Phil Schwartz, seen here with Mayor Marc Laredo, celebrates his 105th birthday on Feb. 10, 2026. Photo by Celine Hijazi
Smiles packed the community room at Coleman House as Phil Schwartz approached the microphone, joyfully leaning in while three candles flickered beside him to commemorate more than a century of life.
Schwartz—a World War II veteran, father and grandfather, devoted husband and the “unofficial mayor of Coleman House”—celebrated his 105th birthday Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by three generations of relatives and countless friends.
Turning 105 is an impressive feat. Doing so with laughter and curiosity makes it all the more rare. A resident of Coleman House for nearly 21 years, Schwartz is one of the most cherished members of the community.
“I don’t know anyone who exemplifies living life in radical amazement as well as you do,” said Amy Schechtman, chief executive officer of 2Life Communities.
“People call him their role model for how to age well because he sees the positive in every day,” she added.
The positivity was tangible as family members took the microphone to share misty-eyed stories from their youth—from his years fighting in World War II to his eventual return to his hometown in New Jersey where he opened a sandwich shop that kept his family and others well-fed.
Along with relatives, several elected officials attended, including Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem, a representative from U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss’ office and Newton Mayor Marc Laredo, who delivered personalized messages to Schwartz and his family.
“I don’t know how you get to 105,” Laredo joked.
“A good wife,” Schwartz interrupted.
Much of the celebration centered on Schwartz’s 71-year marriage to his late wife, Miriam, who died in 2012. The couple had two sons, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“Every young couple that met my parents fell in love with them,” Schwartz’s son, David Schwartz, a retired IT salesman, told the crowd.
For Schwartz, his connection with Miriam was love at first sight.
“We met when we were 16 … and then we just couldn’t get away from each other,” Schwartz told the Newton Beacon, reflecting on the moment nearly 90 years ago.
“The way you talk about Miriam is a model for all of us to invest in marriage,” said Peg Coles, resident service director at Coleman House.
Equal attention was given to Schwartz’s military service in North Africa and Italy. In a recorded video message, Auchincloss thanked him for “being such an outstanding representative of the Greatest Generation” and for helping defend democracy during one of history’s most pivotal moments.
Schwartz was stationed in Italy for three years during World War II. Reflecting on that time, he recalled the scale of loss and the lessons he carried home when he returned to the United States.
“We have to help each other, and we have to support each other,” Schwartz said. “I was lucky enough to have that in my life.”
When Schwartz took the microphone, he remained characteristically humble.
“I’ve always been lucky to have good people around me,” he said. “I don’t know how it happened.”
After his remarks, generations of family members gathered around the three candles to sing “Happy Birthday.”
At 105, Schwartz continues to remind those around him that life is measured not simply in years but in service, love, and connection.
This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
Josh Morse delivers remarks at the opening of the Cooper Center for Active Living on Dec. 5, 2025. Photo by Bryan McGonigle
Josh Morse has a desk at City Hall, but unlike other Newton officials, he considers his true office to be in Newton’s backyards and streets.
Morse is Newton’s new chief operating officer, and he plans to run his office by welcoming complaints, being easily accessible to the Newton community, and working with communities across the commonwealth to turn local government into an efficient machine.
“I truly believe in being a public servant,” Morse said. “I want to be an instrument of change in this city.”
Morse, previously the commissioner of public buildings, assumed his new position Jan. 1.
“The role has a very broad lens,” Morse said. “I support police, fire, public works, inspectional services… So a lot with hard-scape operational departments.”
Morse, who grew up in Keene, N.H., lights up when reminiscing about his youth. He spent his childhood working on his grandparents’ farm, which he says gave him an aptitude for hard work.
When he was in eighth grade, he won a competition that allowed him to have lunch with the mayor at Keene City Hall, an event that changed the trajectory of his life.
“I remember in that meeting, the sense of pride that our mayor took in being able to help people,” he recalled.
Many years later, Morse sits in another City Hall. His path from one City Hall to another City Hall, however, was anything but straightforward. After his meeting with the mayor of Keene, Morse wondered how his dream of helping people would take shape.
“I thought about whether I wanted to be a police officer,” said Morse, who declined to give his age. “And then ultimately the path that I took was I joined the Navy and I got into their nuclear engineering program.” It was a demanding, exciting career, serving aboard a fast attack submarine trudging international waters. As he grew older, however, his priorities shifted toward a more grounded path, particularly when he met his wife, who is from Waltham.
