https://actionnetwork.org/groups/south-shore-flock-safety-campaign

If not, we should. Get these assholes out of our streets. Creepy perverts.

Just curious - does anyone know when this project is expected to be completed? I'm not sure if the new park/skate park/playground will be opening this summer, or in the fall perhaps?

Hi guys! I need new tires but I'm not sure where to go. Does anybody have any places to go or to avoid?

Thank you!

I have my great grandfather’s Waltham pocket watch from the late 1800s. Where can I get an honest appraisal?

Debating going to the game but what are some good places to watch in town?

History, exploration, survival, courtroom drama—The Wager by David Grann has a little of everything.

If you'd like to discuss it with other readers, join us for our monthly nonfiction book club.

📍 Bloc Cafe, 11 Bow St., Somerville
🗓 Saturday, August 22
🕙 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

Come for the conversation and coffee. New faces are always appreciated.

RSVP link is in the comments.

Hosted by our community book club, Bloc Cafe does not sponsor or endorse.

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for a veterinarian for my cat. She’s almost 5, healthy, and fully indoors, so I don’t need anything fancy. I’m looking for somewhere friendly with evening/ weekend hours (I work Monday through Friday until about 3:30pm locally) with decent parking. Parking seems like an issue with some places I’ve looked at, and I feel like that’s a little insane when you’re hauling an animal. Decent pricing is always a bonus, but I know veterinary care is always going to be a little pricy.

Please let me know your recs, and thank you in advance!

There’s a service cat that’s been roaming around Auburn st in Waltham (behind Walgreens) for some time now. Its collar says that it’s a service animal and looks like it has a tag but no name or phone number. Adding pictures in case someone recognizes her.

CALLING ALL BIG, BEAUTIFUL BODIES: join us for the fat positive pool party of the year! Saturday 25 July is for inclusive baddie bliss - complete with food trucks, ice cream, small biz shopping and a fashion show ✨

TICKETS

Bigger Bodies Boston is an all-volunteer community-building and social justice nonprofit dedicated to creating fat community, fighting anti-fat bias, and promoting fat liberation. 📍Massachusetts

As the title says I’m looking for a recommendation on a neurologist. I just moved up here a couple months ago and only have a couple more refills on my migraine meds. I setup an appointment for a PCP but that’s not until September so I can’t rely on a referral. From what I’m seeing on the Cigna app there’s a lot more neurologists accepting new patients so in theory it should be easier to get an appointment, the app just sucks for helping me find the right one.

Join us today for a Sunday Funday World Cup Watch Party at 3pm.

as reported in the Waltham Times:

On June 11 at 2:57 p.m., police responded to reports of a larceny on Main Street. Someone had taken a prescription medication bottle from a man’s bag while he was at work. There are currently no leads on suspects.

On June 12 at 8:28 a.m., police responded to reports of a dagger with blood on it at a location on Charles Street. Police investigated and found a rusty kitchen knife, which they discarded.

On June 12 at 7:34 p.m., police responded to Drake Playground. A caller reported seeing a bag with white powder. Upon investigation, police found a popped exercise ball.

On June 14 at 1:54 p.m., police responded to a residence on Hibiscus Avenue. The caller said that a patio set valued at $300 was missing. A neighbor came forward and said he’d taken the patio set because he believed it had been put out for trash.

What do you do when you receive an unexpected knock at the door?

Do you rush to say hello? Do you freeze and hide, waiting for your unwanted visitor to go away? Do you salivate in anticipation of the food that you ordered? Do you yell, curse, or grumble that you are on the no soliciting list?

As a candidate for public office (and as a volunteer for other candidates stretching back for over a decade), I have been knocking doors in Waltham neighborhoods for several years now. I have found that on a typical street (on a weekend or evening) roughly about 1 in 4 (or 5) houses I approach will answer the door. This includes about half of the houses where no one is home, which means in my experience approximately 1 in 2 (or 3) houses with someone home will answer the door.

In my experience, about half the people who answer the door (including those who have “no soliciting” signs posted) are cordial and/or excited to talk to about local politics with a neighbor — with the other half being some combination of politely disinterested and/or are busy with life (cooking, chasing after kids, or entertaining guests). However, there is a small minority (much less than 1 in 100) who react aggressively (sometimes very aggressively) complaining that they are on the no soliciting list (even if they don’t have any signage posted) before they even take the time to understand who you are and why you are there.

When I first started door knocking in Waltham, I politely ignored “no soliciting” signs as I was campaigning (which is how I learned that most people with “no soliciting” signs are actually happy to talk about local politics), because door-to-door solicitation laws only apply to vendors engaged in commercial enterprises, that is: selling a product or service. They very specifically do not apply to protected first amendment speech, including: political campaigning or activism, religious organizations, and charitable organizations.

If you didn’t know this, you are not alone. It is a common misconception that “no soliciting” means that is illegal for anyone to knock on your door. [I’ve also learned that in Waltham specifically (but no where else that I’ve lived before), there is another a surprisingly common (but still incorrect) assumption that living on a privately owned road means that someone is breaking the law by ringing your doorbell. In fact, for most scenarios there is a legal presumption on private roads (just like on a private driveway or walkway) that visitors are allowed to approach the front door unless or until someone asks you to leave the property.]

