Hey everyone! We started a new weekly podcast that dropped this week on all things New England strange called Weirder After Dark! We are three cousins, born and raised in the North East, who mix humor with facts to take you on a journey into all things New England weird—our next episode, which drops tomorrow (12/3) is on The Berkshire Abductions! An incident where 200+ people claim to have seen a UFO and 4 people claim to be abducted on the same night!

To give you a taste of what else we offer, we have future episodes on the Jane Toppan (Serial Killer from MA), The Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone, Bridgewater Triangle, Smuttynose murders, Coos County Wood Devils, The Kennedys etc! We also already dropped an episode on the Haunted S.K. Peirce Mansion from Gardner, Ma!

We'd love to hear ideas on other local New England mysteries for us to go after! If you know/have anything spooky, share it here! Feel free to reach out if you've had any strange experiences with the paranormal, aliens, weird events, unknown artifacts, cryptids, or urban legends!

Also, if this sounds like your vibe, feel free to follow/subscribe/listen on the following platforms:

Instagram - Weirder After Dark

Spotify - Weirder After Dark

Apple Podcasts - Weirder After Dark

Amazon Podcasts

Or anywhere you get your Podcasts!

Now that the weather has finally gotten too cold to sit outside, I'm on the hunt for somewhere to go with my giant 185 lb dog that won't leave me frozen. Are there any spots that fit the bill in Waltham or the surrounding areas?

Dog-friendly is necessary since a lot of my friends are more interested in hanging out with the dog. I'm just a happy bonus. My apartment is a no-go since a lot of my closest friends are allergic to cats.

Hello, I'm considering moving to Waltham because I'd like to network with other techies in their 30s. I'm wondering if it's a decent place for local networking. My alternatives are Framingham and Lowell. I don't mind the 1 hour T ride from either of them (vs. the 25 min ride from Waltham) so the only motivating factor in paying more for rent would be a difference in the local scene. Thanks!

I love the wide variety and low prices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GaOKwotO4E

Hi all, just wanted to see what families without extended family around were doing for Thanksgiving? I’m not from the US so wanted to see if there was some sort of family event going on around here for Thanksgiving?

Hey everyone,

We’re going to get a sighthound—unsure exactly which breed yet—but want to figure out where we can bring it to run safely a few times a week. Open to any suggestions.

Ideally looking for non traditional dog parks to start.

An Angel Tree is something that the Salvation Army runs where children list what they want for Christmas and people buy them the present.

I friggin love Christmas shopping. What I'm looking for doesn't need to be Salvation Army, but I am hoping for an organization that runs something like that, preferably locally.

Colin from the Embassy Theater here!

We have the rest of this year mostly locked up, and we're looking into films for next year. I would love to hear what the community is excited for or are interested in seeing on the big screen. I want to make sure I don't book a film that no one wants to see.

Leave a comment with a film coming out in 2025, top comments will be considered for booking!

Reminder that we only have space for 2 films most of the time, so if a period of time has a lot of contention for 2 favorite films I'll make a poll here and on facebook to help decide.

Generally I assume it is Best Buy, home depot, costco or a local store like Warrendale
Am I missing anything
I am pretty specific in what I need to buy which is a Bosch100 series ss dishwasher. I would want it delivered, installed and haulway of my old unit.
Seems that the manufacturer has a 1 year warranty so an additional warranty would also be a big plus.
After looking online and then calling home depot Best Buy and Costco... Costco was the hands down winnerwith a 300 series unit. The the rap I spoke to on the phone was not very knowledgeable and seem to make a lot of assumptions that everything would be included.

The Home Depot representative mentioned that masters of law requires any dishwasher installation to be done by a license plumber. Not sure how Costco plans to get around this or how Best Buy put this into their pricing equation...
Does anyone have any advice

Hi! I'm a 24 (F) and recently got a job offer with a company based in Waltham. I'd love some help with deciding where to live! I’ve never been to MA, so don't really know what to expect.

I'm pretty outgoing, and I like having lots of new stuff to try/experience. I'm a big foodie and like going to bars/clubs of that sort.

First thing I don't have a car, so a major concern for me would be public transit. Is it good for getting around? Or is Waltham walkable? I’m a big walker/hiker so a walkable city is a major plus for me.

