Government

City Will Purchase the Sterritt Lumber Site in the West End

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Watertown City Hall

The downturn in the life science lab market opened an opportunity for the City of Watertown to purchase a site in West Watertown where a lab building had been permitted but never constructed. Tuesday night, the City Council voted to allow City Manager George Proakis to sign an agreement with the owners of the 2-acre site at 148 Waltham St. for $9.2 million, and approved an initial payment of $500,000. When the Sterritt Lumber site was sold neighbors strongly opposed proposed new uses for the property, which included an apartment building and later a lab, which was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals and permitted, but construction never started. City Council President Mark Sideris said that led to an opportunity for the City.

Sports

Watertown Wrester Repeats as State Champ; Raiders Also Take Third and Seventh at State Meet

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Watertown Senior Tessa Master won the MIAA Div. 3 State Tournament Saturday in Foxborough. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

FOXBOROUGH — The most decorated Watertown High School wrestler added to her list of accomplishments by repeating as champion at the MIAA Div. 3 State Wrestling Championship on Saturday. Senior Tessa Master dominated her competition, pinning both opponents in the first period.

Sports

Watertown Boys & Girls Basketball, Boys Hockey Will Host Tournament Games

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Senior Will Carty and the Raiders will host a first-round State Tournament game this week. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

The MIAA released the 2025 winter State Tournament brackets, and three Watertown teams — boys basketball, girls basketball, and boys hockey — will host first round games this week. Boys Hockey

Charlie BreitroseWatertown senior Shane Desmond (left) and the Raiders will skate in the State Tournament on Wednesday at Ryan Arena. Here he and Alec Banosian play in the 2023 Tournament. First up will be boys hockey, which got the 12th seed in the MIAA Div.

Around Town

City Manager Shares Thoughts on Winter Parking Ban Related to Public Safety

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Following the discussion about potentially removing Watertown’s Winter Parking Ban at a City Council meeting, Watertown City Manager George Proakis wrote the first in a series of responses to the issue. See the first piece provided by the City of Watertown, below. Part 1: Public Safety

By City Manager George Proakis

Recently, a group of Watertown residents signed a petition to seek a public hearing in front of the City Council. The topic of the petition and the hearing was our long-term ban on overnight parking that we enforce each winter. The Council hosted this hearing in January.

Sports

Several Watertown Wrestlers Heading to State Meet With an Eye on Moving on to All-States

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Watertown senior Brady Gleason (in red) will be wrestling in the MIAA Div. 3 State Meet this weekend, and has hopes to qualify for All-States. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Intense practices, dedication, and good leadership have the Watertown High School wrestling team on the rise, and several Raiders hope to keep the momentum going at this weekend’s MIAA Div. 3 State Meet and beyond. Watertown High School’s wrestling team will hit the mats at the MIAA Div.

Around Town

Wada Hoppah Looks to Start Water Shuttle This Spring & Has Bigger Goals Beyond the Charles

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A drawing of the shuttle boat being designed for Wada Hoppah to take people from Watertown to Boston. (Courtesy of Wada Hoppah)

A small version of the Wada Hoppah electric water shuttle may be carrying passengers from Watertown to Boston and back this spring, and the man behind the effort has plans to create a whole e-boat building industry in the Boston area. Drew Rollert’s goal is to have the first shuttles sailing on the Charles River by the time of the Boston Calling music festival on Memorial Day weekend. “We’re gonna do a smaller version while we work on the bigger electric boat, because I’m just sick of not having anything and just waiting for the large thing,” Rollert said. “So we started building (the smaller boat).”

Sports

Watertown Girls Basketball Finish 2nd in the League, Take Arlington Catholic to OT

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Senior Caroline Andrade led the Raiders in scoring against Arlington Catholic. Here she plays against Old Rochester in the 2024 State Tourney. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown Girls Basketball went into Saturday’s matinee with Arlington Catholic (AC) feeling pretty good about itself. Coach Mike Tempesta’s squad had won seven of nine, including two of the the last three on the road, and that included a convincing wire-to-wire win over the team ahead of Watertown in the Middlesex Freedom, Wakefield, on Tuesday, Feb.11.  

Watertown finished league play on Thursday Feb. 13 at Melrose with a win, and finished at 11-5, and in second place behind Wakefield at 13-3. Saturday’s non-league opponent AC came into the game 8-12, and 1-7 in the Catholic Central. Watertown continued to adjust to life without injured senior starter and co-captain Victoria Dicker, who injured her knee versus Burlington on Jan.