Crystal Lake is open, which for me is the real start of summer: purchase your membership for Gath Pool and Crystal lake here. 
 There are many things that make a Newton summer: 

• performances in the Highlands, 
• Sunday evening concerts, 
• the Tuesday and Saturday Farmer’s Market,
• And of course the Nonantum Festa July 13-17 Which is your favorite?

 Also, if you or someone you know needs help this summer, Newton Health Department has resources:
 https://www.newtonma.gov/government/health-human-services/social-services

BudgetCouncil was part-way through budget debates when I last sent an update. Here’s the highlights of the rest:
 Schools: We voted down the school budget to protest the cutting of resources for middle school students--particularly mental health and academic interventions. Despite this, the mayor did not increase the budget, but did point to new mental health resources outside of the school budget that she was offering all Newton residents.
 In the end, the council voted against the entire budget in a way that ensured our vote was symbolic--and Newton still has funds to continue into the next fiscal year. I voted in the minority, for the budget, because it overall is a very good budget--despite the school cuts--and the task ahead is to come together to plan for increases in revenue. This may mean an override campaign.
 Besides restoring school cuts, where do you see a need for more funding in the city budget? I have been hearing about speeding cars and the need for more traffic calming. 
 Police: Chief John Carmichael updated the council on the department’s progress on many fronts--most of them relating to state and local reforms. Read the full report to get a sense of the department’s objectives. I was impressed with the department’s focus on outreach to all sectors of our diverse community, training, mental health, hiring, transparency and more. I look forward to a planned staffing study, which I hope will examine how best to serve Newton resident and officer needs with the resources we have. I was also pleased to see the department purchasing hybrid vehicles, and focusing more on prevention than on rapid response.
 Fire: Our Fire Department is one of the few Class 1 departments in the state and Newton has much to be proud of. However, council is concerned about morale and training after two discrimination settlements last year to department employees. At the time of the budget hearings, Newton was still searching for a new chief; in the end Assistant Chief Greg Gentile, who handled the budget hearings, got the job. Both police and fire face a shortage of applicants for entry-level posts, and the result in the fire department is increased overtime. The department is mostly younger men, as older firefighters face mandatory retirement. Diversity and training are also a focus here. Full details are here.
 More Short Items:

• Is that landscaper legal (in Newton)? The list of registered (thus legal) landscapers who have been notified of Newton’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers from Memorial Day to Labor Day is here. If yours isn’t here, you could be fined. Registration is through the Inspectional Services 
• D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements Upgrades to Waban, Eliot, Chestnut Hill, and Beaconsfield Stations will rehabilitate the stations, improve customer comfort and experience, and make the D Branch the first fully accessible branch on the Green Line. There will be some shuttles during this project. For details visit the D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements project. 
• MassDOT started work on the Needham/Highland street bridge June 27. That means detours for vehicles and pedestrians. And the bridge will be closed altogether the night of July 11.
  

THIS weekend is action-packed in Newton--there’s the Multicultural festival →
 
Also May 7, you can walk Upper Falls history 1-3 pm
 
And don’t forget the outdoor pop-up market in the parking lot of Dunn-Gaherin’s while you’re in the neighborhood!
 
ALSO--there’s Taiwan Day in the Highlands:
Starting at 11 am Saturday, with a Dragon Dance at Lincoln and Bowdoin St, continuing down Lincoln, which will be briefly blocked off to traffic and ending at the Hyde Center, 90 Lincoln Street, Newton Highlands. Performances at the Hyde Playground continue until 4 pm.
 
Finally, the Newton Neighbors Diaper Drive is in full swing; if you want to donate, a great way is via their Amazon Wish List.
 BudgetMay is budget season, which provides a way to reflect on all the good things that our Newton government delivers to residents.
 
Schools, of course, are the biggest piece of the budget, and rightfully so--they are the future of our city, state, and country. More children should have the benefits of a school system like Newton’s that nurtures and prepares them for life in college or in a vocation as well as citizens of the world.
 
This year’s budget gap of about $2 million in the school department is painful, but inflation and the need to retain our teachers will mean that next year we will face a similar gap--unless we find new revenue. In municipal government, particularly in Massachusetts under Proposition 2.5, which limits the tax levy increase to 2.5%, money is always tight unless there is lots of growth or tax overrides.
 
Council’s responsibility, however, is the municipal side of the budget. Here are some of the details that I found interesting:
 

• Our library--is growing its e-book collection and adding personalized recommendations for readers. Outdoor seating is being expanded for those who want fresh air with their WIFI. And those solar carports over the parking lot are providing the equivalent of 40% of the library’s electricity.
• Senior Services has really rolled with COVID’s punches this year, delivering food, companionship, mobility and programs with a slim crew of dedicated staff and volunteers.
• Health & Human Services covers school nurses, public health and also the Community Crisis Intervention Team in partnership with the schools and police to help with increased mental health and substance abuse needs. They also deliver food--and I was struck by this graph:

It’s a little hard to read, but it shows that children’s meals now drive demand at the grab & go meal sites. I guess the better news is that there are fewer people needing this food now than this time last year.

