July 18, 2025 • 38 mins
Despite the controversy over the Italian flag road lines down Adams Street, the St. Mary of Carmen Society Annual Festival has kicked off this week in the Nonantum neighborhood of Newton and will continue through the weekend. Were the Italian flag road lines repainted before the festival? If so, how? Where? Has there been any fallout or any response from the City of Newton? Vice President of the St. Mary of Carmen Society Festival, Carl Pasquarosa along with other Newton residents joined in conversation to discuss the festival!
*Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller has an open invitation to join the conversation on NightSide*
*Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller has an open invitation to join the conversation on NightSide*
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well earlier this week on Monday Night, we had an
interesting guest, Genefie and Daca, former transportation head of public
Transportation in Boston in the state of Massachusetts. She wrote
a tough letter to the Boston Herald. I'm not sure
if it's the Boston Globe as well, but I saw
published in the Herald in which she called out the
(00:30):
mayor of Newton, Ran Fuller, who we had on this
show on June thirtieth, to talk about the efforts by
the city to eradicate a line down the middle of
a street called Adam Street in Newton, which is in Nonantum,
which is a heavily Italian American area. As a matter
(00:51):
of fact, as I think I had mentioned a couple
of times that most families trace their roots to this
one small village in Italy. It was done under the
cloak of darkness the street, which had been for years
separating the line down in the middle of the street
was the green, white and red of the Italian flag,
(01:15):
which was a great pride to the neighborhood. It was
an advance of the Saint Mary Common Society annual festival,
which kicked off this Wednesday night. So I wanted to
finish this week because although the festival will begin on Saturday,
will continue on Saturday and Sunday with I believe there's
a big procession on Sunday with us as the vice
(01:37):
president of the festival. His maternal grandfather founded this festival.
His name is Carl pasc Borosa. Carl, Welcome to Nightside.
How are you, Dan?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I'm doing great. I'm in the middle of ussal right now,
and I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Oh excellent, excellent, Well, thank you very much. So. By
the way, your daughter, in an unrelated matter, was the
winner of I guess the concluding addition, although sometimes these
shows tend to come back of the Bachelor.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
So she was yeah, yes, she was, yeah, yeah. I
am no longer call pasts. I am Juliana Pastcarosa's father.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Believe me, I have sons and daughter. I have sons
and daughters like that. Absolutely. It used to be that
we were the focal not anymore, but that's the way
it is supposed to be. So you're at the festival tonight,
I'm assuming that you probably have a pretty good uh
sense of how it's gone. Let's just talk about roughly,
(02:40):
how have the crowd's been this year? How's the spirit there?
I know that that that community took a really heavy
body blow when in late June the mayor decided to
come in at night, ten thirty at night, on the
cover of darkness and mill the middle of the road
and to eradicate the the marking, the street marking of
(03:03):
the green, white and red to signify the the the
flag of Italy. Did I lose him here?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Rob?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Rob?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I think he's calling back on the other line. Maybe, Okay,
how are we doing? Rob? Got him back, Carl, We
lost you there for a moment. What's going on?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yes? You did all good? All good? Yeah, I think
I got the Just just wonder how.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Their how the spirit is did ironically the what the
mayor did? Did did it lessen you know, the activity?
Or did it? Actually? Do you have bigger crowds? What's
going on?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah? Essentially what's been going on the last two nights.
Is the third night and it has been tremendous. The
outpouring of support has overwhelmed us. Actually, and I want
to tell you that people walking up to the gentleman
in blue shirts, the powder Blue of the Saint Mary
Common Society, and they just want to know what they
can do.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The help.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
They just want to we can port us and their
attendance speaks volumes, breaking records in every department. You know,
at the end of every evening, we just do an
analysis check with our vendors. However he's doing, what's going on,
and some of them are running out of stock. After
two nights of paraphernalia Lake Paraphernalia food supplies to being
(04:31):
replenishd probably a day's two of them than they need
to be. The place is absolutely packed and the entertainment
is off the chart. So we've been blessed. We've been
blessed with an outpouring of support throughout the community, not
just the Lake Nonantum, Newton wallfam Water Town. You know,
we've had the mayor of a budding city show up
(04:53):
and just lend her support as well. So we have
been blessed. And you know, we've been focused on the nineties.
This is not ninetieth. This is the ninety sol Mighty
Moncamo and just our faith about that. So we're feeling
very good about it. We're not going to let anything
deterris as painful as what's been going on has been
to us, just kind of a real jolt to our senses,
(05:17):
says you know, then you know this, and you've been
talking about appreciate that it's not that's about the line,
it's what that line represents. And we've talked about it
at nauseum, and you know, we've tried everything, quite frankly
within legal guides of trying to get some resolution to this,
and to no avail. And to think that you may
have heard that, you know, all twenty four city councilors,
(05:40):
all twenty four city councilors, you know, wrote a note,
a letter signed off on a letter to the may
of saying replace the lines, just please, the five days
of a festival, let them repaint the lines. You try
colored time over the yellow and we'll resume the yellow
lines on Monday. But once again we were denied that
as well. So we're gonna we're going to continue to
(06:01):
focus on what we're doing here and raising money for
out of charitable organizations in our scholarships, and we're going
let's let this play out.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Well, you know, we had the mayor on June thirtieth,
which was a Monday night, and she did promise me
on the air that that line would be repainted by
the volunteers, by the residents, and she also specifically, if
you remember that conversation, she said that it would be
contiguous to the yellow line, which means, of course, next
(06:31):
to the yellow line.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I feel misled as a as an interviewer that it
hasn't been done or it hasn't been permitted. And yet
my understanding is that there are some sections of the
street which have been painted by individuals who live in
the area, including I believe a local rabbi who's not
(06:53):
Italian or Italian American came over and lent his support
as well, which really did help bring that neighborhood together.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, it's be s volumes, right. I mean, there was
an incident and on early Wednesday morning, wee hours of
the morning that somebody tried to take Madison their own hands,
and they got about twenty foot section done before they
were stopped by the local law enforcement. Those poor guys
are doing their job, and we support the police and
they just you know, they gotta they have to follow waters.
(07:24):
And then it was actually a Jewish gentleman from the
synagogue down the street that you know, pronounced that he
was going to do a section, inviting to be arrested.
He wanted to see how far he could push this thing.
But fortunately he went off. He did a section. No police,
everyone just let him do his thing and he walked
away from it. But that's the support that we're getting.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I was told by one of the folks out there
that the gentleman for the synagogue actually was a rabbi.
If I misstated that, I apologized, but I was like
to believe that he might have been a rabbi.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Actually, no, I don't know that to be true. I
just know that he made the statement. I'm just a
Jewish guy with the Bible the rabbi, So that's what
I know about him.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Well, look, I'm delighted that it seems to have worked
out as well. The activities continue tomorrow and Sunday. I
guess you have a procession on Sunday, which is really
the culmination of the festival. Is that correct give us
some senses to what people could find. Yeah, if they
chose to get over there.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
We've had for ninety years. We have an eight am
dedicated Mass with the Saint Mary of Carmen Society and
we have all most all on eighty members there for
that and it's dress blues. And then after the mask,
starting at two o'clock and a half noon at our
Ladies Church at the top of the street on the
Washington Street side, we will begin our procession. We will
(08:51):
take the Saint through the streets of Known Anthem for
about two hours. We'll have the North End Band behind us.
