Category: Newton Beacon

  • ‘Naughty’ party explores the seedier side of Revolutionary-era Newton

    Enactors and guests filled the rooms of the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds on Saturday for a racy Revolution-themed cocktail party. Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha

    “Naughty Newton at Night: Revolution After Hours” followed “Revolutionary Newton,” a family-friendly daytime gathering featuring crafts and games. The cocktail party offered adults a look at 18th-century life, exploring its risqué side, said Historic Newton’s education manager, Allison Pagliaro.

    “It is our 21-plus historic cocktail party, where people can learn about life in the 18th century with the more risqué side of things—gambling, drinking, sex and prostitution,” Pagliaro said.

    Both events were part of Newton’s involvement with Revolution 250, an initiative to commemorate the events leading up to the American Revolution.

    Taverns were a central social space for men in the 18th century, serving as venues for conversation and community gatherings over drinks. At Saturday’s event, Glenn Siner, a history teacher from Rhode Island, displayed spirits such as gin and whiskey from countries like Portugal and Spain, and explained their use in cocktails of that era. 

    Glenn Siner, a historian from Rhode Island, explains the ingredients included in 18th century cocktails at Historic Newton’s “Naughty Revolution” event on March 15, 2025. Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha

    “A lot of people feel like the Revolution was born in the tavern,” Siner said. “Every time you get men with strong opinions and alcohol it leads to fiery reactions.”

    Not only did reenactors dress in period costumes, but some attendees also embraced the Revolutionary-era fashion. Guest Debbie Wasson described her look as “the wench in the bar.”

    Wasson wore a dark brown and olive green dress with a brown corset top and a green skirt. The outfit was finished with white puffy sleeves, giving it a historical touch. “I thought for this period, this time, this is a perfect outfit,” she said.

    She attended the event to support a friend who was one of the organizers and to enjoy herself. To immerse herself in the period atmosphere, Wasson prepared by listening to 18th-century music.

    “I went on Spotify and got this music just to get in the mood,” she said. “It was called Tavern Music from the 1700s. It was marvelous.”

    Two friends from Newton, Annie Greene and Allison Antonakas, arrived dressed as “Renaissance fairies,” wearing matching outfits—one in pink and the other in green—with winged headbands, unaware that the event had a different theme.

    “We were told that it was a renaissance party… so we were wrong,” Greene said. “We love a themed party and knew that it was gonna support Newton in different ways, so we were for it.”

    Despite the costume mishap, the two “enjoyed the rum punch” and walked through the exhibits.

    Annie Greene and Allison Antonakas attend Historic Newton’s “Naughty Revolution” event as “Renaissance fairies.” Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha

    One of the rooms had games for the attendees to play, with cards and colonial-style games like “Tabletop Ninepins,” a bowling-like game played with nine pins and two balls.

    Other exhibits depicted bedrooms from that era, women’s fashion and affectionate letters. 

    Ward 1 City Councilor-at-Large Alison Leary, who was among the attendees, emphasized the city’s commitment to historic preservation and fostering community connections.

    “Newton is committed to our historic past and how important it is to understand our history,” Leary said.

    While Leary said events like these help raise awareness about historic preservation, she also appreciates the role that they play in bringing people together. 

    “In the past, people engaged with their neighbors through women’s clubs and in-person events,” she said. “Now, it’s so easy to isolate at home, and that contributes to the loneliness epidemic. Events like these bring people together and help build stronger communities.”

    This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Passport to DiscovHER highlights Newton’s women-owned small businesses

    One of Linda De Valpine’s favorite feelings happens when someone walks into her shop and says, “I’ve never been in this part of Newton.” 

    De Valpine opened her gift shop, Greentail Table, in 2014. To this day, she’s excited to continue growing and getting new customers, but getting the word out there can be a challenge. 

    “If you can just get people in through your door a lot of the time, they’re just sold,” De Valpine said. “Whether it’s meeting the store owner, having a wonderful service or a wonderful experience, regardless of whether or not they buy anything, having a wonderful interaction goes a long way.” 

    This idea is the backbone of the new “Passport to DiscovHER” program. Twenty-eight women-owned businesses in Newton came together to create a passport — visitors earn stamps by stopping by each storefront. Ten stamps gets participants one entry to a drawing for a prize basket filled with gift cards and goodies from each of the businesses — visit all 28, and you get five entries. Many businesses are also running discount programs. The program runs from March 8, International Women’s Day, through March 31.

