Around Town

Marshall Home Fund Awards $76K for Watertown’s Older Adults, Has Awarded Over $1 Million Over 20 Years

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2025 Marshall Home Fund Grant recipients at the Grant Award Ceremony on May 15, 2025. (Photo from Marshall Home Fund)

The following announcement was provided by the Marshall Home Fund:

The Board of Directors of the Marshall Home Fund (MHF) is very pleased to announce the recipients of its latest round of program grant awards. This spring, the Board of Directors pledged $76,000 to local organizations for programs that will benefit residents of Watertown who are ages 55 and older. In awarding this latest round of grants, the MHF has surpassed a total of $1 million awarded over a 20-year period for the benefit of older adults in Watertown. The 2025 grant recipients include:

Carroll Center for the Blind: Individual Services for residents of Watertown 55+ years old living with vision loss or blindness.

Around Town

Trash Strike Continues, Sides Have Not Met This Week

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Overflowing trash and recycling bins on Main Street during the trash strike. (Photo by Dean Martino)

The two sides have not come to an agreement on the trash strike impacting Watertown and 11 other communities, and it appears they have not been at the negotiation table since last week. The City says replacement crews continue to pick up trash, and missed collections will be dealt with later in the day. On Wednesday, Teamsters Local 25 sent out a release saying that officials with Republic Services have not met with them. “Republic Services was told on Thursday, July 3, if they did not begin negotiations by Monday, July 7, we were prepared to extend picket lines across the country.

Obituaries

OBIT: Tom Lewis, 82, Architect Who Worked at Perkins & Harvard Medical School, Senior Center Volunteer

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Tom Henry Lewis, 82, of Watertown, Massachusetts, died peacefully from natural causes on July 3, 2025, at Neville Center at Fresh Pond, near his home in Watertown. Tom was born the son of Herman and Angeline (Smith) Lewis on May 10, 1943, on the family farm near Edgewood, Iowa. He was valedictorian of the class of 1961, the last class to graduate from Edgewood High School. The following year Edgewood and Colesburg united to become Ed-Co. Tom graduated from Cal Poly Tech in San Luis Obispo, CA in 1965 and began his career as a registered architect working for Leo Peiffer Assoc.

Around Town

City to Seek Compensation for Trash Service Impacted by Strike, Pickups Slower Than Normal

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Overflowing trash and recycling bins on Main Street during the trash strike. (Photo by Dean Martino)

The City of Watertown will be seeking compensation for the service interruption. While trash and recycling collection has restarted, City officials said that the backup crews are taking longer than normal, and recycling will not be prioritized while the company continues contract negotiations. Also, the Recycling Center will remain closed, causing the cancellation of a planned event. On July 1, members of Teamsters Local 25 went on strike demanding changes to the contract with Republic Services.

Around Town

City Hosting Extreme Weather Preparedness Workshop

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The City of Watertown will host a workshop on how to prepare for extreme weather on July 14. See details in the announcement below. Attend the Extreme Weather Workshop, Building Climate Resilience and Flooding Solutions in Watertown, on Monday, July 14, 2025, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the Senior Center, 31 Marshall Street. Join us to explore the effects of flooding in Watertown and learn how to prepare for extreme weather. Get tips on preparedness, share flood solutions with neighbors and communicate your priorities to city staff.

Around Town

Learn About Historic Events in Watertown in July 1776 at Historical Society’s Presentation

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Charlie BreitroseA colonial re-enactor listens to a reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Edmund Fowle House on Marshall Street during the Historical Society of Watertown’s celebration in 2015. This year’s event will be at the Watertown Senior Center. The Historical Society of Watertown will host “Historic Events in Watertown, July 1776” at the Watertown Senior Center, 31 Marshall St., on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, from 5-6:30 p.m. See details in the event announcement below. Please attend this special program presented by the Historical Society at the Watertown Senior Center, honoring two important events: the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Watertown. The Treaty of Watertown was the first international US treaty.

Around Town

Trash Collections Continue, Some Areas Still Awaiting Pickup

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Watertown DPWCurbside trash and recycling has restarted but some residents still await pickups. The City of Watertown provided the following update on trash collection, and announced that the emergency drop off location on at 148 Waltham St. will be open again on Wednesday, July 9 from 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. See the announcement below. Curbside pickup will continue tomorrow, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, with regularly scheduled Wednesday B week services in Watertown. Republic Services replacement crews were in Watertown collecting trash and recycling today, July 8, 2025, for those with Tuesday trash pickup, and B week recycling pickup.

Around Town

Live Well Watertown Hosting Walks in July

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The City of Watertown’s Live Well Watertown will host weekly walks on Thursdays. In July and August the walks begin at 10 a.m. See the schedule below. July Walk Schedule

July 10 ~ Wellness Walk

Meetup:  Saltonstall Park’s red brick plaza, next to City Hall, 149 Main StreetJoin Stephanie Venizelos, Community Wellness Manager, and Kristina Courage, Certified Fitness Trainer, for a mindful morning walk and series of balancing exercises. July 17 ~ Public Arts & Culture Walk / Project Save Photograph Archive -https://projectsave.org

Meetup:  Thomas J. Cannalonga Memorial Park, 480 Pleasant St.Join in a walk to visit Project Save Photograph Archive on Pleasant St. Executive Director Arto Vaun will show us the space and talk about the 50 years of the project and the stories of the 80,000 photographs archived there. 

July 24 ~ Walk N Talkin collaboration with Watertown Business Coalition (WBC), this event will spotlight businesses in Watertown Square.