“At that point, I was dating my now wife,” he said. “I then quickly moved down here to Waltham. And now we’re married and have two beautiful twin girls.” So he decided to serve the people most important to him: his family.
“I think that one of the things that attracted me to staying in the public sector… it allowed me to be home at night, for the most part,” Morse joked.
Even in his portfolio of past and present projects, Morse said he has a keen interest in delivering for youth. As public buildings commissioner, he spearheaded the renovation and building of schools and recreation centers around Newton.
When Morse first moved to Newton in 2007, however, he noticed something peculiar when visiting Angier Elementary School
“When I came to Newton, I was surprised by its incredible educational system,” he said: “Angier was approaching its 100-year mark, and I couldn’t believe the conditions. For a top-tier public education system, our building conditions were in really tough shape.” He rebuilt it from the ground up.
Listening to community members and building an efficient, safe Newton is of utmost importance, he said.
“I can show you hundreds of hours of minutes from meetings with the community,” said Alex Valcarce, Newton’s building commissioner.
Newton Mayor Marc C. Laredo spoke similarly to Morse’s character, and aptitude for the job
“I am proud to have Morse serving as our chief operating officer,” Laredo said. “His passion, dedication and unwavering commitment to public service exemplify the qualities I think our residents want and deserve. Plus, he’s a really good guy.”
Seated in a full suit beneath the high ceilings of Newton City Hall, Morse seems at home in the chambers.
“I’m a big history buff,” he said, “and I love thinking about the fact that City Hall was built in 1932 and all of the elected leaders that have come through here, the decisions they’ve made and how they’ve helped shape the city.”
This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
Lauren Berman is founder of All Over Newton, which fosters community connection while spotlighting local businesses. (Laney McAden / Heights Editor)
Lauren Berman has organized PTO fundraisers, helped revamp Newton’s farmers market and organized a “bakery crawl” to benefit small shops. Now that she has assumed the role of the city’s economic development director, she’ll have a bigger hand in supporting businesses here.
“We want to make sure that the experience of opening a business is easy,” Berman said, “and ideally fun and collaborative, and that we have all of the various departments working together with the goal of supporting each of those businesses.”
As director of economic development, Berman will focus on supporting Newton’s existing businesses while making the process of opening new ones easier.
Berman has been collaborating with Cheryl Lappin, the new deputy director of economic development who served on Newton’s Board of Aldermen and City Council for nearly two decades.
Though Lappin is also new to her position, she said her previous work has taught her the logistics of serving Newton residents and handling local concerns. She said she shares Berman’s excitement to prioritize the small business experience.
“Her hands-on experience with marketing with local businesses is really valuable,” Lappin said, “and I think my understanding of the city and how it works—I think we’re a great partnership.”
A month into their roles, Berman and Lappin have started on projects aimed at spurring business development in Newton. They are creating a database of vacant lots so real estate agents and business owners can find properties more easily.
Berman said she is trying to figure out how she can support Newton’s 13 village centers in ways that are tailored to what they each offer.
“It’s like having a puzzle and pulling in the different pieces,” she said. “It’s exciting.”
Berman grew up in Sudbury, graduated from Tufts University and earned a master’s in marketing from Columbia Business School. She worked as an account manager for Gartner and later became a project manager for IBM.
In 1998, Berman moved her family of four from Cambridge to Auburndale, drawn to the village lifestyle in Newton.
“I loved the idea that we could walk to the grocery store,” Berman said. “ The kids could walk to the library, they could walk and get an ice cream, and as they got older they could take the T to the Red Sox games. So there was so much that I felt Newton had to offer.”
This interest in the village centers and their diverse businesses led Berman to create her own marketing consulting firm, All Over Newton, six years ago. Berman still has an active role in the company as she begins her work in City Hall, a position that pays about $114,000 a year.
“I’ve always enjoyed learning what makes a business tick, how they operate, figuring out what helps them to succeed, and then rolling up my sleeves and turning those ideas into action,” Berman said.
Newton Economic Development Director Lauren Berman and her husband, Doug, attend Marc Laredo’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2026. Photo by Bryan McGonigle
Berman said she started All Over Newton during the pandemic to help increase foot traffic for local businesses during a time where economic growth stalled. Her strategy was storytelling.
“Everyone has something to offer,” she said. “But it’s sharing their stories and connecting those businesses with the community, and connecting the businesses with each other so that they can collaborate and pursue cooperative events, that then leverage their networks and pull in more people.”
Berman’s start in local marketing was with Massachusetts’s oldest farmers market and a friendship with its overseer, Judy Dore.
Dore was working in Newton’s Parks and Recreation department when she was given the added task to run a brand-new farmers market in 1991. In 2017, Dore met Berman, who was eager to offer her marketing knowledge to get the market more publicity.
“She came down, walking with her dog, and she introduced herself to me,” Dore said. “And she said, ‘You know, Judy, I can help you run this market better. I can get more people here. I can give you ideas.’”
Berman helped Dore find diverse vendors, bring in entertainment, create a social media presence and redesign the logo to better represent the market’s mission.
“A lot of people have ideas and that’s it, but they can’t make them happen,” Dore said. “She makes them happen.”
Even though Dore has retired, she and Berman have maintained a strong friendship. Dore said she was glad to hear Mayor Marc Laredo recruited her after he was elected last year.
“I was just so happy,” Dore said. “As soon as he knew he was elected, he called her and grabbed her up before someone else. He’s seen all the work she could do.”
Berman seems optimistic about what she can do for Newton and its businesses.
“My vision is for the businesses that are here to grow and prosper, and that we do such a great job, that businesses are lined up to move into Newton,” she said.
This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
On the basketball court, Paul Connolly has a booming voice. He’s making swift calls and giving players sharp guidance. His native Massachusetts accent bounces off the walls of the gym far louder than all the sneaker screeches and dribbles.
But when he sits down to speak about the end, of his choice to step down from his position as head coach of Newton North High School after 24 seasons with 456 wins, two state titles in back-to-back years, and two more state finals appearances—including one last month, in a 55-52 loss to Franklin High School—he barely whispered.
“I’ve gone through a little bit of a grieving process. I’m very emotional,” said Connolly, 60. He motioned to his open backpack beside him, where he had a few rogue tissues on top of an empty box. “Twenty-four years is a long time, but I know in my heart that I’ve made the right decision. I’m at peace with it.”
He’s been reaching for the tissues often. Since his announcement March 18, his phone has been blowing up with texts from former players and other coaches sharing the impact he’s had on their lives and careers.
One of those texts came from Tommy Mobley, who watched Connolly throughout most of his childhood. He was a water boy for the team while his older brother played varsity from 2007 to 2010, and played on the team from 2012 to 2015. Now, Mobley works in the Boston area as a consultant.
“He’s so disciplined, and he does an incredible job of holding all of his players to a really high standard, and he doesn’t cut it short,” Mobley said. “I still try to use that mentality, just in my own job and the way that I socialize and treat my friends and family, I should always bring my best.”
While he was tough on the court, some of Connolly’s fondest memories play to his soft side. Perhaps his favorite was on Valentine’s Day 2002, when Connolly had just met his now-wife, Amy. In the locker room at Needham High School, Connolly’s first varsity team at Newton serenaded Amy with “My Girl” by The Temptations.
“He would just come out with his harmonica and start playing a couple notes, and we would just get to singing,” said Waseem Givens, a member of Connolly’s first varsity team, who went on to play for the University of Rhode Island and work as the director of youth development for the Boston Celtics. To this day, the team sings “My Girl” at annual alumni games.
“He would love to play music during practice,” Mobley said. “It would be oldies, and he would be joking around with us the whole time, like ‘What do you guys know about Earth, Wind & Fire?’”
Connolly joked that there are some things he won’t miss—especially cutting players at tryouts. But he will miss building relationships with his players and forming team dynamics.
“I always say it’s kind of like an artist with clay,” Connolly said. “You kind of get it and you gotta form it, because every group is different, the personalities are different, the leadership is different.”
Connolly is proud of the program he’s built and the level of players he has produced. Many of his players went on to play in all college divisions.
“One of the things I used to tell my players all the time is, ‘I don’t want your college coach saying, what the heck did your high school coach teach you?’” Connolly said. “And I don’t think a college coach ever said that about any of our players. And I took pride in that.”
Some of Connolly’s players went on to play basketball professionally, including Anthony Gurley, who played internationally after graduating from college. In high school, he was the all-time top scorer at Newton North and captain of the state championship winning team in 2006.
