Category: Newton News

News happening in Newton Massachusetts.

Rancatore’s Open at The Street

The Street announces small batch ice cream store Rancatore’s will open tomorrow, June 17^th, in The Pop-Up, its storefront devoted exclusively to a rotating mix of local brands. Rancatore’s will occupy the space through August 21^st, bringing flavors such as Tiger Milk, Hydrox Cookie, Orange Fennel, and Dulce de Leche to The Street during the height of summer. The Pop-Up at The Street is located at 3 Boylston Street in Chestnut Hill, near Star Market and the newly opened MiniLuxe.

Rancatore’s has been serving made-from-scratch ice cream, yogurt and sorbet for 31 years. The shop is also loved for its hot fudge and specialty frappes. Rancatore’s will occupy The Pop-Up from Friday, June 17^th through Sunday, August 21^st and is open seven days a week from 11am-11pm. Rancatore’s has additional locations in Lexington, Belmont, and Newtonville. This is the brand’s first pop-up.

Rancatore’s Opening Menu Includes the Following Flavors:

Ice Cream
Vanilla
Bittersweet Chocolate (made with unsweetened chocolate from Holland)
Calebaut Milk Chocolate (with mild Belgian chocolate)
Coffee
Hydrox Cookie
Chocolate Chip
Orange Fennel
Cocoa Joel (made with three types of chocolate, crushed cookies and chocolate chips)
Dulce de Leche, hot and spicy
Black Raspberry
Tiger Milk
Cookie Dough

Yogurt
Vanilla
Chocolate Mousse
Almond and Chip
Mocha Chip

Sorbet
Mango

The ice cream maker will be The Street’s eighth tenant inside The Pop-Up since the concept launched in November 2015 with a mission to celebrate innovative and local small businesses. Its 409-square foot space has hosted the market’s leaders in fitness, food, floral and knitwear, including Papers & Presents, Sweet Lydia’s, Legit Activewear, Kane’s Donuts, Alice’s Table, The Third Piece, and OMG! Bagels.

June 28, 2016
The Folklorist Awarded Two More Emmy® Awards

The Folklorist Awarded Two More Emmy® Awards

NewTV’s original program receives two Boston/New England Emmy® Awards

NewTV’s Co-Directors of Original Programming, Andrew Eldridge and Angela Harrer, won two additional Emmy® Awards on Saturday, June 4 at the Westin Copley Place for their work on The Folklorist. One award was for Photographer Short Form and the other was for Director Post Production. These awards bring the total Emmy® wins for the show up to nine.

This is the fifth consecutive year that The Folklorist has been recognized by the Academy, and this year was especially competitive with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Boston/New England Chapter receiving over 1,000 entries for the first time ever.

NewTV is thrilled with the success of The Folklorist over the past five years, which would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of Andrew, Angela, host John Horrigan, the interns and the talented cast and crew. For more information about The Folklorist, visit folklorist.newtv.org.

About NewTV

NewTV is Newton’s Emmy® Award-winning, state-of-the-art HD media center, specializing in television production, training and content distribution. NewTV’s three cable channels (Community, Education and Government) broadcast locally relevant programming to the diverse Newton community and provide a platform for members to express their vision. www.newtv.org

About The Folklorist

The Folklorist is NewTV’s Emmy® Award-winning television series that offers a captivating look at some of the lesser-known occurrences in history. folklorist.newtv.org

June 26, 2016
4 Newton Residents Make 50 Richest in MA

Here’s a look at the top 10 richest in the Bay State. For the list of the top 50, visit the AffluenceIQ database. The first 30 are billionaires.

Newton residents include #1, #6, #17, and #35.

1) Sheldon G. Adelson, 83, Newton.

Net worth: $26.4 billion

Born poor in Boston, Adelson is a casino mogul and right wing political backer. Adelson maintains a $5M residence in Newton.

2) Abigail P. Johnson, 55, Milton.

Net worth: $15.2 billion

CEO of Fidelity Investments. Daughter of #3, Edward C. Johnson III.

3) Edward C. Johnson III, 86, Nahant.

