Category: All About Newton

News, events, children’s activities in Newton, MA.

Seeking Vendors for FREE Pop-Market!

Calling all artisans, mompreneurs, craftspeople, and artists. Opportunity to setup shop at our one day Common Ground Pop-Up Market.

The Common Ground in Arlington invites you to a free space in our event room to display your products or services during our Sunday brunch hours.

Common Ground Arlington’a beautiful new Events Room will be convered to a Pop-Up Market for 1 day only!

Event is Sunday, March 13th 12:00-4:00pm.

To reserve a spot or for more info email commongroundpopup@yahoo.com.

Want to join us? Here’s the form to submit:

Common Ground Pop-Up Participant Application 3_13_16

Marketing to bring in shoppers includes:
— Facebook marketing to several Arlington based closed groups that includes more than 4000 residents.
— Flyers distribution.
— Event will be submitted to Lexington Minutemen, The Arlington Advocate, Cambridge Chronicle and Tab, and Cambridge Day.
— Common Ground has their popular All You Can Eat Brunch during time. Diners will be invited to check out the Pop-Up Market.
— Social Media: Facebook & Twitter.

February 18, 2016
Plato’s Closet Waltham is Open to Buy!

Plato’s Closet Waltham is now Open to Buy!

Plato’s Closet is excited to join the community at our new store on the Newton/Waltham line! Plato’s Closet is a “sister store” to Play It Again Sports.

We buy and sell gently used clothing and accessories for teens and young adults: girls and guys. We pay cash on the spot for on-trend items, and you don’t need an appointment to sell to us. We buy all seasons, year-round!

We are currently Open to Buy. Once our racks are filled with great items, we will open to both buy and sell. We would love to meet new customers in the store!

Our hours are 10-9 Mon-Sat and 12-5 Sun.

Our store is in the Ocean State Job Lot plaza at 100 River Street in Waltham: just a few blocks from Launch, BJs and Russo’s!

Please check us out at our website or on Facebook for more information and/or to join our mailing list.

February 18, 2016
Newton 2016 State of the City Address

Dear Resident,

Tonight, I was honored to present my annual State of the City Address. In my remarks tonight, I highlighted several accomplishments and new initiatives. Below are a few highlights, as well as the full text of my remarks. I hope that you will take a few moments to read them. Thank you.

Our Strong Financial Position

We have 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 also asked Standard and Poor’s to rate the City. As many of you know, we were pleased to announce a few weeks ago 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.”

What this all comes down to, why this is so important, is that these components of our Long Term Financial Stability Strategy enable us to make the critical investments we need in the most fundamental areas, such as education, public safety and infrastructure, to make Newton a stronger, more livable, sustainable, 21st Century city.

DataStat Newton

Last year, we institutionalized our data-driven decision making by launching the “DataStat Newton” program. The program tracks everything from recycling rates and number of potholes filled, to auto-pedestrian accidents and changes in public safety response times, all on a monthly basis.

Last year, we institutionalized our data-driven decision making by launching the “DataStat Newton” program. The program tracks everything from recycling rates and number of potholes filled, to auto-pedestrian accidents and changes in public safety response times, all on a monthly basis.

More than 50 miles of roadway have been resurfaced since my administration began. Since the passage of the tax override in 2013, 50% more roadway is paved each year than in 2010. During the 2015 construction season, we paved 13.5 miles of roadway, the most in a single year since 2010. And, on our roads, the traffic signalization strategy in our Capital Improvement Plan will enable us to address our city’s 17 most congested and unsafe intersections by upgrading our traffic signal and intersection technology. That includes updated signals at previously dangerous intersections of Craft and Linwood, Beacon and Grant, and Winchester and Nahanton, all of which have been completed.

Cleanliness in our villages and parks is a critical part of the great quality of life in Newton as well as the local economy and we are using a data driven approach to make improvements in this area. The data tracking the frequency of trash barrel overflow led us to the conclusion that we needed a 21^st Century solution.

I’m pleased to announce we have reached an agreement with BigBelly to add 172 of their solar-compacting trash and recycling barrels throughout village centers and parks this spring. These solar powered barrels, which include waste and recycling processing, will have a positive impact on the environment, on our bottom line, and help enhance the quality of life throughout the City.

Economic Growth For All

I have written and developed a research based data driven municipal policy to increase economic mobility from birth to adulthood and retirement age. The policy also promotes the innovation economy that is so important to the future of our region. It is based on work from the Brookings Institution and the Boston College Center on retirement research. I’ve entitled the policy framework “Economic Growth for All.”