• Newton is seeing a steady increase in building and other permits--last year up over 4,000, along with 67 demolitions. But this year we should finally get additional staff to conduct inspections.
• Newton itself is building--and doing a better job of preventative maintenance and energy conservation as it does. This year the city is on track to wrap up the early childhood building on Albemarle, start the Lincoln-Eliot school at 150 Jackson Road, and some additional solar projects. New projects include schools (Countryside, Horace Mann and Franklin), a new Gath pool, NewCAL, and extensive repairs to police headquarters.

And there's more budget review to come....
 Short Items:

• Northland: According to the contractors, at this month’s liaison committee meeting, neighbors will see some work on the site soon, including excavating along Oak St. to underground wires and demolition of the structures in the former shopping mall.  You can keep abreast of the details here.
• The Mass Housing Partnership has published a list of common misconceptions about the MBTA Communities Law, for those of you wanting to know more about this Zoning law.
• Swimming season starts June 13--you can purchase your membership for Gath Pool and Crystal lake here. Swimming lesson sign ups open May 16th.
  

There is so much happening at the Public Safety & Transportation meetings, it needs an update. Very soon, Council will work on the budget and I will want to write an update focused entirely on that. 

Tomorrow: two street designs 
At our April 6 meeting, the committee considers options for the Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway from east of Ash Street to the Marriott and for Grove Street just west of 128. Both of these are state-funded, and safety for those outside of cars is my main concern. 
 Air gun regulation After hearing about a backyard air/pellet gun practice area in a West Newton neighborhood, PS&T and the full Council speedily approved an ordinance to ban discharge of such weapons (and BB guns). We learned that they can fire not just plastic pellets and ball bearings, but also hollow lead bullets, sometimes in quick succession (ie automatic). Thanks to Councilor Andrea Kelley, the Law Department and the Police Department for quickly drafting a feasible ban. 
 Training for public safety We also had a long discussion on March 23 with Newton Fire Chief Gino Lucchetti and Chief Greg Gentile as well as Police Chief John Carmichael about training. Council became concerned after settlements with two fire department employees who alleged harassment and discrimination. Human Resources’ Director Michelle Pizzi O’Brien and Chief Gentile described an inclusive and ramped-up series of trainings (exceeding state standards) that they have recently implemented in the fire department. Most (94%+) of the department is now trained. They have heard positive feedback from our firefighters and leadership on the programs, and I look forward to hearing more about improved workplace climate.
 The NPD hired a consultant to work closely with the department on implicit bias, respect, diversity and other workplace and customer-facing issues, starting late last month. In the meantime, they were actively training the force as required by state and Newton police reform laws and policies. Community policing is a big focus of Chief Carmichael, which I welcome. 

Police data: Overdoses/mental health calls up

Our quarterly review of police statistics showed steadily high numbers of mental health calls and overdoses in Newton. Already, the city had two residents overdose—one sadly fatally--as well as 7 non-residents (for comparison, last year Newton had four overdose fatalities and 10 calls total). Chief Carmichael, the NPD and a team of professionals, including an NPD social worker and the Health and Human Services Department, as well as non-profit mental health organizations, have developed creative and focused mental health crisis responses and preventive measures, including mental health first aid--in which 100% of the department is now trained. The department is also applying for funds to work with teens on various kinds of prevention—from drug use to domestic abuse.
 FYI--the state’s “good Samaritan law” shields those who report overdoses (including from alcohol) from arrest or prosecution. So if someone calls in an emergency, they should stay on the line so the dispatcher can get timely help to anyone in danger. While so far there have been no hate crimes reported in Newton, police have recorded 30 bias-related incidents in this first quarter of 2022. Last year, there were a total of 58.

Public Safety will continue to review police statistics quarterly, including looking at year-over-year data and traffic safety. The full report on this meeting is here: 
 Short Items:

• School transportation:  I recently sent my colleagues a summary of the past two year’s  work of the School Transportation Working Group, on which I sit with Councilor Bowman and School Committee Chair Tamika Olszewski and member Paul Levy. 
• Green Line: According to the MBTA, weekend maintenance work on the D-line is finished. However, if your travel plans go past Government Center station, you will need to switch to the Orange Line until it’s clear that the Government Center Garage collapse won’t affect safety. 
• Why is new housing so expensive? This article uses Portland, OR examples of all the hard and soft costs of apartment construction—and why zoning is only one piece (the least painful piece) of the puzzle. While the actual policies and numbers differ somewhat, you’ll get the basic idea.
• Housing near transit may be the best single thing municipalities can do to combat climate change. ear the podcast.
  