We'll have a total procession. We have of green, white
and red petals that are being stewing about before the Saint,
and we will stop at some of the houses that
have recently had people pass and spent some time there
(09:12):
with them. The neighborhood comes out and droves to supply water,
is food. It truly is the festival and it comes
back ninety years. I mean, this is just bringing the
entire neighborhood together and we have people coming from all
the abudding cities that participate, family members from across the state.
So that'll go from two to four on Sunday, followed
by entertainment back at the Tellygreen Park, and then at
(09:35):
ten o'clock PM we'll start a final procession under candlelight
from Pelly Greene Park down Adams Street, the scene of
the crime, so to speak. Back to the church for
a mass, and we have some exciting surprises along the
way for all those that participate and culminating and bringing
(09:55):
the Saint in, and we have the flight of the
Angel which is one of the elder of one of
the members and she spread roast pedals over the Saint
before we bring her in into the church and have
our mess.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Well, it sounds like an interesting weekend again. The times
tomorrow are from when to when and on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Five o'clock five o'clock tomorrow and it opens up tomorrow night.
We have Elvis Presley and the Memphis Mafia playing tomorrow
night live entertainment kicking off at eight o'clock and there's food, drink,
carnival rides. We have our chapel down here, we have
our Raffle tenth which we have some fantastic cries all
(10:39):
raising money, damns for our scholarships and our local charities
that we seed money to probably over three hundred thousand
and the last decade alone. That we just help people, families, individuals,
and that's what we do. That's what we.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Do well, I'm sure and I hope that several nightside
listeners we're alerted to the event and have been there
at some point during the festival, and you know, keep
in touch with us on this, Carl, because obviously, even
though Mayor Fuller will end her tournament office next January,
(11:17):
there will be another mayor that comes along, and I
hope that the next mayor is willing to be more
supportive of your organization and the tradition of the street
lines being emblematic of the community and the Italian flag,
the red, the white, and the green. And I hope
(11:37):
that this all gets resolved, you know, sooner than later.
But whether it has to wait until January to get resolved,
that's fine too. I again, we always will welcome the
mayor to come on, but we've asked her to come
on to clarify the remarks that I thought were pretty
(11:57):
clear of June thirtieth, and she chosen not to, and
I think it's sad for her and her term on
such a negative note for a part of the community
that is so important, so strong, No Nantum part of.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
New It was unnecessary. Dan. I think that's that's the issue,
that's that's the head scratcher. Right, We couldn't wait, couldn't
wait a couple of weeks to left the festival. So
you know, we're just blessed to have everybody down here
supporting us and continuing on what has been a ninety
year tradition for the Italian American community here in No Natum.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Well, Carl, thank you very much again, Congratulations on your daughter,
and congratulations say hello to everyone down there for me,
and I want to talk about this for the next
forty minutes or so because I want to make sure
people understand that the festival was undeterred. It's more been
more successful than ever. And I have no idea what
(12:56):
Ruth Anne Fuller is doing. I assume she has not
stopped by the festival.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You are correct, You are correct, which is very unusual
over the last seven years. But you know, listen, she
must have read the temperature of the room and realized
that was probably the best of Christ for all of
them all.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
So yeah, well that she still has tomorrow and Sunday
to go down and people have to say, yeah, you
know what they would say, but both linguistically and in
the form of various gestures that that all of us
are familiar with. Yeah, Carl Pascoroso, thank you so much,
(13:37):
and thanks for staying with it, and we'll we'll continue
conversation and let you get back to the festivities tonight
and enjoy.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Thank you, and really we really appreciate I pass on
the thanks from the entire society membership about you just
picking up this and UH and carrying it through and
understanding that this doesn't make sense to us as well,
But we really appreciate your intervention in this and getting
the word out for us.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
I like you.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I like these sort of I think it proves you
can fight city Hall and at the end you're gonna win,
that's for sure. Carl, thank you so much. Kyle Pascals,
thank you very much. Thanks thank you at the festival
and nonantem tonight. I just want to open up the
lines here and whether you live in Newton or not,
(14:23):
we've done really three devoted portions of three shows June thirtieth,
which was a Friday, a couple of weeks ago. We
were back at it on Monday this Monday, July fourteenth,
and I thought that tonight was important as well. I'm
going to open up the phone lines. I think this
is what local radio is supposed to do and is
(14:45):
supposed to get involved in these disputes and maybe even
sometimes make a decision as to which side is more
correct than the others. Let's put it like that. We'll
leave it in a gentlemanly fashioned I'm going to open
up the phone line feel free six one seven, two,
five four ten thirty six one seven nine three one
ten thirty. As a matter of fact, I encourage you
(15:06):
to call because if you think that this is an
important story, and it is an important story, maybe not
to your community, but maybe this is a story coming
to your community that you want us to cover, and
cover it thoroughly. Join the conversation.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Coming right back, Night Side Thought with Dan Ray on
WBS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
All Right, we all have get a couple of minutes
left here before the news break, So I'm not going
to shore change anyone, but I'm gonna get to all
the callers. Uh. The only line that is still open
is six one seven, nine three, one ten thirty. The
comment I want to make is, I know the mayor
of Newton. She's an intelligent woman. Why an intelligent mayor,
and it has been a pretty good mayor, Why she
(15:50):
would pick this battle at that time, with this community,
this segment of the city that she represents, makes no
sense to me, no sense once why her she could
have easily, as Carl pascor Rosa suggested, waited a couple
of weeks uh and then announced that they had to
mill the road, and they had to take they had
(16:12):
to remove the the the tricolor painting, uh and that
for you know, safety purposes, they had to install a
double yellow line. But she would be open to uh
and and she has said that she would do crosswalks,
and she would do hydrants and other uh, other you know,
materials on the street, other city official you know, city
(16:37):
property uh in the red, white and green colors of
the Italian flag. That would have been the way to
have approached it. This apparently, the more that I found
out about it has gone back for months. There have
been meetings upon meetings upon meetings, and they can't decide
over something as simple as this, this disagreement. Okay, Now
(16:59):
the international level, we can't stop Russia from bombing Ukraine.
We can't get groups in different parts of the world
to reconcile themselves. Does it surprise you We can't get
a mayor to understand the concerns of a group, a
cultural group, an Italian American section of her city that
(17:21):
prides itself on something simple as a street marking that
incorporates the colors of the Italian flag. I mean, that's
pretty simple stuff. But no, the mayor told us on
June thirtieth that yes, they could, the residents could repaint
the tricolors of this flag contiguous to the yellow lines.
(17:43):
That was never allowed. As a matter of fact, when
they tried to do that, they were prevented from doing that.
And it is mind boggling that when people are given
a position of authority they view it as a position
of power. It should not be viewed as a position
in power. It should be viewed as a position that
(18:06):
is a trust, and that the trust involves helping people
when you can. This would not have cost the City
of Newton anything because the people in this community were
willing to repaint the lines. So I've set it out.
I think you know how I feel. And again I
think it was Lord Acton who said power corrupts, and
(18:28):
absolute power corrupts. Absolutely. That's the problem we have in
this country at every level, every level, the politicians are
not responsible. The politicians are not responsive. You write a
letter to a president, or a senator or a governor,
and you don't get a response. You get some sort
(18:50):
of an email back or maybe a letter in the
mail back that you know is just one of those
letter number six or number eight. We appreciate receiving your
concerns and we assure you that we will do everything
to address the issues that you have raised with us.
We appreciate your support. Signed sincerely. You could throw those
(19:14):
letters away. They mean nothing. What means something is when
a mayor refuses to respond to her own city council
twenty four members of her city council who have written
a letter, a very simple letter that says the community
of nonantimus e goer to have a resolution to the
sudden and ill timed removal of the Italian colors along
(19:38):
Adams Street. Couldn't have said it better. All twenty four
members of the Newton City Council have signed onto this letter.
