Police/Fire

Nicholson Fulfills Promise in Becoming Watertown’s Fire Chief, Has Plans for Department

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Ryan Nicholson has been appointed Watertown’s new Fire Chief. (Photo Courtesy of Ryan Nicholson)

After more than a year leading the Watertown Fire Department, Ryan Nicholson officially became Fire Chief on July 17. He has plans for the department, and seeks to continue efforts started by Fire Chiefs who came before him. Firefighting runs in Nicholson’s family, and often visited fire stations when he was young. He credits his uncle, Michael, who encouraged him to aim high when he joined the Fire Department in 2006.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Pair Busted for Apartment Break-in, Porsche Stolen & Crashed

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

July 11th: Police served arrest warrants on two people involved in two incidents in Watertown, including an apartment break-in. The first incident occurred on June 4, when a resident of an apartment building on Main Street reported that a package was missing. Security footage showed a person enter the vestibule and take several packages. On June 29, police investigated a breaking and entering of an apartment on Mt.

Police/Fire

Police Seek Driver Who Appeared to Intentionally Hit Goose

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A picture of a vehicle that appeared to intentionally strike a goose that was crossing Charles River Road. (Courtesy of Watertown Police)

Police believe a motorist intentionally hit a goose on Charles River Road, and seek to identify the driver. The incident occurred on Wednesday July 19, when traffic was stopped for a group of geese crossing the road. The driver of a silver Nissan SUV went into the bike lane and struck a goose. Police hope to identify the driver, and have asked residents to check their home surveillance cameras to see if there is anything on them that could help with the investigation.

Around Town

Watertown Restaurant Using GoFundMe to Try to Stay Open

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Watertown’s Ritcey East has struggled since the pandemic, and owner Max Ritcey has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money to keep the doors open at the Waverley Avenue restaurant. Ritcey said the restaurant has been down tens of thousand dollars behind each month, in part due to paying back COVID loans. The goal is to reach $30,000 by September, and fans have already stepped up to donate more than $22,000 in the first four days. See more information about the campaign at the Ritcey East GoFundMe page. Ritcey posted the following letter on the campaign page:

It’s very hard for me to share this but Ritceys is down on average 20k a month since the pandemic.

Around Town

Study Finds Watertown Multi-Family Complexes Have Many Empty Parking Spaces

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Courtesy of MAPC

A study of large large apartment complexes in Watertown found that nearly 40 percent off-street parking spots remain empty, even during peak parking times. The Perfect Fit Parking study conducted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) looked a several communities in the Boston area. In 17 multi-family residential complexes in Watertown, 62 percent of the spaces were full. The Watertown complexes had 1.45 parking spaces per unit, and 0.99 spaces were utilized, according to the study’s summary. The study comes at a good time, Watertown Assistant City Manager Steve Magoon said in the MAPC’s announcement (read it below), with the draft Comprehensive Plan update recommending the the City review its parking requirements for new developments.