Oct. 1 update

Happy Italian-American Heritage month! Today at 5 pm, the city will raise Il Tricolore at City Hall to honor our residents with Italian heritage.

Mail-in ballots arrive in 2 weeks!
If you are already signed up for remote voting, your ballot may arrive as early as Oct. 15. Final registration deadline is Oct. 13. Sign up to get a ballot by mail by Oct. 27. Link to more election information here

“Dear Friends” by mid-month:
Research shows that happy constituents tend to stay home on Election Day. For those of us who have been working hard to make you happy—eek!

Please, friends, email your favorite Newton voters, particularly those who rarely cast a ballot in local elections, to encourage them to participate in the City Council elections!!

Police in focus
This Wednesday, October 6 at 7 pm, by Zoom I will welcome Chief John Carmichael at the Public Safety Committee to talk about how the Newton Police Department is complying with new state police reform measures. This is the first of what will be quarterly transparency meetings with the NPD.  I expect officers to return Oct. 17th to report on NPD’s progress on the Police Reform Task Force recommendations. One of those recommendations is that the department report several kinds of data to our committee.

Crystal Lake Parks and Water
I recently wrote to my colleagues in support of the Parks & Recreation Department’s proposal to improve the parkland at Levingston Cove, near the intersection of Lake and Lakewood avenues. This steeply-sloped shore is literally washing away, and that impacts water quality.
It will come to a full vote of the Council on Monday.

The P&R proposal would prevent erosion, add accessible paths and benches, allow fishing to continue and re-plant the lawn area. It will minimize additional concrete and make the lake waters more resilient as temperatures rise. You can read my whole memo here.

More dates for your calendar:

• Monday, October 11, noon-4pm: Indigenous People’s Day, Albemarle Field (also the Marathon)
• Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 p.m. Moons and 12,000 Years: Honoring Indigenous Peoples Day  https://newtonfreelibrary.libcal.com/event/77791601
• Wednesday, October 13th at 7 p.m. Portraits of Resilience https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9lZPz64pQIy0fLQat5pNFw
• Sunday October 17th 11-4: Harvest Fair, Newton Centre
• Thursday, October 28th at 7 p.m. Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope
  Webinar Registration - Zoom

Finally—Saturday, October 16th, 10 am Join my family and me for a community canvas! Meet your neighbors and drop literature. RSVP link here. Otherwise, I am out walking in the neighborhoods, going to virtual & in-person campaign parties, and will be at festivals. I hope to see you!

Onward!