The Upper Falls News is an email newsletter about what's going on in our village.  The Upper Falls News is brought to you by the Upper Falls Area Council but it's intended to cover any and all news in the village. 

Where am I? - Here's a photo of a spot in Upper Falls that you've probably seen without its surrounding context.  The game is to look at the photo and identify where in Upper Falls it is (answer below). 


What's that Bus Doing on Our Bike Path? - Last week, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) released a 100+ page report investigating the idea of running shuttle buses down the Upper Falls Greenway.  Fortunately, the report pretty clearly spells out that it's a losing idea.  It would serve just a handful of new riders at tremendous expense.  Read Adam Peller's summary of this bus & bikes report.  In the comments section below Adam's summary, Upper Falls' own Jim Lerner makes the much more sensible case that Needham should continue the Greenway across the river.

Holding a Grudge - The most visible sign of Upper Falls is our radio towers.  The site of those towers in the distance means that you're almost home.  Here's some interesting information and history of the local towers in both Newton and Needham.  Perhaps most interesting, is that the Upper Falls tower beside Braceland Park was used as a tool of someone' spite.  In 1972, WHDH-TV5, the owner of the tower, lost its TV license.  When the new owner took over the TV license, the old TV-5 owners told them to go find their own tower and refused to lease space on the tower to the new owners.

Upper Falls Web Series - In the last issue, we mentioned Linda Goetz's new "Brillig" web series based on the Alice in Wonderland story.  Here's a more detailed story about "Brillig" from the Newton Patch.

Who's Got a Good Story? - The story (above) about Linda Goetz got us thinking that there's bound to be all sorts of interesting people doing interesting things around Upper Falls.  If you know someone in the neighborhood with an interesting story, an unusual job, a cool hobby, etc, let us know.  If you've got a story yourself, tell us about it.  We'd like to feature a regular story about an Upper Falls neighbor.

Area Council Meets This Week - The Upper Falls Area Council's monthly meeting will be held this Thursday, March 21 at 7PM at the Emerson Community Center on Pettee St.  Is there something on your mind about the neighborhood?  Come tell the council or just come to hear what's going on.

On the Override Fence - We'd guess that you've heard that all three three tax overrides passed in this week's election.  You're a lot less likely to know how Upper Falls voted.  City wide, the three questions passed with a solid 10-12% margin.  Here in Upper Falls (precinct 5-1) voters said No to all three questions. The school questions were close (1%-2%) and the general override was a solid 6% No.  How does that stack up against the rest of the city?  It looks like Upper Falls was leaning No but somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.  For example, Nonantum and Oak Hill were much more solidly No.  Take a look at this precinct-by-precinct color coded map to get a feel for the differing sentiments in different parts of the city.

News of the World - While we try to do our best to keep you informed of all Upper Falls news and activities, we realize that sometimes you may want news of the wider world out there - i.e. the other villages of Newton.  We just came across OurNewton.org.  Its a web site/email newsletter covering all things Newton.  For example, I just learned of the Newton Library book sale in Auburndale today and am going to head down and take a look.  So if you want a more cosmopolitan, pan-Newton perspective, check out OurNewton.org.

The Plot Thickens - A few issues back we reported on the odd construction project at the corner of Winter and Chestnut Streets.  The old Moon & Sixpence building had been stripped down to just a shell and then pieces of the shell started disappearing including most of the 2nd floor.  This week a Stop Work Order from the building department appeared on the side of the building.  Does anyone know what's going on there?  Nosy minds want to know.

Subscriptions Growing - We just added our 400th subscriber to the Upper Falls News and are always looking for more.  Tell your friends and neighbors to sign up for their own subscription at UpperFallsNews.org.

Did You Know ... ? frog bones grow new rings as they age, just like trees ?  "Did You Know ...?"  features an interesting and random fact every issue, collected by ten-year-old Upper Falls resident Jayla Reilly.

Send Us Your News - If you have any upcoming events, activities, news, trivia, stories, anecdotes or jokes related to Upper Falls just send them to news@UpperFallsNews.org and we'll include them in the next newsletter.  For those who prefer living in the past, back issues of the Upper Falls News are archived at UpperFallsNews.org.

'Where Am I" Answer - The outside of the Biltmore Bar & Grille on Chestnut Street has been decorated with a series of these hanging evergreen balls for the last few months.