Around Town

Options for Watertown Square Redesign Refined and Presented to the Public

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Residents gave input about the ideas for redesigning Watertown Square during a meeting on Thursday night. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Designers gave some glimpses of what Watertown’s center could look like if the City adopts a plan to redesign and redevelop the area during Thursday night’s Watertown Square Area Plan meeting. Two main options for reworking the roadways in the Square were explored, both of which would add more open space to the area, and showed retail kiosks on the Delta. The scenarios also looked at how Watertown could meet the requirements to allow more housing to meet the MBTA Communities Act. Buildings with as much as six stories of residential units were shown in the illustrations.

Around Town

Watertown Library & Wayside Youth Offering Workshops for Communicating with Your Teen

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:

All parents can, on occasion, use help in communicating with their children, especially with teens. Wayside Youth and the Teen Department of the Watertown Free Public Library will be offering a free series for parents who sometimes get stymied when they try to talk about the difficulties, high expectations, and other stressors their teens experience during adolescence. The workshops will be held March 7, April 4, and May 2 at 6:00 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library. Discussion topics on these evenings include how and why there are such difficulties communicating, how parents can deal with their stress when they talk to their teens, and what resources in Watertown are available to assist them. One evening, there will be a panel of teens who will talk about their perspective and about the barriers they experience when talking to their parents.

Around Town

LETTER: Candidates for GOP State Committee Endorsed by Former State Committeeman

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Dear Republican Voter:

March 5, 2024 is a very important day for the future of the Republican party in Massachusetts. That is the day the Republicans will vote fo r their candidate for President. But almost as important, it is the day that they will also vote for their Representatives on the Massachusetts Republican State Committee. As you may recall I was honored to serve in that position from 2012 until 2021, when I left to move with my family to Virginia. However, I still care deeply about the district and the Republican Party in MA.

Around Town

Funds for Walker Pond Planning Study Recommended by Community Preservation Committee

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Photo by Leo MartinWalker Pond, on the Westside of Watertown, is one of the town’s hidden wetlands and a the Community Preservation Committee recommended funds be spent to do a study for improving the property. The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Preservation Committee:

The Watertown Community Preservation Committee voted at its Feb. 15 meeting to recommend to the City Council that it fund Walker Pond planning studies and a public engagement process to develop a master plan for use of the site. The 7 acre Walker Pond site was purchased by the city in December 2022. The City’s Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP) requested use of Community Preservation Act (CPA) monies for this first phase of creating a new park.

Around Town

City Seeks Artists to Design Bike Racks in Four Locations

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The Community Path entrance on Main Street near Halfway Cafe is one location where bike racks will be installed. (Courtesy of City of Watertown)

The City of Watertown sent out the following information about the call for art for Bike Rack Design & Fabrication:

Four locations are available for artists, designers, or artist teams to design up to four bike racks. Artists may submit up to four designs and indicate which sites they are most interested in. For example, you may design one bike rack that you would like used across all four sites or four site specific bike racks, or one bike rack for one location, etc. Selected artist(s) will be paid $5,000 per bike rack.

Around Town

Watertown Library Gives Teens a Chance to Learn Weaving, Metalworking & Mural Making

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:

The Watertown Free Public Library Teen Department is offering a five-part art series for area teens during the months of February, March, and April. Beyond our Experience: a Free Art Series for Teens is funded in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Through this funding, those in grades 6–12 will have the opportunity to experience kinds of art not normally a part of the typical school curriculum. The series kicks off on February 29th with a weaving program. Participants will get the opportunity to try out weaving on multiple types of looms. On March 7th, a drawing bootcamp will include warm-ups and the ability to try out different drawing methods including how to draw portraits.

Around Town

LETTER: State Committeewoman Endorses Candidates for State GOP Committee

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To the Republican voters of Belmont, Watertown, Alston, Back Bay, Brighton, and (now) Cambridge Wards….. Since 2016, has been my honor to serve the people of the Second Suffolk-Middlesex senate district as the Massachusetts Republican State Committeewoman. For most of these years, I served alongside Steve Aylward, designer and successful promoter of “Tank the Automatic Gas Tax” campaign. In 2018, I served as the state chair of the “NO on 3!” ballot question to repeal what we called the “Bathroom and Locker Room Law.”  Our campaign was never about discrimination but always about protecting women and children in public accommodations. Two years ago, John Umina was selected by the local Republican town and city committees to fill out Steve Aylward’s unexpired term. It’s my pleasure to endorse John Umina and his wife, Cathy, as candidates for the Republican State Committee. I have volunteered alongside the Uminas in numerous campaigns.