Around Town

Residents Share Their Desires for Watertown Square with City’s Economic Development Planner

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Residents on a tour of Watertown Square shared their vision for the area with Watertown’s Senior Planner for Economic Development Erin Rathe. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Two members of the City of Watertown staff who will be designing the new Watertown Square led a group of more than a dozen people on a walk through the area to get an idea of what residents want to see in the center of town. The walk, held on Sept. 5, was part of Live Well Watertown’s Walk N Talk series, and was led by Erin Rathe, the City’s Senior Planner for Economic Development. Joining her was the Director of Community Design, Erika Oliver Jerram.

Entertainment

Actors’ Shakespeare Project Begins Partnership With Watertown’s Mosesian Center

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Chloe McFarlane and Paula Plum as Juliet and the Nurse in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Photo by Maggie Hall Photography. The Mosesian Center for the Arts will once again have a resident company when the Actors’ Shakespeare Project moves in this fall. The theater company’s inaugural event at the MCA will be Refresh, a celebration of ASP and a preview of the season, which includes plays by three giants of stage and literature: Jane Austen, August Wilson, and William Shakespeare. See more information and get tickets here.

Schools

Watertown High School Students Could Sit on School Committee

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The sign for the temporary Watertown High School at PFC Ricard Moxley Field. (Courtesy by City of Watertown)

Members of the School Committee may have Watertown High School students sitting with them during meetings, and the students may even be able to propose motions at meetings if policy changes being considered by the Committee are approved. Currently, WSH has two student representatives, who typically provide updates on student life at the high school, including the flow of the academic year and updates on extracurricular activities. A proposed change to the Watertown Public Schools’ policies would give the students a more significant role, School Committee Vice Chair Lily Rayman Read said at the Aug. 26 School Committee meeting.

Government

Challenger Mara Dolan Wins Governor’s Council Race, See How Watertown Voted

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Mara Dolan won the Democratic Governor’s Councilor District 3 race on Tuesday. Mara Dolan of Concord defeated longtime incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney of Watertown in Tuesday’s Democratic District 3 Governor’s Council race. With no challenger on the Republican side of the ballot for November’s General Election, Dolan appears headed to the Governor’s Council. The Council votes on the Governor’s nominations for judges and nominees for other boards, as well as voting on the Governor’s proposed pardons and commutations of prisoners. According to results compiled by the Associated Press (AP), Dolan received 52.5 percent of the vote.

Sports

Watertown Field Hockey Seniors Seek to Complete Undefeated Career

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Watertown field hockey co-captains Rachel Egan, left, and Adiranna Williams were interviewed by WBZ Channel 4. (Screenshot from WBZ video). The Watertown High School field hockey team once again has established a long winning streak, has claimed three straight State Championships, and in 2024 the seniors seek to complete an undefeated career with the Raiders, a feat that caught the attention of a Boston news station. Watertown begins the 2024 campaign on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. at Victory Field against Lexington. Last season, the Raiders went 22-0 and defeated Newburyport 4-3 in the MIAA Div.

Schools

New Watertown High School on Track to be Net Zero Energy

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The entrance to the new Watertown High School is taking shape. (Photo from Watertown School Building Committee meeting)

Progress has been made on the new Watertown High School, and the goal of having the building produce all the energy needed to operate is closer to becoming a reality. When the high school project was approved, it was designed to be Net Zero energy and also meet the LEED Platinum standards for energy efficiency and sustainability. Since being approved in June 2021, the project budget has increased significantly mostly due to the rise in construction costs. City Manager George Proakis told the City Council that the project would be completed, with a net zero energy building, and not borrow more than $150 million to cover the cost.