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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

Watch the video now!

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Thank You to Congressmen Frank, Kennedy and Auchincloss and Gail Spector

Representing the Fourth: A Conversation with Barney Frank, Joe Kennedy III, and Jake Auchincloss

We thank the three Congressman and our moderator, Gail Spector, for a fabulous conversation held on March 9, where they discussed their experiences representing the 4th Congressional District, and the issues they faced and continue to face advocating for the policies important to the 4th District.

View a recording of the discussion.

 

Video of Roundtable Discussion on the Preservation and Use of Crystal Lake

Crystal LakeOn February 22, 2021, LWVN hosted for a Roundtable Discussion on the Preservation and Use of Crystal Lake to explore how to balance the competing interests regarding Crystal Lake – the preservation and sustainability of the Lake, and the use and enjoyment of the Lake by the general public.

The discussion began with a presentation by the Crystal Lake Conservancy on the environmental sustainability of the Lake, and went on to explore questions such as:

  • How the rules and regulations regarding the use of the Lake for swimming, boating and fishing compliment the environmental concerns regarding the use of the Lake?
  • How do they compete with those environmental concerns?
  • Do the current rules and regulations concerning the use of the Lake best meet the desires of the general public to use the Lake as a resource for recreation?

 

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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LWV US calls for removal of President Trump

January 8, 2021 letter from LWVUS Board President Deborah Ann Turner

Last night, the full LWVUS and LWVEF boards met to consider the events of this week and unanimously voted to call for the removal of President Trump from the office of the president.

And this afternoon, we issued an action alert for people to call their senators and ask them to support impeachment.

This was an unprecedented decision for our organization. As a respected, 100-year-old nonpartisan institution, the League’s action represents the grave and extraordinary nature of this moment in history. The world we live in is fundamentally different after the events of January 6.

Donald Trump showed himself to be a dangerous agitator with the power and will to upend our democracy by force. He is a threat to our republic and to our national security.

We know that this decision will be controversial, but this moment in history demands we protect and defend our democracy. We cannot stand silent as the actions of President Trump this week have demonstrated he is unfit for office. We will not endure the next two weeks and the potential for further damage to our democracy and the world. It is time to remove him from office by any legal means possible, which is why LWVUS supports both impeachment and the 25th Amendment as viable options to ensure safety of Americans and preservation of our republic.

The statement we issued this morning was not a partisan one. As we made clear in the statement, we support the processes that would remove Donald Trump and install Mike Pence as president for the remainder of the term. On January 21, we are hosting a webinar how our nonpartisan and DEI policies intersect and how to navigate them during hyper-partisan times. We welcome everyone to attend.

All of you, our members across the country and around the world, have joined this organization because you believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy. Today, we ask you to stand together in this decision to defend democracy as we have for 100 years.

In solidarity,

Dr. Deborah Ann Turner signature

Dr. Deborah Ann Turner
Board President, LWVUS