Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/cbreitro/page/3/)
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Feb. 1: An officer on Main Street spotted a vehicle running a red light at the intersection of Main and Pleasant streets. Officer Andrew DiDuca pulled the driver over and discovered she had a suspended license. She also did not have her license on her.
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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.
Tuesday night, a citizens group presented the City Council with a petition to support a resolution encouraging the federal government to seek nuclear disarmament in the United States and the other eight nations that have nuclear weapons. The proposal split the Council, which rejected it down by one vote. The resolution was signed by 500 residents, of whom about a dozen spoke in support for a variety of reasons, while a few residents spoke against mostly saying they did not think the issue was something that a local government could impact. The debate amongst the Councilors did not revolve around the content of the resolution, but rather about whether it was appropriate for the City Council to be taking up on their agenda. Originally, the resolution was proposed by a City Councilor, but City Council President Mark Sideris said he did not think it was appropriate discussion because it was not specifically City related, and the Council has many other issues to deal with.
Increasing costs of special education tuition has contributed to the sharp increase in the school budget over the past few years, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee on Monday night, and for budget for the 2026-27 school year the district will have to find ways to close a multi-million dollar deficit. During the Preliminary Budget overview for the Fiscal Year 2027 School Budget Galdston said the shortfall facing the Watertown Public Schools is $2.5 million, which is based on what she called a level-services budget. The total budget would be $67 million, while the current revenues — including a 4 percent increase in funding from the City — is $64.5 million. School administrators and the School Committee will be working on the budget for the next several weeks, and the School Committee will hold a public hearing on March 23 and take a final vote on the recommended budget on March 26, Galdston said. “So what we need to do is think about our level-services budget, think about what we can do to bridge that deficit so that we are able to balance a budget moving forward,” Galdston said.
Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo watches his team practice in preparation for the Div. 3 State Meet in 2025. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown High School’s wrestling team wraps up a challenging 2025-26 regular season this week as the team prepares for the MIAA state competitions. Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo added some stiff competition for the Raiders this season. “This year we really beefed up our schedule.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll takes a look around the Watertown Public Schools’ Freight Farm. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
The white box container sitting in the parking lot of the Watertown Public Schools’ administration building has smooth metal walls on the outside, but inside the walls have a lush floor-to-ceiling covering of green plants. The freight container is not just a teaching tool but also provides fresh produce for students around the district. Known as a Freight Farm, the container is filled with walls outfitted with equipment to water and nourish hundreds of plants, and lights to help them grow. When up to full production it will produce all the greens used in salads and other dishes served in Watertown’s five public schools.
Orna Therapeutics Logo
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will be acquiring a company in the East End of Watertown Arsenal, the two companies announced on Feb. 9. Orna Therapeutics is based at 500 Forge, a building near Home Depot that used to house Miller’s Ale House and offices into lab space. The following announcement was released Monday:
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Orna Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to engineering immune cells in vivo, today announced entry into a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Orna. Orna is advancing a new class of therapeutics utilizing engineered circular RNA paired with novel lipid nanoparticles to allow the patient’s own body to generate cell therapies that can treat underlying disease.