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The League Presents...

Non-Profit Support for Arts & Culture in Newton

Adrienne Hartzell Knudsen
Gloria Gavris

In this episode of The League Presents, Marcia Johnson speaks with Gloria Gavris, Board Chair, Newton Community Pride, and Adrienne Hartzell Knudsen Executive Director, Newton Cultural Alliance (NCA), about how the NCA and Newton Community Pride work to raise the value of arts & culture in the minds of our community in order to develop the political will and financial sustainability of the creative sector of our local economy. The conversation also helped to sort out their individual and distinct missions and how they collaborate together to support our local artists and non-profits of all ages and levels of creativity and ability.  Topics included…

  1. An overview of the Newton Cultural Alliance & Newton Community Pride organizations.
  2. Examples of how these two umbrella organizations work with organizations like the New Art Center, Newton’s Office of Cultural Development, and Newton’s Cultural Council.
  3. What can residents and business owners do to support the arts in Newton?

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The League Presents: Newton’s Municipal Budget

Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman, Ward 7
Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman, Ward 7
Newton COO Jonathan Yeo
Newton COO Jonathan Yeo

Given that it is budget season at the local and state level, Marcia Johnson was able to have a conversation about Newton’s Municipal Budget with Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Yeo and Councilor-at-Large, Ward 7, Becky Grossman, Finance Committee Chair.  For many, the city’s budgeting processes seem to be somewhat of an enigma, so the League has taken this opportunity to provide more insight into the process and ways in which citizens can be engaged.  They talked about the following:

  • The process that the Mayor, her executive team, and department heads follow to prepare the budget document and how they contribute to the City Council’s deliberations.
  • Important fiscal-year milestones, most importantly mayoral budget presentations.
  • The steps that the City Council, its Standing Committees, and the Finance Committee follow to have input into the process, review, amend, and approve the budget document.
  • The timing of various meetings, which will be held via Zoom and where community members can find important documents.
  • How best for community members to be engaged.

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The VOTES Act with State Senator Creem

Given the national focus on voting rights and suppression and our mission — Empowering voters. Defending democracy — the League thought it was important to provide more information on legislation put forward by State Senator Cindy Creem and State Representative John Lawn.  Therefore, we invited Senator Creem to join The League Presents to tell us about An Act Fostering Voting Opportunities, Trust, Equity, and Security, or The VOTES Act.  It is supported by the LWVMA, which notes that the Election Modernization Coalition has called it “the most comprehensive next step for Massachusetts elections.” The legislation includes the following components:

State Senator Creem
  • Mail-in Voting
  • Early Voting
  • Same Day Registration
  • Jail-based Voting Reforms
  • Risk Limiting Audits – the Gold Standard
  • Automatic Voter Registration

It is important to note that we also talked about the fact that others are in the process of putting forward legislation that would restrict voter access.  We all need to become educated and active relative to the passing of this important legislation.  To learn more please view this episode of The League Presents: The VOTES Act with State Senator Creem.

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The League Presents: The West Newton Armory Project

Amanda Berman

Recently, Marcia Johnson had the opportunity to learn more about the West Newton Armory project by having a conversation with members of Newton’s Planning & Development Department: Amanda Berman, Director of Housing & Community Development and Eamon Bencivengo, Housing Development Planner.

The City has been given the opportunity to acquire the West Newton Armory from the state, for $1.00, for a 100% affordable housing project.  Please take a moment to watch this informative program and learn more about:

Eamon Bencivengo
  • History, current state, and next steps of the project.
  • The Joint Advisory Planning Group (JAPG) process
  • Information on the four affordable housing options to be considered.
  • What it means for Newton to be designated as a Housing Choice Community.
  • Important aspects of this project for the Newton community
  • Importance and benefits of a public-private partnership

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Saying Thank You and Good-bye – A conversation with outgoing City Clerk David Olson

In the last few days before his retirement, I had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with David.  Twenty years ago, he came to Newton from the House of Seven Gables to lead Historic Newton, which was housed in the Jackson Homestead.  In 2005, at the time of Ed English’s retirement, David applied for the position of City Clerk and Clerk of the Board of Aldermen (now City Council) and became the eighth City Clerk in Newton’s history.

Let’s now learn about David and how he approached this new and intriguing opportunity to work with the Newton community and others in City Hall.  He brought leadership, innovation, and a focus on talent development to the Clerk’s office that it had not seen before, especially to the Elections Office.  The City Council and the Executive Department will miss David, and so will I!

Thank you, David for all that you have done for Newton!  You are leaving big shoes to be filled.

Marcia Johnson

The League Presents: VOTE16 Newton

January’s The League Presents features a discussion with Newton North High School junior Olivia Pozen and Newton North High School senior Coral Lin, co-chairs of Vote16 Newton, a non-partisan, student run campaign dedicated to lowering the voting age in Newton to 16 years.

Olivia and Coral, as one of their advocacy projects,* are working alongside several other students to pass Vote 16 through a home rule petition in Newton. Together with City Councilor Bill Humphrey, Olivia approached the LWVN about having a show on the Vote16 initiative. LWVN has not yet taken a position on the proposed home rule petition.

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