Around Town

See How to Get Free Comic Books in Watertown

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Comic book fans, or those interested in taking a look, head down to your local comic book store Saturday to get some free books. The Comic Stop, 134 Main Street in Watertown, will host Free Comic Book Day on May 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and there will be a special guest, according to store owner David Philbrick. “There will be an appearance by Spiderman from 10 to 2,” Philbrick said. Watertown artist and Popeye historian Fred Grandinetti will also be at the event drawing sketches for children. Philbrick hopes to set up a tent in back of the store for more activities if the weather is good.

Business

See Which Watertown Business Will Be Closing

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The Staples in Watertown Square will be closing, an official from the company has confirmed. The store, located at 11 Mt. Auburn St., will close next month, according to Staple’s Kaitlyn Reardon. “I can confirm the Watertown location is closing in May,” Reardon said. The company is looking at the retail location and the shift toward online sales, Reardon said in an email.

Business

Watertown Company Helps Keep the Lights On

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The electricity keeps running smoothly through your power lines, and more than 90 percent of power lines in the United States, thanks to the help of Watertown’s Doble Engineering. The Boston Globe featured the company, located on Walnut Street, in Thursday’s edition. The company was founded nearly a century ago and now provides technology, analysis and expertise to power providers, including NStar and National Grid, according to the Globe article. The report also includes details about the company’s history and some of it’s major inventions. Click here to read the Globe article.

Around Town

Town Council Turns Down Request from Watertown Small Business Group

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A group representing local, independent groups spoke to the Town Council on Tuesday and asked them to consider adopting measures to support local businesses, but their request was denied. Members of Watertown-Belmont Local First include locally-owned businesses and while the group is modeled on other similar groups, spokeswoman Rena Baskin said the group is independent. Members must be located in town, owned locally (headquartered in Massachusetts), must not be publicly traded and must be independent – not franchised, Baskin said. Supporting locally-owned businesses can have benefits, Baskin said. “They are the largest employer and provide the most employment to town residents,” Baskin said.

Around Town

Council Opens Way for Multi-Story Hotel in Watertown’s East End

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The Town Council opened the way for a multi-story hotel to be built in town, but only in a small area on the east side of town on Arsenal Street by unanimously voting to change a town zoning ordinance. The change of the zoning ordinance allows a hotel of up to 79 feet and seven stories tall, and it will be limited to the Industrial 1 (I-1) Zone. The Council also considered extending the changes in the zoning to I-2 and I-3 zones. One such hotel  has been proposed at the former Charles River Saab site which is in the I-1 zone. Other changes to the zoning include a reduction of parking requirements to .75 cars per room and one for each employee at peak times, and allowing employees to park one behind another blocking them in.