Charlie BreitroseA truck plows a Watertown street.
Dozens of Watertown Department of Public Works crews and contractors plowed 20 inches of snow off Watertown’s 72 miles of roadway, after the snowstorm that hit the City on Jan. 25 and 26, City Manager George Proakis said. The City also issued 69 parking tickets and 50 warnings and fines for failing to shovel sidewalks.
Tuesday night, a citizens group presented the City Council with a petition to support a resolution encouraging the federal government to seek nuclear disarmament in the United States and the other eight nations that have nuclear weapons. The proposal split the Council, which rejected it down by one vote.
Increasing costs of special education tuition has contributed to the sharp increase in the school budget over the past few years, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee on Monday night, and for budget for the 2026-27 school year the district will have to find ways to close a multi-million dollar deficit.
Watertown students attending college at Saint Anselm, James Madison, the University of Wisconsin, Northern Essex Community College, Hofstra, Assumption, SNHU, and Lasell made the dean’s list during the fall of 2025, and a student at Emmanuel College presented his research project.
Dozens of Home Depot Stores in Texas are sharing parking lot surveillance camera license-plate scans — through the Flock network — with the Johnson County, Texas, Sheriff’s office. This is according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and 404 Media.
This winter weekend starts off with two events that highlight bringing more light to our winter days. On Friday night at the Watertown Center for Healing there is a special dance called a Biodance which is about bringing together music, movement and positive feelings. Then on Saturday afternoon, the River of Light Lantern Parade is happening at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. It was so beautiful last year. I highly recommend going to see it or even better, bringing your own lantern to join in the parade. And, I’m excited to share that my brass band, Good Trouble Brass Band and the Watertown High School Band will be accompanying the parade. If you prefer a smaller gathering, there is a seed packing party at the library on Saturday morning. You can help the library get seeds ready for their seed library reopening in February. On Sunday the Gore Estate is giving a talk about early 19th century women’s fashion. It’s in preparation for their upcoming Regency Ball. Finally, I have another restaurant recommendation. We have a new seafood restaurant in town, Boxfish, which I expect will be fantastic as it’s the same chef as at Cha Yen, Manita Bunnagitkarn, who is sharing with us her cooking expertise in the old Cha Yen space, but this time focused on seafood.
Not every sporting event is created equal. Some games have all the makings of something special and then turn out to be duds. Others seem like a mismatch on paper, but turn out to be great games. Some even surprise and disappoint all before the final buzzer sounds. Tuesday night, Watertown hosted Winchester and one did not know what to expect.
A rendering of the new Watertown High School from Ai3 Architects.
After originally hoping to open Watertown’s state-of-the-art new high school after spring break, Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston said that the school will not host classes until the fall of 2026.
The Charles River Regional Chamber will host the Annual Real Estate Forum: What’s next in the fight for housing on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 9-11:30 a.m. at UMass Amherst Charles River Campus, Newton (formerly Mount Ida). See the announcement from the Chamber below.
Watertown Business Coalition’s first event of 2026 focuses on rebranding your business or organization. The event at Atelier Sociale includes and opportunity to get your headshot taken by a professional photographer. See more details in the announcement from the WBC and the City’s Events Team, below.