“He prepared me to experience tough coaching and experience constructive criticism,” Gurley said. “When I would go to the collegiate level or the professional, it felt like nothing that I hadn’t seen.”
While his iMessage is filled with former players, Connolly’s camera roll is full of photos of the team manager.
Connolly is in his 29th year as a special education teacher at Newton North. He’s long melded these two passions. One of his former students, Brendan Durkin, who is now in his 30s, has served as the team’s manager since he was in high school.
“Brendan is my guy,” Connolly said as he pulled up photos of his own kids alongside Durkin. He has over 11,000 photos on his phone; he doesn’t believe in deleting pictures of his kids. “Brendan’s a legend in Newton North basketball. He really is. They bring me so much joy, these kids.”
When Mobley was in high school, another one of Connolly’s students was a manager alongside Durkin. He has fond memories of being part of the team with Connolly’s students.
“The day-to-day aspect of having those guys around, it kind of humanized the team,” Mobley said. “I thought it reminded us that we’re a part of a bigger school community here, and this is just an amazing experience to get to be on a team and play a game we love together and bond.”
Connolly knew coming into this season that it would likely be his last year. His players, though, were shocked when they found out.
“He’s been coaching North for longer than I’ve been alive,” said Teagan Swint, captain of Connolly’s final team. “I grew up always seeing him coach at Newton North and assuming he’s always going to be there. It was kind of shocking to hear he’ll be stepping down.”
What’s next for Connolly, he isn’t sure. At 60 he’s “entering the fourth quarter” of his life, as he puts it, and still not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. He will still be working in the special education department at Newton North. He’s considering going back to his roots as an assistant coach, but he’s looking forward to a new challenge and “seeing what’s out there.”
“It’s been a great run. That’s the only way I can put it,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate.”
This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
On this season of “The Bachelor,” Newton’s Juliana Pasquarosa won the big prize, the heart of Grant Ellis. The two are shown here during the season’s “Hometowns’ episode, in which Ellis met the remaining contestants’ families. Photo Courtesy of Disney/ABC
“Bachelor Mondays” were a two-year tradition with Newton native Juliana Pasquarosa and her older sister, Dominique. After work, Pasquarosa would bring a bottle of wine to her sister’s house, and they’d watch the show over pasta.
Little did she know, her sister signed her up for the show, in which an eligible bachelor dates multiple female contestants over the course of several weeks in hopes of finding love. She got a phone call from the casting office last April asking if she’d be interested in going through the screening process. She did, made the cut and went to Los Angeles to film the show that would soon change her life.
On March 24, Pasquarosa became the first Massachusetts native to win “The Bachelor.” She and Grant Ellis got engaged on the show and remain together: Ellis is flying into Boston Wednesday, in fact.
Pasquarosa, who now lives in Waltham, spoke with the Newton Beacon this week for a Q&A about her relationship with her family, her experience being vulnerable in front of the camera, and her goals.
Where were you when you got the call saying you made the show?
It was awesome, because I was on Cape Cod. My family goes to Cape Cod every summer. Not just my immediate family – all my dad’s siblings. It was maybe 40 or 50 of us. I was getting really excited, and I wasn’t telling anybody because I didn’t want to jinx it. [The show] called me, and we were having Italian night. I grabbed all my cousins, and we sat in a little circle, and I was like, “Do you guys want to do a secret? I’m going on ‘The Bachelor.’” Everybody was just so excited. They gave me amazing words of confidence.
Rewind. What’s Italian night?
Oh my gosh. So we do theme nights when we go down the Cape. We usually have American night, and then we’ll do Italian night. We were decked out in all of our Italian gear. My family goes hard when it comes to dressing up.
You guys seem so close. Tell me about your relationship with your family.
My family is the center of my life. I have 19 first cousins. I technically have 18, but my best friend has been friends with me since fourth grade, and so she’s wrapped into all my family stuff and comes to all the vacations. We’d spend the summers together. We did birthday parties together, and all my aunts are basically like my parents. I’m really lucky in that sense, because we all really ride for each other. We obviously have differences in the way we view life, but my Nana really raised all of us to just kind of be compassionate and kind. Her motto was, “It’s nice to be nice.” And so, you know, we have a phrase, “Be like Nana.” I just feel really lucky because not many people get like this amount of love surrounding them.
