Government

Watertown Charter Review Committee to Hold First Meeting

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The group that will be reviewing and likely proposing changes to the Watertown Charter will hold its first meeting on Oct. 6. The review of the Home Rule Charter, the document that determines how Watertown’s government works and its structure, takes place every 10 years in years ending in 0. The Charter Review Committee is made up of the nine Town Councilors and six residents appointed by the Town Council President. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct.

Entertainment

New Rep Brings Theater & History to the Streets of Watertown Square

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Charles Lenox, played by Kadahj Bennett, talks about his time in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry during the Civil War sitting on a cannon at the Watertown Civil War Monument. The performance is the first Moving Play presented by New Rep Theatre. Visitors to Watertown Square may have recently noticed an enthusiastic, precocious and out-spoken young man wandering around the area. Charles Lenox, or Kadahj Bennett portraying Lenox, will gladly share his views about the major issues of his time — the 1860s — many of which are familiar to people today. The performance, called the Charles W. Lenox Experience, is the first of New Repertory Theatre’s Historical Moving Plays, and focuses on a real Watertown resident during the time of the Civil War.

Sports

See the 2020 Watertown High School Fall Sports Schedules

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The abbreviated fall high school sports, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, started this week when the Watertown High School golf team took on Wilmington, and other teams will be debuting this weekend. Six fall sports teams will be competing this year: boys and girls cross country, field hockey, boys and girls soccer and golf. Meanwhile, the football, volleyball, swimming and cheerleading teams will wait until “Fall II” which begins in February. Most of the teams will have 10 competitions. The boys and girls cross country teams will have five apiece.

Real Estate

See This Weekend’s Watertown Open Houses

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More than a dozen homes hosting open houses in Watertown this weekend. $999,000 – 28 Prentiss St. Unit 28, Condo – Townhouse, 2,739 Living Area Sq. Ft. (Includes Finished Basement), 8 Room, 4 Bedroom, 3 Full & 2 Half Bathroom, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$1,100,000 – 37 Langdon Ave., Single Family – Detached Colonial, 2,855 Living Area Sq.

Around Town

DPW Recommends Seven Watertown Roads to be Repaved in 2021

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The roads in Watertown proposed to be repaired in 2021. The Department of Public Works recommended that seven roads around Watertown be reconstructed during the 2021 construction season. The list of roads to undergo full reconstruction, including sidewalks, was presented to the Town Council’s Public Works subcommittee on Sept. 24. The roads that made the list are:

Alden Road Sheldon RoadHazel Street (Quimby Street to Dexter Avenue) Gertrude StreetGoldie StreetElmwood AvenueGrandview Avenue (Chapman Street to Copeland Street)

Town Engineer Matt Shuman explained that the roads were chosen were in the greatest state of disrepair.

Schools

Parent Starts Petition Asking Schools to Move to Hybrid Earlier

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A screenshot of the parent petition asking for the Watertown Schools to reopen earlier. The Watertown Public Schools will not be moving to a hybrid model with a mix of in-person and remote learning, until Oct. 26 at the earliest, but a Hosmer Elementary School parent has started a petition asking officials to reconsider. The decision to start the year remotely, and move to hybrid later in the fall, was made in August. School officials have been under pressure from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to open earlier because COVID-19 rates put the Town into the lower-risk category (green) in the state’s Community Level COVID Data Reporting system.

Government

Watertown Schools Respond to State Letter; Gov. Relaxing Restrictions

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Watertown School officials responded to the letter from state education officials asking them to reopen the schools to in-person learning, saying the Town’s school will remain on their schedule to have students return to elementary schools in late October and to secondary schools in November. Meanwhile, Gov. Charlie Baker announced the relaxing of some of the state’s COVID-19 rules. Last week, the Watertown Schools, and 15 other districts, received a letter from Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley strongly urging the schools to return to in-person learning because the communities have low rates of Coronavirus infections. Watertown remains a “green” community, meaning it is at lower risk of COVID-19 spread. The latest weekly statistics released by the State, as of Sept.