Giddy-Up: Newton is set to harness energy and movement in 2026
In the Chinese Zodiac, 2025 was the Year of the Snake, a time for shedding the old and making room for the new. And 2026 [...]
Here are the Newton Beacon’s most-read stories of 2025
Newton had a busy year. And you noticed. How does that translate to eyes on headlines? It turns out pop culture, crime and politics are [...]
Snapshots: Inauguration Day 2026
On the first day of the new year, Newton got a new mayor, several new city councilors and lot of new faces on the School [...]
Former classmate surprises Laredo with a treasure from his track days
Long before Mayor Marc Laredo decided to run for office, he loved to just run. And an old friend has brought him a reminder of [...]
‘Newton must be different’: Laredo takes office, and City Hall begins anew
The new year brought Newton into a new era, as Marc Laredo became the city’s 32nd mayor and several new City Council and School Committee [...]
Newton’s unsung heroes of 2025
This year had it all: Laughter, tears, fighting, joy, politics, drama and an election that included all of that. There were the stories that shaped [...]
City Council rejects plan for parking instead of housing on Nonantum lot
On Dec. 9, the Land Use Committee voted to recommend approval of a non-accessory parking lot and a rebuild of a 10-foot retaining wall at [...]
What a Year: The stories that shaped Newton in 2025
In early January, an article in the Newton Beacon laid out a forecast for the year ahead, as 2025 was the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of [...]
Oliver announces City Council committee assignments
Newton City Council President-elect John Oliver and Vice President David Kalis (who was recently elected to another term in that role) announced their picks for [...]
Chapin Road drain extension saga ends quietly with petition withdrawal
The Chapin Road drainage drama has ended abruptly–and rather anticlimactically–as a proposal to extend drainage for a planned construction on Homer Street is no more, [...]
Curtain Call: Outgoing city councilors bid farewell at last meeting of 2025
Seven Newton city councilors—Rick Lipof, Vicki Danberg, Andreae Downs, Bill Humphrey, Alan Lobovits, Leonard Gentile and Marc Laredo—are ending their tenure when the clock strikes [...]
Laredo picks Lauren Berman to lead economic development in Newton
In these times of economic chaos and uncertainty, local economies can make all the difference. And Mayor-elect Marc Laredo is hoping to give the city [...]
Despite peer review support, committee rejects Newton Centre drain extension request
Betsy Harper plans to build two houses on Homer Street on property she bought two years ago, and as a means of mitigating stormwater runoff, [...]
City Council adopts Code of Conduct, minus a few amendments
In 2023, after former Ward 6 Councilor Brenda Noel received inappropriate text messages from her colleague, Ward 8 Councilor At-Large Rick Lipof, she wrote a [...]
Planning Department’s Barney Heath, Jen Caira leaving City Hall
They've spent years helping the city, residents and businesses plan—new buildings, whole developments, zoning updates and more—and now Planning Department Director Barney Heath and Deputy [...]