Around Town

Watertown Students Make Art Inspired by MLK for Monday’s Unity Breakfast

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Artwork created by Lowell School students. Ms. Jaclyn Zywocinski & Ms. Christine Talamas and their kindergarten & 1st grade students at the J.R. Lowell Elementary School created the centerpiece art for the annual Unity Breakfast while learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Students talked about how it doesn’t matter what the color your skin is… we are all so special, different and kind.  And all hands, even small ones, can help the world! The Unity Breakfast will take place on Monday, Jan. 20.

Government

Six Residents Sought to Join Watertown Charter Review Commission

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A committee will be formed to look at the Watertown Town Charter and recommend changes to the document that establishes how the town’s government operates. The Charter Review occurs ever 10 years, and Town Council President Mark Sideris said he will be appointing six members of the public to join the Charter Review Commission. “They will be sitting with the Town Councilors and going through a very in depth review of the Town Charter and recommending any potential changes to the document,” Sideris said. The commission will meet regularly to go over the charter. Sideris said every section of the charter will be examined.

Election 2019

Watertown Library Seeking Candidates to Fill Vacancy on Board of Trustees

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The historic facade of the Watertown Free Public Library. The Watertown Free Public Library will accept applications from residents interested in serving on the Library Board of Trustees. On Tuesday, the Town Council voted to appoint someone to fill the vacancy on the Library Board of Trustees. The opening occurred when one of the winners of the most recent election, Mara Dolan, resigned before being sworn in because she moved out of town. The Council could have voted to hold a special election to fill the spot, but they decided to seek another option.

Around Town

Scouts Hosting Fund Raiser With Pasta, Auction & Circus Performers

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Watertown Troop 30 will host a Pasta & Auction event, which also includes entertainment from circus performers. The event will be on Feb. 1, 2020, at the Watertown-Belmont United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St., beginning at 6 p.m. The event is handicap accessible from the parking lot to the left of the church. Dinner will be served downstairs hall for dinner, and circus performances will be held in the gym.

Real Estate

More Than a Dozen Open Houses Around Watertown This Week

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See all the open houses happening around Watertown this weekend. $1,250,000 – 305 Mt. Auburn St. Unit 305, Condo – Townhouse, 2,580 Living Area Sq. Ft., 6 Room, 3 Bedroom, 3 Full & 1 Half Bathroom, Open Houses: Saturday 11-12 Sunday 11-12

$779,900 – 60 Everett, Single Family – Detached Cape, 1,300 Living Area Sq.

Around Town

Cunniff Elementary Moving to Waltham Site Next Fall, Speeding Up New Building

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When Cunniff Elementary School students return to class in September, they will attend classes at a different campus, in a different city. The move will allow the current school to be torn down and replaced by a new building sooner and will save the district money. Cunniff’s temporary home will be the St. Jude’s School, a former parochial school in Waltham. Watertown school officials came to an agreement with the Boston Archdiocese to lease the school during Watertown’s school building project, known as Building for the Future.

Entertainment

Library Hosting Emmy Winning Film, Discussion on Indigenous Child Removal

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Watertown Free Public Library

Winner of a 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Research, Dawnland offers the untold story of Indigenous child removal in Maine, capturing moments of truth telling and healing among the Wabanki people. On Wednesday, January 29, The Watertown Free Public Library will offer a screening of this powerful documentary, beginning at 7 p.m. Following the screening, Watertown resident Dr. Mishy Lesser will facilitate a discussion. Dr. Lesser is Learning Director for the Upstander Project and conducted some of the original (award-winning) research for Dawnland locally, at the Watertown Free Public Library. As recently as the 1970s, one in four Native children nationwide were living in non-Native foster care, adoptive homes, or boarding schools. Many of these children experienced emotional and physical harm by adults who mistreated them and tried to erase their cultural identity.

Board of Assessors

Perkins, Town at Odds Over $1.4 Million Tax Bill After School Missed Deadline

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The Howe Building at Perkins School for the Blind. A piece of paperwork that was filed late has put Perkins School for the Blind and the Town of Watertown at odds over whether the school should pay nearly $1.5 million in taxes on its property or if the school be exempt from taxes, as it has operating as a non-profit in town for more than a century. A third option has been proposed, which would cost less than the full tax bill, but over the years would add up to far more than the $1.4 million. Perkins President and CEO Dave Power said the payment would take money away from the school’s mission of providing services to blind and visually impaired children and adults. The missed filing occurred in March 2019, but the issue became public Tuesday night at the Town Council meeting.