I’m obviously wanting to start looking for places to live. I think I would like Boston but is the commute worth it or should I find a place in Waltham? I know from Boston I would have to be taking the Fitchburg Line in Waltham. My work is hybrid so it would be minimum 2 days in the office a week.

Also as a woman what areas should I stay away from, and what areas are safer to live in? I’ve lived in major cities like Chicago and London, so can definitely handle myself in a scary situation but like to stay away from them as much as possible haha.

Any help/advice would be appreciated!! Thank you!

Where can I find this?? I’ve been trying to search online but can’t find a good map or info about where it is! From press release on 11/12:

“…(DCR) Commissioner Brian Arrigo and Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy formally opened a nearly three-mile segment of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) that was built by the City of Waltham and will be managed by DCR.”

Appreciate any help. Would love to check it out!

https://preview.redd.it/zz7yazrovu2e1.jpg?width=3073&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45d6032fef563c887f69a5cde1f60288bf2f11af

Market basket is a madhouse, love the place but holy shit it's like sardines in a can, local Laundromats are packed, everywhere is packed both people and available parking it's nuts.

No one's fault on an individual level but has the city considered getting a second shopping plaza or something instead of the monorail park or whatever? I'd ideally rather have a park for sure but holy crap the people density does not seem to match available services.

I even forgot we have a Costco and that's packed too how are there so many people here?

Which store offers cheapest groceries for Thanksgiving dinner?

WALTHAM, Mass. — With food prices high and Thanksgiving — one of the biggest meals of the year — just around the corner, a lot of people are looking for ways to save money. So NewsCenter 5 comparison-shopped the Boston area's grocery chains to find the cheapest options.

There was a clear winner.

From the big bird to butter, dinner rolls to dessert, NewsCenter 5 shoppers went store-to-store across Massachusetts shopping for ten Thanksgiving staples at nine Boston-area grocery chains. We visited each store twice between Nov. 13 and 20, shopping for the following items:

12-pound frozen turkey 5-pound bag of gold potatoes 1 package of Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix 12-pack of dinner rolls 1-pound package of Land O'Lakes salted butte 24 ounces (at least) of washed and trimmed green beans 14-ounce can of Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce 12-ounce jar of Heinz Homestyle turkey gravy 1 large, or 2 small, boxed pies if large wasn’t available 1 container of Breyer's vanilla ice cream Whole Foods doesn't carry several of those name brands, so shoppers looked for the closest match.

The shoppers found a $25 price swing from the least to the most expensive chains and took the findings to Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Consumers' Checkbook, a nonprofit consumer research organization that has studied and rated grocery stores in Boston for 20 years.

"It's always a little surprising to me that these big price differences exist among grocery chains just because they exist on such small profit margins," Brasler said.

Overall, the price leader was Market Basket. Totaling just $45.50 for the list of ten items, Market Basket won by more than $5 from the next lowest-priced store.

"For decades now, we've seen that Market Basket consistently has low prices," Brasler said. "It's a price leader, and the nice thing about it is you don't have to give up quality to shop there."

Coming in around $50, there was practically a three-way tie for second. Included were two of the nation's largest discount chains — Walmart ($50.51 for the ten items) and Target ($50.97) — along with Wegmans ($50.60). Wegmans was the clear leader on the price of frozen turkey, selling it for just $0.49 per pound without any other requirements. That beat the closest competitor, Market Basket, by 10 cents.

"At Wegmans, its customers really love it," Brasler said. "It's always the top-scoring chain in all our surveys in terms of quality. And often it has competitive prices."

At $55.40, Big Y came in in the middle of the pack followed by Roche Bros at $60.09.

At $63.97 for the ten items, Stop and Shop was toward the higher end of the spectrum, with Whole Foods about a dollar behind at $64.92. NewsCenter 5 had difficulty shopping some products at Stop and Shop because of inventory problems caused by a cyberattack.

When NewsCenter 5 initially shopped at Shaw's, the store rang in at $70.58 for the ten items. But it has since started running a turkey special promising to match any competitors' price, as long as the customer supplies the ad, which will drop their total. The store is also offering frozen turkey for as low as $0.47 per pound with an "additional qualifying purchase of $25 or more," making it unique in tying turkey prices to other requirements.

