Around Town

Watertown Boys & Girls Club Funds 4 Teen Positions with Grant from Attorney General’s Office

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The Watertown Boys & Girls Club was one of more than 70 organizations statewide to receive funds from the Attorney General’s office aimed at funding summer jobs for young people. Attorney General Maura Healey announced on July 21 that the Boys & Girls Club would be receiving money from the Healthy Summer Youth Jobs Grant Program. The club will receive $2,500, according to a spokesperson from the AG’s Office. The grant allowed the Watertown Boys & Girls Club to fund four positions for teens with health and wellness components including swim instructors and camp counselors, according to Mary Kern, grant writer for the Club. “This grant fits perfectly into our mission of serving ‘those who need us most.’

Sports

Watertown Rower Will Row for the Gold After His Crew Qualified for the Olympic Final

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U.S. RowingWatertown’s Alexander Richards and the U.S. men’s eight boat qualified for the Olympic final. Team USA’s Men’s eight rowers, including Watertown’s own Alexander Richards, finished a close third late Tuesday night to book a spot in Thursday’s Olympic Final. Richards and the USA crew raced against Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Romania for spots in Thursday’s final at the Tokyo Olympics. The top four in the repechage race advanced to compete for medals. The Americans hit the 500 meter mark in third place, behind the Brits and New Zealand.

Business

Businesses Can Qualify for $1,000s in Credits from Federal Pandemic Relief

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Charlie Breitrose

Watertown businesses may be able to qualify for thousands of dollars back from the Federal government through a credit against the employment taxes they paid during the pandemic. Businesses and non-profits may be eligible for the employee retention tax credit from the Federal government. The program started with the first COVID-19 Pandemic relief act and was expanded to give businesses the opportunity to claim more money back from wages they paid to employees in 2020 and 2021, according to an article on CNBC.com, which was highlighted the Newton Needham Regional Chamber. The program is aimed at small and midsized businesses, which are those with 500 or fewer employees. To qualify, the business must have seen a drop of at least 20 percent in a quarter in 2021 compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Election 2021

Candidate List for 2021 Watertown Election Taking Shape, Several Seek At-Large Council Seats

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Updated July 28 at 3 p.m.:

A late rush of candidates for the Town Election means that there will be enough people running for Councilor At-Large to fill the seats, and then some. There will be at least five contested races if all the candidates’ signatures are certified. Last Wednesday, only three people had put in papers to run for the four Councilor At-Large seats, but by the end of Tuesday — the last day to submit papers and signatures — there were seven people who had turned in papers to run, and a few more possible. The people who turned in their nomination papers with at least 100 signatures required to run are: Anthony Palomba, Caroline Bays, John Gannon, James Mello, Daniel D’Amico, Megan O’Halloran, and John Airasian. Three others have pulled papers but had not turned in the signatures as of early Tuesday afternoon.

Cancelled

Meeting on BB&N, Town Field Agreement Cancelled

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The Town Council’s Special Meeting on the agreement between the Town and Buckingham Browne & Nichols on Tuesday, July 27 has been cancelled. The notice from the Town sent out Monday afternoon said that the meeting will be rescheduled, but a date has not been set. See the original story here: https://www.watertownmanews.com/2021/07/26/towns-agreement-on-fields-with-bbn-to-be-discussed-at-special-town-council-meeting/

Entertainment

New Rep Theatre Seeks to Raise $200,000 to Prevent Shutting Down Permanently

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Watertown-based New Repertory Theater needs an injection of money soon or will have to shut down permanently. The company, based at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, announced this week that it was suspending operations indefinitely, and unless the theater company can raise $200,000 over the next few months it will close permanently, Jo Trompet, chairman of New Rep’s board of directors, told the Boston Globe. Even before the pandemic, New Rep faced a budget deficit, which former-Artistic Director Michael Bobbitt said would take a number of years to make up. The COVID-19 restrictions meant the New Rep had to cancel about a season and a half of performances. The company also faces uncertainty about its primary performance space, the theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, which is undergoing upgrades.

Government

Town’s Agreement on Fields with BB&N to be Discussed at Special Town Council Meeting

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BB&NA planning document showing the design for the athletic field to be built by Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School on Grove Street. The agreement between the Town of Watertown and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School will be discussed Tuesday at a Special Town Council Meeting. In November 2020, the Town entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cambridge-based private school over land the school plans to put two athletic fields with synthetic turf on Grove Street. A petition signed by more than 700 people asking the Town to reconsider the agreement was submitted to the Town Council. The residents who signed the petition oppose the use of synthetic turf, and note that the Memorandum of Understanding calls for “open green space,” and does not specifically include wording about synthetic turf.

Arrests

Police Log: Driver Busted After Driving With No Tire on Rim, Valuables Taken from Apartment

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

July 15, 1:54 a.m.: An officer who stopped at a red light on North Beacon Street heading toward Watertown Square when he heard a loud scraping noise coming from behind him. He looked in the mirror and saw a grey Ford SUV, with the driver’s side tire completely off the rim. The SUV was driving on its rim, and sparks were coming from the rim as it traveled past the cruiser. When the officer stopped the vehicle, the driver said he had not been in an accident but that he got a flat when he drove over a nail.