Column: Parenting is hard. It’s also meaningful, maddening and deeply human.
Hello, Newton. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Nanci Ginty Butler. I’m a clinical social worker, a parent and your neighbor. I’ve spent [...]
Column: An elementary school eliminates homework, sparking parental debate
A fourth grader returned home from Memorial Spaulding Elementary School on January 5 with surprising news: homework, at least as students had known it, was [...]
Column: Winter sowing gives you an early start on your garden
Winter is a quiet season in the garden, but it has its own opportunities for getting your hands in the soil. Despite the cold weather, [...]
Column: Social media’s stress-inducing takeover of the college hunt
My early decision letter was sitting in the admissions portal. I was prepared for either outcome. If I was in, I would squeal with glee, [...]
Column: In Papua New Guinea, the time machine is on perennial pause
There are few places on earth so remote that time has little meaning. Tufi, in Papua New Guinea, is one of them. In 2006, from [...]
Column: Empty storefronts may be frustrating. But they’re not a sign of failure.
We’ve all seen those empty storefronts smack in the middle of our village centers. Some, like the one-time pet store in Newtonville, have been vacant [...]
Column: Local sweets for your sweetheart
Chocolate comes from the cacao plant, native to Mexico and Central America, but you need not travel that far to find a Valentine’s Day treat. [...]
Column: The coming of fare-free transit
A new mobility phenomenon is quietly spreading throughout cities and neighborhoods in Massachusetts and beyond. It’s the concept of fare free transit. Providing fare free [...]
Column: My life as a yardstick
I have a few old wooden yardsticks in my Newton condo. I know that they are old because I can’t remember a day when I [...]
Column: Thinking ahead and reflecting on last year’s garden
My backyard garden is asleep. With the cold and the snow we’ve recently had in Newton, the garden looks quiet. The branches of the black [...]
Column: Counting on safe and reliable tap water
When Newton residents open their faucets, they expect safe, clean water. “People like to turn on their water and have it work,” says Shawna Sullivan, [...]
Column: Marching forth, with Becky in spirit
Becky wanted me to get back out on the road. I’ll explain. But first, please let me introduce myself. I’m Andris Vizulis. Friends in Newton [...]
Column: Let’s give the Newton Centre Plaza a chance
The big triangular chunk of land in the heart of Newton Centre has been a parking lot for so long that it’s hard to remember [...]
Column: Savoring Dry January with a new class of mocktails
Move over, Shirley Temple. One of the nation’s first popular non-alcoholic drinks has gone the way of big bands and other trends from the 1930s. [...]
Column: Time to get behind Newton’s bike safety plan
It was decades in the making. But Newton has developed a draft bicycle and pedestrian mobility plan that will likely go before the City Council [...]