Government

See How Much the School Committee Approved for the School Budget

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Watertown Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald asked for a bigger budget, and she got what she asked for. Now school officials and parents will have to wait to see if they get the funding. Last week Fitzgerald said the schools need $46 million in Fiscal 2015 to provide the type of education that school officials believe Watertown’s children need. That would require a $42 million appropriation from the town. The amount is $6 million and 16 percent higher than Fiscal 2014 (the current year).

Police/Fire

Woman, 2 Teens Arrested for Shoplifting at Watertown Target

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A South Boston woman faces charge of shoplifting and coaxing two teens into taking items from Target in Watertown, according to police. Store security spotted Tara P. Mannion, 29, of South Boston, along with two girls -one 12 and one 14 – shoplifting on the night of April 6. “They were placing clothing and jewelry into a reusable bag,” said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “The older female was instructing the other females what to place into the bags.” When they attempted to leave the store, security stopped them.

Government

Report Investigated Response to Bomber Manhunt in Watertown

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When the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects came to Watertown law enforcement and emergency personnel leapt into action and ultimately stopped the pair. A report recently published by Harvard University researchers examined how well agencies responded. The report, called “Why Was Boston Strong?: Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombing” was produced by the Kennedy of School of Government’s Program on Crisis Leadership. Researchers used interviews with more than 100 people involved in the response to the bombing at the Marathon finish line as well as the shootout and manhunt in Watertown. The report concluded that the response at the finish line worked well in part because of the large presence of first responders already in place for the race, and because of good coordination.

Government

Watertown School Budget, High School Renovation on Tap Monday

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The Watertown school budget will be on tap Monday night for the School Committee, and y0u can have your voice heard. The public hearing on the Fiscal 2015 school budget will be held Monday night at 7:15 p.m. in Town Hall. The School Committee must decide how much to request from the Town Council and Town Manager Michael Driscoll. Last week, Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said she believes the district needs to add $6 million to this year’s budget to “move the district forward the way we would like it to go.” That would be an increase of more than 16 percent.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Chief Recounts Shootout with Bombing Suspect

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The anniversary of one of the most memorable days in Watertown history is coming up, and Police Chief Edward Deveau recently recounted the events of April 19, 2013. Deveau shared his memories with Foxsports.com, and recalled receiving a phone call from one of his officer who said “Chief, they’re shooting at us.” They, of course, are the Tsarnaev brothers who are the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing and in the killing of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. He also talks about plans to run this year’s Boston Marathon. Read the entire article by clicking here.

Police/Fire

Boston Officials Announce Cause of Fire that Killed Fire Lt. Walsh

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The fire in the Back Bay that killed Boston Fire Lt. and Watertown native Edward Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy was sparked by welders doing work on the building, Boston officials said. The fire on March 26 started in 296 Beacon St., the building behind the home in which Walsh and Kennedy died in an explosion while fighting the blaze in the basement. During a press conference Friday morning Boston Fire Commissioner John Hasson said welders had been working on the building. “Sparks from the welding got under the clapboards, the fire ignited and got rolling,” Hasson said. “It was set off by wind off the Charles River and ultimately consumed the building.”

Letters

Letter: Why We Decided to Go Solar

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If you’ve been reading the Tab these days, you may have heard about Solarize Watertown

– a state program that helps residents and businesses in Watertown go solar using a bulk-purchase model. In other words, the more if us who opt to install solar panels on our roofs, the lower the cost will be for all of us. We made the choice to use solar panels to produce our electricity for a lot of reasons. The Big Picture reasons are compelling enough: the supply of fossil fuel is limited, and getting it from under the ground thousands of miles away to our house is tremendously costly, both financially and in its environmental impact. In recognition of these facts, Massachusetts has mandated that our utility companies produce a percentage of electricity from renewable sources.

Around Town

Watertown Youth Leaders Head to State House to ‘Kick’ Teen Smoking

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Members of the Watertown Youth Coalition visited the Massachusetts State House recently in an effort to stop teen smoking. The peer leaders joined more than 250 other young adults from across the commonwealth for national Kick Butts Day. During the event the peer leaders learned about new challenges in curbing smoking from Department of Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett. “Tobacco companies have been using cheap prices, glitzy packaging, and widespread availability to market their new, flavored products to young people,” Bartlett said. “Now they’re using those same strategies to market e-hookahs and other types of flavored e-cigarettes at young people.