Around Town

Watertown Budget Will Be Revealed This Week

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Details about the Fiscal 2015 budget – including how much money the schools will receive – will be made public on Tuesday evening. Town Manager Michael Driscoll will present his budget to the Town Council on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Town Hall. The School Committee approved Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald’s request for $42 million from the town, which would be $6 million  or 16 percent more than the funding received in Fiscal 2014 (click here for more details). When Driscoll presented his preliminary budget in October he said all departments, including the schools, should expect a 3 percent increase. Two weeks ago, Driscoll said the school budget request, which included more than 30 new jobs (including 22 new teachers), would actually cost the town $341,ooo more than requested because of health care and other benefits.

Business

Watertown Company Suffers Data Breach

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Watertown-based Tufts Health Plan reported a data breach that compromised some of its customers’ personal information. Details including Social Security numbers, names and birth dates for nearly 9,000 customers was stolen, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The information taken did not include medical or financial information. Read the entire Boston Globe article here: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/04/24/personal-information-stolen-from-more-than-members-tufts-health-plan/jAwJkp4WQDCWPwQYCNNquM/story.html 

Business

Watertown Safari Company Embroiled in Controversy

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Watertown-based Thomson Safaris has been accused of illegally taking land in Tanzania and mistreating locals, but the company maintains the accusations are all fictional. Thomson Safaris faces charges in Tanzanian courts that the company is accused of  driving the Maasai people off their land in order to buy it, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The more than 12,000 acres is used to take visitors on safari. While the company was ordered by the U.S. Federal Court to turn over information on the land acquisition, the owners – Rick Thomson and Judi Wineland of Watertown – said the charges are false and were brought by another group in Tanzania that wanted to buy the land. Read the entire Boston Globe report by clicking here.

Business

Details Announced About New Hotel in Watertown

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The new hotel proposed for Arsenal Street in Watertown will be run by Marriott and will be six stories tall and have nearly 150 rooms, developers announced Thursday night. The hotel would be an extended stay hotel, and cater to businesses in and around Watertown, said Bill McQuillan, principle of Boylston Properties, the developer of the hotel and new owner of the Arsenal Mall – now known as the Arsenal Project. The hotel would be replace the former Saab dealership. “We expect to draw from three to five miles away – businesses, international visitors to Perkins (School), universities and colleges in the area,” McQuillan said. “Harvard, for sure, and BU, BC and Bentley will all have customers here.”

Business

Three Groups Pledge Money for Community Path Extension

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The extension of Watertown’s Community Path could soon become a reality thanks to a pledge from three local businesses. The owners of the Arsenal Project (formerly the Arsenal Mall), athenahealth and Tufts Health Plan have teamed up to offer $25,000 to go toward designing the new section of path from Arlington Street in Watertown to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, said Bill McQuillan, principal with Boylston Properties – which bought the Arsenal Mall last year. The money will cover half the cost, with the Department of Conservation and Recreation covering the rest. “If there are funds for projects like the Community Path they need to be shovel ready – they need to have plans drawn up,” McQuillan said Thursday night. “The DCR doesn’t have the money, so we co-funded the project.”

Entertainment

Watertown Man Seeks Help Publishing Graphic Novel on Machiavelli

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For years, Watertown’s Don MacDonald has worked on pages for a graphic novel on Niccolo Machiavelli, and now his wants to get help paying to print his work. MacDonald works on his project in his spare time, and has posted his drawings and story on his online blog, http://donmacdonald.com/. He recently started a campaign on Kickstarter.com to pay for the printing and to create a website for the project. (Click here to go to the Kickstarter page). His goal is raising $7,500 by May 15, 2014. Machiavelli has interested MacDonald for years, because of his link to art, politics and Italy.

Around Town

Funding for Watertown Dog Park Approved

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Dogs will soon have a place to run off leash in Watertown after the Town Council approved funding to build a dog park. The dog park will be located at How Park, on Pleasant Street, and will include a 200-foot x 100-foot fenced in area. The cost of installing the fencing will be $5,600, and the Council also approved $400 for any cost overruns. The vendor, Ideal Fence Inc., told Community Development and Planning Director Steve Magoon that the fence could be installed as soon as two weeks after the funding is approved. Town Councilor Aaron Dushku noted that the fence on the schematic drawings has only one gate.

Around Town

Midwives at Mount Auburn Hospital Reach Milestone

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The midwives at Mount Auburn Hospital hit a milestone recently – they delivered their 11,000th baby. The baby was Angelia Piantadosi, who is the daughter of Danielle and Paul Piantedosi and sister of Adrianna of Watertown. She was delivered by midwife Arianna Stein of Medford. “I delivered both of Danielle’s babies. This milestone is even more special because I delivered their first baby as well,” Stein said.