Below are a few initiatives that fall within this framework.

Pilot Self-Sufficiency Program for Children and Families

Last year, under my direction and with funding from the state, we launched a pilot program with Crittenton Women’s Union, an organization that has been nationally recognized for its work helping families become self-sustaining. The plan includes mentoring for 10 women living in Newton public housing, who will receive wraparound services, such as training in financial literacy, career counseling, assistance with planning for daycare, transportation support, and parenting skills counseling. We will learn from our pilot so that we can scale up this innovative approach beyond Newton Public Housing for more children and families in years to come.

MassChallenge and Newton Innovation Center

Last fall, we announced our partnership with MassChallenge to create a new innovation center in the former Newton Corner Library building. With this, we have the potential to revitalize a neighborhood, as well as open up access to the innovation economy for residents of all backgrounds. To do this, we are working on programming with MassChallenge, along with the Newton Free Library, that includes hosting interns from the Mayor’s summer high school internship program; holding sessions for students, entrepreneurs and all residents on business practices; and more.

Housing and Transportation Strategy

We are also using the policy to guide both our transportation and housing strategies and the development of our innovation districts. Housing, transportation, appropriate comprehensive social services, and jobs including those in the growth sector of the innovation economy are all critically interlinked in order to promote a pathway to the middle class and beyond for all of our residents.

To view the Economic Growth for All” policy framework, click here.

Expanding Solar Opportunities for Residents

We want to level the playing field and make solar power more widely available to Newton residents. Under our community solar share plan, anyone in the City who qualifies for fuel assistance would also qualify to receive solar power from our municipal projects. Other residents, including homeowners and renters, would also be eligible to participate. We are currently in the process of working out the details of this exciting, innovative program-one that we believe is the first of its kind in the Nation. I look forward to sharing more information as we make progress in the coming months.

To view the full text of my remarks, pleaseclick here

Sincerely,

Setti D. Warren

Mayor

City of Newton, MA

February 13, 2016
Valentine’s Day at The Street

1. VALENTINE’S DAY, COUPLES’ NIGHTS: Muse Paintbar is hosting Couples’ Nights, which make for a fun, interactive date. Couples create their own paintings with step-by-step instruction from a local artist all while enjoying a menu of wine, beer, and small bites. Each person receives a canvas to paint, and upon completion of their painting, their canvas will form a larger piece of art when positioned next to their date’s.

WHEN: Muse Paintbar is offering Couples’ Nights from Friday February 12 through Sunday February 14, 2016. Muse offers multiple sessions throughout the day and evening. All evening sessions on Saturday, February 13th include a glass of Prosecco.

COST: $35-$55; www.musepaintbar.com.

WHERE: Muse Paintbar’s has four Massachusetts locations: a newly opened location at Assembly Row (461 Artisan Way, Somerville), a newly opened location at MarketStreet Lynnfield (600 Market St, Lynnfield), Hingham Shipyard (15 Shipyard Dr 1C, Hingham), and Patriot Place (217 Patriot Pl, Foxborough).

2. DIY FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP: Alice’s Table is hosting a men’s flower arranging workshop at Shake Shack at The Street in Chestnut Hill.

Men can arrive solo or with their Valentine; they will create a DIY bouquet with easy, step-by-step instructions from Alice Rossiter, owner of Alice’s Table, while enjoying complimentary beer and snacks from Shake Shack.

WHEN: Alice’s Table will host the men’s flower arranging workshop on Saturday, February 13 from 9:30am to 11:00 am.

COST: $75 and men leave with a bouquet + $25 of each ticket goes to Youth in Crisis Ministries Peace Tournament; www.alicestable.com/events

WHERE: Shake Shack is located at The Street in Chestnut Hill, 49 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill.

February 12, 2016
Newton Real Estate Report

Newton Single Family homes performed very well in 2015 as the market continued to push prices upward. We continue to feel the improving economy as we see a healthy relocation business, families trading up for larger homes and a steady flow of buyers from Boston. New schools being built in Newton is certainly being viewed as positive. Companies moving to Boston like GE will welcome more potential home buyers.

