After weeks of controversy surrounding the removal of red, white and green lines from Adams Street in Nonantum, the St. Mary of Carmen Society opened its 90^th annual Italian-American Festival, also known as Festa.

The week started with a crowd of Nonantum residents urging the City Council to help get the lines painted back, after Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s administration had the Italian flag colors removed and replaced with a double yellow line, citing safety and state regulations. This set off two weeks of outrage and rumors of residents planning to re paint the lines themselves.

Then, at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, Newton Police found fresh red, white and green spray paint on the double yellow signs on one part of Adams Street.

“After a brief investigation, officers identified a 54-year-old Newton resident as the person believed to be responsible,” Lt. Amanda Henrickson said in a statement. “This individual was briefly detained on scene and then released.”

Henrickson added that the police department would file complaints against the suspect for defacing property.

Also on Wednesday, the City Council drafted a letter to the mayor calling for “a resolution to the sudden and ill-timed removal of the Italian colors along Adams Street.”

The letter doesn’t call for the lines to be added back (which, it seems someone did themselves on Tuesday night anyway) but rather seeks a compromise between the mayor and the residents of Nonantum.

“One example is replacing the double yellow lines intermittently with the Italian colors down the middle of the street. We urge a meeting as soon as possible between the two parties that results in a mutually agreeable solution,” it reads. “This requires both parties to compromise.”

That could be tricky, given that both sides of this fight seem to have dug in their heels—with the mayor insisting it’s a public safety issue and the neighbors accusing her of attacking the village’s Italian community and heritage.

“We understand that safety is the highest priority, but we are certain that changes to the center lines can be made without adverse impacts to safety,” the letter reads. ”We have a time sensitive opportunity to bring the community together in celebration of ‘Festa,’  a long-standing community event enjoyed by Italians and non-Italians alike.”

A Nonantum resident was issued a summons for allegedly spray-painting the double yellow lines on Adams Street red, white and green. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

But the Executive Board of the St. Mary of Carmen Society wrote a letter of its own, to Fuller, asking her to “re-evaluate” her decision to participate this year.

“We believe that your presence at this time would be disruptive and contrary to the welcoming and neighborly spirit we strive to uphold during the festival,” the letter reads in part. “We ask this not out of spite, but out of a sincere desire to preserve peace and harmony during a sacred week for our neighborhood. The 90^th anniversary is not just another festival—it is a powerful reminder of who we are and what we’ve built together.”

Fuller maintains that the controversy was due to a communication error and that she’s open to having Nonantum’s Italian heritage displayed in a way that allows a double yellow line for safety.

“Before the City painted the reflective yellow center lines, we gave permission to the Festa volunteers to again this year repaint the tricolors on Adams Street prior to Festa, just moved over by 12” or 18” next to the double yellow center lines,” Fuller wrote in an email to the community this week. “Traditions matter. Public safety also matters.”

Festa runs through Sunday. Click here for a schedule of festival events and performances.