On the season finale of “The Bachelor,” Grant Ellis proposes to Newton native Juliana Pasquarosa. Photo Courtesy of Disney/ABC
Was there anything about the filming process that surprised you?
I think that if you go in from a lead’s perspective, like from Grant, you really have to advocate for yourself. You can’t let them kind of run your life. They tried that with me a couple of times, and I definitely stood my ground for certain things and put a stop to it and spoke up. You can’t forget that production has a job to do, and the job is to create a reality TV show.
How did you kind of carry yourself and keep your head on your shoulders when you’re having those difficult conversations?
I definitely kept my composure as best that I could, because I wanted them to understand that I wasn’t speaking out of anger or emotion. I just was very confident in the person that I was. Another cute little thing is that I asked my friends and my family, before I left, “Write me letters.” There’s no communication by any means [while filming], so I would read them, and it would bring me back to my center. I definitely prayed a lot, too.
Tell me a little bit about your relationship to Newton. What would you say is the most Massachusetts thing about you?
I mean, I was drinking iced coffee no matter where we were, even in Scotland. It was so cold, and I was like, “I need an iced coffee, immediately.” And people were like, “Aren’t you cold?” And I’m like, “I don’t care. We run on Dunks, baby.” This ain’t no Dunks, but I definitely at least needed iced. … I definitely have very strong boundaries of what I allow into my life. I feel like it’s a little bit of a Boston thing. You have some edge to you, but you’re not just a Masshole all the time.
Newton’s Juliana Pasquarosa, shown here with her family in 2022, competed in and won this season of “The Bachelor.” Courtesy photo
Have you gotten to show Grant around Newton?
Yeah! For my hometown [episode], we did go to Olivia’s Bistro, which is a restaurant me and my family frequent almost once a week. We went to D&A — I love their pizza — and Antoine’s Pastry, which, of course, who doesn’t love Antoine’s? We went to a florist in Newton as well, Busy Bee. He’s flying into Boston on Wednesday, so we’re gonna take him back to Olivia’s. We’re gonna take him into the North End and go to Bricco and MIA. We’ll just kind of bop around. I really want to show him the actual life that I live here.
Do you feel confident you guys are gonna get married?
Definitely. It’s so funny, because in all the interviews right after, I think people want to hear that we’re gonna get married by the end of this year or next year. In full reality, we have so much we need to get to know about each other. I feel confident that he and I will be a really good match long term, but I would never, ever jump into something as serious as a marriage without just like knowing all the parts of somebody that I’ll get. Of course, we’ll change and evolve and grow together. I want to feel like I know him to his core before I would ever even consider that.
I totally get that. How did you break the news to your family that you won?
When we finished filming, I had a layover in Miami coming back from the DR [Dominican Republic]. At that point, when I was able to split from production, is when they handed me my phone back. I was sitting eating sushi with one of the handlers, the people that take care of you, and she gave me my phone, and I just stared at it. I was so overwhelmed, I didn’t even know if I could turn it on. The first thing I did was call my sister, and she was in the DR because she was at a wedding that I was supposed to be in. The first thing she said [when she picked up the phone] was “Can you tell me?” I looked at the handler, and I was like, “Can I tell her?” She nodded, and I just said. “I’m engaged!” I talked to her for maybe 10 minutes, hung up, texted my brother, and I called my dad, told him I had really good news, and asked him if he could pick me up from the airport. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops, but you can’t tell everybody.
Newton’s Juliana Pasquarosa, shown here at her 2014 high school graduation, competed in and won this season of “The Bachelor.” Courtesy photo
How has the transition after the show been? What’s next for you?
I’m still trying to recharge in all the senses. I really do want to get my feet back planted at work. I really love what I do, but at the same time I want to try and take advantage of opportunities that come into my life because of this platform I have, as long as it aligns with who I am. I don’t ever really foresee me moving out to LA. I don’t necessarily foresee trying to make a career out of this. But I would love to have, like, a secondary income from it. Grant and I really talked a lot about, down the line, trying to do a lot with addiction and raising awareness.
My sister and I are starting a loungewear line. We’ve been working on it for two years now. It’s in memory of my grandmother. It’s called “The Nice Girls Label,” because her phrase is, “It’s nice to be nice.” We’re hoping to launch mid-April.
What is something that you wish people knew about you?
