Around Town

Discussion of Historic Shick House Just One Virtual Senior Center Event

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The Shick House is on property owned by the Mount Auburn Cemetery and likely to be sold to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. The history of the Shick House will be presented during one of this week’s virtual Senior Center events. The house is located on Grove Street in East Watertown, and may be torn down. The property on which it is located was sold to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, and the school plans to build playing fields on the site. The house will be torn down unless it is moved to another site.

Government

Watertown Moves into High Risk for COVID-19, Health Director Asks Residents to Remain Vigilant

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Watertown moved into the Red, or high-risk, category in the most recent Mass. Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 reporting. The Watertown Health Director fears that people are suffering from “COVID fatigue” and have become lax about taking measures to stop the spread of the virus. In the latest data from the MassDPH, Watertown has an average of 55.8 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, which was up from 51 per 100,000 the previous week. The number that moved the Town from “yellow” to “red” was the positivity percentage of tests, which was 5.14 percent (up from 4.7 percent the previous report).

Around Town

Supporters Thank State Rep. Jonathan Hecht for Years of Service to Watertown

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Newly retired State Rep. Jonathan Hecht thanked the supporters who gathered outside his home to thank him for his work representing Watertown for almost 15 years. Longtime 29th Middlesex State Rep. Jonathan Hecht received a serenade some of his biggest supporters on Wednesday, who thanked him for his 12 years representing Watertown on Beacon Hill. Supporters from Watertown and Cambridge sang Hecht a song thanking him for his work on Beacon Hill, including the improvements to the Charles River Park, the Watertown/Cambridge Greenway bicycle and pedestrian path, support for clean energy, transportation and health care. Hecht came out of his home, still bleary eyed from his last day as state rep, which lasted until the early hours of Wednesday. He told the gathering of about two dozen people the day had been a strange and bittersweet one.

Ari Koufos

Watertown Real Estate Sales Strong Despite Pandemic; See the Top Agents, Offices

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The pandemic threw some new challenges at real estate agents in 2020, but the Watertown home sales remained almost as strong as the prior year. The total sales in Watertown figure in 2020 was $586.21 million from 413 properties. The prior year, 429 properties sold for about about $4 million more than 2020. As in prior years, the top agent for Watertown home sales was Ari Koufos, broker/owner of Realty Executives. He sold 23 properties for $22.23 million.

Police/Fire

Man Robbed While Walking Down Street in Watertown

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A Watertown man reported being robbed while walking down Pleasant Street in Watertown, and lost his cell phone. On Dec. 30 at 7:42 p.m. Watertown Police received a report of a man who had been robbed, according to Police Lt. James O’Connor. The man said he had been listening to music on his headphones as he walked down Pleasant Street. Another man approached him and asked if he “had any weed to smoke,” O’Connor said.

Around Town

Groups Helping Residents During Pandemic the Focus of Watertown Cable Show

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Guests Jan Singer of the Watertown Community Foundation (top left) and Sophia Suarez-Friedman of Watertown Mutual Aid (bottom right) joined Inside Watertown co-hosts Charlie Breitrose (top right) and Bob Airasian (bottom left). Two organizations that have been helping Watertown residents weather the COVID-19 pandemic were highlighted on the most recent episode of Watertown Cable’s Inside Watertown. The guests on the Zoom edition of Inside Watertown were Sophia Suarez-Friedman, the Town’s Social Services Resource Specialist at Wayside Youth & Family Support Network and coordinator of Watertown Mutual Aid; and Jan Singer, executive director of the Watertown Community Foundation. Co-hosts Charlie Breitrose and Bob Airasian talked with Suarez-Friedman and Singer about some of the many initiatives that have started during the pandemic. Mutual Aid is one, which pairs residents who want to help neighbors in need of assistance.

Business

State Offering New Round of Pandemic Grants to Small Businesses

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Grants are available for small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. A new round of grants for small businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic has been announced by state officials. Sectors given priority for the grants include restaurants, hair and nail salons, gyms and fitness, indoor recreation, event support and independent retailers. The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) has up to $668 million available to support businesses in sectors experiencing the most significant economic hardship and a loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The application deadline is Jan.