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TVs in Public Spots in Watertown to be Required to Use Closed Captioning

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Televisions in public areas in Watertown will be required to use closed captioning. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Televisions in public areas in Watertown, including in restaurants and businesses, will have to turn on the closed captioning feature during regular hours. The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance requiring closed captioning, also called subtitles, at its Jan. 9 meeting. The ordinance was recommended to the Council by the Watertown Commission on Disability, City Council President Mark Sideris said.

Around Town

Area at Filippello Park May be Turned into Pickleball Courts

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Recreation Department:

The City of Watertown is interested in repurposing the court space at Filippello Park to include 6 new pickleball courts. Attend this meeting to share your thoughts, and to learn about the proposal and timeline. Location: Hosmer School Learning Commons, 1 Concord Road

Date: February 20, 2024

Time: 6:30 – 8 p.m.

Questions? Email parksprojects@watertown-ma.gov

Around Town

LETTER: Trees Need to be Protected in Watertown

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To the Editor:

Ghost tree

Your fifty foot tall, towering presence would have held snow on your strong, healthy boughs today. Mourning doves would have stood on the boughs near your trunk for protection from the wind, their winter coats puffed up cozy among your pine needle feathers. Mother tree, so many miss you today. Rabbits’ secret shelter under boughs at your trunk, no longer here to offer a safe place to laugh at my barking dog. Chickadee, junco, winter birds who would rest on your branches when hawk was distracted elsewhere. They waited for me to fill the tube with seed to sustain them in this small piece of forest in city.

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Tonight: Health and Human Services Community Forum

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

This is a reminder about the Health & Human Services Community Forum happening on Monday, January 29, 2024 in the Watertown Free Public Library! This event will begin at 6:00pm and all residents are encouraged to attend and participate! This event is hosted by the City of Watertown and will be facilitated by the consultancy group, Health Management Associates. As part of the City’s on-going health and human services study, this forum looks to give residents the opportunity to share their perspectives into the health and human services offered here in Watertown, all with the goal of identifying how to make the city a healthier, more resourceful community for all! We encourage all residents to attend and participate in what we anticipate being a great event!

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Feast on Art Exhibit at Mosesian Center for the Arts Focusing on Food

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Judy Haberl’s Baby Cakes 5 is part of the Mosesian Center for the Arts exhibit “Feast: Food Represented in the Visual Arts.” (Courtesy of MCA)

The following announcement was provided buy the Mosesian Center for the Arts:

The Mosesian Center for the Arts is excited to present an exhibition that finds inspiration in food. Depictions of food have been around since antiquity. In mosaics and frescos from Roman times, wine, fruit, bread, and grains have been depicted in private houses and temples. In later centuries, paintings portraying both religious and secular themes often incorporated food and drinks.

Around Town

Hunger in Watertown Will be the Focus of Live Roundtable Discussion

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Food on the shelfs at the Watertown Food Pantry, which has seen an increase in the number of people using its services since the start of the Pandemic. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A series of articles in Watertown News put a spotlight on a problem that often goes unseen in the community: hunger. The discussion will continue with a live event, where Watertown Cable Access Television will debut a video about food insecurity in town. WHAT: Monday, February 12, Watertown Cable Access TV and Watertown News will hold a live round table about the state of hunger and food insecurity in our community at 6 p.m. on the main stage Mosesian Center for the Arts

WHO: Panelists will include Watertown Community Foundation Executive Director Tia Tilson, Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham, the City of Watertown’s Community Wellness Program Manager Stephanie Venizelos, Watertown Housing Authority Executive Director Michael Lara, and Watertown Social Services Resource Specialist Sophia Suarez-Friedman from the Wayside Multi-Service Center. HOSTS: Moderated by Charlie Breitrose of Watertown News and journalist Maya Shwayder.