The ward I councils are ready to facilitate a mutually
agreeable solution. We look forward to your problem response. My
advice to the Newton City Council don't hold your breath
back on NIGHTSID. We're going to get right to phone
calls all the way till ten o'clock, and then at
(20:00):
ten o'clock we're going to talk about another award for
drivers here in Massachusetts. We're considered I guess, the riskiest
drivers in Boston, Worcester and Springfield. I'll explain and you
can comment. Coming back on Nightside talking about No Nantum
and the festival that is going on tonight, the Saint
Mary of Carmen Festival, in which has now we're told
(20:24):
more people the last three nights than they've ever had before.
Back on Nightside, You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZ,
Boston's news radio. All right, let's go to the phones
right away. I'm trying to get everybody in. I promise
the only lines are open right now. There's one a
couple of lines at six, one, seven nine if you
(20:46):
want to get in, and I hope you do. Meryl
in Newton, Hi, Meryl, how are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Hi?
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Dan? I'm fine thing. How are you?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
I'm doing great? Meryl? I got that email you sent
to me earlier this week and it's on my list
to get back to you this week on those issues.
That you raised, the legal matters, et cetera. We get
to all of those, I'm sure sometime tomorrow. Tell me
what you want to talk about tonight.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
I thought I was supposed to talk about Ruth Anna
and Newton.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Tell us go right ahead.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
I just you know, there's a neighborhood thing online and
I look at it. I usually don't like it because
people just start arguing. So many comments about this, and
so many people checked into it. And it wasn't necessary
that she did what she did. She said it had
to be done, but it didn't. It was it was
a suggestion of how things should be. But you already
know of that, probably right.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Well, well, I'm aware of it. And what I don't
understand is why the mayor, who's an intelligent person and
has been I think generally a pretty good mayor, complimented
her on her handling of the Newton teachers strike a
year and a half ago, which was a tough situation.
If you recall, Newton publishment teachers were out for most
(21:56):
of the month of January, after you know, a Christmas vacation.
They came back and they went on strike, and it
was tough on the families and the parents and the students,
and she held strong. But on this one, it's one
of those mistakes that it's almost like you get into
an argument with somebody over a parking space and there's
(22:17):
two parking spaces ahead that you could pull into just
as easily, but your intent on getting into that parking space,
and next thing, you know, the other car slams and
just it's it was unnecessary. I do not cannot understand
what her motivation was to go out. You know, she
(22:38):
ends her term this next January. She's not standing for reelection,
and as I understand that the candidates who are running
have expressed support at least in theory for the for
the neighborhood association there, I can't figure it out. I mean,
(22:58):
you live in new What is your take? You probably
know her better than I do. What's your take on it?
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I don't know. The only thing I could think was
maybe it's a menopause.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I'm sorry, I'm glad you said that and not me.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Merril, Yeah, yeah, it doesn't make any sense at all
because it didn't have to be done.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
And then you said she said it was you know,
they could do it over, which she should have done
it over. Yep, it's too weird. It really, there's just
no line or reason. There must be some somewhere, but.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Well, I don't know. Someone said that maybe she was
elected and then reelected twice, so even if she didn't
have the best support from that community. Okay, why go
out on such a sour note. I don't know. I
just think this will this will be the last thing
most things will remember about the Fuller administration in Newton,
(23:52):
and I think it's sad. In all honesty, I think
it's sad merrill as always. I promise you I'll get
to you tomorrow on that legal issue. Okay, thank you
so much.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
I have one more little.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Okay, well let's save that for tomorrow because I get
some full lines here. But I promise i'll get to
you tomorrow. Okay, Thanks Mary, I appreciate it. Have a
great night getting thanks for listening. Let's go out of
Newton and let's go to Christian in Pebty Christian you
and next on nightside go right.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Ahead, Yeah, good evening, Dan right, Hippy birthday a little.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Belated, but that's okay. I'll take It's still the month
of July ahead.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Okay, But anyway, when I look at this. I'm not
a Newton person, but I have spent a lot of time. Okay,
but when I look at the tradition of the people
that melt together over these type of festivals. Yeah, that
simple painting of a line is it's more like it's
it's such a simple thing, but it's also unification. Take
(24:51):
it stands for more than just a community. So for
the mayor to be this way, it goes back childhood thing.
If you've ever seen a story, which I'm sure she has,
there stole Christmas. If you recognize this, you haven't stolen anything.
And all you have to do is look into your
(25:11):
heart and say, you know what. I might have some
people around me that are this way or that way,
but this is so simple. We're getting it done because
it's that simple, just looking your heart and do it.
It's not rocket science. It is a simple gesture of
the community. And you're saying, you know what, I recognize
(25:33):
what you are, I recognize your traditions. So here's the
painted line. Thank you very much, and say oh, I'm sorry,
I made a mistake. People are very forgiving. If you
say I made a mistake, they'll be like, okay, you're intelligent,
but yeah, you've been the most intelligent.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Will make a mistake, so it's okay.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
I had a conversation with my producer the other night.
Not going to embarrass anybody, but Rob and I would
talk about that that when you do make a mistake,
it's a smart idea. The most disarming thing that you
can do when someone's man at you. Uh, you know,
if you really believe you made a mistake, you know,
(26:13):
don't be a phony person about it, but just say, hey, look,
I'm sorry, I don't I don't know what I was thinking,
but it was an error in judgment. And what can
I do to make it up to you? Simple as that.
I mean to do this though. In late June, with
about two weeks before the festival, there was a message
(26:34):
there from the mayor to this community. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
That doesn't Yeah, it doesn't make sense, makes.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
No sense, It makes no sense. It's in tennis. It's
called an unforced error when a professional tennis player, or
for that matter, an amateur tennis player, you know, buries
a shot, you know, at the base of the net
on their side at the court for an easy shot.
It's right.
Speaker 5 (27:03):
It's funny when you got other callers coming in, so
thank you for your time with me.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Christen, there's always thank you so much for checking in
from PVTY. I appreciate it very much.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Have a great night, okoy night.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
We do have a line or two open if you
want to try to get in here. We're going to
shut this off at at ten o'clock because we're going
to talk about an all state poll, an all state
insurance pole which found that Boston is the riskiest city
to drive in of any major city in the country,
and not far behind Worcester and Springfield. Quite an indictment
(27:36):
of Massachusetts drivers. We'll talk about that at ten o'clock
and then later on tonight we will do our twentieth
hour and I'm torn between a couple of ideas, but
we'll well, we'll get that straightened out between now and eleven,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
If you'd like to join the conversation six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
If you live in Newton and you want to defend
the mayor, you're more than welcome to try, and I'll
give you an opportunity. Or if you want to support
the folks who are having this, this religious festival, which
(28:13):
although it may be a religious festival, it also is
very much a community festival of you know, it isn't
all you know, prayers and all of that and religiosity.
A lot of it is commute community and in good,
good spirits, in good feelings amongst everyone. So six six
(28:34):
one seven, two, five, four, ten thirty or six one
seven nine three one ten thirty, coming right back on
Night's Side. This would be the last I'll talk about
this subject until maybe there's some resolution at some point
where the line is repainted. But tonight we wrap it up.
I want to wrap it up on a positive note.
But if you want to comment in support of the mayor,
feel free. As always, we have an open invitation for
(28:57):
her to join us UH and he has all of
the lines that are necessary to call. Coming back on Nightside.
