Letters

LETTER: History of Memorial Day

By |

Dear Editor,

A fact I did not know until today pertains to establishment of Memorial Day.  The information is in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. As we know Memorial Day is the day our nation pauses to honor the service and sacrifice of our military heroes who gave their lives to secure our freedoms.

However, overlooked is the earliest commemoration of what would later become Memorial Day was organized on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, S.C., at a former Confederate prison camp known as the Martyrs of the Race Course Cemetery. The memorial service was established by over 1,000 newly freed African Americans, U.S. Colored Troops and a small group of White Charlestonians. This group came together to honor the 257 Union soldiers who died as a result of the poor conditions of the Confederate prison camp during the war. They exhumed the soldiers from a mass grave that the Confederates made and created proper burial grounds for the Union soldiers.

Letters

LETTER: What Has City Council Done to Save Post Office?

By |

Greetings Councilors:

Wake up residents of Watertown!!! If you want to accept the words of a developer; maybe I can share some out-of-circulation drachmas. In reference to the Watertown Square Financial Post Office; I stated in 01/02/2024 communication as follows:

“Phrases such as: “We hope to move back” and “considering relocating and moving-back” are not reassuring. Two plus years is a long time for open-ended uncertainties.” “Watertown’s Team engaged in the development process for the multiple parcels at 104-126 Main Street.

Letters

LETTER: About Our Post Office

By |

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

A long-time resident and respected Watertown businessman wrote a response to my recent Watertown News letter on the proposed 4 or 5 story parking garage to replace the CVS open air parking lot. He wrote about Watertown Square not being a destination: “We don’t even have a post office anymore which I consider a must have convenience which attracts people to any City Center.“

Sorry. We have squandered our ability to have a post office in our city center, and for what? Here’s a bit of the history:

April 11, 2023

I refer you to an April 11, 2023 letter that I wrote concerning this topic to Watertown News, entitled “How will Main Street Project Impact Post Office, the Square & Affordable Housing?” In it, I ask the question: Where’s our post office going? I’ll quote part of the answer:

“When asked, and they are asked quite frequently by residents, the developers just shrug their shoulders and say that they’re in negotiations.

Letters

LETTER: City-Owned Land an Opportunity for Mixed-Income Housing

By |

Watertown is a Mixed-Income City, City Land Should Prioritize Mixed-Income Housing

This coming Wednesday, May 20 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., the City will host an open house at 9 Galen Street where residents will have an opportunity to better understand the proposed Watertown Square Demonstration Project, ask questions, and weigh in on our visions and priorities. At last month’s rollout of the demonstration project, the City shared a lot of information about its plans for Watertown Square. We heard about a new parking garage, 200-300 units of market-rate housing and new open space in parcels behind the existing CVS, much of which is city-owned. Like many residents, we have questions about the project. We are particularly interested to hear more from the City on the following questions:

• What would need to be in place for housing over the garage to be possible?

Letters

OP-ED: Tech is Not Always the Answer

By |

Something remarkable happened in 2025: about 18 states banned students’ access to smartphones and other personal electronic devices from the first to the last bell of the school day (bell-to-bell). More states followed in 2026. This shift reflects growing awareness that these devices are intentionally designed to steal our children’s attention – negatively affecting school environments and obstructing effective learning. Rave reviews are pouring in from bell-to-bell schools across the country. Disciplinary incidents are down, attendance is up, grades are improving, and students report feeling more connected to one another and to their school.

Letters

LETTER: How Did That Garage Get There??

By |

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

To quote one of our Watertown residents in Watertown News regarding the survey for the (failed) city logo, “There is a FlashVote asking for input on which of 4 versions of this logo people prefer. Not sure why this project has continued without community input until – ‘which version of this logo do you prefer?’ The comments in this thread were clear, sensible and seemingly went completely unheard…”

This feels very familiar. How did we get to a place where we’re considering the fine points of a four or five story parking garage in the CVS parking lot before Watertown residents were even asked what, if anything, should be put in this space? Have the Square businesses even been polled by our City Council (the people who represent them) about what they’d like to see? Now that the idea of this garage has been so strongly introduced, would they even feel comfortable speaking up?

Letters

LETTER: Mt. Auburn Street — Good Intentions Are Not Enough

By |

To the Editor:

I am a lifelong Watertown resident and proud to call this community home. It is precisely because of that pride and that history here that I feel compelled to write — on behalf of myself and many of my neighbors along East Boylston Street and Mount Auburn Street — about the ongoing construction that has disrupted our daily lives for so long that many of us can no longer remember a time when it wasn’t happening. While we understand that improving and modernizing our city’s infrastructure is no small task, and that the intentions behind this work are good, good intentions alone do not excuse poor execution. Noise and dust have become a constant, exhausting reality for those of us on East Boylston and Mount Auburn. And for some residents, the impact goes far beyond mere inconvenience.

Elections

LETTER: Retired Judge Endorses Sen. Will Brownsberger

By |

To The Editor,

I am writing to enthusiastically support Senator Will Brownsberger’s re-election campaign and will be voting for him on Sept. 1. During my legal career, encompassing 20 years as a public defender and 24 years as a juvenile court judge, I have learned a lot about the legislative process and the importance of having an effective and forceful advocate who understands the issues and the needs of our community. Will has been in the forefront of youth and criminal legal reform efforts, and his voice is now needed more than ever. I work with a wide network of advocacy groups who realize the imperative of having someone who has the institutional history and credibility to get things done.