Therefore, in my first campaign for public office in 2024 I made a commitment to knock every door on the street, because I dislike the approach by most traditional partisan candidates to only engage with people who vote on a regular basis (generally ignoring people who only vote occasionally or not at all). My logic at the time was that I wanted to make sure that everyone of any party (or none at all) should have a chance to meet their candidates and elected officials.

This time around, as I make my 20 month “walk for office” ahead of the 2027 municipal elections, I recalibrated my approach. I recognized that while it is important for the public to have access to candidates, not everyone wants that “access” at their front door. Instead, I wanted to better respect people’s desire to “disconnect” while relaxing at home. As a result, I created campaign materials in the form of “do not disturb” door hangers similar to what you would find at a hotel, so that residents could declare their preferences (one side for welcoming political discussions and the other for avoiding politics at the front door). I even provided an offer on my website for Waltham residents to receive a permanent sticker if they have a strong preference to opt-out. In this campaign, I am still visiting every house I pass during my neighborhood walks, but for houses with a clearly posted “no soliciting” sign I simply leave the do not disturb hanger without ringing or knocking.

Even with all of this consideration for privacy at home, I have still encountered a couple of people that have been angered by a stranger approaching their home. I understand this frustration. Therefore, in the spirit of confirming that Waltham is a community that cares about both its neighbors wishes at home and in civic engagement, I would like to propose a solution to bridge the gap between the “no soliciting” (mis)perceptions that exist and our constitutionally protected first amendment rights.

I propose the creation of a Courtesy Do Not Disturb list for Waltham residents. This new list should be separate and distinct from the legally-binding No Soliciting list maintained by the police department and enforced against door-to-door commercial vendors. Instead, I would ask that the Courtesy Do Not Disturb list be maintained by the City Clerk’s office.

At a minimum, residents should be prompted in the annual city census to decide if they want to opt-in to the list (or to proactively renew their opt-in from the previous year that expires if not rejoined each year). Then, candidates (who already visit the City Clerk’s office for other reasons) and any other local charity and religious organizations who intend to knock on doors in Waltham should be able to request access to the list of addresses who have requested the courtesy of not being disturbed at home.

If the Waltham City Council is willing to authorize the appropriate funding, I would further recommend that the city establish a dedicated webpage with a more detailed “door knocking preferences form” that provides a single place for residents to be added to both the legally enforceable no solicitation list as well as indicate their preferences with regard to various types of political, religious, and charitable organizations. [For example, maybe someone does not want to be visited by salespeople, politicians, or religious organizations but is perfectly happy to have the Girl Scouts or the local little league booster club stop by.]

If done correctly and in a manner that preserves privacy rights, the courtesy list could go beyond simply avoiding contact altogether by allowing residents to provide instructions about where to leave materials, preferred visitation hours, and/or alternative contact options (such as emails or phone numbers) for organizations to reach out if they align with the resident’s preferences.

Ideally, the Courtesy Do Not Disturb list should be maintained in an always up-to-date database format, which can be readily accessed for free by local people and organizations that are verified as having a legitimate non-commercial reason for knocking on doors in Waltham but should not be openly posted online for data-scraping AI bots to collect or subjected unnecessarily to FOIA requests.

I would further encourage the City Council to require that the webpage hosting the form proactively inform residents about what each option actually means: What legal protections do they have on their property and under what circumstances? What are the differences between living on a public vs private road when it comes to visitors? What is just common courtesy that might not be observed by everyone? What actions should someone take if they notice “a suspicious person” knocking doors on their street (aside from just complaining about it on social media)?

I hope that introducing a Courtesy Do Not Disturb list will offer Waltham the best of both worlds: a civically engaged public and an opportunity for a bit of peace and quiet at home. In the meantime, for residents who specifically don’t want to see me at their door, I have created my own personal Do Not Disturb list on www.sean.diamonds, so that I can continue to exercise both courtesy and my own free speech rights to as I visit neighbors in Waltham.

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If you would like to meet me in person to find out more (or join me on a neighborhood walk), check out: https://www.walthamforward.com/walk

I'm looking to get some offseason ski shopping done but am not sure where to go. I'm looking for new skis and boots, but am not knowledgeable enough to buy blindly online.

Has anyone had luck with helpful stores in the greater area?

Thank you in advance!

I'm dumb and I posted the wrong link earlier.

Thank you Waltham , for all your support since 2007. Have a great weekend!

This is Linden Street between Main St and Beaver. The sidewalks have been blocked by double telephone poles for at least 15 years. Every few election cycles city counselors will say that they will work on making Waltham's sidewalks pedestrian and friendly. It never happens. They will tell you it is impossible to get the utility companies to fix this. However, go 1 mile over into Belmont and see how often you see this (you don't). I hate watching mothers with baby carriages, or kids walking to the bus stops, having to walk into the busy street to get around these. Someday we will have local politicians that have some pride in the city and are embarrassed by this.

Has anyone rented a pavilion at Prospect Hill. I noticed there are a few pavilion options, sunset, base, valley. Any insights on any of these? We want to be very close to the splash pad and playground for our guests!!