Around Town

Watertown Veterans Day Breakfast & Closings for the Holiday

By |

Watertown will hold a Veterans Day celebration on Monday, and Municipal departments will be closed in observance of the holiday. Veterans Day Breakfast

Watertown’s Veterans Services Office will host the 2024 Veterans Day Breakfast at the Marine Corps League Shutt Detachment, 215 Mt Auburn St., at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11. There will be a small ceremony starting around 11 and breakfast will be served immediately afterwards. Closings

Watertown City Hall, Parker Annex, Department of Public Works Offices, Senior Center, and the Watertown Free Public Library, will be closed on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in observance of Veterans Day.

Around Town

Plans for Victory Field Track Renovation Presented, Some Call for Artificial Turf Field

By |

The Victory Field Phase II project includes renovation of the track, courts, and the driveway in the complex. Six years after a committee issued recommendations for the renovation of the track and courts at Victory Field, the project will be moving forward. However, some at the meeting on Wednesday where the plans were presented called for making the field inside the oval artificial turf to allow for more use by high school and youth sports teams.

Another area of concern raised at the meeting held at Lowell Elementary School, was that the project does not solve the lack of a changing area for female athletes at Victory Field. The 75 Percent plans for Victory Field Phase II are based on the recommendations of the Victory Field Ad Hoc Committee, which issued a report in June 2018. In 2019, designers from CDM Smith presented the 25 percent plan, and underground testing was conducted.

Around Town

Food Assistance Benefits Will be Cut in December, Groups Calling for State to Restore Funds

By |

Recipients of food assistance in Massachusetts will see their benefits that can be used to buy fresh produce cut beginning in December, but there are efforts to ask the Governor and Legislature to restore the funding the in the State Budget. Stephanie Venizelos, the City of Watertown’s Community Wellness Program Manager, said that the Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) will be reduced to $20 per household. The program is available to recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). “Recently, DTA and MDAR announced the following changes to the HIP program beginning on December 1, 2024, due to insufficient funding in the MA state budget. The HIP benefit structure will be reduced to $20 each month, and the maximum HIP benefits a household can earn will be $20 a month for all households, regardless of size.

Business

Charles River Chamber Hosting Event in Watertown, Welcomed 450 at Fall Business Breakfast

By |

The Charles River Regional Chamber hosted a big crowd at the annual Fall Business Breakfast last week, and will be in Watertown next week for a morning of coffee and networking at a local fitness studio. On Friday, Nov. 15, the Chamber will be at Fly Together Fitness from 8:30-9:30 a.m. The fitness studio is located at 100 Parker St. The event is free and open to members and future members. The Chamber provided the following details:

Enjoy morning conversations over coffee while networking with local professionals at the brand-new Fly Together Fitness studio in the heart of Watertown.

Government

See How Watertown Voted for President, Senate & on Ballot Questions in 2024

By |

Charlie Breitrose

Watertown voters came out to vote in large numbers, both on election day and during the early voting and mail-in period. Two-thirds of Watertown’s 26,418 voters cast their ballots in the 2024 State Election, according to the unofficial Watertown Election results sent out by the Watertown City Clerk’s Office. Nearly 60 percent of the 17,542 votes in the election were cast during the early voting period or sent in mail-in ballots, said City Clerk Noelle Gilligan. About 200 to 300 people voted each of the day during the 14 day early voting period. A total of 3,250 residents came to City Hall to vote during the early voting period, Gilligan said, while 7,203 mail-in ballots were sent in.