All you need to know is six one seven, two, five,
four ten thirty, six one seven nine And if you
want to get in before ten, now's the time to dial.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w B Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Back to the phones we go. Let's go to Norwood.
Dutch Is in Norwood, Hey, Dutch. Welcome next on Nightside.
How are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Hey, great Dan, it's been a little while.
Speaker 6 (29:27):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
This is uh. I'll try to keep it as quick
as I can. UH heard this when it broke a
couple of weeks ago, contact with a couple of my
buddies in the lake. I can't. I can't repeat over
the air. They're certain vernacular which they're famous for.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Well, we appreciate that, Dutch. I want you to know,
as long as we can keep our FCC license broadcast.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I do a lot of contracting work and I'm through
that neighborhood often enough. It's a great area and the
tradition is awesome. And I'll I'm an old Swede from
Brocken and I when I heard this news, I'm like
first and I said, I'm like, this is nonsense. This
is craziness.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Made no sense.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
What are we teaching the kids coming up behind us?
And in tradition, we're going to erase another one?
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, well again, it just made no sense. She's an
incumbent mayor who could have stood for re election, but
she apparently made a decision earlier this year that she
wasn't going to stand for reelection. Generally that means that incumbents.
You know, there are a lot of cities where you
can only serve one term or two terms or whatever,
(30:36):
just like the presidency, but Newton is unlimited. They had
a mayor a long time ago named teddy Mann who
had served I don't know, five or six terms. He
was he was like the mayor forever and then had
interesting mayors and Ruthie and Fullha may have been the
first female mayor. And I thought she did a pretty
good job in Newton. As a resident of Newton, my
(30:57):
taxes are a little bit more expensive sometimes, the trashes
and picked up on time, you know, the typical things
that you have to deal with. But this was this
was I guess the Greeks would call it hubris, like
I'm going to do it because I can do it.
She said, yeah. She sent heavy equipment and machinery to
(31:19):
mill the road, the center strip of the road, to basically,
you know, churn it up. That's what they call milling
a road. And they eliminated the tricolor you know signs,
the red, white, and green, and there were no police.
There was done literally at ten thirty at night, on
the cover of darkness. Why would you be doing that
(31:40):
at ten thirty at night?
Speaker 3 (31:41):
I mean with no place pretty much Burrows. I mean
they're you know, Newton's a big you know, big city.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Yeah, well they what they call villages.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
So there's all sorts of okay, but I mean so
so Anthem singled out.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yes, Yes, absolutely, they were singled out for some punishment
for some unknown sin. And we're still trying to figure question.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
When is your next night off?
Speaker 2 (32:08):
H I don't know.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Probably I got people and I got paid.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yeah. No, you know what, I'll tell you there are
folks over there at the Saint Mary of Carmen Society.
If you know people over there, uh, I do, They're
gonna They're gonna make it happen. And I'm sure they
would appreciate any help that they could receive on this
because it's backbreaking type work.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
I'll show up.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Let me tell you I Swedes are tough. You know
that as well as I do. And when they decide
they want to do something, they get it done. No,
your buddy's over in Nonantum. I'm sure it could hook
you up with our guest earlier pal, Carl Pascarosa or
any of the other leaders in that in that community,
and I'm sure they would appreciate.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Lovely people over there when it's just it's not just there,
I mean not just, but the story's just it shouldn't
it shouldn't even be else. It shouldn't even be a story.
And I'll tell you if i'd live there, I'd be
absolutely outraged.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Yeah, well people are outraged, to be honest with you.
And I don't think the mayor, who has always attended
this festival in the past, apparently has not made an
appearance yet. I would advise her if she goes over there,
that she's going to incur a lot of cable, right right, Yeah,
(33:30):
but no one. Look, if the mayor did go up,
I would hope everyone would treat her respectfully. They can
say what they want, but we're not. There should be
nobody who would infringe upon her personal space or anything
like that where that's not what anyone wants, Okay, But
I suspect I wouldn't. I wouldn't bet that she would
(33:50):
go over there at this point because I think that
people are really upset. And even this letter from the
city council all twenty four to get all twenty four
city councilors from the City of Newton to agree. They
kind of agree on what time of day it is.
But all members of the Newton City Council have signed
on to this letter saying the community of nonantim is
(34:11):
eager to have a resolution in the sudden and ill
timed removal of the Italian colors along Adam Street. And
they go on and specify exactly what happened. Dot. You're
a great call. You got to come back more often.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Okay, yeah, last time we were talking about CM and
and kids, but I will say that for another night.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
You bet you come on back soon. Thanks, Thanks, Dutch,
appreciate it. Let me go next to Robert and Wellesley.
Hey Robert, welcome next on night's side. What's your take
on this? I know you're not calling from Newton, but
it's the nearby community.
Speaker 6 (34:42):
Yeah, you're right, but yes, and technically I have a
connection to nan Adam Hill Or for what it's worth,
I think it's a case of I'm thinking ideology driven
political correctness, maybe akin to issues that we've seen around
the holidays were school systems have decided to outlaw decorations
(35:05):
for for certain holidays which have a religious as well
as secular connection.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
You could I could not agree with you more that
that that has happened. Whether this was prompted by it,
I don't know. I know that Italian Americans have lost
in many communities the traditional Columbus Day celebration, which you know,
commemorates the discovery of America. Though Columbus never came to America.
(35:36):
He landed in the West Indies. There he landed in
what is eventually became North America. Uh. And people are
upset about that. And they're very upset about this because
this was personal, This was this was part of the
texture of their community. I don't know if you haven't
driven on Adams Street, but they had this this line
down the middle, red, white, and green, which is the
(35:59):
colors that try the Italian flag, and it's it's personal.
And I still, for the life of me, I can't
figure out why the mayor would make such a fundamental
mistake unless it was, I don't know, prompted by some
disagreement that she had with that community. I can't figure
(36:19):
it out. Do you have any any sense of it
other than.
Speaker 6 (36:23):
You knows you're closer to it than I am. But
I sort of have a feeling that there's kind of
a commitment to ideology that may also be part of it,
and an unwilling you know, an unwillingness to give that up.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Well, maybe so. But I also think when you make
a mistake, and you're an elected official and and you
you've you've taken a position upon which the ground has shifted,
or whatever metaphor you want to use, and you realize, okay,
I I have just I've stepped into quicksand, and now
I can fight and all of that, or I can
(37:00):
someone to throw me a rope and pull me out
and say, gee, I'm sorry, I stepped in a quicksand.
If she has said early on, I'm sorry, we shouldn't
have done this. There was a mix up in communication.
We're going to restore that line. We will have to
remove it after the festival. People would still be somewhat upset,
but they wouldn't be the amount of anger that I
have since in the last couple of weeks coming out
(37:21):
of a very peaceful, harmonious section of Newton.
Speaker 6 (37:24):
So I agree with you. I agree with you on that.
And I think sometimes people just develop a well way
of thinking that may blind them to good solutions.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
It's called intrngeons I guess you just dig your heels
in and you say, I'm not going to admit that
I might have made a mistake, simple as that. Robert.
Always great to hear your voice. Thanks very much for calling.
And if you get a chance and you want to
go over and participate, they still have that festival this
Saturday and Sunday, and it's a great event. And I
(38:00):
thank you for your call tonight, my friend.
Speaker 6 (38:03):
Thank you, and it sounds quite a great event.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Thanks, Robert, appreciate it very much, so that puts a
bow on it. Our best wishes to the Saint Mary
of Carmen Society for a very successful Saturday and Sunday.
And I hope you get your tricolor line of red,
white and green back on Adams Street sooner rather than later.
