Volunteers forming the Newton Upper Falls Area Council (Facebook page and NewtonPatch story) are invited interested residents to attend tonight’s meeting of the city’s only existing area council to learn more about the organization and how it can benefit their village.

The Newton Highlands Area Council meets tonight at 8pm in City Hall Room 222. Some Upper Falls residents will be there to confirm the planned boundaries of the Upper Falls Area Council. Those interested in running for the Upper Falls Area Council can also see how an Area Council operates.

To learn more, please contact Anil Adyanthaya at adyanthaya@aol.com. Also, see earlier posts about Newton’s neighborhood area councils.

Newton Mayor Setti Warren is extending an open invitation to residents and others interested in community service.

At a “kick-off” breakfast event on Feb. 8, the mayor will discuss preparations for the 11th annual NewtonSERVES community day of service — coming up on May 15 — and unveil his plan to expand NewtonSERVES to be a year-round, village-centered program.

Hey, if it has villages in it, I’m there. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Linda Plaut, in the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, 617-796-1540, LPlaut@newtonma.gov.

As residents of Newton age, they may find that their traditional single family home becomes more of a burden. Maintenance, repairs, carrying laundry to and from the basement, even changing a light bulb can become a challenge.

At some point in each of our lives, we may find ourselves doing a cost/benefit analysis of the homes in which we have invested much of our adult lives. We may choose to downsize, as our 80-year-old neighbors did a few years ago when they moved to Cronin’s Landing in the very walkable Moody Street neighborhood of Waltham.

We may look for condos in Newton’s village centers, a need being expressed by Newton empty-nesters.

For residents age 60 and older who wish to stay in their homes, Newton at Home is coming online later this year. The membership-based service will: [Read more →]

Newton residents with expertise in city planning, landscape architecture, horticulture, arboriculture, architecture and other related discipline are invited to apply for appointment to the city’s Urban Design Commission.

Charged with preserving, improving and developing the physical environment of the City, the commission:

1. Conducts studies of urban design and beautification programs,
2. Advises the mayor, aldermen, city departments and other city entities on matters relating to urban design and beautification
3. Studies the availability of public and private sources for funding urban design and beautification programs and projects

On behalf of the city, it examines and makes recommendations about: [Read more →]

At the direction of Mayor Setti Warren, NewtonSERVES 2011 will focus more attention on projects to benefit the public spaces we share in our village centers.

The city’s annual day of community service has traditionally included many volunteer projects for schools, playgrounds, parks, senior centers, nursing homes, and nonprofit organizations. In 2010, several NewtonSERVES projects focused on village centers, including Newton Centre T Station work by the Garden City Preservation Society and parks in Newtonville and West Newton organized by Newton Villages.

Organizers hope NewtonSERVES 2011, scheduled for Sunday, May 15, 2011, will include even more village center projects.

Do you know a village center space that would benefit from the help of volunteers this spring? If so, please email me. I am working with two other NewtonSERVES volunteers to compile the list of projects. Please spread the word.

While ongoing political and citizen efforts to make Newton pedestrians safer this winter chart an uncertain course, as reported in the Newton Tab, we share good news.

In response to the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) formed by Mayor Setti Warren this summer, the mayor last month issued his response to the committee’s final recommendations.

Better yet, small groups of TAC volunteers continue working on solutions to parking, traffic, and pedestrian safety and connectivity. One group is discussing “urban fabric,” the physical form of the city which shapes how we occupy and move around in the city.
[Read more →]