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Saturday Night at the Races – 2023

SAVE THE DATE – November 4!

Join LWVN and its co-sponsors on Saturday evening, Nov 4, 2023, for Newton’s 3rd biennial Saturday Night at the Races!

The goal of the evening is to provide voters an opportunity to learn more  about City Council and School Committee candidates’ positions on the issues Newton is facing today.  Therefore, all 2023 Newton candidates are invited to this event, whether or not they have a challenger.

Stay tuned for more details as we continue to plan for this interactive and informative event!

Newton Municipal Election – Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Newton municipal elections will take place on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, with options for vote-by-mail as well as absentee and early voting,

Voters will elect a new City Council and School Committee.

Newton’s City Council consists of…

  • 16 At-large City Councilors (2 per ward)
    Elected by voters across the city
  • 8 Ward City Councilors (1 per ward)
    Elected only by the voters in each ward

Newton’s School Committee consists of…

  • 8 members (1 per ward)
    Elected by voters across the city
  • the Mayor.

Learn more about the candidates and how to vote below. Read more →

LWVMA Webinar Series on the Status and Future Plans for Offshore Wind

Massachusetts and other New England states are planning on offshore wind as a major factor in meeting renewable energy generation and emissions reduction goals as we transition off fossil fuels.  Join LWVMA as they take a deep dive into the Northeast’s offshore wind industry and learn about the value of critical offshore wind projects and threats to their timely deployment. Each session has a separate Zoom registration. Sign up for one, two, or all three! See full descriptions and registration links for each session on the  LWVMA website. This series is co-hosted by LWVMA and New England for Offshore Wind (NE4OSW).

What’s Up with Offshore Wind? Current Status – Future Plans – Getting It Done

Webinars are 4:00-5:00pm Eastern Time
Webinar I, September 14, 2023: Collaboration and Ambition: Where Offshore Wind Stands Now
Webinar II, November 16, 2023: Opportunities and Obstacles: Costs and Benefits of Offshore Wind
Webinar III, January 18, 2024: Conflicts and Solutions: Overcoming Offshore Wind Opposition

The League Presents: Zoning Redesign Part III; Village Center Overlay District Ordinance

Newton’s Zoning Redesign began in approximately 2010. The Village Redesign and ultimately the Village Center Overlay District  (VCOD) work began in 2021 with the Community Engagement initiative.

Given our goal of educating and informing citizens by engaging them through public conversations on timely and important issues, we thought it important to participate in the City’s extensive community engagement process.  One of the ways in which we did this is offering a League Presents series.

Jennifer Caira
Deb Crossley
Deb Crossley

Here is the third in our League Presents series on  Zoning Redesign.  In this episode, Marcia Johnson has a conversation regarding the Village Center Overlay District Ordinance with Jennifer Caira – Deputy Director, Planning & Development Department  and Councilor Deb Crossley – Chair Zoning & Planning Committee.  Issues discussed included:

 

  1. The goals, why these zoning changes are important to the community, and how these goals are being accomplished.
  2. The key features of the village center districts, as there is not a one-size fits all approach.
  3. What the Council and Planning Department have learned from residents, some of the changes made based on that feedback and clarification as to where confusions exist.

For background purposes, we encourage you to also view Parts 1 & 2 of our series:

Watch this episode

 

Annual Meeting Update

On June 15, 2023, members gathered at the beautiful historic Allen House for our first in person Annual Meeting in three years.  We welcomed old and new members, as well as the students and families of our scholarship award winners.

Everyone was so excited to be together again that the socializing portion of the meeting took much longer than expected.  Nevertheless, we managed to accomplish a great deal during the business portion of the meeting.  Some highlights include:

  • Jen Abbott was awarded this year’s Jane Leighton Award
  • Over 20 new members were welcomed
  • The 2023-2024 Program was approved, including the adoption of an initiative to review the taxation of Newton golf courses and country clubs
  • Changes to our bylaws were adopted which clarified membership status and who is eligible to be a “voting member” of LWVN
  • A budget for the new Fiscal Year was approved (see the 2023 Annual Meeting Workbook)
  • We gave tribute to these members leaving the Board (for now – we hope some of them choose to come back some time): Andrea Kozinetz, Lisa Mirabile, Linda Morrison, Judy Jaffe
  • A new slate of officers and directors was approved:

We welcomed the following new Board members:

Finally, we gave tribute to Bonnie Carter, who has been a member of LWVN for over 50 years and has served in various capacities on the Board of Directors for almost as long.  Bonnie and her husband Walter have moved to Concord, MA and, as such, she will not be as active in the LWVN as we are accustomed to. Therefore, we decided to give her a warm and special LWVN acknowledgment.

Thank you Bonnie!!