Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/page/8/)
The Watertown Public Schools may ask the City to tap the Special Education Stabilization Fund created several years ago for a rainy day. The 2026-27 School Budget may be stormy, as the district faces a shortfall of $2.5 million as of Monday’s School Committee meeting. Other ways to make up shortfalls may include reinstating athletics and extracurricular fees.
Watertown City Hall
Watertown residents were not overcharged on the CPA surcharge on their tax bills, City officials said, but bills in fiscal year 2025 looked different from other years, leading to the appearance that they were calculated differently.
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 following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Cris Patvakanian wrote “In the Shadow of Mount Khustup” after visiting Armenia in 2023.
A trip to his homeland of Armenian in 2023 changed Cris Patvakanian’s life, and the experience became the inspiration for his first novel.
Every team, no matter the sport, wants to get the new season off to a good start. That’s as close to a universal truth as there is in team sports. The Boys Basketball program, perennially tournament-bound and most often among the upper-echelon in D3, has been less than that to start the season, with four losses to Middlesex foes. Tusesday was the last chance in 2025 to record a win, and the Raiders did just that by beating non-league opponent Fenway, 59- 40, at the Victor J. Palladino Gymnasium.
Watertown residents can begin registering for the Recreation Department’s Pequossette Summer Program beginning on Jan. 1. See more details in the announcement from the Rec. Department, below.
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
The New Year is approaching fast, and Jan. 1 won’t be the only day when Watertown City department hours are impacted. See details about City Hall, the Senior Center, the Library, and other office hours this week in the announcement from the City of Watertown.
This week we enter 2026. But what was Watertown like in 1926? The year 1926 found Watertown at a critical juncture, grappling with the growing pains of a rapidly modernizing suburb. As the town transitioned from its industrial roots toward a more residential future, the municipal government faced the daunting task of balancing fiscal conservatism with the urgent need for infrastructure expansion. The following history, drawn from the 1926 Watertown Annual Town Report, reveals a community navigating the complexities of the early motor age, educational demands, and the eternal debate over the “tax burden.”
Arie Orchanian and Anie Manoushagian.
Arie Orchanian and Anie Manoushagian, the victims of a car accident after a family member’s funeral, were remembered by members of the church that they attended for years.
Charlie Breitrose
On Dec. 22, Watertown firefighters responded to a reported fire in the kitchen of an apartment in a multi-unit residential building on Main Street.