Mayor to Announce New Newton Police Chief Monday [UPDATED]

Mayor Setti Warren has appointed a new police chief and he will make the announcement this afternoon at 4 p.m.

UPDATED 5:45 p.m.: Full details from today's press conference announcing Howard Mintz as Newton's new police chief.  Stay tuned for video from the press conference! 4:40 p.m.: Mayor Setti Warren has appointed Interim Chief Howard Mintz as the Police Department's new leader. Stay tuned to Patch for details from today's press conference. Posted earlier: Five months after he fired former Newton Police Chief Matthew Cummings, Mayor Setti Warren is ready to announce the department's new leader. Warren will make the announcement this afternoon at 4 p.m. at Newton Police Headquarters in West Newton, according to a press release from Warren's office. Cummings was placed on administrative leave in August 2012 after an investigation concluded there …

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Mayor Setti Warren's Newton Youth Summit II

The mayor's second Youth Summit will take place on Wednesday, March 20 at Brown Middle School.

WATCH: Newton Officials: Override Vote 'Historic Day' for City

Mayor Setti Warren, Superintendent David Fleishman, School Committee Chair Claire Sokoloff and other city officials held a post-override press conference Wednesday to thank voters for supporting the override and to talk about the upcoming projects.

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Norman Wirtz

4:13 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013

It was "historic" in the sense that by persauding 17% of the voters to raise taxes on the other 83%, they covered over the real reasons that caused the need for an override - salaries and benefits rising too quickly, ever rising pension costs @ 8% of the budget, longevity bonuses in excess of $1 million per year and $6 million per year for subsidized health insurance for 1,130 retirees. Until the…   more ›

Newton Override Results: Voters Say "Yes, Yes, Yes"

Newton voters supported all three override questions in yesterday's special election, passing Mayor Setti Warren's $11.4 million override package.

Newton Voters Pass $11.4M Override Package

The Newton Election Commission says 32 percent of Newton's registered voters turned out for Tuesday's special election.

Updated March 13, 12:15 a.m. The Newton voters have spoken, and they said, "yes, yes, yes." The Newton Election Commission reported Tuesday night that Newton voters have supported Mayor Setti Warren's $11.4 million override package and all three Newton tax override questions have passed. The three override questions that were decided in Tuesday's special municipal election included an $8.4 million operating override and two debt exclusion overrides.  The unofficial vote totals for the three questions: Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 A .pdf with the detailed unofficial results is included in the media section above. According to Newton officials, the $8.4 million operating override (Question 1) will cover additional teacher salaries to …

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Newton Override Vote: Share Your View in Video

How will you vote on March 12? Submit your 1-minute video making your case to Newton voters: should they vote "yes" or "no"? Click the "Upload Video" button below or email YouTube video links to Melanie.Graham@patch.com.

After four and a half months of discussion, debate and number-crunching, the Newton voters have just a week left to decide how they will vote on Mayor Setti Warren's $11.4 million proposed override. While many may have their minds made up, there are some undecided voters out there who still need convincing -- and now is your chance to make your case before the March 12 special election. Newton Patch is inviting you to upload a 1-minute video clip with your position/pitch on the override. This is an opportunity for residents to present their evidence and have their voices heard. If you would like to upload a video, please remember the following: As you can see above, we have a couple of example videos showing support and opposition to the …

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Janet Sterman

11:39 am on Friday, March 8, 2013

Someone who's home is assessed at $1.5M which is not unusual in Newton!   more ›

Letters to the Editor

Mayor Setti Warren: Preserving Newton: It’s Our Choice

An opinion letter from Mayor Setti Warren supporting the Newton override.

  A city where people can walk, bike, and drive without trips, spills and damage to their vehicles due to potholes. Where emergency responders have the tools they need. Where school buildings are conducive to learning. Where students get a well-rounded education with the attention they need to meet their potential, in classrooms that enhance and foster learning. That’s the Newton I grew up in, the Newton where I returned to raise a family, the Newton we now have the opportunity to preserve for future generations. But I see it slipping away. Angier and Cabot Elementary have been identified by the state as two of the worst school buildings in Massachusetts. We have dramatic enrollment growth—900 new students since 2005 and 800+ more expected…

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Robert L. Cerra

6:22 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013

What the city of Newton needs is our own form of a Sequestor. The Mayor is incappable of staying within a budget. Obama, Deval and Setti, along with the choir at the Newton School Committee, have told us that the world is going to end if we don;t raise your taxes. It is pure fiction fueled by an unrealistic view of spending tax dollars   more ›

Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs to Kick off Newton Heritage Festivals

Mayor Setti Warren will hold a press conference Friday to announce and promote the heritage festivals.

Newton Mayor Setti Warren will join members of his cultural affairs staff Friday to kick off a series of "heritage festivals" to be held in the city over the next two months.  The new program is part of the city's "13 Villages, One Community" campaign and aims to celebrate cultural diversity in Newton as well as build partnerships with the local business community, Warren's office said in a press release. The Newton Heritage Festivals include a series of events around French, Chinese, Latin American and Russian cultures. To kick off the festivals, Warren will hold a press conference Friday afternoon at Cafe St. Petersburg in Newton Centre. Warren will be joined by Director of Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs Linda Plaut as well as local…

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Newton-Needham Chamber Board Endorses Override Proposal

The Board of Directors voted to endorse the mayor's override proposal at its Feb. 13 meeting.

With just a couple of weeks left until the special election, Mayor Setti Warren's $11.4 million override proposal is getting some support from the local business community. The Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has voted to support all three proposed override questions, according to a press release issued today by the Chamber. Newton voters will head to the polls on March 12 to vote on the three override questions, which include an $8.4 million operating override as well as two debt exclusion overrides for the rebuilding of Angier and Cabot elementary schools. “This was not an easy decision because we recognize that increased property taxes are a significant burden for many Newton businesses,” Joseph De Vito, chairman …

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