Net worth: $8.5 billion

Chairman of Fidelity Investments which his father founded.

4) John P. Grayken, 60, Cohasset

Net worth: $6.3 billion

Founder of Lone Star.

5) Robert K. Kraft, 75, Brookline

Net worth: $4.8 billion

Owner of New England Patriots, CEO of The Kraft Group which is a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports, real estate, and private equity.

6) James S. Davis, 73, Newton

Net worth: $4.7 billion

Chairman of running shoe-maker New Balance, which sports more than $3B in sales. The son of Greek immigrants, Davis bought New Balance in 1972 for $10,000.

7) Amos B. Hostetter, 79, Boston

Net worth: $3.1 billion

Founder and CEO of Continental Cablevision.

8) William I. Koch, 76, Osterville

Net worth: $2.8 billion

Businessman. Koch is a brother to right wingers Charles & David.

9) Edward C. Johnson IV, 59, Boston

Net worth: $2.5 billion

President of Pembroke Real Estate.

10) Elizabeth L. Johnson, 51, Osterville

Net worth: $2.5 billion

Fidelity heiress.

11) Peter M. Nicholas, 75, Boston

Net worth: $2.3 billion

Co-founded medical device firm Boston Scientific in 1979 with partner John Abele. He is married to a great-great-granddaughter of Eli Lilly.

17) Gerald Chan, 65, Newton

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Chan runs one of China’s commercial real estate giants, Hang Lung Group, now buying up big chunks of Harvard Sq. Drives a used Volkswagen Passat.

35) C. James Koch, 67, Newton

Net worth: $850 million

Son of a Cincinnati brewmaster, Koch founded Boston Beer in 1984 with $250K. Distributes Sam Adams beers along with Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard Cider.

Photo courtesy of Pictures of Money via Flickr

June 23, 2016
Newton is Wealthiest City in Northeast
According to a list released by the NerdWallet, Newton is the wealthiest city in the Northeast.

NerdWallet reported that the average credit limit in Newton is $70,822, median household income is $102,796, and median home value is $886,400. Thirty-five percent of homes in Newton are without mortgages, according to the site.

NerdWallet’s 10 wealthiest cities in the Northeast:
1. Newton, MA
2. Stamford, CT
3. New Rochelle, NY
4. Cambridge, MA
5. Norwalk, CT
6. Framingham, MA
7. Somerville, MA
8. Boston, MA
9. Danbury, CT
10. Toms River, NJ
June 14, 2016
New Music School Opening in Newton Highlands

Grand opening of “The Conservatory” a new and unique music school located in the heart of Newton Highlands, Massachusetts.

Come to Open House on June 11th.

The opening of The Conservatory at Highlands welcomes aspiring musicians of all ages to a supportive community for 21st century music learning. Everyone in Newton and surrounding communities is invited to drop in to the open house on June 11^th between 10:30 am and 6 pm at 51 Winchester Street in Newton Highlands to meet the teachers, try out instruments, and enjoy live music.

Founded by Dave Carroll, The Conservatory is a school where technology helps advance musicianship through private and group lessons in a range of instruments including guitar, piano, saxophone, and violin. Additionally students can take advantage of ensemble classes, new age electronic department with recording classes, master classes, therapeutic music, and lectures from guest artists. Summer camps are starting in July where students will be immersed in music theory, composition, recording, beat making, and ensembles.

The Conservatory prepares the musicians of tomorrow by cultivating artistry through community. The program is founded in the National and Massachusetts Standards for Music Education and adapted for all learning styles. Every student has a different way of learning and The Conservatory pairs you with a teacher that matches your style. Join us!

To contribute to the fundraising campaign for state of the art renovations visit here.

For more information visit www.highlandsconservatory.com

June 13, 2016
Newton #13 Happiest Place in MA
Newton ranks #13 on this list compiled by career expert site Zippia. It measures happiness by income, education, employment, commute, cost of living, family, home ownership and poverty rate.

