Five Things You Need to Know This Week: March 4-10

1. Board of Aldermen meeting

The Newton Board of Aldermen will meet Monday, March 4 at 7:45 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber at City Hall. The board is scheduled to vote on piggybacking the Ward 1 alderman-at-large special election with the special Senate election on June 25. For the meeting's full reports docket, check out the .pdf section to the right.

2. Riverside station project discussion

The Land Use Committee will hold a working session tonight on the traffic and parking at the proposed Riverside Station mixed-use development off Grove Street. Back in December, the committee closed the public hearings on the special permits for the project. The working session will be held in room 222 at City Hall and starts at 7 p.m. The meeting agenda is included in the .pdf section to the right. 

3. Playoffs continue

After a number of victories this weekend, several Newton sports teams are moving on in the MIAA tournament this week:

• The No. 2 Newton North boys' basketball team defeated No. 7 Taunton 69-57 in a quarterfinal game on Saturday. The Tigers will now face North Quincy in a semifinal match on Tuesday, March 5 at UMass Boston at 5 p.m. 
• The No. 13 Newton North girls' ice hockey team ended their season on Saturday with a 5-1 loss to No. 4 St. Mary's (Lynn). The team finished with a 11-6-1 regular season record and a 1-1 post-season record.
• After stunning No. 1 Newton North earlier in the week, the No. 17 Newton South girls defeated No. 8 Durfee (Fall River) 54-42 in a quarterfinal match on Friday. The Lions will now move on to face No. 4 Franklin in the South Div. 1 semifinals on Tuesday, March 5 at Massasoit-Brockton at 6 p.m.

4. Chinese Cultural Festival

Continuing the recently-launched Newton Heritage Festival program, Newton Community Pride and the Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs will host a Chinese Cultural Festival this Saturday, March 9 from 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Newton Cultural Center. The event will include Chinese music, dance, martial arts and costumes. 

5. Just over a week until the override vote

If you want to join the conversation, you can check our Newton override page that includes stories, blog posts and letters to the editor.

• If you want to contribute your own blog post, apply here. 
• Letters to the editor can be emailed to Melanie.Graham@patch.com.

Meanwhile, the conversation will continue at several meetings this week:

• Tuesday, March 5, 11 a.m. - Mayor Setti Warren will host a town hall-style meeting at Lasell Village (120 Seminary Ave.) to discuss the override.
• Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m. - Moving Newton Forward hosts "Opposing Newton's Overrides" at the American Legion Post 440.
• Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m. - Mayor Setti Warren and other city officials host a town hall-style meeting to discuss the override. The meeting will be held at Mason-Rice Elementary School.
• Sunday, March 10, 1 p.m. - Mayor Setti Warren hosts another town hall-style meeting at Oak Hill Middle School.