Elections

LETTER: Watertown Republicans Announce Endorsement for Congressional Race

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The Watertown Republican Town Committee is thrilled to announce that it has unanimously endorsed Republican John Hugo of Woburn to be the Republican Nominee for United States’ Congress in the 5th Congressional District.We believe that Hugo’s strong embrace of the Republican platform, makes him the best choice for voters in the Sept. 4 Primary. Further his energy and commitment make him the best candidate to take the fight the Katherine Clark, whom Hugo describes as “out of touch with needs of the district” adding: “She missing in action and I doubt if she’s ever read the Constitution … if she has, she’s developed a habit of ignoring it!”

“In world full of scripted career politicians like Katherine Clark, John Hugo is a breath of fresh air. He’s a regular working class person that happens to be civic minded and a true patriot” said John DiMascio, the Watertown Republican Committee Chair. “It’s an honor for us to endorse him and a bigger privilege to call him a friend.”

John Hugo has sacrificed much and worked tirelessly to get himself on the ballot.

Development

LETTER: Planning Board, Town Council Should Reject Amendment to Allow Taller Buildings

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Editor:
I can understand that a Planning Board or Town Council member might be tempted to say, there’s no harm in approving Boylston Properties’ (BP) proposed zoning amendment which would allow BP and other developers to ask for one or more 197-foot buildings. The officials might say, approving the height amendment doesn’t approve any specific building, we can decide about a specific building at a later time, when we see plans, etc. I disagree there is no good reason to amend the zoning, on the contrary there are good reasons to reject their proposal, and there is harm in changing the ordinance. At BP’s request, the Town changed its zoning two years ago to meet almost all of BP’s needs at Arsenal Yards except BP’s proposal that there be no limit how tall a building the Planning Board could approve. After lengthy and at times heated debate a compromise was reached to allow 130 feet, taller than is allowed in any other part of town.

Government

OP-ED: End of Session Crunch in the State Legislature

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger (D – Belmont) who also represents Watertown and parts of Boston, provided the following piece:

It has already been a productive legislative session, but negotiations underway have the potential to make it especially significant. In April, we enacted  a transformational set of criminal justice reforms. Last month, we settled a major package to reduce economic inequality — raising the minimum wage, providing paid family and medical leave and also resolving a dispute over the sales tax. Several measures that have significant resonance in the current national political climate have crossed or should shortly hit the Governor’s desk: Extreme risk protective orders to reduce the risk of gun suicides, automatic voter registration and the repeal of archaic anti-abortion laws. Another measure that resonates nationally is still up in the air — “safe communities” legislation that would assure that local police focus on maintaining order and protecting residents rather than doing the immigration enforcement work of ICE. The safe communities measure is pending as part of the state’s budget for fiscal 2019which is now a couple of weeks late.

Letters

LETTER: Proposed Road Projects Will Hurt Neighborhoods, Small Businesses

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The DPW and Planning Department have been working on improving the traffic flow through Watertown Square, as well as making it and Mt. Auburn Street friendlier to bicyclists and pedestrians. However, as usual, they are not considering neighborhood integrity, nor the needs of small businesses. It is funny to me that they are touting “complete streets,” which simply means designing for more modes of transportation than cars. Cities in Europe have been doing this type of design for over 60 years, but we have just “discovered” it here in the U.S., and we don’t do it well yet.

Bicycling

OP-ED: State Sen. Brownsberger Pushing to Make Roads Safer for Bicyclists

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(The following piece was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger (D – Belmont) who also represents Watertown and parts of Boston)
When I cycled across the country in 2011, I saw a lot of roadkill. I was constantly aware that all it would take was one mistake by me or by one of those caffeinated guys in big rigs and I’d look about the same. On the open road, I developed a profound gratitude towards the tens of thousands of drivers who did not hit me. The Senate just approved a safety package that would require a clearance of at least three feet for vehicles passing vulnerable road users like highway workers, cyclists and pedestrians.  It would add an additional foot of required clearance for each ten miles per hour of speed.

Government

OP-ED: Mass. Senate Passes Act to Reduce Pedestrian/Bicycle Fatalities

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger released the following piece on legislation, of which he was the lead sponsor, to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety:

The Massachusetts State Senate voted Thursday, July 28, 2018 to pass legislation that aims to create safer streets for all road users. Developed in collaboration with a coalition of bicycle, pedestrian and transportation advocates, S.2570, An Act to reduce traffic fatalities, includes several measures to improve road safety, lessen the severity of crashes, and standardize the collection and analysis of crash data. The bill classifies several groups, including pedestrians, utility workers, first responders and cyclists, as “vulnerable road users,” and requires motor vehicles to apply a “safe passing distance” of at least three feet when traveling 30 miles per hour or less with an additional foot of clearance required for every 10 miles per hour over 30 miles per hour. Current law only requires motor vehicle operators to pass at “a safe distance and at a reasonable and proper speed.” The bill would further require a vehicle that is overtaking a vulnerable road user to use all or part of the adjacent lane, crossing the center line if necessary, when it cannot pass at a safe distance in the same lane and only when it is safe to do so. “We need to keep working year after year to achieve a future in which traffic fatalities get as close as possible to zero,” said Senator William N. Brownsberger (D-Belmont), lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate.

Elections

LETTER: Watertown Republicans Endorse Jay McMahon for Attorney General

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The Watertown Republican Town Committee has proudly and unanimously voted to endorse Attorney James “Jay” McMahon III who running in the Republican Primary to be the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.McMahon, a Buzzards Bay resident, has practiced law in the Massachusetts for 30 years. During this period he has litigated cases in every court in the Commonwealth, in Federal Courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. His experience includes Civil, Criminal, Domestic, and Bankruptcy. McMahon
further has an extensive background in business management and law enforcement. In addition he served in the Massachusetts Army National Guard as a 2nd Lieutenant (Military Police).