she's held for 25 years, Needham state Rep. Denise Garlick announced last night she’s moving on as well.

Denise Garlick

“I am humbled by the great responsibility to represent all the people of all ages and abilities in Needham, Dover and Medfield,” Garlick wrote in an email to constituents. 

Both Balser’s and Garlick’s terms end at the end of the year.Expect hotly contested Democratic primary races in September and final elections in November.

(Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey is announcing today that he’s running to fill Balser’s seat. He won't be alone.)
 
“There will be a time for reflection and a party (!) as the year ends, but for now, the work continues,” Garlick, who will have served 12 years, wrote.

We're losing two highly respected public servants here and are grateful for their service.

What the reporter left to the end is worth talking about 

Fig City News published a 1,380-word story last week about Boylston Properties’ proposed 307-unit 40B housing at 78 Crafts Street in Newtonville. 

But if you ask me, reporter Martina Jackson buried a key part of the story.

The article and the headline focused mostly on residents’ traffic concerns, as had her prior Fig City article.

Buried in Jackson's very last paragraph was a reference to something you’d hope -- after Newton’s teachers strike -- we'd be spending more time discussing:

  • The current properties at the 4.76 acre ramshackle site (here's what it looks like today) brings in a little more than $100,000 in annual in property taxes.

  • But Boylston's new project would bring the city $1.3 million in new annual tax revenue.
 
That’s not the main reason to be excited about the 78 Crafts Street. The main reason is that it would provide 62 homes for individuals or families at 50% of the AMI, as well as much-needed market rate, transit-oriented, apartments near shops and restaurants.
 
But it’s also past time to be dismissing new tax revenue as an afterthought, don't you think?
 
And before you email to remind me that new housing means more kids crowding our city’s schools (as if giving more kids access to a good education is a bad thing), a reminder that Newton’s school enrollment has been declining for six years. Declines are expected to continue, as larger current classes graduate and smaller kindergarten classes enter, according to the city.

Yes, those projections include approved projects in Newton's development pipeline.

This isn’t intended specifically as a knock on Fig City, or Jackson, either. Too many news stories let the squeaky wheels dominate the narrative when there are other elements to the story -- "Homes for actual humans!" "Tax revenue to pay teachers!" "Person who cleans your office travels two hours to work!" -- get lost in the ruckus. 

Worth-reading following the Newton teachers’ strike: 


Who should sit on Wellesley's select board? 

Seeking snow day entertainment?

Join me via Zoom at 2 p.m. today (Feb. 13) for a virtual debate with the four candidates vying for two seats on the Wellesley Select Board.

I’ll be asking incumbents Colette Aufranc and Ann-Mara Lanza and challengers Marjorie Freiman and Odessa Sanchez how they plan to help the town’s small and large businesses and why they became interested in public service.

Have something you'd like me to ask? Email me by noon today. 


Today's grab bag 

  • Much like the state is pursuing a strategy of replacing the two Cape Cod bridges one at a time, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the MBTA are perusing plans to upgrade the commuter rail station in Newtonville first, followed by the West Newton and Auburndale stations. (Newton Beacon)

  • Watertown is losing Lyra Therapeutics. The biotech is leaving for a larger facility to meet its growing manufacturing needs on Winter Street in Waltham. Lyra has been at 480 Arsenal Way, the LINX building. (BBJ)
 
  • The Dubliner Irish Pub is opening in March in the former Cafe Martin West location in Nonantum ( All Over Newton)


  • PhysioX in Needham is hosting a Lunar New Year event on Feb. 24 from 10:30 to 2 p.m. featuring a lion dance, wellness workshop classes, and a dragon dance performance. Tickets are $25 to $35, but free admission for chamber members! Details.

  • Fly Together is hosting a night of music, art, and community with its "Art in Motion" supporting local Watertown Black artists and vendors on Fri. (Feb. 16), 6:30 p.m. at 100 Parker Street. Tickets are on a sliding scale and goes toward the artists. Details.

  • The Village Bank is offering $50,000 in college scholarships for local high school seniors. Deadline April 1st. Details.

  • Newton South High School is hosting its annual Newton Career Pathways Fair, March 27, 6:30 p.m. to introduce young people to valuable careers, employers and job training/programs. Employers interested in participating should email Kathleen Sabet.

Infamous Needham robbery left two dead 90-years-ago this month 

A 90-year-old-bank robbery in Needham Center that left two police officers dead is the subject of a new historical fiction novel.
 
“Machine Guns & Typewriters,” was written by Robert W. Wallace, a Needham resident who has his own unique connection to the crime: He's the grandson of the Boston Globe reporter who covered the event as it took place, writes Cameron Morsberger at Needham Local.
 
The bandits used a stolen machine gun to rob the Needham Trust Company on Great Plain Ave. on Feb. 2, 1934. It's the first time a machine gun was used in a crime in the state.
 
Digital Commonwealth has some great photos from the time.

Please don't Yelp at our restaurants when they do this 

“What are we supposed to do when a customer gets mad at us for not including a napkin with their meatball sub?”

That’s one of the questions on the minds of Newton restaurant operators as they get ready to abide by a new city ordinance starting March 1.

Under the ordinance food establishments may not automatically include straws, forks, spoons, knives, chopsticks, stirrers, condiment packages, napkins and other single use accessories – in to-go or delivery orders.

Instead, customers must request those items, or take them from a self-service section in the restaurant. 

Restaurants also must update their online ordering platforms to include a place where customers can request each accessory.

The city, with help from Green Newton, is planning on an informational campaign directed at residents. That should be helpful. But what about customers who work in Newton but don't live here?

City officials assure us they won’t be imposing any fines on restaurants for failing to comply until there’s sufficient time to educate consumers and restaurant employees.

Speaking of plastics: A team of scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution believe they may have developed  a plastic straw that degrades in water, WBUR reports.

That’s what you need to know for today – cheer up, it's Mardi Gras! -- unless you want to meet some actual tree huggers.

Let the good times roll! And have a great Valentine’s Day.


Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
617.244.1688

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