Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/2024/01/)
A rendering of the new landscaped area in Coolidge Square at Bigelow Avenue as part of the Mt. Auburn Street Project. (Courtesy of Tighe & Bond)
The Mt. Auburn Street renovation project has been approved by the state, and the primary construction contractor is the same one with which Watertown officials have had difficulties on a recent project. On Jan.
Watertown Senior CenterThe Watertown Senior Center. The Watertown Senior Center will host programs on heart health, tax preparation and has trips to museums around the area in February. See more information about what’s happening at the Senior Center in the monthly Watertown Senior News, provided by the Department of Senior Services, below:
February is National Heart Disease Awareness month, please join us for a Heart Health Presentation with Stroke Nurse Marie McCune, of the Mount Auburn Hospital, Wednesday, February 21, at 3:30 pm. This month, we offer trips to the Boston College Art Museum on February 2nd, the Institute of Contemporary Art on February 9th, the MA Historical Society on February 12th, the Armenian Museum on February 16th, and the Peabody Essex Museum on February 26th. We will have a tour of the Watertown Square branch of the Watertown Savings Bank on February 13th.
MBTA Bus. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
The following announcement was provided by the MBTA:
The MBTA will host an in-person public meeting on Thursday, February 1, at Cristo Rey Boston High School in Dorchester from 6 PM to 8 PM regarding proposed MBTA fare changes. The MBTA is proposing an expansion of reduced fares eligibility to riders with low income and other fare changes, including replacing change tickets with CharlieCards on buses and the Green and Mattapan lines and a permanent $10 Holiday Weekend Passes. If approved, these changes will go into effect in spring 2024. Riders and the public are encouraged to attend and can learn more at mbta.com/2024FareChanges.
Accessibility
These meetings are accessible to people with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency. Accessibility accommodations and language services will be provided free of charge, upon request, as available.
Watertown Middle School
Watertown Public School officials and the Watertown Police appear at a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. for the Watertown Middle School Community following the discovery of a list of students created by a WMS student. School officials said they have assessed the situation and determined there was no credible threat, but some parents remain concerned for the safety of their children and have questions about how the school handled the situation. The list was found last week, and the school contacted parents of students who were on the document. Watertown Middle School implemented the district’s safety protocols, and has been working with the student and the student’s family, who worked with the school and police “to ensure their well-being and the safety of our community,” read a letter sent out by Watertown Middle School Principal Jennifer Chen Fein.
Televisions in public areas in Watertown will be required to use closed captioning. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Televisions in public areas in Watertown, including in restaurants and businesses, will have to turn on the closed captioning feature during regular hours. The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance requiring closed captioning, also called subtitles, at its Jan. 9 meeting. The ordinance was recommended to the Council by the Watertown Commission on Disability, City Council President Mark Sideris said.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Recreation Department:
The City of Watertown is interested in repurposing the court space at Filippello Park to include 6 new pickleball courts. Attend this meeting to share your thoughts, and to learn about the proposal and timeline. Location: Hosmer School Learning Commons, 1 Concord Road
Date: February 20, 2024
Time: 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Questions? Email parksprojects@watertown-ma.gov
To the Editor:
Ghost tree
Your fifty foot tall, towering presence would have held snow on your strong, healthy boughs today. Mourning doves would have stood on the boughs near your trunk for protection from the wind, their winter coats puffed up cozy among your pine needle feathers. Mother tree, so many miss you today. Rabbits’ secret shelter under boughs at your trunk, no longer here to offer a safe place to laugh at my barking dog. Chickadee, junco, winter birds who would rest on your branches when hawk was distracted elsewhere. They waited for me to fill the tube with seed to sustain them in this small piece of forest in city.
Watertown Public School music students perform at Bandarama. Those in high school take a trip to New York every two years. The School Committee approved a field trip for Watertown High School music students to spend a weekend in New York, but had concerns about the price and making sure that all students can participate. The trip to the Big Apple has become a biannual tradition for the chorus, band, and orchestra. The trip includes a performance and workshop with professional musicians, a Broadway show, a dinner/dance cruise around the Statue of Liberty, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and walking around Central Park.