Around Town

Traffic Advisory for Roads in and Around Watertown, Including North Beacon Street

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Road work on Department of Conservation and Recreation-owned roadways in and around Watertown will lead to lane closures over the coming weeks, beginning on Sunday, May 11. See more details in the announcements from the DCR, below. DCR Traffic Advisory: North Beacon Street in Watertown

WHAT: Beginning on Sunday, May 11, 2025, and continuing through Monday, June 2, 2025, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will close lanes along North Beacon Street from Greenough Boulevard to Charles River Road in the City of Watertown from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. to accommodate milling and paving work. Traffic patterns will be clearly marked, and a police detail will be on site.    

WHERE: North Beacon Street from Greenough Boulevard to Charles River Road in the City of Watertown 

WHEN: Sunday, May 11, 2025 – Monday, June 2, 2025, 7 p.m. – 5 a.m. 

DCR Traffic Advisory: Gerrys Landing Road in Cambridge

WHAT: Beginning on Monday, May 12, 2025, and continuing through Friday, June 13, 2025, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will close lanes along Gerrys Landing Road from Greenough Boulevard to Mt Auburn Street in the City of Cambridge from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. to accommodate milling and paving work. Traffic patterns will be clearly marked, and a police detail will be on site.

Around Town

LETTER: Thoughts on Watertown’s Housing Production Goals

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Dear Editor,

Wednesday evening, May 7th  the Eye on Watertown Podcast had the pleasure to have as our guests Josh Rosmarin and Jacky van Leeuwen, Members of the Steering Committee of Housing For All Watertown. 

Housing for All Watertown’s mission is to build a broad coalition of residents to advance local policies and projects in order to expand housing options. My understanding is their  focus is on finding solutions to current housing challenges for both current and future community members. Advance in the mission statement for Housing for All Watertown is used in the context of pushing forward policies and projects that expand housing options. The group has also been involved in efforts to combat ethnic – and income-based discrimination in Watertown’s housing market. We found that Expanding Affordable Housing has been in the forefront of their efforts and has pushed for more affordable housing units as part of the MBTA Communities Act Plan which aims to increase housing near transit hubs. The Housing for All Watertown’s group and its approach has been deemed by many as one of the most ambitious housing advocates in the state.

Entertainment

Global Cinema Festival of Boston Announces 2025 Selections

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The annual Global Cinema Festival will be held in West Newton this year. For many years, World in Watertown was a sponsor of the Global Cinema Festival. See details about the event provided by GCFF below. Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston (GCFF) Announces official selections for its10th Annual Event: Films That Make Us Care. Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston (GCFF) presented by Worldwide Cinema Frames Studios/Films LLC is delighted to announce the details of its 10th annual event, from May 16th to May 18th, 2025.

Entertainment

Glory Days for Small Saves in This Week’s Cartoon

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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal – then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Schools

Watertown High School Earns National Recognition for STEM Education

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The sign for the temporary Watertown High School at PFC Ricard Moxley Field. (Courtesy by City of Watertown)

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:

Watertown High School has been named a Distinguished School by Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a national nonprofit organization aimed at educating and preparing students for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics careers. The PLTW Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their STEM programs. To be eligible for the designation, WHS had to meet multiple criteria in the 2023-24 school year such as number of PLTW courses available to students, percent of students enrolled in PLTW, and percent of students taking more than one PLTW course. “We are thrilled to receive this recognition from PLTW,” said Laura Alderson, Career and Technical Education Coordinator for Watertown Public Schools. “WHS has been partnering with PLTW since 2015 for our Pre-Engineering program.

Business

Chamber’s Spring Business Breakfast to Focus on the Region’s Economy

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The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Regional Chamber:

The Charles River Regional Chamber’s May 14th annual Spring Business Breakfast, presented by Eastern Bank, will focus on the current challenges facing the region’s economy and what the Healey-Driscoll administration is doing to support economic growth. The program will feature comments from Ashley Stolba, interim Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development, making her first public comments to any chamber or business organization since Healey appointed her to the position in April. Also speaking will be the state’s former Secretary of Economic Development, Yvonne Hao, who will also be making her first public comments to a business group since she stepped down after two years in the role to focus on family issues. The May 14 program begins with a data-driven presentation by Dr. Mary Burke, a principal economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, offering critical insight into how employment growth in Massachusetts has stalled, the effects of uncertain federal policies, and several downside risks that could have an outsized impact on our state. The Charles River Regional Chamber’s “Spring Business Breakfast: 2025 Economic Outlook,” presented by Eastern Bank, is happening Wednesday, May 14, at the Needham Sheraton Hotel.

Obituaries

OBIT: Maria Ann Littleton, 100, Active in the Community, Loved to Travel

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Maria Ann Littleton

Maria Ann Littleton, 100 years old, of Belmont and Watertown, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love of her family. Born in Watertown to Italian Immigrants, Carmela and Pasquale DiGiacomo, she was the oldest of six children. 

Maria lived a full and vibrant life. She loved her active roles in the community with the Belmont Street Baptist Church, the League of Women Voters, the Belmont Women’s Club, the Belmont Library, and volunteer work at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Town Polls. Maria enjoyed attending cultural events and musical programs. She loved to travel, especially to Italy to visit family. Maria loved driving her Alfa Romeo back and forth to Key West and was a club member.

Letters

LETTER: Demolition Delay Ordinance Needs Revising

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Dear Editor,

I write to express my dismay at some of the testimony at last night’s Committee on Economic Development and Planning. Council President Sideris was correct to bring this to the committee.  This ordinance needs extensive re-writing to remove substantial subjectivity and clarify scope. 

Councilor Piccirilli and Councilor Feltner constantly referred to the fuzziness of the ordinance.  Councilor Piccirilli also pointed out that this board may not have appropriate authority to make such impositions. This observation plus everything from the definition of which type of delay to what is considered historically significant and worthy of preservation points to a poorly crafted ordinance. 

Matt Walter from the Historic Preservation Commission disclosed that there is disagreement within the commission regarding the 50 year look back. I live in a house that was finished in Summer 1977 and there is nothing worth preserving for posterity — erected during the Summer of Sam?? It is so subjective. A 100 years look back, beyond the average human lifespan, seems more reasonable. As the City Manager said, he is no fan of the model ordinance which recommends this 50 year look back. Per the model, a neighborhood of similarly designed/built houses is seen as characteristically unique.