Watertown Remains a Bright Spot for Life Science, Chamber to Host Forum on the Industry

Life science clusters in Watertown in 2025. The image appears in Watertown Bio’s 2025 Life Science Industry Report. The biotech industry, while slowed, still has some life in Watertown, according to a recently published study. The City boasts the third most life science firms of any community in Massachusetts, the fourth most venture capital investment, and 20 new firms came to town in 2025. The 2025 Watertown Life Science Industry Report was released by Watertown Bio founder Sam Ghilardi, and looks at the economic impact of life science firms, the profile of firms in town, the drug development pipeline, and real estate/life science space in Watertown.

Hear from the Owner of a Local Coffee Company, Learn About Local Government & the Arts Community

The Little Local Conversation podcast gets in depth with a variety of people in Watertown, and recent episodes have focused on a woman who imports coffee from her home country, one of the people behind the City of Watertown’s 311 Service Center, and a founding member of a Watertown-based theatre company. Little Local Conversations is hosted by Matt Hanna. Along with his profiles, he also does periodic updates about Watertown’s local government and the arts scene. Hanna provided the following details about recent episodes. Benita Chelagat (Coffee Plus 254)

Meet Benita Chelagat!

City Manager Clarifies Watertown’s Role in Immigration Enforcement

Questions about immigration enforcement in Watertown are something that City Manager George Proakis has heard a lot recently, and he provided some information about the role of the Watertown Police and what they can and cannot do when federal agents are operating in town. Proakis went into detail about several topics related to federal immigration enforcement and how the local law enforcement can interact, or not, during the Feb. 10 City Council meeting. “I’ve received some questions recently about the relationship between local government and federal immigration enforcement. As we’ve seen federal officers more actively seeking and arresting people in the surges that they’ve done many communities, I’ve been asked what this means for Watertown,” Proakis said.

City Issued Parking Tickets & Shoveling Warnings After January Snowstorm; Winter Parking Ban May be Extended

Charlie BreitroseA truck plows a Watertown street. Dozens of Watertown Department of Public Works crews and contractors plowed 20 inches of snow off Watertown’s 72 miles of roadway, after the snowstorm that hit the City on Jan. 25 and 26, City Manager George Proakis said. The City also issued 69 parking tickets and 50 warnings and fines for failing to shovel sidewalks. Proakis provided the City Council with a report of the response to the biggest snowstorm to hit Watertown in several years.