Entertainment

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

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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!

Government

City Manager Clarifies Watertown’s Role in Immigration Enforcement

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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.

Around Town

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

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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.

Government

See Why the City Council Narrowly Rejected a Nuclear Disarmament Resolution

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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.