I’m very strong with my mind and my confidence. But I think something that not a lot of people know is that I am, like, a bit sensitive, and I have a bit of, like a soft heart, you know, I can put up a pretty good front, in the sense of boundaries to protect myself. But once I let people into my life, I ride or die for them.
This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
The responses grew louder each time Dorchester resident Antonio Ennis started a new chant in the small meeting room inside Church on the Hill. “What do we want?” Ennis called out, rousing the crowd.
“Rent control!” dozens of Massachusetts residents roared back.
“When do we want it?” Ennis prompted.
“Now!” the crowd shouted back.
“And if we don’t get it?” Ennis questioned.
“Shut it down!” their voices boomed, echoing off the walls.
The gathering, held just across the street from the Statehouse, brought together supporters of a proposed ballot initiative to limit annual rent increases to 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. The campaign group Keep Massachusetts Home said they collected more than 124,000 signatures from voters statewide, moving the initiative closer to appearing on the 2026 statewide ballot.
If approved by voters, the measure would reverse Massachusetts’ decades-long ban on rent control, which has been in place since 1994. Supporters say the proposal would protect tenants from displacement amid rising housing costs, while opponents worry it could worsen the state’s housing shortage by discouraging new construction and investment.
Ennis became involved with the campaign through one of its coalition partners, City Life/Vida Urbana, a nonprofit organization committed to building working-class power, according to its mission statement.
After the economy crashed in 2009, Ennis said he fell into foreclosure on his home. He found City Life, which helped him fight the foreclosure and ultimately regain the property. Ennis said he hopes the rent control measure will help stabilize communities and mitigate rent increases that some residents cannot absorb on top of other living expenses.
“It’s the only shot right now at allowing people to not have to choose between a rent increase and their medical bills, the food in their refrigerators, the clothes on their backs, their health care and children,” said Ennis.
While proponents of the ballot initiative argue that rent control is needed as an urgent tool to prevent displacement, some housing groups in Newton are unsure whether the measure would best address problems facing renters in Massachusetts.
Luke Mann-O’Halloran, a member of the Newton for Everyone’s steering committee, said the organization works to promote housing for Newton residents of all backgrounds, levels of income, abilities, ages and ethnic backgrounds.
While Newton for Everyone has not taken a stance on this measure, Mann-O’Halloran said rent control in general aligns with the group’s interest in ensuring renter security.
“If you own your home, you typically have a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. I know exactly how much I will have to pay for my house every month for the next 25 years,” said Mann-O’Halloran.
He said renters do not always have the same security as homeowners, which he said is unfair because “everyone needs a place to sleep at night.”
While renters facing displacement due to steep rent increases are a significant issue, Mann-O’Halloran said Newton for Everyone is more focused on addressing the statewide housing shortage.
“I think of rent control as more of a management thing as opposed to fixing the shortage,” said Mann-O’Halloran.
Mann-O’Halloran said it is important to get the details of a rent control policy right because it could discourage the construction of new market-rate housing. While affordable and subsidized housing is important, he said, it relies on public or nonprofit funding, whereas market-rate housing does not and can help lower rents overall.
Newton has a higher rate of home ownership than the rest of the commonwealth, and most of its housing stock consists of single-family homes, which are typically owned, said Mann-O’Halloran.
“But that doesn’t mean renters aren’t as important a part of our community as everybody else,” said Mann-O’Halloran.
Mann-O’Halloran said Newton for Everyone encourages construction of new housing close to public transportation and village centers, where residents can access amenities by walking or a short bike ride.
While housing advocates like Newton for Everyone emphasize renter security and long-term affordability, real estate industry groups worry the proposal could have statewide consequences for housing development.
Tamara Small, CEO of NAIOP Massachusetts, stated in an interview that the measure would be one of the most restrictive forms of rent control in the United States and there is confusion about what is actually being proposed.
“Some reporters have said, ‘Oh, it’s capped at 5%,’ but that’s not the case,” said Small. “It’s the annual increase in the consumer price index or 5%—whichever is lower.”
Small said the CPI has exceeded 5% only twice in the past 20 years and has averaged about 2.5%, meaning annual rent increases would usually be capped at roughly that level. She also raised concerns about the rent cap being implemented based on the market prices from January of 2026, even though voters will not vote on the measure until later that year.
Small said that rent caps can make it harder for landlords to fund repairs and upgrades, leading to a decline in housing quality. She emphasized that the proposal includes few exceptions and would apply to most rental properties, including multifamily buildings, owner-occupied properties and short-term rentals like Airbnbs.