But I think you'll have it at a minimum when
(38:28):
this mayor decides to leave office, or well when she
does leave office in January. We're coming back. We're going
to talk about an all state This is an assessment
of the riskiest drivers in America, and we have three
cities in the top five, Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Back
right after the ten o'clock news on Nightside
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well earlier this week on Monday Night, we had an
interesting guest, Genefie and Daca, former transportation head of public
Transportation in Boston in the state of Massachusetts. She wrote
a tough letter to the Boston Herald. I'm not sure
if it's the Boston Globe as well, but I saw
published in the Herald in which she called out the
(00:30):
mayor of Newton, Ran Fuller, who we had on this
show on June thirtieth, to talk about the efforts by
the city to eradicate a line down the middle of
a street called Adam Street in Newton, which is in Nonantum,
which is a heavily Italian American area. As a matter
(00:51):
of fact, as I think I had mentioned a couple
of times that most families trace their roots to this
one small village in Italy. It was done under the
cloak of darkness the street, which had been for years
separating the line down in the middle of the street
was the green, white and red of the Italian flag,
(01:15):
which was a great pride to the neighborhood. It was
an advance of the Saint Mary Common Society annual festival,
which kicked off this Wednesday night. So I wanted to
finish this week because although the festival will begin on Saturday,
will continue on Saturday and Sunday with I believe there's
a big procession on Sunday with us as the vice
(01:37):
president of the festival. His maternal grandfather founded this festival.
His name is Carl pasc Borosa. Carl, Welcome to Nightside.
How are you, Dan?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I'm doing great. I'm in the middle of ussal right now,
and I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Oh excellent, excellent, Well, thank you very much. So. By
the way, your daughter, in an unrelated matter, was the
winner of I guess the concluding addition, although sometimes these
shows tend to come back of the Bachelor.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
So she was yeah, yes, she was, yeah, yeah. I
am no longer call pasts. I am Juliana Pastcarosa's father.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Believe me, I have sons and daughter. I have sons
and daughters like that. Absolutely. It used to be that
we were the focal not anymore, but that's the way
it is supposed to be. So you're at the festival tonight,
I'm assuming that you probably have a pretty good uh
sense of how it's gone. Let's just talk about roughly,
(02:40):
how have the crowd's been this year? How's the spirit there?
I know that that that community took a really heavy
body blow when in late June the mayor decided to
come in at night, ten thirty at night, on the
cover of darkness and mill the middle of the road
and to eradicate the the marking, the street marking of
(03:03):
the green, white and red to signify the the the
flag of Italy. Did I lose him here?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Rob?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Rob?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I think he's calling back on the other line. Maybe, Okay,
how are we doing? Rob? Got him back, Carl, We
lost you there for a moment. What's going on?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yes? You did all good? All good? Yeah, I think
I got the Just just wonder how.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Their how the spirit is did ironically the what the
mayor did? Did did it lessen you know, the activity?
Or did it? Actually? Do you have bigger crowds? What's
going on?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah? Essentially what's been going on the last two nights.
Is the third night and it has been tremendous. The
outpouring of support has overwhelmed us. Actually, and I want
to tell you that people walking up to the gentleman
in blue shirts, the powder Blue of the Saint Mary
Common Society, and they just want to know what they
can do.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The help.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
They just want to we can port us and their
attendance speaks volumes, breaking records in every department. You know,
at the end of every evening, we just do an
analysis check with our vendors. However he's doing, what's going on,
and some of them are running out of stock. After
two nights of paraphernalia Lake Paraphernalia food supplies to being
(04:31):
replenishd probably a day's two of them than they need
to be. The place is absolutely packed and the entertainment
is off the chart. So we've been blessed. We've been
blessed with an outpouring of support throughout the community, not
just the Lake Nonantum, Newton wallfam Water Town. You know,
we've had the mayor of a budding city show up
(04:53):
and just lend her support as well. So we have
been blessed. And you know, we've been focused on the nineties.
This is not ninetieth. This is the ninety sol Mighty
Moncamo and just our faith about that. So we're feeling
very good about it. We're not going to let anything
deterris as painful as what's been going on has been
to us, just kind of a real jolt to our senses,
(05:17):
says you know, then you know this, and you've been
talking about appreciate that it's not that's about the line,
it's what that line represents. And we've talked about it
at nauseum, and you know, we've tried everything, quite frankly
within legal guides of trying to get some resolution to this,
and to no avail. And to think that you may
have heard that, you know, all twenty four city councilors,
(05:40):
all twenty four city councilors, you know, wrote a note,
a letter signed off on a letter to the may
of saying replace the lines, just please, the five days
of a festival, let them repaint the lines. You try
colored time over the yellow and we'll resume the yellow
lines on Monday. But once again we were denied that
as well. So we're gonna we're going to continue to
(06:01):
focus on what we're doing here and raising money for
out of charitable organizations in our scholarships, and we're going
let's let this play out.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Well, you know, we had the mayor on June thirtieth,
which was a Monday night, and she did promise me
on the air that that line would be repainted by
the volunteers, by the residents, and she also specifically, if
you remember that conversation, she said that it would be
contiguous to the yellow line, which means, of course, next
(06:31):
to the yellow line.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I feel misled as a as an interviewer that it
hasn't been done or it hasn't been permitted. And yet
my understanding is that there are some sections of the
street which have been painted by individuals who live in
the area, including I believe a local rabbi who's not
(06:53):
Italian or Italian American came over and lent his support
as well, which really did help bring that neighborhood together.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, it's be s volumes, right. I mean, there was
an incident and on early Wednesday morning, wee hours of
the morning that somebody tried to take Madison their own hands,
and they got about twenty foot section done before they
were stopped by the local law enforcement. Those poor guys
are doing their job, and we support the police and
they just you know, they gotta they have to follow waters.
(07:24):
And then it was actually a Jewish gentleman from the
synagogue down the street that you know, pronounced that he
was going to do a section, inviting to be arrested.
He wanted to see how far he could push this thing.
But fortunately he went off. He did a section. No police,
everyone just let him do his thing and he walked
away from it. But that's the support that we're getting.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I was told by one of the folks out there
that the gentleman for the synagogue actually was a rabbi.
If I misstated that, I apologized, but I was like
to believe that he might have been a rabbi.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Actually, no, I don't know that to be true. I
just know that he made the statement. I'm just a
Jewish guy with the Bible the rabbi, So that's what
I know about him.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Well, look, I'm delighted that it seems to have worked
out as well. The activities continue tomorrow and Sunday. I
guess you have a procession on Sunday, which is really
the culmination of the festival. Is that correct give us
some senses to what people could find. Yeah, if they
chose to get over there.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
We've had for ninety years. We have an eight am
dedicated Mass with the Saint Mary of Carmen Society and
we have all most all on eighty members there for
that and it's dress blues. And then after the mask,
starting at two o'clock and a half noon at our
Ladies Church at the top of the street on the
Washington Street side, we will begin our procession. We will
(08:51):
take the Saint through the streets of Known Anthem for
about two hours. We'll have the North End Band behind us.
We'll have a total procession. We have of green, white
and red petals that are being stewing about before the Saint,
and we will stop at some of the houses that
have recently had people pass and spent some time there
(09:12):
with them. The neighborhood comes out and droves to supply water,
is food. It truly is the festival and it comes
back ninety years. I mean, this is just bringing the
entire neighborhood together and we have people coming from all
the abudding cities that participate, family members from across the state.
So that'll go from two to four on Sunday, followed
by entertainment back at the Tellygreen Park, and then at
(09:35):
ten o'clock PM we'll start a final procession under candlelight
from Pelly Greene Park down Adams Street, the scene of
the crime, so to speak. Back to the church for
a mass, and we have some exciting surprises along the
way for all those that participate and culminating and bringing
(09:55):
the Saint in, and we have the flight of the
Angel which is one of the elder of one of
the members and she spread roast pedals over the Saint
before we bring her in into the church and have
our mess.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Well, it sounds like an interesting weekend again. The times
tomorrow are from when to when and on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Five o'clock five o'clock tomorrow and it opens up tomorrow night.
We have Elvis Presley and the Memphis Mafia playing tomorrow
night live entertainment kicking off at eight o'clock and there's food, drink,
carnival rides. We have our chapel down here, we have
our Raffle tenth which we have some fantastic cries all
(10:39):
raising money, damns for our scholarships and our local charities
that we seed money to probably over three hundred thousand
and the last decade alone. That we just help people, families, individuals,
and that's what we do. That's what we.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Do well, I'm sure and I hope that several nightside
listeners we're alerted to the event and have been there
at some point during the festival, and you know, keep
in touch with us on this, Carl, because obviously, even
though Mayor Fuller will end her tournament office next January,
(11:17):
there will be another mayor that comes along, and I
hope that the next mayor is willing to be more
supportive of your organization and the tradition of the street
lines being emblematic of the community and the Italian flag,
the red, the white, and the green. And I hope
(11:37):
that this all gets resolved, you know, sooner than later.
But whether it has to wait until January to get resolved,
that's fine too. I again, we always will welcome the
mayor to come on, but we've asked her to come
on to clarify the remarks that I thought were pretty
(11:57):
clear of June thirtieth, and she chosen not to, and
I think it's sad for her and her term on
such a negative note for a part of the community
that is so important, so strong, No Nantum part of.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
New It was unnecessary. Dan. I think that's that's the issue,
that's that's the head scratcher. Right, We couldn't wait, couldn't
wait a couple of weeks to left the festival. So
you know, we're just blessed to have everybody down here
supporting us and continuing on what has been a ninety
year tradition for the Italian American community here in No Natum.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Well, Carl, thank you very much again, Congratulations on your daughter,
and congratulations say hello to everyone down there for me,
and I want to talk about this for the next
forty minutes or so because I want to make sure
people understand that the festival was undeterred. It's more been
more successful than ever. And I have no idea what
(12:56):
Ruth Anne Fuller is doing. I assume she has not
stopped by the festival.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You are correct, You are correct, which is very unusual
over the last seven years. But you know, listen, she
must have read the temperature of the room and realized
that was probably the best of Christ for all of
them all.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
So yeah, well that she still has tomorrow and Sunday
to go down and people have to say, yeah, you
know what they would say, but both linguistically and in
the form of various gestures that that all of us
are familiar with. Yeah, Carl Pascoroso, thank you so much,
(13:37):
and thanks for staying with it, and we'll we'll continue
conversation and let you get back to the festivities tonight
and enjoy.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Thank you, and really we really appreciate I pass on
the thanks from the entire society membership about you just
picking up this and UH and carrying it through and
understanding that this doesn't make sense to us as well,
But we really appreciate your intervention in this and getting
the word out for us.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
I like you.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I like these sort of I think it proves you
can fight city Hall and at the end you're gonna win,
that's for sure. Carl, thank you so much. Kyle Pascals,
thank you very much. Thanks thank you at the festival
and nonantem tonight. I just want to open up the
lines here and whether you live in Newton or not,
(14:23):
we've done really three devoted portions of three shows June thirtieth,
which was a Friday, a couple of weeks ago. We
were back at it on Monday this Monday, July fourteenth,
and I thought that tonight was important as well. I'm
going to open up the phone lines. I think this
is what local radio is supposed to do and is
(14:45):
supposed to get involved in these disputes and maybe even
sometimes make a decision as to which side is more
correct than the others. Let's put it like that. We'll
leave it in a gentlemanly fashioned I'm going to open
up the phone line feel free six one seven, two,
five four ten thirty six one seven nine three one
ten thirty. As a matter of fact, I encourage you
(15:06):
to call because if you think that this is an
important story, and it is an important story, maybe not
to your community, but maybe this is a story coming
to your community that you want us to cover, and
cover it thoroughly. Join the conversation.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Coming right back, Night Side Thought with Dan Ray on
WBS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
All Right, we all have get a couple of minutes
left here before the news break, So I'm not going
to shore change anyone, but I'm gonna get to all
the callers. Uh. The only line that is still open
is six one seven, nine three, one ten thirty. The
comment I want to make is, I know the mayor
of Newton. She's an intelligent woman. Why an intelligent mayor,
and it has been a pretty good mayor, Why she
(15:50):
would pick this battle at that time, with this community,
this segment of the city that she represents, makes no
sense to me, no sense once why her she could
have easily, as Carl pascor Rosa suggested, waited a couple
of weeks uh and then announced that they had to
mill the road, and they had to take they had
(16:12):
to remove the the the tricolor painting, uh and that
for you know, safety purposes, they had to install a
double yellow line. But she would be open to uh
and and she has said that she would do crosswalks,
and she would do hydrants and other uh, other you know,
materials on the street, other city official you know, city
(16:37):
property uh in the red, white and green colors of
the Italian flag. That would have been the way to
have approached it. This apparently, the more that I found
out about it has gone back for months. There have
been meetings upon meetings upon meetings, and they can't decide
over something as simple as this, this disagreement. Okay, Now
(16:59):
the international level, we can't stop Russia from bombing Ukraine.
We can't get groups in different parts of the world
to reconcile themselves. Does it surprise you We can't get
a mayor to understand the concerns of a group, a
cultural group, an Italian American section of her city that
(17:21):
prides itself on something simple as a street marking that
incorporates the colors of the Italian flag. I mean, that's
pretty simple stuff. But no, the mayor told us on
June thirtieth that yes, they could, the residents could repaint
the tricolors of this flag contiguous to the yellow lines.
(17:43):
That was never allowed. As a matter of fact, when
they tried to do that, they were prevented from doing that.
And it is mind boggling that when people are given
a position of authority they view it as a position
of power. It should not be viewed as a position
in power. It should be viewed as a position that
(18:06):
is a trust, and that the trust involves helping people
when you can. This would not have cost the City
of Newton anything because the people in this community were
willing to repaint the lines. So I've set it out.
I think you know how I feel. And again I
think it was Lord Acton who said power corrupts, and
(18:28):
absolute power corrupts. Absolutely. That's the problem we have in
this country at every level, every level, the politicians are
not responsible. The politicians are not responsive. You write a
letter to a president, or a senator or a governor,
and you don't get a response. You get some sort
(18:50):
of an email back or maybe a letter in the
mail back that you know is just one of those
letter number six or number eight. We appreciate receiving your
concerns and we assure you that we will do everything
to address the issues that you have raised with us.
We appreciate your support. Signed sincerely. You could throw those
(19:14):
letters away. They mean nothing. What means something is when
a mayor refuses to respond to her own city council
twenty four members of her city council who have written
a letter, a very simple letter that says the community
of nonantimus e goer to have a resolution to the
sudden and ill timed removal of the Italian colors along
(19:38):
Adams Street. Couldn't have said it better. All twenty four
members of the Newton City Council have signed onto this letter.
The ward I councils are ready to facilitate a mutually
agreeable solution. We look forward to your problem response. My
advice to the Newton City Council don't hold your breath
back on NIGHTSID. We're going to get right to phone
calls all the way till ten o'clock, and then at
(20:00):
ten o'clock we're going to talk about another award for
drivers here in Massachusetts. We're considered I guess, the riskiest
drivers in Boston, Worcester and Springfield. I'll explain and you
can comment. Coming back on Nightside talking about No Nantum
and the festival that is going on tonight, the Saint
Mary of Carmen Festival, in which has now we're told
(20:24):
more people the last three nights than they've ever had before.
Back on Nightside, You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZ,
Boston's news radio. All right, let's go to the phones
right away. I'm trying to get everybody in. I promise
the only lines are open right now. There's one a
couple of lines at six, one, seven nine if you
(20:46):
want to get in, and I hope you do. Meryl
in Newton, Hi, Meryl, how are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Hi?
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Dan? I'm fine thing. How are you?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
I'm doing great? Meryl? I got that email you sent
to me earlier this week and it's on my list
to get back to you this week on those issues.
That you raised, the legal matters, et cetera. We get
to all of those, I'm sure sometime tomorrow. Tell me
what you want to talk about tonight.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
I thought I was supposed to talk about Ruth Anna
and Newton.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Tell us go right ahead.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
I just you know, there's a neighborhood thing online and
I look at it. I usually don't like it because
people just start arguing. So many comments about this, and
so many people checked into it. And it wasn't necessary
that she did what she did. She said it had
to be done, but it didn't. It was it was
a suggestion of how things should be. But you already
know of that, probably right.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Well, well, I'm aware of it. And what I don't
understand is why the mayor, who's an intelligent person and
has been I think generally a pretty good mayor, complimented
her on her handling of the Newton teachers strike a
year and a half ago, which was a tough situation.
If you recall, Newton publishment teachers were out for most
(21:56):
of the month of January, after you know, a Christmas vacation.
They came back and they went on strike, and it
was tough on the families and the parents and the students,
and she held strong. But on this one, it's one
of those mistakes that it's almost like you get into
an argument with somebody over a parking space and there's
(22:17):
two parking spaces ahead that you could pull into just
as easily, but your intent on getting into that parking space,
and next thing, you know, the other car slams and
just it's it was unnecessary. I do not cannot understand
what her motivation was to go out. You know, she
(22:38):
ends her term this next January. She's not standing for reelection,
and as I understand that the candidates who are running
have expressed support at least in theory for the for
the neighborhood association there, I can't figure it out. I mean,
(22:58):
you live in new What is your take? You probably
know her better than I do. What's your take on it?
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I don't know. The only thing I could think was
maybe it's a menopause.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I'm sorry, I'm glad you said that and not me.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Merril, Yeah, yeah, it doesn't make any sense at all
because it didn't have to be done.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
And then you said she said it was you know,
they could do it over, which she should have done
it over. Yep, it's too weird. It really, there's just
no line or reason. There must be some somewhere, but.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Well, I don't know. Someone said that maybe she was
elected and then reelected twice, so even if she didn't
have the best support from that community. Okay, why go
out on such a sour note. I don't know. I
just think this will this will be the last thing
most things will remember about the Fuller administration in Newton,
(23:52):
and I think it's sad. In all honesty, I think
it's sad merrill as always. I promise you I'll get
to you tomorrow on that legal issue. Okay, thank you
so much.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
I have one more little.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Okay, well let's save that for tomorrow because I get
some full lines here. But I promise i'll get to
you tomorrow. Okay, Thanks Mary, I appreciate it. Have a
great night getting thanks for listening. Let's go out of
Newton and let's go to Christian in Pebty Christian you
and next on nightside go right.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Ahead, Yeah, good evening, Dan right, Hippy birthday a little.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Belated, but that's okay. I'll take It's still the month
of July ahead.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Okay, But anyway, when I look at this. I'm not
a Newton person, but I have spent a lot of time. Okay,
but when I look at the tradition of the people
that melt together over these type of festivals. Yeah, that
simple painting of a line is it's more like it's
it's such a simple thing, but it's also unification. Take
(24:51):
it stands for more than just a community. So for
the mayor to be this way, it goes back childhood thing.
If you've ever seen a story, which I'm sure she has,
there stole Christmas. If you recognize this, you haven't stolen anything.
And all you have to do is look into your
(25:11):
heart and say, you know what. I might have some
people around me that are this way or that way,
but this is so simple. We're getting it done because
it's that simple, just looking your heart and do it.
It's not rocket science. It is a simple gesture of
the community. And you're saying, you know what, I recognize
(25:33):
what you are, I recognize your traditions. So here's the
painted line. Thank you very much, and say oh, I'm sorry,
I made a mistake. People are very forgiving. If you
say I made a mistake, they'll be like, okay, you're intelligent,
but yeah, you've been the most intelligent.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Will make a mistake, so it's okay.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
I had a conversation with my producer the other night.
Not going to embarrass anybody, but Rob and I would
talk about that that when you do make a mistake,
it's a smart idea. The most disarming thing that you
can do when someone's man at you. Uh, you know,
if you really believe you made a mistake, you know,
(26:13):
don't be a phony person about it, but just say, hey, look,
I'm sorry, I don't I don't know what I was thinking,
but it was an error in judgment. And what can
I do to make it up to you? Simple as that.
I mean to do this though. In late June, with
about two weeks before the festival, there was a message
(26:34):
there from the mayor to this community. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
That doesn't Yeah, it doesn't make sense, makes.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
No sense, It makes no sense. It's in tennis. It's
called an unforced error when a professional tennis player, or
for that matter, an amateur tennis player, you know, buries
a shot, you know, at the base of the net
on their side at the court for an easy shot.
It's right.
Speaker 5 (27:03):
It's funny when you got other callers coming in, so
thank you for your time with me.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Christen, there's always thank you so much for checking in
from PVTY. I appreciate it very much.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Have a great night, okoy night.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
We do have a line or two open if you
want to try to get in here. We're going to
shut this off at at ten o'clock because we're going
to talk about an all state poll, an all state
insurance pole which found that Boston is the riskiest city
to drive in of any major city in the country,
and not far behind Worcester and Springfield. Quite an indictment
(27:36):
of Massachusetts drivers. We'll talk about that at ten o'clock
and then later on tonight we will do our twentieth
hour and I'm torn between a couple of ideas, but
we'll well, we'll get that straightened out between now and eleven,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
If you'd like to join the conversation six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
If you live in Newton and you want to defend
the mayor, you're more than welcome to try, and I'll
give you an opportunity. Or if you want to support
the folks who are having this, this religious festival, which
(28:13):
although it may be a religious festival, it also is
very much a community festival of you know, it isn't
all you know, prayers and all of that and religiosity.
A lot of it is commute community and in good,
good spirits, in good feelings amongst everyone. So six six
(28:34):
one seven, two, five, four, ten thirty or six one
seven nine three one ten thirty, coming right back on
Night's Side. This would be the last I'll talk about
this subject until maybe there's some resolution at some point
where the line is repainted. But tonight we wrap it up.
I want to wrap it up on a positive note.
But if you want to comment in support of the mayor,
feel free. As always, we have an open invitation for
(28:57):
her to join us UH and he has all of
the lines that are necessary to call. Coming back on Nightside.
All you need to know is six one seven, two, five,
four ten thirty, six one seven nine And if you
want to get in before ten, now's the time to dial.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w B Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Back to the phones we go. Let's go to Norwood.
Dutch Is in Norwood, Hey, Dutch. Welcome next on Nightside.
How are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Hey, great Dan, it's been a little while.
