Around Town

Council President Calls for Recognition of Watertown’s Efforts to Create Housing

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City Council President Mark Sideris speaks at the 2024 Inauguration. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown City Council President Mark Sideris recently wrote a letter to the Boston Globe asking for recognition of the City’s effort to allow housing, going above and beyond the state’s requirements. The letter was published by the Globe on Dec. 14. He wrote it in response to an article the paper ran about how Lexington met the requirements of the MBTA Communities Law and has about 1,000 units in the pipeline to be constructed.

Police/Fire

Cambridge Man Arrested for Vandalizing Armenian Church; Watertown Police Log

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Watertown Police Chief Justin Hanrahan announced the arrest of a Cambridge man in relation to vandalism at one of Watertown’s Armenian churches in November. See the announcement, and this week’s Police Log, below. Chief Hanrahan is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of our investigation into the vandalism incident at St. Stephen’s Armenian Church on November 18, 2024. Thanks to the diligent efforts of our patrol and detective divisions, a Cambridge resident has been identified and will face criminal charges for their actions.

Police/Fire

FBI Arrests New York Man for Allegedly Selling Drugs in Watertown

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The FBI arrested a man who traveled to Watertown from New York to allegedly sell drugs on Friday. The Boston Globe reported that Cesar Nunez Lopez, of New York City, went to a parking lot in town to meet a person he believed to be a buyer, but was actually a federal informant. Nunez Lopez allegedly sold the man fentanyl on three different occasions, including at the Home Depot parking lot in Watertown. He was arrested on drug trafficking charges. See more details in the Boston Globe report by clicking here.

Government

2025 Watertown Property Taxes Rising, But Bills Still Lower Than 2022

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown’s City Hall. Property taxes will rise nearly 6 percent over last year, but will still be lower than they were in Fiscal Year 2022 (2021-22). On Tuesday, City Council approved a property tax rate with the maximum amount of the burden shifted from residential to commercial, industrial and personal properties, and the maximum residential exemption for owner-occupied homes. During the Property Tax Classification Hearing, the Council heard from people concerned about the rising taxes, as well as the recent five-year property revaluation process. Tax Bills

The Council got to choose the maximum exclusion for residential properties, either 33 percent (the same as last year), 34 percent, or 35 percent.

Around Town

Watertown’s Wada Hoppah Shuttle Wins Award for Electric Boat Design

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A drawing of the shuttle boat being designed for Wada Hoppah to take people from Watertown to Boston. (Courtesy of Wada Hoppah)

The boat being designed to be a shuttle from Watertown to Boston along the Charles River won an international award for electric boat design. The Wada Hoppah received the Gussie Award for Electric Commercial Passenger Vessels: In Development. Drew Rollert, the man behind the effort to create a water shuttle, proclaimed the honor on Tuesday. “I’m beyond proud to announce Wada Hoppah was informed today that it has WON the well recognized, international electric boat design award competition called ‘Gussie Awards,'” Rollert said.

Around Town

Take a Polar Plunge with the Watertown Police to Raise Money for Special Olympics

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Members of the Watertown Police Department will be taking a chilly dip in February and they invite others to join them to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics of Massachusetts. Watertown Police Officer Michael Scafidi will be organizing the Polar Plunge, which will take place at Arsenal Yards on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025 beginning at 11 a.m.

“There’s plunges going on all across the state and we decided to get onboard and do one here in Watertown. We are going to do it right in Bond Square in Arsenal Yards,” Scafidi said. Special Olympics will bring its mobile pool for the Polar Plunge, which is like a swimming pool on wheels.