Around Town

Police Chief Makes Statement on Immigration Policy, Housing Group Honored at 25th Annual Watertown Unity Breakfast

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The Watertown Unity Breakfast celebrated 25 years in 2025. The wood disc was used during the table discussions about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Principles of Nonviolence. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Nearly 500 people packed the Hellenic Center for the 25th annual Watertown Unity Breakfast, a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. During the event, a group that advocates for affordable housing was honored, and Watertown’s Police Chief made a statement about the WPD’s stance on enforcing federal immigration policy. Monday’s Unity Breakfast, organized by World in Watertown, was the first one held in person since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Entertainment

Watertown Musician to be Featured on Watertown Cable Show “Drawing With Fred”

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Matt Hanna

Fred Grandinetti has been hosting his cable show “Drawing with Fred” for more than three decades, and he will kick off his latest season with a special musical guest who hails from Watertown. See more information in the announcement provided by Grandinetti:

To help launch the 33rd year of Drawing With Fred, on The Watertown Cable Access Channel, local musician, Matt Hannah, will appear. He will be included in an episode which will begin airing on January 20th and run until February 3rd. Mr. Hannah will play on his guitar Popeye the Sailor’s theme song. There also will be music themed animated cartoons

Matt Hanna is a podcaster, musician, and arts organizer in Watertown.

Around Town

City to Install Electric Vehicle Chargers in Four Lots, Will Eventually Charge for Power

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Watertown residents will have more places to charge electric vehicles (EVs) in public parking lots. For now, the charging will be available for free, but in the next several months the City will begin charging for the electricity. A loan order approved by the City Council on Tuesday will allow the City to purchase eight charging stations to go in four locations: Nichols Avenue Lot, the Phillips Building (the lot for the School Administration’s office and the Senior Center behind 30 Common St.), at the John A. Ryan Skating Rink (1 Paramount Place), and at the Police Station (552 Main St.). The two chargers at the skating rink will be fast chargers, and the other locations will get two dual-port charging stations, said City Manager George Proakis. He added that the loan is for $180,000 and the projected cost of the eight stations is about $136,000, so the City will look at a couple other locations to install EV chargers.

Government

Council to Consider Ordinance Proposed to Make Large Buildings be Net Zero by 2050

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Photo by Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

Watertown will explore creating an ordinance requiring buildings to reduce their carbon emissions and will base it on similar ordinances adopted by other communities in Massachusetts. Work has already begun on drafting a Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, or BERDO, with a proposed ordinance having been submitted by the Watertown Environment and Energy Efficiency Committee (WE3C). City Manager George Proakis told the City Council on Tuesday that creating a BERDO would “implement a key part of the City’s Climate Plan.” The Resilient Watertown Climate & Energy Plan was passed in 2022. “I have often said (the plan) has many ambitious but achievable goals to address our climate crisis and establish a process in our climate resiliency and climate adaptation, and we’ve worked very hard to do that in a number of different ways,” Proakis said. “What that plan did is also provide strategies to reduce carbon emissions for buildings and called out the necessity for building performance standard ordinance.”

Around Town

Little Local Conversations Speaks With Life Science Worker & Semi-Pro Hockey Player

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Watertown podcaster Matt Hanna has been busy recently. His recent guests include an employee of a non-profit life science firm in town, and a member of Watertown’s own semi-pro hockey team, the Gold Kings. Plus, he started Little Local Weekly, where guests on the podcast can provide updates. Alyssa Cecchitelli, Addgene

Meet Alyssa Cecchetelli! She’s the Associate Director of Plasmid Services at Addgene, a nonprofit life science organization here in Watertown.

Around Town

Podcast Interviewing City Manager, Director of Community Development & Planning, Submit Your Questions

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Former Town Council President Clyde Younger is the co-host of a podcast called “Eye On Watertown,” which is available on the Watertown Cable website. Upcoming guests for Eye on Watertown include City Manger George Proakis and Assistant City Manager for Community Development and Planning Steve Magoon. Younger’s co-hosts change. Watertown News Editor Charlie Breitrose will sit in on the conversation with Proakis. Viewers and listeners can send in questions and/or suggest guests to by sending a message to EyeonWatertown@Gmail.Com

New Podcast, “Eye on Watertown,” Seeks to Create a Place for Informal Public Engagement