From Mitch Bernstein of New England Moves

February 12, 2016
FC Boston Loses Breakers Academy

Merger between FC Bolts and Boston Breakers Academy/Scorpions was to combine two clubs that had an academy program for boys and girls. Less than six months after the merger, Breakers Academy announced that they are dropping the Scorpions and replacing them with NEFC.

Why did Boston Breakers drop the Scorpions?

Today, the Boston Breakers announce the dissolving of the youth club partnership between Scorpions Soccer Club (now FC Boston) and Boston Breakers Academy.

“It is unfortunate that the partnership is being dissolved,” Boston Breakers general manager Lee Billiard said. “We had high hopes, but the merger of Scorpions and FC Bolts and their creation of FC Boston set them on a different path.”

The partnership was originally formed in December 2013 with a purpose to expand the previous club’s footprint and ultimately led to the insertion of new coaches and additional players.

The partnership will be terminated by the end of 2015. All current Boston Breakers Academy teams under the Scorpions/FC Boston umbrella will transition out of using the Boston Breakers name and logo by the end of the year as well. The Boston Breakers will continue to operate its own college academy and reserve teams as part of the development pathway to the pros.

This is what the Boston Breakers relationship gave the Scorpions:

In the first year of the partnership, Boston Breakers General Manager Lee Billiard will coach the Boston Breakers Academy U17 ECNL team, while Boston Breakers Academy Director Jack Abelson will coach the U15 ECNL team, and Breakers Senior Team Coordinator Stephanie Schafer (Curry College and Wagner College) will take the U17 NPL team. Boston Breakers Head Coach Lisa Cole will play a vital role for the Boston Breakers Academy as Technical Director. The role of Technical Director will be to provide coach and player education for the program, along with helping to build curriculum content, a sound developmental pathway for players, coaches and also holding some guest sessions across the season.

As the partnership grows, Boston Breakers players will also be a part of the staff, coaching teams at all levels. During the first year of transition, the Boston Breakers professional players will take part in club trainings and camps. Six Boston Breakers professional players will serve as age group mentors to the girls teams. The role will be to see every team and have direct contact with players in the specific age group they are mentoring. Additionally, the Breakers players will attend tryouts to help the staff evaluate players, and over the course of the season, host educational classes with Breakers Academy players in regards to being a student athlete, nutrition, fitness, becoming a pro player, and to give advice on the college recruitment process.

The Scorpions Soccer Club front office staff will remain intact and will work closely with Boston Breakers front office staff to provide families an even greater level of communication and players a very structured development pathway, which starts at U9 and leads though Under 18, to Breakers College Academy, Reserve Team, and ending at the Senior professional team.

It appears that the merger that was supposed to combine both a girls and boys academy program was the reason for Boston Breakers dropping the Scorpions for NEFC. Or it could be the Boston Breakers relationship with Fred Marks?

Breakers Partnership with NEFC

Why are NEFC and the Boston Breakers creating this partnership?

The Boston Breakers are a member of the NWSL, a ten team professional women’s soccer league supported by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). As with most professional soccer clubs in the US, a priority for the Boston Breakers is to have a competitive youth academy structure that supports the college, reserve and professional teams. NEFC has a proven developmental model and a competitive team structure that competes on the national stage. The synergies created by this partnership provide a nationally competitive youth academy under the Breakers organization which also supports NEFC’s mission statement of ‘Developing Players for the Next Level in an Elite Soccer Environment’. This partnership will provide players with the best environment to take advantage of future opportunities as the youth soccer landscape continues to evolve.

—————-

Dear FC Boston Families:

Last summer, FC Greater Boston Bolts and the Boston Breakers Academy/Scorpions agreed to join forces to create the only youth soccer club in the Northeast with both the Development Academy on the boy’s side and the ECNL on the girl’s side. Our long-term goal is to create a super club that can take a player from junior academy (age 8) and develop them all the way until college. We offer programs spanning from junior academy, NEP, NPL and Academy/ECNL levels. The goal is to be the most complete club in the Northeast with the best coaching staff.

Whenever two clubs merge together, there are bound to be growing pains as joining two synergies takes time to blend into one. One hurdle we faced was what to call our new super club which has now been decided. The overall club will be known as FC Boston with the boys being FC Boston Bolts and the girls being FC Boston Scorpions. The Bolts is one of the most recognized brands of youth soccer in the US under the direction of Brian Ainscough. Similarly, Scorpions was the original name of the club that Fred Marks built from the ground up. Over the years it was one of the most recognized names in girls soccer, which is why the board chose to resurrect the name and restore it to its rightful place in girls soccer. We have a new logo and we will debut our new uniforms in early summer.

Our focus will now be on merging and improving our operations as well as using the combined forces of the two clubs to secure and improve our facilities. It is a top priority to secure and retain the best coaches for our players and ensure the best path for development in youth soccer in this area.

On the operations side, we are working to create an organization that is highly proficient and seamlessly delivers good communications to our families. We value our players and their families and will strive to create a great experience for all.

We appreciate your patience and loyalty while we work through this process and look forward to great things in the future for FC Boston!

Sincerely,

Jonathan Price

President

—————-

Jonathan Price fails to address that the ECNL league is likely to be moved to a lower division.

US Soccer Federation to launch a girls’ equivalent of Development Academy. ECNL likely pushed to 2nd tier.

What will be the result of FC Scorpions losing Breakers Academy and ECNL pushed to 2nd tier? Rumor has it that top players are looking to switch clubs. A division 1 women’s college soccer coach summed it up: “It’s the end of an era. The Scorpions are done!”

February 11, 2016
Our Principal’s Wife’s Life Lesson from Their Son

From Janet Chitty, wife of Mark Chitty, principal of Peirce Elementary School in Newton pens an article on life lesson learned from her son. This is from Boston Parents Paper.

February 10, 2016
New Valeo’s Girls Director!

Valeo Families,

Kia McNeill the girls director at Valeo FC was recently offered the women’s head coaching position at Brown University. It was a difficult decision for Kia to make, but in order to pursue an amazing opportunity, Kia has decided to step down from her position.

Kia made a positive impact on the lives of many young athletes during her time here at Valeo.

We are excited for Kia’s new opportunity at Brown University and want to wish her all the best.

She will still have a reduced role here at Valeo and continue to be a part of the Valeo family.

Here at Valeo, our mission is focused on developing competitive athletes, outstanding citizens and strong leaders. We provide a challenging and rewarding environment that teaches the virtues of teamwork, discipline, hard work, commitment, respect and leadership.

After significant consideration, we would like to announce the promotion of Brian Leighton as Valeo’s girls director. Brian has been part of the Valeo family for two seasons coaching the

GU10, GU11, GU12 and GU15 teams. Brian brings an abundance of experience both from a managerial and soccer standpoint.

Brian spent his college career as the starting goalkeeper for the Mount Ida Mustangs. He also played in the NPSL Division 1 for the Maine Sting. Brian has coached at various clubs throughout Greater Boston and is currently the men’s assistant coach at MIT.

Brian has a Master’s of Science in Management degree and is an avid entrepreneur. Brian is excited to carry on the Valeo tradition that focuses on player development in his role as the new girls director.

Please join us in welcoming Brian as the new girls director! Feel free to contact Brian at

Brian@valeofc.com with any questions or comments.

February 8, 2016
DIY Flower Arranging Class for Men at Shake Shack

DIY FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP FOR MEN: Alice’s Table is hosting a men’s flower arranging workshop at Shake Shack at The Street in Chestnut Hill. Participants will create a bouquet for their Valentine with step-by-step instructions by Alice’s Table while enjoying complimentary beer and snacks from Shake Shack.

WHEN: Alice’s Table will host the men’s flower arranging workshop on Saturday, February 13 from 10 am to 11:30 am.

COST: $65; www.alicestable.com

WHERE: Shake Shack is located at The Street in Chestnut Hill, 49 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill

February 6, 2016
Boston 6th Best Metro Area for STEM Professionals
With STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — jobs expected to grow 1.7 times faster than non-STEM professions in the coming years, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals.

On the heels of our earlier report on the Best & Worst Cities to Find a Job, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 most populated metropolitan statistical areas across 16 key metrics to help STEM professionals find the best markets for their valuable occupations. Our data set ranges from per-capita job openings for STEM graduates to annual median wage growth for STEM workers.

STEM Job Market in Boston-Cambridge-Newton (1=Best; 50=Avg.)
- 8^th – % of All Workers in STEM Positions
- 51^st – STEM-Employment Growth
- 1^st – Mathematics Performance
- 14^th – Quality of Engineering Universities
- 45^th – Annual Median Wage Growth for STEM Workers
- 24^th – Per-Capita Job Openings for STEM Graduates
- 2^nd – Projected Number of STEM Jobs Needed in 2020
For the full report, please visit here.
February 4, 2016