    All Over Newton, a local marketing platform that works with Newton’s small businesses, is hosting the passport program on its website and promoting it on its social media and newsletters. Its founder, Lauren Berman, said small businesses are “essential, especially in a place like Newton” that is divided up into villages with unique village centers.

    “The presence of those businesses in the village centers are what make them interesting places to go,” Berman said. 

    De Valpine was inspired by an Instagram post from a business owner in Hudson who runs a similar program. Within two weeks, she organized the group of businesses. She hopes the program will become an annual staple that puts small, women-owned businesses on people’s radar. 

    “Small businesses are such an integral part of society,” she said, “and I think the more people are aware of what’s in their own backyard is only for the good.” 

    For Carla Wahnon, owner of Carla Shaw Sustainable Fashion, participating in the passport program is an opportunity not only to get the word out about her business but to meet more female entrepreneurs in the area. Wahnon opened her store in January and, as the “literal new kid on the block,” said she wanted to connect with other women in her shoes. 

    “It’s very important that women support women, period,” Wahnon said. “Not only in entrepreneurship, but in general. Talk is cheap. We really need to act on it and support each other.” 

    Having a network of women in the Newton community has been important to Shara Ertell, owner of the zero-waste food market Fulfilled Goods. In business since September 2022, she  finds that collaborating and sharing ideas with other women in the area is one of her most essential support systems. 

    “All of us are small business owners, so we don’t have a lot of time, so trying to make that time for each other and seeing each other is sometimes hard,” Ertell said. “But it’s always so rewarding.” 

    Ertell hopes that participating in the program will draw attention to Fulfilled Goods but also that it will strengthen Newton’s small businesses. The more people come out to support small businesses instead of “easy” online shopping, the more the local ecosystem will “survive and thrive,” she said. 

    “The energy that these women put into their businesses is astounding,” Berman said. “I think it’s really important to recognize their work efforts and what they’re giving back to the community by doing what we can to support women and their initiatives and businesses.” 

    This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Newton North basketball star Teagan Swint scores over 1,000 career points

    Teagan Swint, shown here with his father, Rob Swint, is the first player in Newton North history to score 1,000 points. Newton North High School Twitter

    Most students would see a 9 a.m. school start time as an opportunity to get more sleep. Not Teagan Swint.

    Well before school starts, he’s in the gym lifting weights or shooting free throws. He wakes up, drives to the gym, showers and heads to class. The team is on the court six days a week—four practices and two games—but Swint is there by himself on the seventh. 

    “He’s one of these kids that loves the solace of being in the gym by himself and hearing that ball go ‘swish,’” said head coach Paul Connolly. 

    It’s this work ethic that led Swint to become the 19th player in Newton North High School history to break 1,000 points in his high school basketball career. The team co-captain achieved the feat in the first quarter of the team’s Feb. 11 game against Weymouth. While scoring 1,000 points wasn’t necessarily a goal—Swint said he’s much more focused on the team’s successes—he was excited to break the threshold once he realized he was within its reach. 

    “It felt cool, it’s something you think about a lot,” Swint said. Because he was only 3 points away from the milestone at the start of the game, “it was something I knew was going to happen, and in that way it was cool.” 

    Reaching 1,000 career points is no easy feat for a high school athlete, Connolly said. Swint has played in roughly 75 games over the course of his three years on the varsity team—he was out for about 15 games his sophomore year because of a foot injury. 

    “I’m really proud of him,” Connolly said. “His work ethic is fantastic. He’s a real leader, kind of a silent leader, but he’s becoming more vocal, more confident. And then obviously, his ability to put a ball through a basket makes us tough. He makes us a good team.” 

    Beyond putting up points, Swint’s place as captain makes him a role model for young players. Freshman Henri Van de Velde first met Swint while practicing at the Y, and sees him as someone to look up to. 

    “He’s a good leader,” Van de Velde said. “He’s a really nice person and gives some great advice.” 

    Swint’s co-captain, Nicholas Spinelli, played alongside Swint from the start: third grade basketball, where Swint’s dad was their coach. Watching Swint grow has been “amazing,” Spinelli said. “He’s just so good now.” 

    “Off the court, he’s one of my closest friends, and just seeing his mindset and how he is so constant—I’ve never seen anyone put in more work,” Spinelli said. “He’s always here. His car is always the first one in the lot. He’s confident … it’s awesome to see that.” 

    Swint is committed to play basketball next year for Johns Hopkins University, where he plans to study applied mathematics. For now, though, his eyes are on the playoff season, which kicks off Thursday with a game against Cambridge Rindge and Latin.