New Library Parking Lot--more than meets the eye
 Even before the solar panels went in, the main library parking lot was in need of resurfacing. '
But this summer’s $1.8 million in work is more than a repaving job. After dozens of patrons lost their cars in a flash flood in the late 1990s, it was clear that the Library lot had a problem with water. Further, EPA’s storm water permit for Newton requires the city to remove phosphorus and salt from the parking lot (and all our other) runoff before it pours into the Charles River. Phosphorus (present in car exhaust) and heat create ideal conditions for blue-green algae (or cyanobacteria) that can make swimming or boating on the river unpleasant (and is deadly for dogs). So I was pleased to vote to include investment in storm water retention and treatment--about $775,000 from the storm water fund for this parking lot. By putting in permeable pavement and underground water retention, the new parking lot will be less likely to flood and will remove nearly 3 lbs of phosphorus per year. This will be a significant improvement for water quality.

 Next Step on Newton’s Climate Goals  Council learned more Monday about measures to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A Building Emissions Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO), modeled on one passed in Boston, would require owners of our largest structures to plan to cut emissions to zero by 2050. 
 City staff determined that roughly 400 large buildings contribute ~27% of Newton’s emissions. This step is probably the next-easiest way to significantly reduce greenhouse gasses after Newton Power Choice.
The idea would be to give property owners multiple paths and time to make orderly changes when their heating & cooling equipment reaches the end of its useful life, or when doing planned renovations or construction. 

 The first step is city engagement with owners before the ordinance is written.  Separately, Council is petitioning the state legislature for permission to require all new or substantially renovated houses to go all-electric. I see this is a consumer protection measure, since we will be required to retrofit our homes by 2030 or thereabouts.
 Short Items:

• Police Data; Training: Join the Public Safety & Transportation Committee tonight 7 pm for our quarterly police data update, plus information on Police and Fire Department staff training. 
  
• Housing Costs and 'Scarcity Mindset’: Digging deeper into why housing is so expensive and why we fight so hard about it--Noah Smith here describes the “scarcity mindset” (and shouts out to Rick Pearlstein’s Reaganland, a longer good read). Thanks to Phil Hanser of Newton Centre for the blog that linked to both.
• MBTA Zoning: Regulations are still in draft form, but Councilor Bill Humphrey nicely lays out a possible vision for how Newton might comply. I would like to see Newton create more neighborhoods where residents can walk or bike 15 minutes or less for all their needs. I think this law may help us get there, but we will have to run several scenarios. 
  

Surveillance and Facial Recognition Technology It’s important to me that our local government respects your civil rights and right to privacy. It is also important that, any time the city, state or nation acquires a new way to compile data on you, the reasons and guardrails around unwarranted intrusion are clear and openly debated.
 So on Feb. 9th, I invited the Massachusetts ACLU’s privacy and surveillance expert, Kade Crockford, to the Public Safety & Transportation committee meeting. Crockford laid out the dangers of “policy by procurement.” This is when police or other departments buy surveillance technology, often using grant funds, without a full Council discussion about what the technology does, how it works, and how it will be used.
 We also learned about the fallibility of facial recognition technology for identification, and how it particularly mis-identifies women, the young, the old and people of color. You can read the report here:
 Our next steps will be to examine ordinance language to limit facial recognition in Newton—building on what Sen. Cynthia Creem has done at the state level—and to ensure that Council properly vets any technological surveillance and the use of and access to any collected data.
 
 Short Items: 

• Albemarle Road: My #1 road safety priority is streets near schools—the latest stretch up for repair serves two schools, soon to include the city preschool program, plus a park and the Gath Pool. This stretch would also create a safer walking and biking connection from Washington Street (about to get a safety pilot) to the Charles River Paths. A public meeting on the improvements is March 10 at 5:30 pm on Zoom. Details here:
• Northland The Needham-Oak Street development is going to start construction this year. Plans have been refined, and improved. There’s more greenspace, more trees, AND more buildings are going to be built to the highest sustainability standards. I am also pleased that new streets are now getting names.
• Northland 40B Across the street, Northland is planning more housing and some small retail, building along the spine of Charlemont Street (which they extend to the Upper Falls Greenway) and Christina Street. I am pleased that they plan to construct a large park along the former rail spur that, we hope, will eventually again cross into Needham over the river. 
• Trash--I wrote in my December update about trash. Here’s a tool from the EPA that helps measure the greenhouse gasses we might save by wasting less. Thanks to Tom Gloria of Newton Centre for sending this. 
• The High Cost of Housing: Not everyone could open the link in last month’s update on why housing costs have spiked. A shorter article is here. Thanks to Mike Halle of West Newton for the link.   Also for this one.
• Winterfest: It was great to gather at the Soup Social last Saturday, and also a blast to walk in Cold Spring Park (picture above) in the snow on Sunday! Newton Community Pride is looking for more good ideas—and has micro-grants available for those willing to pull them off: