Letters

LETTER: Questions About What’s Happening in Washington DC

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Dear Editor,

It appears that Americans are no longer seeking domestic tranquility and peace among nations, especially our allies. Certain media is reporting that the U.S. President is or has changed America’s policy and opinion in favor of a Federal, Semi-Presidential Republic under an Authoritarian Dictatorship.    

We know a Dictatorship form of governmental control has existed since man was first born.  I liken what is happening in America today to the reigns of the two French Kings Louis XIII, recognized for increasing the Power of the Monarchy, and Louis the XIV, Known as the “Sun King” for his Absolute Rule. The Three Musketeers served under both of these Kings, and notably were not good or bad, but rather complex characters with flaws, loyal only to each other and their King. Apparently, the dark side of the Musketeers prevailed and they went to Hell.

Letters

LETTER: Actions People Can Take Before the Midterm Elections

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Dear Editor,

I just attended “Protecting Democracy in the Era of Donald Trump including a Discussion of Citizens United” with State Senator Brownsberger at the Watertown Library. Attendees from Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, and Brighton got to express their concerns about the current situation in Washington, D.C., and asked how to impact it. The most salient point was to participate in the electoral process. Last night, we shared our concerns and asked Party representatives there what we can do?  I invite those who attended to share here because the local paper is a media, we the people, still possess. Some of you were so eloquent and some of you hit the nail on the head! I agreed with all of you. Remember it was pamphleteers, including our own Samuel Adams, that spread the unpopular idea for independence. Fair warning there will be responses from idolaters but there are more of us, left, right and center who share very similar concerns. An election won by 1.5% does not a mandate make. I will go first.

Letters

LETTER: Rock Salt – Cheap, Effective, and Very Harmful

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by Anne Harrington PhDTrees for Watertown

Rock salt is the No. 1 de-icer in the United States. It’s cheap, effective at melting snow and ice, and provides good traction on treated surfaces. But road salt is referred to as a “silent killer” because of the seen and unseen damage that it causes to infrastructure and the natural environment. Tons of rock salt are applied every winter in the U.S. Nearly half a million tons are used annually for winter road maintenance in Massachusetts alone (Source: EPA, Nov 2020).

Letters

LETTER: More Than 100 Join Tesla Takedown Protest in Watertown

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The Tesla Takedown in Watertown on March 1. (Copyright 2025 Joshua Touster)

On Saturday morning, March 1st, over 100 people showed up at the intersection of Bridge Street and Pleasant Street near the Watertown Tesla Service Center to participate in a standout targeting Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk. 

The standout was part of a national protest of Elon Musk and his unelected role in the current Trump administration. Known as the Take Down Tesla Campaign, www.teslatakedown.com, the campaign urges people to sell their Tesla  cars and stock and to join the movement to protest Musk and the Department of Energy Efficiency (DOGE). 

(Copyright 2025 Joshua Touster)

Many people who attended were from Watertown and adjacent communities: Brighton, Cambridge, Newton, and Waltham. But some came from as far away as Worcester. There was a lot of support for the protest from those who drove by as several different chants were called out, one that was particularly popular was “Hay, Hay, Ho, Ho, Elon Musk has got to go.” Protest signs referenced the parallels to the rise of Nazi Germany, the current threat to democracy, and the takeover of our federal government in the form of a soft or administrative coup. choosedemocracy.us/what-is-an-administrative-coup

A protest rally that was held later in the day at the Tesla dealership on Boylston Street in Boston drew over 300 participants. The Boston Tesla protests will continue on a weekly basis Starting on Sunday, March 9th, and continuing on Saturdays beginning on March 15th. Stay tuned for a possible future standout in Watertown. 

Tesla Takedowns were held in Watertown and Boston on March 1. (Copyright 2025 Joshua Touster)

Eileen Ryan of Watertown and Janet England of Brighton were the two organizers of the Watertown Standout on Saturday.

Letters

LETTER: Thoughts on Hiring of Federal Employees & Deal with Ukraine

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Dear Editor,

I have considered myself a Liberal; however, my Wife Mary has said “you are not as Liberal as you think you are”. Therefore, I have considered myself a Practical Liberal. To me everyone seems cowed by President Trump and his new henchman Musk. However, I have thought Elon Musk or some other Oligarch has been there all along. As a former federal official, no one, even Democrats are telling you that “No” U.S. federal departments and agencies can simply create positions on their own without oversight and authorization.

Around Town

LETTER: Take Watertown’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Survey

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Dear Editor,

I write to highlight the following on Watertown’s ADA survey. From the website:

ADA Survey

Help support Watertown and its commitment to accessibility. Watertown is working with Kessler McGuinness & Associates, LLC (KMA) to develop an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan to ensure residents and visitors have access to all facilities, programs, and services. An important part of this planning process is providing opportunities for the public and people with disabilities to offer input and voice concerns. This survey is intended to gather preliminary data to assist the planning team in identifying and prioritizing any barriers to access for individuals with disabilities at Watertown’s facilities or within the programs and services it currently offers.

Around Town

OP-ED: Watertown Backs Public Housing Revamp, Addition of Affordable Housing

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The Watertown Housing Authority will team with Preservation of Affordable Housing to renovate the Willow Park complex. (Courtesy of the WHA)

By Mark Pickering

Watertown is again taking the lead in addressing the Massachusetts housing crisis. The city’s goal this time is to rebuild Willow Park’s public housing and add affordable units to the project. Since Watertown OK’d the development, our neighbor to the south has taken steps to add more all-affordable housing as well. The Boston Planning and Development Agency has OK’d a 63-unit all-affordable project and a 52-unit one, both in Roxbury.

Around Town

OP-ED: Housing Group Recommends Steps to Address Housing Discrimination in Watertown

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Last week, the WestMetro HOME Consortium, a partnership of 13 regional communities of which Watertown is a member, released the results of a fair housing audit study that it conducted from March 2023 to January 2025. The Consortium worked with Suffolk Law’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program to test the prevalence of illegal race- and income-based discrimination in the housing market, pairing an applicant with a white alias with another with a “racially identifiable” Black, Hispanic, or Asian alias, or an applicant who posed as someone offering to pay market rate with one who posed as a housing voucher recipient. The study’s results are sobering, to say the least. In 65 tests of race-based discrimination (conducted across the Consortium’s 13 communities), applicants of color experienced discrimination 22 percent of the time. In 69 tests of income-based discrimination, voucher holders experienced discrimination a whopping 35 percent of the time.