Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/cbreitro/)
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Sept. 19: A vacuum cleaner and a suitcase were abandoned on the side of the road on Brown Street. Sept. 20: A juvenile suspect was seen taking a Lego set priced at $245 from Target.
The Watertown Fire Department will host an open house on Oct. 11. Come join us for some fun, food, and live demonstrations. Learn about fire safety and what you can do to keep you friends, family, and pets safe. WHERE: Watertown Fire Headquarters, 99 Main St., Watertown
WHEN: Saturday, Oct.
Matt Hanna, the voice behind “Little Local Conversations” podcast, spoke with Michael Bobbitt, the executive director of the Mass Cultural Council; led an arts and culture roundtable; and the administrator of Historic New England which overseas the Browne House. In “Little Local Conversations,” discover the people, places, stories, and ideas of Watertown. Hanna has conversations with various businesses owners, community leaders, creatives, and other interesting folks in Watertown to learn about what they do and get to know a bit about the people behind the work.
Episode 64: Michael Bobbitt (Mass Cultural Council)
Michael Bobbitt
Meet Michael Bobbitt! He’s a Watertown resident and the Executive Director of the Mass Cultural Council along with being a distinguished theater artist in many ways himselfIn this conversation we talk about how art saved him in his early years, his early successes from being the “best Hansel” to touring nationally to perform, his time in children’s theater and building Adventure Theatre in the DC area from 15,000 patrons to 100,000 patrons, co-writing musicals with Bob Marley and Jim Davis, and eventually making his way to New Repertory Theater in Watertown and his current role at the Mass Cultural Council.
We dig into topics such as the challenges of arts advocacy in Massachusetts, how and why the arts sector needs to change its beliefs, values and behavior, possible policy changes such as STEM to STEAM, how the arts in Massachusetts are saving healthcare money with the first in the nation arts prescribing program, his thoughts on Watertown arts, how the MCC has redesigned their grant programs to make them more accessible for all artists, and what’s the day-to-day like for an executive director while also juggling his personal artistic projects. Listen to the episode by clicking here.
Three townhouses, a pair of single family houses, and a three family were sold this week. 8 Locust Lane #C, $820,000, 3 bedroom 3 bathroom 1,724 sq. ft. Townhouse
43 Bailey Road, $2,000,000, 5 bedroom 4 bathroom 3,750 sq. ft.
Check out this week’s Watertown open houses. 1 Bridgham Ave., $1,195,000, 3 bedroom 2 bathroom 1,900 sq. ft. Single Family, Open houses: Friday, Oct. 3 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Saturday, Oct.
The City of Watertown will have a new set of goals used to create the annual budget and make decisions about how municipal departments operate, City Manager City Manager George Proakis said during Tuesday’s State of the City presentation. During the address, he and City Council President Mark Sideris also discussed the Charter Review set to happen in 2026, and the possibility of having a Post Office in the center of town. This is the second story on the 2025 State of the City Address. See the first story, focused on the factors that could impact Watertown’s economic future, and in turn the City’s budget, by clicking here. New Goals
Proakis has been in town for three years, and has worked with the City Council to create the budget.
A screenshot from the Watertown Cable broadcast of the Library Board of Trustees Candidate Forum. The four hopefuls for the Watertown Free Public Library Board of Trustees appeared at a live forum on Monday night co-sponsored by Watertown News and Watertown Cable Access TV. You can watch the replay of the forum on WCA-TV. The candidates include incumbent Leanne Hammonds, and three challengers, Fowler Brown, Xin Peng and Pia Owens. They answered a series of questions from moderator and WCA-TV anchor Maya Shwayder about issues including: what they’d like to see added at the library, how to fund programs if the budget gets tight, their favorite programs at the library, and how they would like to see the Summer Reading List created and vetted in the future.
City Manager George Proakis, left, and City Council President Mark Sideris presented the State of the City on Sept. 30, 2025. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Despite an uncertain economic future, Watertown remains on solid ground, City Manager George Proakis said during Monday’s State of the City Address. He and City Council President Mark Sideris went into depth about the economic factors impacting the City during the annual address. Proakis concluded the presentation by saying, “Even as we face uncertainties, the State of the City remains strong.”