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 without its surrounding context.  The game is to look at the photo and identify where this skull recently appeared in Upper Falls (answer below).


Greenway Ground Breaking - On Friday Oct 25, at 1 PM, there will be a ceremonial ground-breaking for the Upper Falls Greenway at Oak and Chestnut St.  The mayor will be there, the state's Secretary of Transportation, our local aldermen,  Area Councillors and various other dignitaries.  Iron Horse Preservation will also be there with their rail removal equipment.  Once the formalities, the handshakes, and the photos are dispensed with, the real fun will begin.  

The Newton Bicycle Pedestrian Task Force (aka Newton Bike/Ped) are the ones who first dreamed up the idea for the Upper Falls Greenway.  The folks at Newton Bike/Ped have contacted hobbyists that have self-propelled rail riding vehicles.   They're going to bring two of these rail-riders to Upper Falls for the day and the public will be invited to take the final ride on this mile of track just before it's torn up to make way for the Upper Falls Greenway, our new mile long walking/jogging/biking trail and park.  So come on down and ride the rails and enjoy green tea on the Greenway, and maybe a bowl of egg drop soup courtesy of Taam China II, our neighborhood kosher Chinese restaurant.

Haunted TV Studio - Down at the far end of the Upper Falls Greenway is the home of NewTV, Newton's cable TV station.  NewTV is hosting a free House of Haunts at their studio at 23 Needham St (beside National Lumber) on Friday, Oct 25 from 4 - 9 PM.  Check out their video trailer.

Big Buildings Coming Down? - The very large parcel of land bounded by the RR tracks, Oak St, Needham St, and the Marshalls parking lot, contain 4 separate big buildings.  The Newton Historic Commission will be discussing on Thursday whether to issue a demolition permit for three of those four buildings.  The building that is NOT up for demolition is the historic mill building that is home to Clarks, and Paulette's Dance studio (among others).  The three that are slated for demolition include the two butt-ugly, empty, industrial buildings between Clarks and the RR tracks as well as the old, smaller brick building bordering the Marshalls plaza.  The Historic Commission meeting is in Room 202 at City Hall at 7PM on Thurs 10/24

Solar Roofs - Reader Jim Lerner wrote "I noticed the other day that the purple house at the corner of High St. and Rockland Pl has solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels on the roof.  Might be interesting to have a little interview and to find out who else around here has done the same.  I think those are the first residential PV panels I've seen in Newton, but maybe my eyes just aren't open wide enough.  Let us know if you've seen others in Upper Falls.

Politics at the Emerson - Many of the candidates for contested seats in the upcoming election will be at the Emerson Center in Upper Falls for a Candidates Night on Oct 30 7-9:30.  The Ward 5 Aldermen-At-Large candidates (Deb Crossley, Chris Steele and Brian Yates), and the Ward 2 School Committee candidates (Margaret Albright and Andrea Steenstrup) will all be there.   If you have a question for any of the candidates, particularly any issues that are pertinent to Upper Falls, contact Anil Adyanthaya.

If you like your car staying where you left it, be sure not to park in the residents' spots at the Emerson - they tow.  Not to worry though, there's plenty of on-street parking on Pettee St.

Candidates on the Tube - Here are 3 minute videos, courtesy of NewTV, from each of the candidates for Ward 5 aldermen at large.
    Deb Crossley
    Chris Steele
    Brian Yates

Those Damn School Bus Fees - Area Councillor Mark Bridger passed on this letter that he recently sent to the Newton School Committee about the school bus fees that are a thorn in the side of Upper Falls parents of school aged children.  Mark urges all of us to let the School Committee know how we fell about the recently instituted (two years ago) school bus fees for Upper Falls students.

Wetherell St House Demolition - Carol McPherson writes that there will be a  meeting of the Newton Historic Commission this Thursday 10/24 at 7:00 P.M. to discuss whether to revisit the recent vote to allow demolition of the house at 8-14 Wetherell St.House.  Carol has asked the commission to reconsider the decision based on procedural problems she saw with the earlier vote.  She asks all interested neighbors to attend the meeting in Room 202 at City Hall.

Well Crack My Back - We have a new neighbor.  The Newton Chiropractic & Wellness Centre have just opened a new office at 383 Elliot Street, Suite 250.  They offer chiropractic care, medical and therapeutic massage, wellness coaching, nutritional counseling and testing and detoxification programs to assist you in achieving optimal health.  We expect they'll be good neighbors because back in June, before they even opened, they volunteered to help out behind the scenes at the Feast of The Falls.

Did You Know ... that tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.  "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 - This skeleton has been waiting for a haircut in recent weeks, in the window of Mike's Classic Barber Shop on Chestnut St.   Mike's isn't the only barber shop in the neighborhood with mysterious things going on.