    “I just want to live in the moment,” Swint said. “We’re in the playoffs right now, and I think our team is good enough to make a deep run. I try not to think about any extra stuff that’ll make you tense up and not play as well, so you just gotta stay present in the moment and give your all every day at practice.” 

    This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • No Yolking Matter: Egg shortages and price hikes not going over easy for Newton restaurants

    By Emily Wyrwa

    “When life gives you eggs, make an omelet,” so they say. But what do you do when you can’t find any eggs? Or when they cost so much you can’t afford them?

    Bird flu outbreaks have caused egg prices to skyrocket. As of Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that more than 23 million commercial birds were infected by the avian flu, causing a massive impact on poultry trade. Restaurants, especially diners and breakfast spots, are paying the price.

    Jeff Debonee, owner of the breakfast and lunch spot Sandwichworks in Newton Centre, cringes when someone orders an omelet. Or worse — when a “big guy comes in says, ‘Yeah, give me four scrambled eggs.’” He’s been in the restaurant business for 34 years, “but this is about as bad as [he’s] seen for any one item.” 

    “It’s a serious problem for us.” Debonee said. “You look for a light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m not sure that there is one anytime soon.” 

    Before COVID, Debonee said he could get a case of 15 dozen eggs for about $15. When the Massachusetts law requiring all eggs sold in the state to come from hens raised cage-free took effect Jan. 1, 2022, the prices went up to $30 for 15 dozen — “double the price, but nothing compared to where we are now,” he said. A month ago, prices rose to $65 for a case. Two weeks ago, cases were $93. Now? $118 a case.

    “It’s a little worrisome because it seems like we’re still going in the wrong direction,” Debonee said. “I couldn’t get any from one distributor this week. So if it gets much worse, there just aren’t going to be any eggs.” 

    Debonee put a 50-cent surcharge on items like omelets and scrambled eggs. Specials that used to frequent the rotation like quiches are off the table — he’s trying to encourage diners to order things like pancakes where he can. 

    Mark Lidsky, manager of the Corner Café, said his restaurant also added a 50-cent surcharge. The breakfast and lunch spot — which features an entire “egg bowl” section on its menu — uses about 60 dozen eggs each week. 

    “Everybody’s talking about it,” Lidsky said. “A couple other stores around here haven’t been able to find eggs, and so they’ve come to us for eggs a couple times.”

    Over at Cabot’s, a restaurant and ice cream shop on Washington Street, “we’re holding our own,” said general manager Theo Valas. 

    Valas’ main concern isn’t necessarily price—it’s what will happen if he can’t get eggs. As the bird flu decimates flocks across the country, wholesalers are reporting supply shortages. 

    “I think we’ll push through it like everything else,” Valas said. “We just come in and do the best we can every day and try to offer a quality product. And I think if the product is not there, then I would rather not offer anything else unless it’s to our quality standards. We’re luckily not there yet.” 

    Avian flu impacts chickens much like the flu does humans — they can suffer from lack of appetite, coordination, and energy, as well as coughing, sneezing and nasal mucus. It can cause a 90% to 100% mortality rate in chickens, according to the National Chicken Council, a nonprofit that advocates for the U.S. broiler chicken industry. 

    Rox Diner in Newton Highlands has always bought free-range local eggs. The issue has been scarcity, said owner John Fortim. Before the avian flu hit, Rox had contracted a price with its supplier for a dozen eggs — “brilliant business move, right? Well, not so fast,” Fortim said. The contract did not state a minimum number of cases the supplier had to sell the diner. 

    “The attempt is to try and cut volume in what we’re able to order, and that pushes us into the wild west with everybody else,” Fortim said. “It’s kind of knocking on our door, and it is hitting us, but it’s not as bad as it’s going to become.”

    Fortim said he’s doing everything he can to avoid raising prices — particularly for the sake of his regular customers who eat at the restaurant daily. He wants to continue offering a communal space for his regulars, and knows that even small increases can mean the difference between coming in daily and weekly. 

    Kay Masterson, co-owner of Johnny’s Luncheonette, said she’s “sensitive to the economic diversity of people who rely on us,” which makes her weary about raising prices. So far, “we’ve managed OK,” she said, and she remains optimistic about the future. 

    Masterson thinks the diversity of the menu at Johnny’s — which includes all-day breakfast as well as plenty of soups and sandwiches for lunch — is protecting them from price shocks. She is empathetic toward smaller operations that may be feeling the strain more. 

