Watertown Porchfest is Coming, Performers and Hosts Wanted

Watertown will hold the first Porchfest on Saturday, May 18, and organizers seek both porches to host performances and bands to perform. The event will be on May 18, from 12-5 p.m. (rain date is Sunday, May 19). Registration has opened, and will continue through April 28. What is Porchfest? Porchfest is an afternoon of free music (and other performances) performed outside of people’s homes – on porches, patios, driveways, and lawns.

Watertown Wrestler One of Top in New England, Basketball & Hockey Teams Hit the Road

Watertown junior Tessa Master, second from right, received her third place trophy at the New England Wrestling Championships. (Courtesy of Watertown Athletics)

Watertown’s Tessa Master reached new heights for a WHS wrestler on Saturday when she placed third at the New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships. The junior’s run of tournament wins that started two weeks prior at the Div. 3 State Meet, continued through All-States, and to the the quarterfinals of the New England meet in Providence. Then she ran into one of the top athletes in the competition, said Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo.

2024 Presidential Primary Information: Ballots Have Other Races, See Where to Vote

Watertown voters can cast their votes in the Presidential Primary on Tuesday, March 5, but the ballot includes some local officials, too. The Presidential Primaries are Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To confirm your precinct location, please go to the Secretary of State’s Where Do I Vote webpage. Presidential Candidates

Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarian voters have multiple candidates to choose from for the Massachusetts Presidential Primary. Unenrolled voters can choose which party’s ballot to cast their votes.

Late Surge Powers Watertown Boys Basketball Past Shawsheen in State Tourney

Watertown junior Aiden Didovic celebrates during the Raiders’ State Tourney victory over Shawsheen Tech on Saturday. He led the Raiders in scoring in scoring. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown High School’s boys basketball team kept its cool down the stretch and defeated Shawsheen Tech 53-45 Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the MIAA Div. 3 Tournament. The 14th-seeded Raiders (14-7) jumped out to a big first quarter lead, but the Rams fought back to bring the lead to just 1 point with 26 seconds left in the game and had a chance to take the lead.

Referee Passes Away After Collapsing at Watertown Basketball Game

Basketball referee Don McGillicuddy died after collapsing in the closing moments of Watertown High School’s girls basketball game against Old Rochester on Friday. Initially, Watertown Police and other medical personnel at the game revived him by performing CPR and using a defibrillator, but the Boston Herald reported that he later died on the way to hospital. According to the Herald, McGillicuddy suffered a second heart attack en route to Mount Auburn Hospital and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. See the Herald article here. The Watertown Public Schools released the following statement on Saturday:

The Watertown Raiders community is deeply saddened by the passing of a game official who collapsed in the final seconds of the Watertown-Old Rochester Regional girls basketball game on Friday night.

Watertown Girls Basketball Cruises in Second Half to Grab State Tournament Win

Watertown senior captain Lily Lambo lead the Raiders in scoring in the Round of 32 State Tournament victory over Old Rochester on Friday. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

The Watertown High School girls basketball team pulled away in the second half to cruise to a State Tournament victory, but the game abruptly ended with 37.6 seconds left when a referee collapsed and required medical attention. The referee was conscious when he was take to hospital in an ambulance after being treated by Watertown Police officers and others in attendance at the Watertown Middle School Gym. UPDATE: The Boston Herald reported that the referee later died en route to the hospital. The 11th-seeded Raiders won 47-28, but their opponent in the MIAA Div.

Options for Watertown Square Redesign Refined and Presented to the Public

Residents gave input about the ideas for redesigning Watertown Square during a meeting on Thursday night. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Designers gave some glimpses of what Watertown’s center could look like if the City adopts a plan to redesign and redevelop the area during Thursday night’s Watertown Square Area Plan meeting. Two main options for reworking the roadways in the Square were explored, both of which would add more open space to the area, and showed retail kiosks on the Delta. The scenarios also looked at how Watertown could meet the requirements to allow more housing to meet the MBTA Communities Act. Buildings with as much as six stories of residential units were shown in the illustrations.

Dozens of Watertown Students Collected College Honors in the Fall

See some of the Watertown students to earn honors at their college or university during the fall semester of 2023. UMass Amherst

Below is a list of local students from Watertown who were named to the dean’s list at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for the fall 2023 semester. In order to qualify, an undergraduate student must receive a 3.5 grade-point average or better on a four-point scale.Philip Richard CentolaAidan Paul ConneelyCarina Bella DeLorioRiley Francis DonlanTrisanne Phillipa DunstanLevon GukasyanRita Queenie HackettBenjamin Harrison HeepJackson Wallace HelieGevork George KarapetyanIlana KrebsMaeve Ella LawnDuncan Alexander LeperaAni Nanor ManjikianRobert MartirosyanSaron NebiyeSelina NebiyeJohn Payton-Michael RileyJen RimalSydney Willow RosenthalHenry Peter SarrisSabreena ShahMason Thomas SmithBenjamin Roubik SurenianIsabella Delmaschio TancredoDaniel Kevin TattrieHrachya Tigran TonyanMichael J VarnumGregory Steven VenizelosAnna Rose ZarkadasChristina Noora Zouein

University of Albany

The University at Albany has recognized Kainaat Yousuf of Watertown for selection to the Fall 2023 Dean’s List. The Dean’s List at the University at Albany recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of full-time undergraduate students. To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 or higher in their first semester of study and a GPA of 3.50 or higher in subsequent semesters.