Top 20 Happiest Places:
1. Longmeadow
2. Winchester
3. Needham
4. Lynnfied
5. Reading
6. Sharon
7. Wellesley
8. Northborough
9. Wilmington
10. Marblehead
11. Bliss Corner
12. Hingham
13. Newton
14. Lexington
15. Swampscott
16. Walpole
17. Melrose
18. Pinehurst
19. Cochituate
20. Belmont
Read the survey and get the rankings here.
May 21, 2016
Mayor’s Community Prayer Breakfast

Dear Resident,

You are cordially invited to join me for the 42nd annual Theodore D. Mann Mayor’s Community Prayer Breakfast.

Each year, the Prayer Breakfast is an opportunity for residents, businesses, non-profits, clergy and staff to come together and celebrate the strength and diversity of our community.

This year, I am pleased to welcome as our keynote speaker MassChallenge CEO and Founder John Harthorne.

MassChallenge is a leading global startup accelerator, driving growth and innovation throughout the world. Last year we welcomed MassChallenge to Newton as they opened a site at 124 Vernon Street in Newton Corner.

The breakfast will be held on Wednesday, May 25th 7:30am-9:00am
at the McElroy Commons building at Boston College.

In addition to remarks from Mr. Harthorne, the breakfast will also feature readings from an interfaith representation of clergy, musical performances from Newton Public Schools students, and the presentation of awards, including the annual Community Service Award some very dedicated residents of Newton.

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now. This year, we are partnering with the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce to make tickets available for purchase online. To purchase tickets today, please click here and then click on the “Register Now” button.

Tickets can also be purchased by contacting Tony Bibbo at Tony Bibbo at 617-969-5906 x305, or ajbibbo@aol.com.

Proceeds from the event will go toward the Foundation for Racial, Ethnic and Religious Harmony, a terrific local non-profit which provides grants for worthy organizations in Newton and beyond.

Thank you so much, and I look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,
Setti D. Warren
Mayor
City of Newton, MA

May 17, 2016
Openings at Weekday Nursery School

Weekday Nursery School has openings for our summer camp program and limited openings for the fall program.

Weekday Nursery School provides care for children between the ages of 2.9 and 5 in Newton Highlands.

A preschool designed to meet the needs and interests of young children and their families since 1971.

We currently have limited openings in our three and four year old programs for school year 2016/2017 .

We believe that “play” is children’s work. Through play, children learn to build foundational skills such as cooperation, respect for others, problem solving, self regulation, and build a strong sense of self. Our environment promotes and encourages a natural sense of curiosity and nurtures each child to be able to explore , ask questions, and make connections about the world he/she lives in.

Weekday Nursery School offers classes for ages 2.9 – 5 year old children with 3, 4 or 5 day options.

Hours : 9:00 – 12:00 with optional early drop off and extended day.

For more info or to schedule a tour , please contact Director, Faye

Tonkonogy at 617-527- 8895 or email: Weekdaynursey@gmail.com

54 Lincoln St.

Newton Highlands MA 02461

May 15, 2016
City of Newton Fiscal Budget 2017
Dear Resident,

Earlier tonight, I was pleased to present to the City Council my proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2017.

Below are some highlights from my remarks this evening, as well as links to the full text, and the budget document itself. I hope you will take a moment to read it through.

Thank you.
City Finances

Before I first took office 6 years ago, our budget was not oriented towards delivering outcomes for Newton residents. In 2010, our finances were in bad shape and the outlook was bleak:

the City was facing an annual structural deficit projected to be more than $40 million by 2013;

our expenses were growing by 2 percentage points more than our revenues every year;

there was no emergency or rainy day reserve account;

our pension trust fund had suffered a significant loss in principal;

we had not even begun to think about addressing our other post-employment benefits, or OPEB, which is “health insurance for retirees”; and

our triple A bond rating was in jeopardy.

Through hard work and dedication and an unwavering, disciplined focus on a strategy of zero basing our budgets, making data-driven financial decisions, and restructuring our union contracts we have been able to eliminate the structural deficit and get our expenditure growth in line with our revenue growth.