    “I hope [patrons] will understand that each operation is different,” Masterson said. “And the stresses and strains financially on each place are different, so each owner is going to have to make the decision that’s right so they can keep their doors open.” 

    This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism

  • Young people sound off on Newton’s new ‘Tobacco-free Generation’ policy

    Newton North High School senior Tija Brown first heard of Newton’s new tobacco ordinance—which will prohibit anyone born after March 1, 2004, from purchasing tobacco and nicotine products in town—from two of her teachers arguing about it in AP Statistics.  

    Brown, who serves as a teacher’s assistant for the course, was passing out worksheets about Massachusetts’ November ballot question on legalizing psychedelics. One of Brown’s teachers was thrilled that something was being done to prevent young people from getting addicted to tobacco, and the other claimed people’s ability to make their own decisions was their constitutional right. 

    The Newton City Council approved the ordinance Jan. 21 by a 19-4 vote. Newton joins several other communities that have passed generational tobacco bans, including Brookline, Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winchester.

    The goal: make tobacco and nicotine less and less accessible. Because the ordinance bars anyone born after a specific date from buying the products, it will eventually become impossible to do so in Newton. In 2064, there could be 60-year-olds asking their 61-year-old friends to buy a cigarette for them, like they’re college freshmen trying to get into a club with a fake ID.

    While Brown talked about the ordinance with her teachers, she hasn’t heard much about it from her peers. However, she supports it.

    Tobacco is “very addictive, and can be addictive super fast, and I would say people start getting addicted at younger ages,” said Brown, who hopes to study biology on a pre-med track in college. “Banning them from buying it at the younger ages is very smart so it prevents the younger people from ever developing an addiction.”

    Nine out of 10 adults who are addicted to nicotine started before they were 18, according to the American Cancer Society. Because young people’s brains are still developing, it is much easier for them to get addicted to nicotine.

    At Newton North, Brown said she doesn’t see many people smoking cigarettes; students gravitate toward Juul products, which contain “nicotine salts from tobacco leaves,” according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. One Juul pod has roughly the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, according to the National Library of Medicine. A Juul pod lasts roughly 200 puffs — anywhere between a few hours to one day depending on the user. 

    Sophia Keohane, a 20-year-old Newton native, remembers exactly when vaping became all the rage. “It was kind of like ice cream,” she said. 

    “By the time we started learning about the dangers of tobacco, people were already vaping,”  Keohane said. 

    While Keohane does not smoke or use tobacco, she doesn’t think the ordinance will have its intended effect because young people can go to neighboring towns to buy cigarettes or vape products. She sees the ban as “another example of the legal system trying to make up for things that should be compensated with education.”

    “After a certain point, it becomes a little ridiculous, and I think we need to start focusing on educating children and telling them what is OK for their health and best support them there and then allow them to make informed decisions after,” Keohane said.

    Brown said her tobacco education was limited to discussions in eighth and ninth grade health class, by which point students who were vaping were already addicted because of the high nicotine content in those products. She barely remembers the lessons and thinks “they could definitely get better.”    

    Tobey Lowe, a 22-year-old graduate of Newton North who works as a quality assurance coordinator at a dietary supplements company, said he feels “half and half” about the ordinance. While he believes the tobacco industry is “criminal” in how it targets people’s addictions, he isn’t sure this ordinance is the most effective way to curtail that.

    Lowe, rather, thinks “you’d have to go after the companies themselves” and educate young people better on the dangers of tobacco in order to limit its use. 

    “Targeting an issue like this can’t be so localized,” Lowe said. “People can drive even 10 minutes away and get the product.”

    Michael Sheen, the owner of Lake Smoke & Vape in Newton, shares Lowe’s sentiment. While Sheen does not think the ordinance will have a significant impact on his business—most of his customers are over 30—he worries that the ordinance will only increase “black market” nicotine sales, which he feels are more dangerous.

    Sheen has been in the e-cigarette business since 2013 and went into it with the intention of “getting people off the cigarette.” He said he “firmly believes” e-cigarettes, while not ideal, are safer than traditional nicotine products.

    According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, e-cigarette aerosol tends to have fewer harmful chemicals than traditional cigarettes but still contain nicotine and other cancer-causing chemicals. The long-term effects of e-cigarettes are still being studied.

    A Newton resident himself, Sheen first heard about the ordinance through word of mouth from fellow smoke shop owners. He was frustrated that the City Council didn’t send them a notice or give them a chance to discuss the ordinance. 

    “People that are going to want to smoke are going to smoke,” Sheen said. “At least when they come in here, I can talk to them and try to get them off of cigarettes.”