Government

U.S. Rep Clark Presents Watertown with $240K for Project to Protect River, Increase Climate Resiliency

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Charlie BreitroseCongresswoman Catherine Clark looks on as Watertown City Manager George Proakis speaks about the $240,000 in federal funds to build stormwater tree trenches in town. Congresswoman Katherine Clark visited City Hall Monday to announce $240,000 in federal funding for a climate-related project in Watertown. The City will use the money to install 15 tree trenches designed to remove pollutants from the Charles River and cool temperatures by providing more trees on City streets. The Department of Public Works applied for the money after hearing about the funding, said Watertown DPW Superintendent Greg St. Louis.

Around Town

City Council Urges State to Remove Watertown Dam

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam. The City Council sent a letter to State officials in support of removing the “Watertown DCR Dam” from the Charles River, near Watertown Square. The Council cited climate resilience, rebuilding the population of fish species in the Charles, and the opposition of the dam by indigenous people in the letter. While the dam is located on a stretch of the river in Watertown’s city limits, the Charles and its shores are controlled by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

Around Town

LETTER: Allowing Illuminated Sign on Arsenal Yards Building Would be a “Very Bad Idea”

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Dave MartinA view down the Charles River from the Bridge on North Beacon Street with the 100 Forge (or Building G) building at Arsenal Yards in the distance. An illuminated sign has been proposed to go near the top of the building. To the Editor,

Boylston Properties is requesting a zoning change to allow it to place a large, illuminated sign at the top of the 130 ft. high Building G in Arsenal Yards. This is a very bad idea for the following reasons:

1.  It constitutes a “branding” of Watertown.

Around Town

Proposed Five-Story Building on Water Street is Second Phase Life Science Complex

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Elkus Manfredi ArchitectsA view of the proposed life science building at 99 Galen Street viewed from the Charles River. The second phase of the life science lab and office complex on Water Street, off Nonatnum Road, has been submitted to the City of Watertown and the project would have a five story building, a childcare center, and a publicly accessible park. Boston Development Group submitted the plans in early August. The developers seek a special permit with site plan review for a proposed building at 99 Water Street with five stories (four in some places depending on the grading). It would have 224,000 sq.

Around Town

Watertown Group Remembering Those Killed in Hiroshima, Nagasaki

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Candleboats float on the Charles River in Watertown in memory of those who died in the nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The following information was provided by the Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:

Please join us for a remembrance of the nuclear attack on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. in 1945 killing over 210,000 and causing misery for thousands of survivors. Why We’re Gathering

Our annual resistance to the presence and use of nuclear weapons is even more important this year as we face the tangible and immediate threats from Ukraine and the effects of climate change. Add your signs or use one of ours. WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 6, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

Schedule

7:30 p.m. – Silent Vigil – Watertown Square8:00 p.m. – Music and Testimonials – Watertown Dock8:30 p.m. – Launching of the Candle boats

Sponsored by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, New England American Friends Service Committee, Massachusetts Peace Action, and Survival Education Fund, Inc.

Visit www.watertowncitizens.org and www.facebook.com/WatertownCitizensPJE

Charity

Watertown Company Cleans Up Section Along Charles River

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WiTricityEmployees from Watertown-based WiTricity cleaned up the area along the Charles River near the Watertown Bridge. Volunteers from Watertown-based WiTricity spent an afternoon cleaning up a section of the Charles River near Watertown Square. A team of 25 employees from the company located on Water Street in Watertown cleaned the river bank near the bridge over Galen Street on May 5. The clean-up was done under the guidance of the Charles River Conservancy. WiTricityTwenty-five employees from WiTricity picked up trash along the Charles River in Watertown.

Around Town

See the History, and Possible Future of the Watertown Dam and the Charles River

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam. The Charles River Watershed Association recently produced a history of the Charles River, including a look at the Watertown Dam, called A River Interrupted. The group is advocating for the removal of the dam near Watertown Square as a way to return the Charles to its natural state. One reason is to help migrating restore the numbers of migrating species in the river that struggle to get upstream due to the dam and other obstacles.

Around Town

Charles River Group Makes Case for Removing Watertown Dam During Public Tour

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam. Around 50 people showed up Saturday morning to hear about a proposal to remove the Watertown Dam, and restore the area to how it was before the first dam was put there in the 1600s. The Charles River Watershed Association organized the tour, and the group is advocating for the dam to be removed to allow more fish and wildlife to travel up and down the Charles River, and also because it poses a risk of failure in a major storm, said CRWA Executive Director Emily Norton. The first dam in the area of the current Watertown Dam was a grist mill built in 1634 by early colonists.