Around Town

Snow Emergency Declared in Watertown for Weekend Storm

By |

Snow forecast for Saturday and Sunday from WBZ Channel 4. The City of Watertown will be under a snow emergency beginning Saturday evening. The storm that is forecast to begin hitting the area on Saturday evening could drop six inches or more of snow on Watertown, according to the WBZ Channel 4 forecast. See the City’s announcement below:

The Superintendent of Public Works is declaring a snow emergency effective 6:00 PM, Saturday, January 6, 2024. On-street parking will be banned, and any motor vehicle left on the street will be subject to towing.

Around Town

LETTER: Part 1: 2024 New Year’s Resolutions for the City of Watertown

By |

And How the Heck Did We Lose Our Post Office?? By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Dear City Officials,

I’ve taken this opportunity to write this resolution list as a service to you, with explanations for each resolution. It’s based upon my observations and the hundreds of conversations that I’ve had with residents over the past two years. I hope that you won’t find this extremely annoying, but what can I say? I hope that you’ll also find it helpful and motivating for this new year.

Around Town

Watertown Residents Can Dispose of Christmas Trees for 2 Weeks

By |

Watertown residents will be able to put trees out to be collected on trash days for two weeks in January. The City sent out the following announcement:

Please be aware that Christmas trees will be collected on your trash day for two weeks from Monday, January 8 to Monday, January 22, 2024. 

Please make sure to remove all lights and ornaments, and do NOT put the tree in a bag. The city will only collect the tree itself.

Around Town

OBIT: Carol Lee Hattaway, 80, Member of Board for Many of Sons’ Activities, Worked with Seniors

By |

Carol Hattaway

Carol Lee Hattaway, 80 years old, passed away Saturday, November 18, 2023 at Heather Glen in Arden, North Carolina. She was the daughter of the late William J. and Jeannette (Butterfield) Coumans of Needham and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Carol was born February 1, 1943 in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania and graduated from Needham High School in 1961 and then Vermont College, Montpelier, Vermont in 1963 where she began her career as an executive assistant and married her late husband Charles Leon Hattaway Jr., a Norwich University graduate, in 1964. Over the span of their 56-year marriage, they had lived in Massachusetts, New York, Maine, New Mexico, Sarasota, Florida, and Arden, North Carolina. Carol was very involved with raising her sons, Bradford and Douglas, supporting their numerous activities by participating on the governing boards of little league baseball, ice hockey, serving as a den mother in Cub Scouts, as well as, working within the Boy Scouts of America, their various community youth groups, Sunday school teaching, and school musical band.

Around Town

Recycle Electronics at Mount Auburn Cemetery Event

By |

Mount Auburn Cemetery will host an electronics recycling event on Saturday, Jan. 6. See the announcement below. SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, January 6, 10 am – 1 pm

Bring your old electronics over to Mount Auburn’s Preservation Services Building to recycle!  Enter at 24 Cottage St.

Around Town

Hunger in Watertown: Task Force Tackles Social Needs, Tries to Fills Gaps Left by State, Local Programs

By |

Jan Singer, left, the former Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation, discussed how the Foundation responded to food insecurity during the Pandemic with journalists Maya Shwayder and Charlie Breitrose. (Photo by Dan Hogan / WCA-TV)

As the numbers of people facing a scarcity of food, worried about losing their home, or paying for utilities rose at the start of the Pandemic, a group of people in Watertown was gathered to bring together their knowledge of how to serve those in need. The task force continues to meet regularly, and tries to figure out ways to fill the gaps and patch the cracks in the local, state, and federal social services programs.

This story is the third in a series by Watertown News, in conjunction with Watertown Cable Access Television, called “Watertown’s Hidden Problem: Food Insecurity Among Us.” (See part one here). The Task Force

Jan Singer, who was executive director of the Watertown Community Foundation when COVID-19 hit, said the Community Resilience Task Force came about when the Foundation got a grant from the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund aimed at providing assistance in key areas such as housing, childcare, and food security. Singer and members of the Foundation board quickly realized that they needed to gather the experts to help them direct the funds where they were needed most.

Around Town

LETTER: Finding a Temporary, Permanent Home for Watertown Main Street Post Office Should be a Priority

By |

Greetings:

I extend Happy New Year wishes for good health, peace and prosperity for one and all. Almost ten years ago; 02/03/2014, to be exact; Charlie Breitrose launched Watertown News. Watertown’s: “independent, locally owned news website” became a reality. Thank you, Charlie, for your many years of unbiased news coverage and open venue for citizen thought provoking interactions. Congratulations – Happy Tenth Anniversary!!!