Trevor Ballantyne
The number of marriage licenses issued in Newton spiked this year as the COVID pandemic upended wedding plans and municipal clerks offices across the state.
Newton has 596 marriage licenses on file as of Dec. 22, 2020, compared to 391 registered in 2019, according to Assistant City Clerk for Vital Records Christopher Sullivan.
“A lot of people came from Boston,” Sullivan said of the increase.
According to Needham Town Clerk Theodora Eaton, the town has already processed 173 marriage certificates with a week remaining in 2020. Since 2015, the town has not filed more than 90 in a given calendar year, Eaton said.
Couples planning to get married anywhere in Massachusetts can visit any clerk’s office in the state to fill out a Marriage Intention form. Filling out the form, valid for 60 days, requires in-person signatures and payment of a marriage license fee that varies by municipality.
An intense showdown between City Hall and the School Committee over the past week cooled off substantially Monday night when the City Council voted unanimously to put off voting on a Charter Change adding an 11th member to the School Committee.
It is said that oil and vinegar don’t mix, and at no time in the last year has the mixing of City Hall and the School Department been so much like those two substances in that they have found it hard to blend efforts. That has been made worse by quick actions taken by the City Council and Mayor Carlo DeMaria to adjust the membership of the School Committee without much consultation of the Committee itself. Under the Charter, such a vote to make those Charter Changes only lies with the Council.
Is love in the air in Needham? Town Clerk sees marriage license boom during COVID pandemic
Wicked Local
The number of marriage licenses issued in Needham spiked this year as the COVID-19 pandemic upended wedding plans and municipal clerk’s offices across the state.
According to Town Clerk Theodora Eaton, Needham has already processed 173 marriage certificates with a week remaining in 2020. Since 2015, the town has not filed more than 90 in a given calendar year, Eaton said.
Couples planning to get married anywhere in Massachusetts can visit any clerk’s office in the state to fill out a Marriage Intention. Filling out the form, valid for 60 days, requires in-person signatures and payment of a marriage license fee that varies by municipality.
By Terry Schrimscher
SPRINGVILLE The Springville City Council held a special session to pass an ordinance during the Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 work session to limit certain traffic on Purple Heart Boulevard, the roadway off Highway 174, near the BP station at Interstate 59.
The ordinance, requested by council member Herbert Toles, was in response to a recent influx of dangerous traffic flowing into nearby neighborhoods.
“Big trucks have been coming through and getting up on the sidewalks and tearing down signs,” said Toles. “It’s a mess.”
Councilman Toles represents District 1 which includes the neighborhood most affected by the large trucks.
The new ordinance was prompted by the recent increase in traffic through the neighborhood and recent incidences where large trucks have gotten onto the narrow roads and have been unable to turn around. One recent event required considerable city resources to remedy.