Speaker 6 (29:27):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
This is uh. I'll try to keep it as quick
as I can. UH heard this when it broke a
couple of weeks ago, contact with a couple of my
buddies in the lake. I can't. I can't repeat over
the air. They're certain vernacular which they're famous for.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Well, we appreciate that, Dutch. I want you to know,
as long as we can keep our FCC license broadcast.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I do a lot of contracting work and I'm through
that neighborhood often enough. It's a great area and the
tradition is awesome. And I'll I'm an old Swede from
Brocken and I when I heard this news, I'm like
first and I said, I'm like, this is nonsense. This
is craziness.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Made no sense.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
What are we teaching the kids coming up behind us?
And in tradition, we're going to erase another one?
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, well again, it just made no sense. She's an
incumbent mayor who could have stood for re election, but
she apparently made a decision earlier this year that she
wasn't going to stand for reelection. Generally that means that incumbents.
You know, there are a lot of cities where you
can only serve one term or two terms or whatever,
(30:36):
just like the presidency, but Newton is unlimited. They had
a mayor a long time ago named teddy Mann who
had served I don't know, five or six terms. He
was he was like the mayor forever and then had
interesting mayors and Ruthie and Fullha may have been the
first female mayor. And I thought she did a pretty
good job in Newton. As a resident of Newton, my
(30:57):
taxes are a little bit more expensive sometimes, the trashes
and picked up on time, you know, the typical things
that you have to deal with. But this was this
was I guess the Greeks would call it hubris, like
I'm going to do it because I can do it.
She said, yeah. She sent heavy equipment and machinery to
(31:19):
mill the road, the center strip of the road, to basically,
you know, churn it up. That's what they call milling
a road. And they eliminated the tricolor you know signs,
the red, white, and green, and there were no police.
There was done literally at ten thirty at night, on
the cover of darkness. Why would you be doing that
(31:40):
at ten thirty at night?
Speaker 3 (31:41):
I mean with no place pretty much Burrows. I mean
they're you know, Newton's a big you know, big city.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Yeah, well they what they call villages.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
So there's all sorts of okay, but I mean so
so Anthem singled out.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yes, Yes, absolutely, they were singled out for some punishment
for some unknown sin. And we're still trying to figure question.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
When is your next night off?
Speaker 2 (32:08):
H I don't know.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Probably I got people and I got paid.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yeah. No, you know what, I'll tell you there are
folks over there at the Saint Mary of Carmen Society.
If you know people over there, uh, I do, They're
gonna They're gonna make it happen. And I'm sure they
would appreciate any help that they could receive on this
because it's backbreaking type work.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
I'll show up.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Let me tell you I Swedes are tough. You know
that as well as I do. And when they decide
they want to do something, they get it done. No,
your buddy's over in Nonantum. I'm sure it could hook
you up with our guest earlier pal, Carl Pascarosa or
any of the other leaders in that in that community,
and I'm sure they would appreciate.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Lovely people over there when it's just it's not just there,
I mean not just, but the story's just it shouldn't
it shouldn't even be else. It shouldn't even be a story.
And I'll tell you if i'd live there, I'd be
absolutely outraged.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Yeah, well people are outraged, to be honest with you.
And I don't think the mayor, who has always attended
this festival in the past, apparently has not made an
appearance yet. I would advise her if she goes over there,
that she's going to incur a lot of cable, right right, Yeah,
(33:30):
but no one. Look, if the mayor did go up,
I would hope everyone would treat her respectfully. They can
say what they want, but we're not. There should be
nobody who would infringe upon her personal space or anything
like that where that's not what anyone wants, Okay, But
I suspect I wouldn't. I wouldn't bet that she would
(33:50):
go over there at this point because I think that
people are really upset. And even this letter from the
city council all twenty four to get all twenty four
city councilors from the City of Newton to agree. They
kind of agree on what time of day it is.
But all members of the Newton City Council have signed
on to this letter saying the community of nonantim is
(34:11):
eager to have a resolution in the sudden and ill
timed removal of the Italian colors along Adam Street. And
they go on and specify exactly what happened. Dot. You're
a great call. You got to come back more often.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Okay, yeah, last time we were talking about CM and
and kids, but I will say that for another night.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
You bet you come on back soon. Thanks, Thanks, Dutch,
appreciate it. Let me go next to Robert and Wellesley.
Hey Robert, welcome next on night's side. What's your take
on this? I know you're not calling from Newton, but
it's the nearby community.
Speaker 6 (34:42):
Yeah, you're right, but yes, and technically I have a
connection to nan Adam Hill Or for what it's worth,
I think it's a case of I'm thinking ideology driven
political correctness, maybe akin to issues that we've seen around
the holidays were school systems have decided to outlaw decorations
(35:05):
for for certain holidays which have a religious as well
as secular connection.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
You could I could not agree with you more that
that that has happened. Whether this was prompted by it,
I don't know. I know that Italian Americans have lost
in many communities the traditional Columbus Day celebration, which you know,
commemorates the discovery of America. Though Columbus never came to America.
(35:36):
He landed in the West Indies. There he landed in
what is eventually became North America. Uh. And people are
upset about that. And they're very upset about this because
this was personal, This was this was part of the
texture of their community. I don't know if you haven't
driven on Adams Street, but they had this this line
down the middle, red, white, and green, which is the
(35:59):
colors that try the Italian flag, and it's it's personal.
And I still, for the life of me, I can't
figure out why the mayor would make such a fundamental
mistake unless it was, I don't know, prompted by some
disagreement that she had with that community. I can't figure
(36:19):
it out. Do you have any any sense of it
other than.
Speaker 6 (36:23):
You knows you're closer to it than I am. But
I sort of have a feeling that there's kind of
a commitment to ideology that may also be part of it,
and an unwilling you know, an unwillingness to give that up.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Well, maybe so. But I also think when you make
a mistake, and you're an elected official and and you
you've you've taken a position upon which the ground has shifted,
or whatever metaphor you want to use, and you realize, okay,
I I have just I've stepped into quicksand, and now
I can fight and all of that, or I can
(37:00):
someone to throw me a rope and pull me out
and say, gee, I'm sorry, I stepped in a quicksand.
If she has said early on, I'm sorry, we shouldn't
have done this. There was a mix up in communication.
We're going to restore that line. We will have to
remove it after the festival. People would still be somewhat upset,
but they wouldn't be the amount of anger that I
have since in the last couple of weeks coming out
(37:21):
of a very peaceful, harmonious section of Newton.
Speaker 6 (37:24):
So I agree with you. I agree with you on that.
And I think sometimes people just develop a well way
of thinking that may blind them to good solutions.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
It's called intrngeons I guess you just dig your heels
in and you say, I'm not going to admit that
I might have made a mistake, simple as that. Robert.
Always great to hear your voice. Thanks very much for calling.
And if you get a chance and you want to
go over and participate, they still have that festival this
Saturday and Sunday, and it's a great event. And I
(38:00):
thank you for your call tonight, my friend.
Speaker 6 (38:03):
Thank you, and it sounds quite a great event.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Thanks, Robert, appreciate it very much, so that puts a
bow on it. Our best wishes to the Saint Mary
of Carmen Society for a very successful Saturday and Sunday.
And I hope you get your tricolor line of red,
white and green back on Adams Street sooner rather than later.
But I think you'll have it at a minimum when
(38:28):
this mayor decides to leave office, or well when she
does leave office in January. We're coming back. We're going
to talk about an all state This is an assessment
of the riskiest drivers in America, and we have three
cities in the top five, Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Back
right after the ten o'clock news on Nightside
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