Around Town

Watertown Advocate for People with Disabilities to Receive Highest Honor in Field of Blindness

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Kim Charlson, executive director of the Perkins School for the Blind’s Library. She will receive the highest honor from the American Foundation for the Blind. (Courtesy of Perkins School)

Longtime director of the Perkins Library and chair of the Watertown Commission on Disability Kim Charlson, has garnered honors and accolades, and later this year she will receive one more when she receives the highest honor in the field of blindness. In September, the Watertown resident will receive the 2024 Migel Medal at the American Foundation for the Blind’s (AFB) annual leadership conference, along with Susan Mazrui. “It is an honor to recognize these two outstanding leaders, who have spent their lives making the world more inclusive and accessible for those who are blind or have low vision,” AFB President and CEO Eric Bridges said in announcement about the award.

Government

Final Watertown Square Area Plan is Out Now, See More Here

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The City of Watertown released the final version of the Watertown Square Area Plan, which was endorsed by the City Council and Planning Board. Read the full version, which includes all the amendments and additions added during the July 16 public hearing by clicking here, and see some of the highlights in the announcement provided by the City, below. The Watertown City Council and Planning Board held three Public Hearings between June and July to discuss the Area Plan. After discussions among themselves and hearing from the public, the Council and Planning Board officially endorsed the Plan on July 16, 2024. 

What is in this Plan Document? Click Here to Read the Plan

Much of this Plan Document remains unchanged from the initial draft released on May 30, 2024.

Around Town

City Manager Clarifies City’s Role in Dispute Between Day Care and Boys & Girls Club

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Watertown City Manager George Proakis. [UPDATED: The story was updated on Aug. 15 at 8 a.m. about the status of the building permit.]

City Manager George Proakis weighed in on the City of Watertown’s role in the ongoing strife between First Path Day Care Center and the Watertown Boys & Girls Club over the space leased to the daycare provider. He said he was limited in how much he could say because First Path has ongoing suits against the City. The dispute over First Path’s lease at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club became public in recent weeks, first with a letter from the Boys & Girls Club leaders saying they have plans to expand the Club’s program but the day care has not left the space after its lease expired.

Police/Fire

Man Who Made Threats at Cambridge School Ends Up Crashing Car in Watertown

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A man suspected of making threats at a Cambridge school ended up crashing his car in Watertown on Monday. At about 10 a.m. on Aug. 12, the man (who has not been identified) made threatening statements at a playground outside Morse Elementary School in Cambridge, according to a report on Boston.com. The man also made statements that didn’t make sense. Cambridge Police said the man suffered from severe mental health issues.

Around Town

2024 Watertown Arts Market Features Artists, Music, Authors, Food & More

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The Watertown Arts Market returns to Filippello Park in 2024, with dozens of artists, along with musicians, authors, food, and more at the event, which is free to enter. The Watertown Arts Market will be held on the Grove Street side of Filippello Park (191 Grove St.) on Saturday, Aug. 17, from noon to 5 p.m. (Rain date Sunday, Aug. 18). The annual event began in 2021, and is a place for Watertown’s artists and cultural organizations in Watertown to share their work. 

More than 50 artists, authors, creatives, musicians and music teachers, arts and culture organizations will set up on the Filippello Park basketball courts, including painters, photographers, jewelry makers, fiber artists, printmakers, ceramic makers, and more.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Three OUI Arrests, Man Arrested for Break-Ins

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Aug. 1, 10:45 p.m.: A license plate was stolen from a Toyota sedan parked in the Purple Garage at Arsenal Yards. The car had been parked there since July 30, and the plate was from Florida. Aug 1, 3:35 p.m.: A pair of women went into Ulta and took three bottles of fragrance, worth a total of $390.

Around Town

Boys & Girls Club Court Motion Seeks Eviction of First Path; This Would Shut Down Business, Day Care Rep Says

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Watertown Cable

The Watertown Boys & Girls Club has filed a motion in Federal Court seeking to evict the daycare center that has been located in its building on Whites Avenue for 26 years. Representatives of First Path Day Care Center said this would lead to the business closing and create a a crisis for its families and staff, while Boys & Girls Club representatives said they have plans for the space and have already given an extension after the lease expired. In a statement, First Path said that it has sought a new home for more than two years, and the eviction notice comes as construction on its new facility is nearly complete, said Max Bolyansyy, General Manager of the First Path Day Care Center. “The child care crisis being created by the Boys and Girls Club is completely avoidable, if they were truly interested in supporting the families and children we serve,” Bolyansyy said. “For more than a year we have been paying 50 percent more in rent to assure we were being good partners to the Boys & Girls Club.

Around Town

Watertown’s Revival Cafe Combines the Talents of Two Experienced Restauranteurs

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A sandwich served at Revival Cafe in East Watertown. (Courtesy of Revival Cafe)

One of Watertown’s newest cafes combines creative forces of two people with culinary pedigrees in the Boston area. The cafe, which is tucked in a corner of East Watertown, melds the vision and taste of the two owners. Nookie Postal and Liza Shirazi opened their newest location of Revival Cafe in January at 99 Coolidge Ave., in the back of a recently constructed life science building on the former site of the Mount Auburn Club. Postal owned Commonwealth in Kendall Square, which closed last year after 10 years.