Government

This Week: Planning Board Hears Citizens Petitions, Council Voting on Budget

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Watertown City Hall

The Planning Board will discuss two citizens petitions to change Watertown’s zoning on Wednesday night, and the City Council will vote on the City budget on Tuesday night. Also, a City Council committee will discuss the role of the Election Commission, and the Library Trustees will meet about the screening committee for the Library Director search. A pair of citizens petitions will be discussed by the Planning Board. One calls for reducing the maximum Floor Area Ratio (the square footage allowed in relation to the size of the property) in the Central Business District. This area includes part of Watertown Square and an area along Main Street.

Around Town

Challenger Baseball Program Has Allowed All Watertown Children to Play Ball for 10 Years

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The players and buddies in the Watertown Challenger Baseball program, which is for players with physical and mental challenges. (Photo courtesy of Watertown Challenger Baseball). Ten years ago, Watertown Youth Baseball added a program that allowed children with a physical or intellectual challenge to get on the field and play ball. And each year, participants in the Challenger Baseball program get to play in an special event sponsored by NESN where they play similar programs from other communities around Massachusetts. The program got rolling in 2013, but had to take a few years off during the Pandemic, said Greg Salvucci, a past president of Watertown Youth Baseball and Softball.

Business

Seven Watertown Companies Receive Tax Incentives from State to Create Jobs

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Seven companies from Watertown received part of the $24.4 million being awarded by the state to create new jobs in the life sciences industry. The Healey-Driscoll Administration and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced the MLSC Tax Incentive Program program last week. It will provide incentives for 43 life sciences companies, which are expected to create 1,584 jobs, according to the program’s announcement. The Watertown companies will received between $150,000 and $750,000 in tax incentives and will create a combined 140 jobs. The Watertown companies receiving the incentives are:

AffiniT Thereapeutics, $375,000, 25 jobs

Corner Therapeutics Inc., $150,000, 10 jobs

Disc Medicine Inc., $150,000, 10 jobs

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc., $150,000, 10 jobs

Lyra Therapeutics Inc. $300,000, 20 jobs

Tome Biosciences Inc., $750,000, 50 jobs

Treeline Biosciences Inc., $225,000, 15 jobs.

Around Town

Victory Field Closing for Most of Summer to Replace Artificial Turf

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown hosts Belmont in the annual Thanksgiving Football Game at 10:45 a.m. Thursday. The football and baseball fields at Watertown’s largest athletic complex will be closed this summer. The artificial turf surface that was installed in 2011 will be replaced. Most of the rest of the complex will remain open. Recreation Department Director Peter Centola sent out the following letter about Victory Field:

Good Morning,

Our Victory Complex Artificial Turf Field will be closed Monday June 12 to Wednesday, August 16, 2023, for the purpose of replacing our artificial turf field.

Around Town

Lt. Gov. Hears from Local Businesses at Chamber Event, Pushes for Housing, Job Training & Free PreK

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Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, right, spoke at the Charles River Regional Chamber’s Spring Business Breakfast where Joe Prestejohn (left), owner of Cabot’s Ice Cream, was honored. (Photo courtesy of Charles River Chamber

NEEDHAM — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll stressed the importance of small businesses to make communities places where people want to live when she spoke at the Charles River Regional Chamber, but she added that Massachusetts faces challenges that could hurt business big and small such as the cost of housing, lack of qualified and even the cost of childcare. Driscoll also heard directly from business owners about some of the things that make it more difficult for them to thrive. She gave the keynote address at the Chamber’s Spring Business Breakfast on June 2. During the event, held at the Sheraton Boston Needham Hotel, the Chamber also honored Joe Prestejohn, the retiring owner of a Newton institution — Cabot’s Ice Cream & Restaurant.

Around Town

See the Award 2023 Watertown Historic Preservation Award Winners

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Members of the Historical Society of Watertown and Boston Tea Party pose with their 2023 Historic Preservation Awards. (Photo courtesy of the City of Watertown)

The Watertown Historical Commission awarded the 2023 Historical Preservation Awards at a ceremony held at Gore Place’s Carriage House on May 18. Awards honor individuals, organizations and projects that have shown leadership in historic preservation in Watertown. 2023 Watertown Preservation Awards

Watertown Free Public Library Reference Staff

The Richard E. Mastrangelo Memorial Award

Awarded to the Watertown Free Library and its reference staff for serving as a great historic research resource

Sheppard Ferguson

Citizenship Award

Awarded to Sheppard Ferguson for photographing and indexing the City’s historic markers

Boston Tea Party Ship

Community Spirit Award

Awarded to the Boston Tea Party Ship for installing a final resting place marker commemorating Samuel Barnard, a Watertown participant in the 1773 Tea Party

Students from the Jewish Community Day School accepted the Historic Preservation Award. (Photo courtesy of the City of Watertown)

Jewish Community Day School

Service to Youth Award

Awarded to the Jewish Community Day School for its Watertown Museum Pop-Up project on Watertown history

Marshall Place–CASCAP

Architectural Preservation Award

Awarded for the Marshall Place restoration project, led by CASCAP, preserving this 1874

Second Empire building

Mt.