Newton North loses a building but keeps the spirit.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Schindler

http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/newton/

If you haven’t heard about Newton North, it is commonly known as the most expensive high school being built in Massachusetts.  It is expensive but it is needed. The current building is the kind of place that makes you consider private school. Right away.  Once you get past the initial impression, you realize that the creative energy and cooperative spirit of the students and staff  is amazing and despite the building’s overall ugliness and disrepair, you do actually want to send your child there.

This is just one of the murals at Newton North – go to the above link to see more. Sharon Schindler does such a great job photographing the school that it looks good, really good.  It is a teardown, not to worry.

Newton North will have a fun-filled weekend called Bringing Down The House (run by some very dedicated parent and teacher volunteers) on June 4-6  that will be a retrospective of North and a time for current and former students to connect.

From the website:

Join in a fun-filled retrospective of student and community life at Newton North on June 4-6, before the building closes its doors for the last time. “Bringing Down the House” celebrates the more than 30 years of high school life at Newton North. The weekend features a free Open House from noon-5 p.m. Saturday, with a walk down memory lane on Main Street, memorabilia displays, video and music clips, alumni gatherings, art activities, live music, dining and the Great North Yard Sale. Other festivities include a Theatre Ink retrospective on Friday night, Jubilee concert on Saturday night and Alumni Jazz Brunch on Sunday morning. Times and ticket prices for these events will be announced soon.

Facebook Page : Newton North High School Check this out, too.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Schindler

Casinos? Two casinos? What ARE they thinking?!

From today’s Boston Globe  – House OK’s casinos, slots

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/15/house_oks_casinos_slots/

Then, some voices of reason –  from Gail Spector – Editor – Newton Tab

http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/features/x998216896/When-the-casino-opened-the-odds-were-against-my-family

from Ruth Balser -State Representative of Massachusetts

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/newton/articles/2010/04/14/house_lining_up_for_gambling_bill/

and from another TAB article: “slots are the biggest rip-off of all, and an estimated 80 percent of the revenue in gambling comes from slots. Testimony before Balser’s committee by MIT sociologist Dr. Natasha Schull indicated that, “Every feature of gambling machines — mathematical structure, visual graphics, sound dynamics, seating and screen ergonomics — is geared to increase ‘time on device’ and encourage gamblers to ‘play to extinction,’ as the industry jargon goes (in other words, until their funds are depleted.)”

Just who do they think are playing the slots? I am distressed (actually I am angry) that this bill has gone this far and I am going to contact the Governor and State Senators. Okay, so who am I? Just some Mommy Blogger who thinks casinos are a bad idea – I tried to make it easy with the links below – Let me know if you have any technical issues.

Contact  Governor Deval Patrick Contact us – Office of the Governor.

Senator John Kerry
Click here to email Senator Kerry

Boston
One Bowdoin Square
Tenth Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 565-8519 – Phone
(617) 248-3870 – Fax

Springfield
Springfield Federal Building
1550 Main Street
Suite 304
Springfield, MA 01103-1427
(413) 785-4610 – Phone
(413) 736-1049 – Fax

Fall River
222 Milliken Place
Suite 312
Fall River, MA 02721
(508) 677-0522 – Phone (508) 677-0275 – Fax

Senator Scott P. Brown
State House, Room 410
Boston, MA 02133

Scott.P.Brown@state.ma.us

Scones, muffins…are you in the know? Local area food donations go…? this is where you come in.

How do you help in your community?  I do a little bit but think I can do more.  The following was in this week’s  Newton Tab and  it was my husband’s idea to post it on my blog (thanks, honey). It also ties in with a project I am working on with two friends.

The Newton Food Pantry needs help.  It is a great organization run by volunteers in the basement of the (former) Waban branch libary (the building is now run by the Waban Improvement Society).  The Village Bank ( a local Newton bank) is partnering with the Newton Pride Committee  to re-stock the shelves of the food pantry.  Donations are welcome from April 5-19 in collection boxes at Village Bank locations throughout Newton and at the Newton Cultural Center in Newtonville.  If you are in the area, they are looking for donations of non-perishable foods, toiletries, diapers and cleaning products.  Many thanks.

This leads me to the project.  One day, while talking with two friends, the question came up about what happens to stuff at local bakeries at the end of the day.  We each chose a bakery, now that we have places that are willing to donate, we are looking at how to get the food to places that need it. 

New York City has City Harvest which is  a  “food rescue organization”.   It started with a group of volunteers (25 years ago) who “connected and a handful of neighborhood restaurants to food programs serving meals to those in need”.  So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive and we haven’t even gotten to restaurants yet.

I know about Community Servings in Boston and the Greater Boston Food Bank , two wonderful organizations. Is there already a City Harvest model  in Boston? Is there anything like it?

Do you know anyone who has started something like this? Any help would be appreciated. Please feel free to send this along.