Arrests

Police Log: Car Catches Fire in Parking Garage, Strange Capsules Found in Boots from Target

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
April 23, 7:52 p.m.: Police responded to a call from the Arsenal Mall, and when officers arrived they found Marshall’s security guards holding a suspect. Security spotted the man take a pair of blue Nike sneakers off the shelf and put them on. Then he put his old sneakers in the box and placed it back on the shelf. The man left the store, and security stopped him.

Schools

Hosmer Students Help Plant a Tree on Campus for Arbor Day

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Rarely does a tree get so much attention, but this week a group of 80 fourth graders from Hosmer Elementary School crowded around a young tree, freshly planted outside the school in honor of Arbor Day. 

Watertown resident and landscape architect David Jay organized the event, and made sure each of the students left with a sapling to plant in their own yard. In past years, Watertown’s Tree Warden organized tree plantings at the town’s elementary schools, but there is no warden at the moment. Jay stepped in this year on behalf of Trees for Watertown, a citizens group which advocates for trees. The dwarf apple tree was in place by the time many students arrived, but a group of children helped Jay remove the grass around the tree, making sure to shake the dirt from the sod back onto the ground around the tree. Then the students shoveled mulch around it.

Real Estate

Watertown is Full of Open Houses This Weekend

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More than a dozen open houses will be held around town this week. $749,900 — 57 Forest St. Unit 57, 6 room, 3 bed, 4 bath 2/3 family, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30

$799,000 — 362-364 Arlington St., 2 unit, 13 total room, 5 total bedroom 2 family, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$589,900 — 31 Hardy Ave. Unit 2, 7 room, 4 bed, 2 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$985,000 — 444 Mount Auburn St. Unit 6, 6 room, 2 bed, 2 full 2 half bath townhouse, Open House: Friday 11:30-12:30 Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$938,000 — 39 Upland Road, 9 room, 4 bed, 2.5 bath bungalow, Open Houses: Friday 11:30-1:30 Saturday 11:30-1:30 Sunday 11:30-1:30

$309,000 — 100 Summer St.

Around Town

School Building Committee Looks at How to Control Construction Costs for 3 Elementary Schools

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Given a 50 percent increase in the cost estimates to rebuild the Town’s three elementary schools, members of Watertown’s School Building Committee debated, on Wednesday, what should be the priority in the project: the education program or keeping costs down for taxpayers. At its last meeting, the School Building Committee heard the latest cost estimates from architects from Ai3, which put the price tag at $170 million to $180 million. The figures came in significantly higher than the projected costs from the master plan created by SMMA in 2016, which said the project could be done for $80 million to $120 million, depending on the level of work. The work on the elementary schools is part of the Building for the Future project, which also includes renovating or rebuilding Watertown High School. The Town will try to get funding from the state’s Massachusetts School Building Authority for the WHS project, but will try to pay for the work on the elementary schools solely with town funds.

Fiscal Year 2019 Budget

Town Adding Several New Positions in Proposed Fiscal Year 2019 Budget

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Next year’s proposed Watertown Town Budget includes funding for a few new positions, including an environmental planner, a forestry supervisor, positions at the Senior Center, and an additional police officer. A new department, shared by the Town and Schools, will be formed, and money has been set aside to start the reconstruction of four Watertown Schools. Town Manager Michael Driscoll presented the budget, his 26th in Watertown, to the Town Council on Tuesday night. The Fiscal Year 2019 budget will be $139.55 million, a $6.997 million increase over the current Fiscal year, or 5.28 percent. It includes a 5 percent increase in the education budget, 2.5 percent more for Municipal Departments, and adds more than $1 million to the budget for Public Safety — Police and Fire.

Business

La Bodega Brings Tapas, South American Cuisine to Watertown

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The owners of one of the Watertown’s latest culinary additions seeks to combine the food of two far off locations to town, featuring high-quality ingredients in a laid back setting. Chef Gabriel Bremer and his wife Analia Verolo opened La Bodega by Salts in Watertown quietly earlier this year, and serve dishes from the South American nation of Uruguay and Basque country. Though currently in a soft opening, the restaurant welcomes diners four nights a week. Bremer and Verolo met in Portland, Maine, where they were part of the founding team of Fore Street. For a decade, the couple ran Salts in Cambridge, a fine-dining restaurant featuring modern French and Spanish food with only a handful of tables.

Entertainment

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Armenian Republic with Film, Dance in Watertown

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The Boston-area Armenian community will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Republic with a weekend of film, music and dance, including two event in Watertown. The schedule of events:

Friday, May 4 — Screening of the film, “State on the Last Piece of Land,” at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center (ACEC – 47 Nichols Ave. Watertown, MA). Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the program starts at 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Saturday, May 5, Dance with entertainment from Armenia, starring Ruben Sasunci and Gohar Hovhannisyan, who will be in Boston together for the first time!

Police/Fire

Police Log: Woman Arrested for Driving Stolen Car, Hose Stuffed up Car’s Tailpipe

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
April 16, 7:26 p.m.: Police arrived at the Target parking lot and found a security guard with a suspect who had a brown piece luggage with five bottles of champagne inside. When the man saw the police officers, he dropped the bag and ran. Officers caught him after a brief chase The champagne was worth $297.44. Security told police the man had been spotted taking items from the store on two previous occasions.