Letters

LETTER: New Federal Rules Threaten Watertown Cable’s Funding, Station Seeks Support

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Good Afternoon,

On behalf of WCATV, I am reaching out to you today in regards to a policy proposed by the FCC. This policy will eliminate a major source of funding from Comcast and RCN and could result in Watertown Cable and other community media centers closing their doors in every community across the country. The policy will change the “franchise fee” structure that has been in place since the 1980s, and would allow the cable companies to charge cities for access to historically “in-kind” resources such as cable channels, I-net services, and access to their system to deliver content to people’s homes. The current franchise fee structure is the lifeblood of community media centers across the country and without that funding, it would be nearly impossible for stations to continue the important work they provide for all communities. This would cost our local governments millions of dollars, and would force them to choose whether supporting community media is more valuable than the millions of dollars of lost revenue.

Elections

LETTER: Governor’s Councilor Devaney Thanks Her Supporters

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Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each of the 51,781 people who voted for my reelection as your Governor’s councillor. Thank you for putting my sign on your lawn, or standing out for me – or saying a kind word about me along the way, I am grateful. I am so grateful that you believe in me and did not believe the lies and specious attacks on me. My campaign took the high road based on my proven record and reforms I have made on the Governor’s Council. I am honored to work for you as your Governor’s Councillor.

Elections

LETTER: Congressional Candidate Thanks His Supporters During State Primary

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Open Letter from Republican Congressional Candidate John Hugo to the People of theMassachusetts 5 th Congressional District:

I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate every single person, no matter the party and no matter who you voted for, who took the time to do their civic duty on Tuesday September 4. Our republic only works, indeed can only thrive, if informed citizens participate. I’m truly humbled and honored that 64% of those who voted in the Republican Primary selected me to be the Republican Nominee. I want to congratulate Dr. Louis Kuchner, my primary opponent, for running a spirited campaign that took the high road and focused on issues. He has graciously endorsed my candidacy and pledged his support.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Urges Rejecting Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

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Editor:

Brett Kavanaugh is a sure-fire vote to gut Roe, criminalize abortion, and punish women. Kavanaugh’s record has shown time and again that he does not respect the rights of women to determine what is best for themselves and their families. To protect reproductive everywhere, it is imperative that Kavanaugh is not confirmed to the Supreme Court.  

Susan LaDue
Watertown Resident

Letters

LETTER: Proposed Road Projects Will Hurt Neighborhoods, Small Businesses

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The DPW and Planning Department have been working on improving the traffic flow through Watertown Square, as well as making it and Mt. Auburn Street friendlier to bicyclists and pedestrians. However, as usual, they are not considering neighborhood integrity, nor the needs of small businesses. It is funny to me that they are touting “complete streets,” which simply means designing for more modes of transportation than cars. Cities in Europe have been doing this type of design for over 60 years, but we have just “discovered” it here in the U.S., and we don’t do it well yet.

Bicycling

OP-ED: State Sen. Brownsberger Pushing to Make Roads Safer for Bicyclists

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(The following piece was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger (D – Belmont) who also represents Watertown and parts of Boston)
When I cycled across the country in 2011, I saw a lot of roadkill. I was constantly aware that all it would take was one mistake by me or by one of those caffeinated guys in big rigs and I’d look about the same. On the open road, I developed a profound gratitude towards the tens of thousands of drivers who did not hit me. The Senate just approved a safety package that would require a clearance of at least three feet for vehicles passing vulnerable road users like highway workers, cyclists and pedestrians.  It would add an additional foot of required clearance for each ten miles per hour of speed.

Letters

LETTER: Exhibit Shows Examples of High Quality Early Childhood Education

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I have been a Preschool and Pre-K teacher for 15 years. I am happy that the scientific and economic research that shows the life long positive impacts of quality early childhood education is starting to lead to more investments and expansion of early childhood programs in Massachusetts. However, I am always leery this will come with a push down of the K-12 education model of education into early childhood. High quality early childhood education is not tracing letters, using flash cards, sitting still for long periods, or preparing kids for future standardized tests. High quality early childhood education allows young children to build on their innate curiosity about the world to become mini-researchers who are guided in their research by well-trained early childhood educators.

Development

LETTER: Development on Arsenal Street is Changing the East End

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To the editor, and the Watertown community,

I think the thing that bothers me most about this, and many other developments going on around the Boston area, is the fact that none of what I see takes into account the existing residents. There is no thought about who already lives here, and how what they develop will affect the area. There is no thought of including any of the character, the history of the location, buildings, etc., which is very important to the knowledge of how our county was formed. No thought of the people who have made this area what it is … no thought of all of the cultures, especially in East Watertown, that already reside here.