In addition to balancing our budget, we recognized that it was important to establish a reserve fund for emergencies or catastrophic events. I am proud to announce that with the City Council’s approval of the Rainy Day Docket Item and this budget, we will begin FY17 with almost $19 million, a full 5% of our FY17 operating budget in a rainy day reserve.

Our pension fund, which had suffered significant losses in the crash of 2008, continues to be a top priority. And while it was acceptable when I first took office to have a plan that fully funded our pension liability by the year 2038, financial sustainability requires more. Therefore, this budget includes an increase of $1.9 million to continue to support a funding schedule aimed at fully funding the City’s pension liability by the year 2029-almost a decade ahead of schedule.

Commitment to this funding schedule is an integral component of my administration’s plan to address OPEB liabilities and is therefore key to the City’s long term financial stability strategy.

Recently, we announced that a third party actuary has confirmed the Administration’s funding strategy, which will enable the City of Newton to eliminate the City’s unfunded pension liability by the year 2029 and the OPEB liability by the year 2042. The actuarial valuation of the City’s OPEB Liabilities for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 confirms the administration’s plan is financially sound and sustainable. The valuation by Financial Risk Analysts, LLC, is in keeping with the national standards of practice of the actuarial profession and is in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 45, or GASB-45. The FY17 Budget contains a $350,000 increase in the OPEB appropriation, with that allocation now totaling more than $1.7 million.

And finally on our finances, not only have we been able to maintain our triple A bond rating with Moody’s Investor Services throughout the past 6 years, this year for the first time we went beyond and also asked Standard and Poor’s to rate the City. As many of you know, in January we were pleased to announce that Standard and Poor’s also assigned a triple A rating to the City, citing, and I quote, “strong management, with ‘good’ financial policies and practices under our Financial Management Assessment methodology and strong budgetary performance, with balanced operating results in the general fund.”

This is a major achievement. With this double triple A rating, the City of Newton has joined a very small group of municipalities who have earned triple A ratings from these two highly regarded institutions.

Education
As you’ve heard me say many times before, education is the bedrock of our community. Our commitment to preparing all of our young people to meet their full potential is unwavering.

The Angier School has opened on time and under budget, the Zervas School community has moved to Carr, as part of our comprehensive, multi-year school facilities plan. A plan that is smart about using swing spaces to minimize disruption as well as embark on an aggressive school buildings upgrade plan in the most cost effective way possible.

The Cabot School project continues to meet major milestones and in September our pre-k program will be moving to the recently acquired Aquinas property and the Ed Center basement will be renovated to house Central High.

Additionally, the School Department budget highlights investments in both students and staff to ensure Newton continues to deliver a high-quality education to all students. In developing the FY17 budget, NPS paid special attention to dedicating significant resources to continue to improve student achievement, close the achievement gap, and support the positive social and emotional development of all of our students.

Over the past five years, achievement gaps in high school English language arts, math, and science MCAS have narrowed. We have seen significant increases in the enrollment of traditionally underrepresented students in higher-level classes at both high schools. This initiative began as a pilot at Newton North and has now expanded to Newton South. The schools continue to expand special education programs so that most students can be educated within the district.

NPS continues to pilot exciting initiatives in the area of science and technology. This year, the DaVinci Program, an interdisciplinary project based approach to learning science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, is being piloted at Newton South with 10th grade students. This successful pilot will expand to 11th graders next year. Schools have introduced the teaching of computer coding at the elementary level and plans are underway to expand coding lessons in the coming year.

Condition of Roads
Six years ago my administration inherited crumbling roads and sidewalks and no comprehensive plan for maintaining and updating our city’s infrastructure. Addressing this serious need has been another priority of my administration and that has been-and will continue to be-reflected in our budget strategy as we invest in our infrastructure and look at our community’s needs in the coming decades. We continue to use the $1 million dollars allocated from the override in 2013 each year to make sure we have safe, updated infrastructure. We are working extensively on upgrading our sidewalks and intersections to be ADA compliant, making them safer for all pedestrians. In FY17, we are installing over 300 ADA compliant ramps at 71 intersections across the City.

