Around Town

City Receives MassDOT Grant to Expand Bluebikes in Watertown

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Great news – the City of Watertown has won a Shared Streets and Spaces Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) that will help pay for operations costs for Bluebikes! This grant will help Watertown fund our public bikeshare system (Bluebikes) to continue to be a resource for the region for years to come. The grant will compliment a system expansion that will serve more people and, in more areas not currently served by the existing system. It will boost our bikeshare system (Bluebikes) in providing more and better connections to the MBTA transit system, so Watertown’s residents & visitors can hop on & off a bike to get closer to their destination or home. Bluebikes is a bedrock of our environmentally-sustainable goals, and this grant will help make our investments in Bluebikes to be more financially sustainable, with a new avenue of funding unlocked.

Around Town

Watertown’s Revival Cafe Combines the Talents of Two Experienced Restauranteurs

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A sandwich served at Revival Cafe in East Watertown. (Courtesy of Revival Cafe)

One of Watertown’s newest cafes combines creative forces of two people with culinary pedigrees in the Boston area. The cafe, which is tucked in a corner of East Watertown, melds the vision and taste of the two owners. Nookie Postal and Liza Shirazi opened their newest location of Revival Cafe in January at 99 Coolidge Ave., in the back of a recently constructed life science building on the former site of the Mount Auburn Club. Postal owned Commonwealth in Kendall Square, which closed last year after 10 years.

Around Town

Non-Profits Can Tape PSA Commercials at Watertown Cable

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Cable:

Calling all Watertown nonprofits and organizations! We are excited to announce our Summer PSA Day on Tuesday, August 13th from 2-5 p.m.! Join us in our studio to film a one minute PSA that we will film and edit for you. They can be about your organization, upcoming initiatives, events, or anything you want to highlight! Each time slot is 30 minutes in length and we just ask that you provide a script before or by your time slot.

Around Town

Recent High School Grad’s Project Focuses on History of Watertown Immigrants

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Residents of an Irish boarding house in Watertown, 1880s. Courtesy of the Watertown Free Public Library and the Digital Commonwealth. Watertown’s Ciara Leonard recently had a project about the history of immigrants coming to Watertown published by Boston College’s Global Boston initiative. Leonard completed the project as part of her senior year at the Winsor School, from which she graduated this spring. In the fall, she is heading to Brown University.

Around Town

Celebrate National Farmers Market Week in Watertown

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The following announcement came from the Watertown Farmers Market:

This annual celebration highlights the vital role farmers markets play in the local food system as well as the value they bring to their communities. Stop by and show your support for our market community! Live music, activities, and more. Visit our event tent on the plaza to learn more about the market and participate in free activities for all ages, details below~

Enter our free raffle for a chance to win a $25 market gift certificate, all day

Participate in our scavenger hunt, free prizes, 3:00 – 5:30 pm

Decorate the sidewalks with chalk art (weather permitting)

Talk with our enthusiastic life size VEGETABLES roaming the market and share what you love & appreciate most about our market for our board

View our food mile map and learn about the market’s efforts to address food insecurity in the city ~ bring a non-perishable donation for the city pantry

Visit our special guest State Representative Steve Owens in the lower park and thank him for supporting our market and funding for food insecurity

Enjoy live music during the market from 3-5 pm (weather permitting)

HEAR what our vendors LOVE and APPRECIATE most about the Watertown Farmers’ Market ~ link to podcast HERE! *Podcast created by Matt Hanna, Watertown-focused musician and podcaster, www.matthmusic.com

Find out who will be at the Watertown Farmers Market this week by clicking here.

Around Town

Little Local Conversations Podcast Featuring Jan Taylor, Owner of Get Lively Fitness Studio

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Jan Taylor, owner of Get Lively Health & Fitness Studio

Watertown’s Matt Hanna has spent the last several months getting to know people living and working in Watertown, and has produced more than 20 episodes of Little Local Conversations. In the second episode of the podcast, he spoke with Jan Taylor, the owner of a local fitness and health studio. Hanna wrote:

“Meet Jan Taylor! She’s the owner of Get Lively Health and Fitness and she’s here to make people smile while they exercise. Listen to learn more about her business journey from basement to full blown fitness and lifestyle studio and more of her personal story.”

Around Town

Brigham House Hosting Senior Health Fair

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Brigham House in Watertown will host a Senior Health Fair on Aug. 22. Find out more in the announcement from Brigham House. WHAT: Senior Health Fair

WHEN: August 22, 2024, 2-4 p.m.

WHERE: 341 Mt. Auburn Street Watertown, MA 02472

EVENT FEATURES

Free Admission

Giveaways & Raffle Prizes

Blood Pressure Readings

Fall Prevention Tips

Vendor Information

For More Information: Maria Massano, Director of Community Relations 617-923-7779 | mmassano@hallkeen.com

www.BrighamHouseAL.com

Around Town

Watertown Awarded Grant for Community Greening Program & Vulnerability Preparedness

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced that the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) awarded a $976,270 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant to the City of Watertown for Phase 2 of the Equity-Based Community Greening Program, which seeks to address the outsize risks posed by climate change to vulnerable populations by targeting green infrastructure investments in Watertown’s most at-risk neighborhoods. The MVP Action Grant program offers financial resources to communities that are seeking to advance priority climate adaptation actions to address climate change impacts resulting from extreme weather, sea level rise, inland and coastal flooding, severe heat, and other climate impacts. This cycle EEA awarded a total of $52 million to awardees across the Commonwealth for 71 projects, including 62 for municipalities, seven for regional planning agencies, and two fortribes. Watertown’s awarded project is a continuation of Phase 1 of the Community Greening Program, which launched in 2021 thanks to a previous MVP Action Grant award. The Program’s goal is to use nature-based solutions to create climate resilient neighborhoods and actively engage residents in the process.