Opposition grows over proposed gun shop in Newton: âA gun store will make us all less safe.â
By John Hilliard Globe Staff,Updated April 20, 2021, 12:55 p.m.
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A stop work order was posted to the proposed gun shop at 709 Washington Street in Newton.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
In a vacant storefront in Newtonville, close to an ice cream shop, wine store, supermarket, and marijuana shop, a local businessman hopes to open Newtonâs only gun store.
But in the days since news that Newton Firearms LLC would open its doors at 709 Washington St. became widely known, city officials and residents have banded together in full-throated opposition to the proposed store, which would be in the vicinity of many homes and several schools, including Newton North High School.
Elianna Kruskal, Megan Fieleke and Connie Shui-Yi Chow
After eight months of work, Newton’s mayor-appointed Police Reform Task Force has released a set of recommendations that are deeply flawed. The report begins by acknowledging the historic and ongoing harm policing causes to Black, Indigenous and other people of color, then inexplicably concludes that we need to invest even more money and effort into the Newton Police Department.
The Newton Police Reform Task Force seems driven by an erroneous belief that police can be fundamentally transformed into something other than police. They call for a mindshift from a “warrior mentality” to a “guardian mentality” through a consultant-led culture change initiative, substantial new and expensive training, and hiring more officers in order to achieve racial diversity. They propose these solutions despite widespread evidence showing that reforms that seek to fix police don’t result in more equity.
Newton, Boston College spar in court over value of Webster Woods
By John Hilliard Globe Staff,Updated April 7, 2021, 11:47 a.m.
Email to a Friend Save Webster Woods! signs displayed along Langley Road in Newton in 2016.Pat Greenhouse
Boston College trustees and Newton officials are wrangling in Middlesex Superior Court over the value of about 15 acres of Webster Woods that the city took through eminent domain more than two years ago.
The city paid the university $15.2 million in December 2019 for the property at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway, but university trustees in a civil suit filed in February argued in court papers that the sum was âgrossly unfair and totally inadequateâ compensation for the land.
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is urging BC officials to ensure their students are strictly adhering to health guidelines due to a concerning number of COVID cases.
FROM THE MAYOR’S OFFICE: vaccination clinic opening in Newton for vulnerable older residents
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Newton resident Dr. Justin Holtzman and the team at the Holtzman Medical Group worked with us on a wonderful opportunity to help our older residents who may be most vulnerable due to lack of access to technology and who have been facing difficulty in booking vaccination appointments.
Staff in the mayor’s office, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Senior Services has been fielding hundreds of calls and sharing the frustration that people are feeling in trying to get these very important appointments.