This year, for the first time, under the direction of Public Works Commissioner Jim McGonagle, the City will be using a data-driven approach to our streets with StreetScan, a pavement inspection service that utilizes rapid-sensor inspection technology to diagnose surface and subsurface roadway defects. StreetScan was also a 2015 MassChallenge finalist. Working with them will provide us with the data, tools, and cutting-edge methods that will help us formulate optimum strategies to maintain and improve our roadways. This will produce an organized data-driven approach for pavement management. This technology will lead to our development of an accelerated street paving action plan based on empirical data and best practices. We expect to present this accelerated action plan to the public in the fall because we know how important it is to have quality roads and sidewalks in our city.

Smart-Phone App Parking

I am also pleased to announce that this summer the City will deploy a citywide mobile parking app, which will allow any driver parking at a metered space to have the option of paying either by phone or by coin. We believe this will be immensely more convenient for visitors to our village centers and are excited to roll out this parking initiative.

BigBelly Trash/Recycling Units

In addition to the items listed above, this year’s budget includes the installation of

340 BigBelly smart, solar-powered stations, many with compactors to enable the City to improve waste and recycling management volume, collection, and efficiency by delivering real-time data to a web-based dashboard.

To view the full text of my remarks from this evening, please click here.

To view the budget in its entirety, click here.

Sincerely,

Setti D. Warren

Mayor

City of Newton, MA
May 12, 2016
New Pop-Ups at The Street

THE STREET ANNOUNCES
THREE NOTEWORTHY LOCAL BRANDS
DEBUTING AT THE POP-UP
THIS SPRING & SUMMER

Sweet Lydia’s
Open Now through May 15, 2016
with a sweet Mother’s Day offering

Papers and Presents and Rancatore’s Ice Cream
Arrive in May, June & July

The Street announces its most extensive calendar yet for The Pop-Up. Over the next eight weeks, between April and July 2016, Sweet Lydia’s, papers & presents, and Rancatore’s Ice Cream will debut in the space with distinct offerings ranging from gourmet food to artisan gifts. Since launching The Pop-Up in November 2015, The Street has given some of the most creative entrepreneurs and small businesses in Massachusetts the opportunity to shine.

Sweet Lydia’s is open now through Sunday, May 15, 2016. Sweet Lydia’s pop up offers a range of its renowned confections, including a special Mother’s Day Gift Boxwith chocolate salted caramels, champagne marshmallows, toffee, and s’mores. Also on the menu are Gourmet Marshmallows in champagne, passion fruit, and vanilla;S’mores in original, coconut, raspberry, caramel, peanut butter; S’moresels, bite-sized vanilla marshmallows with a cinnamon and graham cracker swirl, andChocolate Salted Caramels in flavors like stout & pretzel. Crumple and Toss will have a presence within Sweet Lydia’s pop-up, carrying its locally made and wonderfully witty cards, including a number of catchy options for Mother’s Day.

Following Sweet Lydia’s, The Pop-Up will feature:

papers & presents
May 20-June 13, 2016

Perfectly timed for graduation season, papers & presents will pop up with a colorful selection of customizable gifts, party supplies and stationary expertly curated by owner Carolyn McCoy. Formerly a beloved boutique in Wellesley Center, papers & presents has taken its goods on the go with a brand new mobile retail truck, dubbedpenelope, which will also park on property as a complement to The Pop-Up experience..

Rancatore’s Ice Cream

June 17-July 30, 2016

Looking ahead to summer, Rancatore’s Ice Cream will occupy The Pop-Up space, bringing specialty frappes and ice cream flavors such as Hazelnut Cream, Lemon Lemonsnap, and Tiger Milk and other one-of-a-kind offerings to The Street during the dog days of July. Rancatore’s has been serving made-from-scratch ice cream for 31 years and has three additional creameries in Lexington, Burlington and Newtonville.

The Pop-Up at The Street can be found near the newly opened MiniLuxe, and is directly adjacent to Star Market (3 Boylston Street Chestnut Hill, MA). Sweet Lydia’s hours of operation are Monday-Thursday, 11AM-7PM, Friday-Saturday 10AM-8PM and Sunday 10AM-6PM.

May 7, 2016