“This is not an opt-in proposal. This would take effect in all 351 communities in Massachusetts, whether or not they want it,” said Small.
Small pointed to Gov. Maura Healey’s statement about how Massachusetts needs 222,000 units of housing to be produced in the next 10 years to address the housing shortage. However, Small said that the housing crisis will get worse due to lack of investor interest if rent control is implemented.
“We get calls from investors all over the world who say, if rent control is in place, we will not invest there,” said Small. “Without investment, housing is not produced.”
Despite concerns from various groups, Keep Massachusetts Home celebrated their submission of over 124,000 signatures in support of the ballot initiative to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office.
These signatures must still be certified before the measure can officially appear on the 2026 statewide ballot.
“As responsible landlords, we want long-term tenants. We want to build and stabilize our communities,” said Ennis. “And we need rent control—yesterday. Every day that we wait, a family is being displaced.”
A proposed state ballot question that would repeal recreational cannabis legalization in Massachusetts has alarmed industry leaders, while supporters argue the measure could strengthen public health efforts.
The measure would overturn the 2016 law permitting the sale and use of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts. If placed on the ballot and passed by voters, it would shut down adult-use retail operations and eliminate home cultivation for personal use, while preserving medical cannabis access. The proposal is currently undergoing signature certification for potential placement on the 2026 statewide ballot.
But residents across the state have reported instances of alleged signature-gathering misconduct being routinely committed by the repeal campaign, according to a press release from the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association. The group backing the proposal, the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, has been accused of using deceptive practices to collect signatures to advance the petition.
“If you’re a voter who signed this petition under the impression you were signing for something else, please do not hesitate to contact your local clerk and speak with them,” said David O’Brien, president and CEO of MassCBA.
Wendy Wakeman, a spokesperson and chair of the coalition, said in an interview that the campaign hired professionals to gather signatures, and found no evidence of deceptive behavior.
“There was no reason to lie about the petition, because plenty of people would like to bring this subject to the table for discussion,” said Wakeman. “There’s a strong, organized pro-marijuana lobby, and their last-ditch effort to try and kill the signature drive is to make up the idea that somehow our signature gatherers were unsavory.”
Wakeman said the initiative aims to address what she called growing concerns about corruption, health and public safety since recreational cannabis was legalized in 2016. She cited a Wall Street Journal analysis she said shows an increase in automobile accidents and fatalities correlating with lowered use of alcohol and increased marijuana use.
In Newton, local businesses and residents have mixed reactions to what the repeal could mean locally. Jeffrey Herold, CEO of Garden Remedies cannabis business, said eliminating the recreational market would lead to mass layoffs and a difficult shift for many companies in the industry.
At minimum, 3% of all recreational cannabis sales go to the city as a local option tax, said Herold in an interview. Because medical cannabis is not taxed, Newton would lose thousands of dollars each year if those sales ended. Herold also noted there are currently between 15,000 and 20,000 employees working in the cannabis industry in Massachusetts.
Beyond jobs and tax revenue, Herold said maintaining access to regulated sellers helps ensure safe and tested products.
“I would assume that cannabis use doesn’t just disappear—which would mean people would probably revert back to the illicit market where there’s untested, unregulated products that are sold in non-child-resistant packaging and with no age requirements,” said Herold.
In June, adult-use cannabis revenue surpassed $8 billion in gross sales since the first two adult-use stores opened for business in November 2018, according to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s Annual Report. As of January 2025 in Middlesex County, marijuana establishments and medical marijuana treatment centers grossed $1.1 billion.
Newton resident Anwesha Nag said in an interview that she initially voted to legalize cannabis in 2016 but now regrets her decision.
Nag lives in an apartment complex where she said her young kids are exposed to “ungodly” amounts of cannabis smoke from her neighbors. She said some residents, whom she described as living on social assistance, smoke frequently, creating a persistent smell in shared hallways.
Nag said she worries because children were not historically exposed to this amount of cannabis in the past, and the long-term effects of secondhand exposure in developing children are unknown.
“Children did not sign up to be experimental subjects to demonstrate the long-term impacts,” she said. Nag added that a major issue is the lack of statewide guidance on where people can consume cannabis. She said there needs to be better guidance from the state rather than leaving the issue to property owners and city management.”