Many of the other items on the list were still expensive at Shaw's when NewsCenter 5 shopped the store. Land O'Lakes butter was $7.49, compared to just $3.99 at Market Basket. Heinz gravy was $2.99 at Shaw's but a dollar less at Target.

In a statement, a Shaw's spokesperson noted that their special Thanksgiving pricing begins on Friday, Nov. 22, which came after NewsCenter 5's survey period.

The statement said, "We take great pride in offering our customers a vast assortment of quality products at a great price. Our Thanksgiving circular, which starts on Nov. 22, features value-packed Thanksgiving and holiday product selections."

Brasler, however, said Shaw's and Star Market's parent company, Albertson's, has a track record of performing poorly in Consumers' Checkbook's ratings.

"This isn't surprising," he said. "Albertsons, which also owns Safeway, in our surveys in seven major metro areas tends to have the highest prices of all the conventional supermarkets. And those high prices are matched with dreadful ratings."

I'm in Waltham Sunday evening into Monday on business. I'd like to get something relatively inexpensive for the kids while I'm up. Are there any good shops to check out in a limited time?

Hi, my name is Colin, I run the Embassy Theater here in Waltham.

I know the information about the theater hasn't been consistent, especially with the firestorm that happened at the end of the summer.

WE ARE OPEN, we are a first run theater, showing new movies on 2 screens. We show movies Thursday-Sunday, with the occasional exception for special events or the premiere of a film. The theater is also a community center and venue for events. This building and the name carry so much history that we want to live up to it.

I wanted to say that this community is very important to me, and we want to make sure we're able to provide entertainment and a break from everything crazy going on around us.

If you're in the Moody St area, it would mean the world if you'd come in to say hi and take a look at what we've done with the place.

Our new website is embassywaltham.com and I'm working on giving it and the building a little bit of extra love.

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are looking to sell our house off of Moody St and would love recommendations for a seller agent.

Our house is a bit old and outdated compared to the newer homes, so we would need an experienced seller to help us make the most prudent changes to optimize the sale.

Does anyone have recommendations? Thank you in advance!

It is not just inconsiderate, but outright dangerous, especially when they are oncoming and blind you. Is there rule or law against that? If there is one, how can we ask the police to start an enforcement campaign?

At the risk of sounding like an elderly neighborhood crank, I've gotta ask: is there anything we can do?? New neighbors have been using two traffic cones every day to block of what they have deemed "their" parking spot on the street, making parking even more sparse than it usually is. They often do this for hours. Keep it mind, it is a non-permit required fully free to use public street and we are in a dense neighborhood. Besides just moving the cones every single time someone needs to park there, is there a business unit in Waltham that deals with absurdities like this or?

Wondering if Hannaford or market basket has buffet style hot bars with different entrees (Mac n cheese etc) akin to Whole Foods - or if any other grocery stores around have that type of thing? Trying to avoid Whole Foods cuz of price - though maybe price difference isn’t that substantial?

Hello all,

I'm a reporter with the Waltham Times, we are doing a story involving the state of traffic on Warren St. We're looking for input from people living on Warren St, and/or those who consistently drive on it. Anyone interested in providing a quote for this story can private message me. We would just need to verify your connection to Waltham off of reddit.

Are there any playgrounds in Waltham that are lighted after dark? These early sunsets and warmer evenings are making me wish there was a place to bring my kid to play at 5 or 6.

I've been dying the past day over the Facebook reactions to WHS changing the name of their Student Santa Program to Hawks for the Holidays. 3 posts and >400 comments later this is apparently a big deal to a lot of people in the city. I never thought I'd witness "The War on Christmas" sentiment so close to home. Just thought I'd share the drama here in case anyone missed it...

https://www.facebook.com/share/1GPo4jSscE/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Gcjco4upM/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15H7NLdfzk/

I need some recommendations on where to get some prescription eyeglasses. I tried Paris Eyecare on Moody Street. The person who gave the exam was nice, but the front office staff wasn't great.

I also tried VisionWorks in Burlington, and while their staff was nice, I felt that their mens eyeglass selection was lacking.

My insurance doesn't cover me for BJ's Optical, and the online reviews of Costco Optical are atrocious.

Does anyone know of a good place with friendly staff and a large selection of mens frames?