Sports

Watch Highlights of the Watertown Summer Basketball League Playoffs.

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The Watertown Summer Basketball League playoffs tipped off this week, and there were some upsets in the first round. 

See highlights from the four first round match ups. Games are played at the court next to the Watertown Boys & Girls Club and Saltonstall Park. The semifinals continue Thursday night with game two at 8:20 with Zards vs. Donohue’s Kaos and Made Men against HBC at 9:15. Top seeds Zards heads to semis after win over New Day.

Ai3

Architect Assures School Committee That Renovated Schools Will be ‘Like New’

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The firm hired to advise the School Committee about renovating and rebuilding the town’s schools said a renovated school would be as good as a new one, and showed before and after photos of spaces that had been transformed at other schools the firm had worked on. On Monday night, the School Committee voted to take the first step toward renovating Watertown’s three elementary schools, tasking Superintendent Dede Galdston to work with officials on the Town side to hire an owner’s project manager and a design firm. In July, architectural firm Ai3 presented a potential plan for upgrading the town’s elementary schools which called mostly for renovation of the current campuses with some new additions to the buildings. School Committee Chairman John Portz said since then he has received questions from the community about whether the renovated parts would be redesigned to meet modern standards or just brought up to working condition. Town Council President Mark Sideris got similar calls, wondering why the schools are not being torn down and rebuilt.

Scott Dunlap, principal of architecture firm Ai3, brought some photos showing schools before and after renovations.

Government

Memorial for Watertown’s Fallen Firefighter Approved by Town Council

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The corner near house where Firefighter Joseph Toscano lost his life during a fire will be named in his memory after the Town Council voted to approve the memorial. 

Town Council President Mark Sideris read the resolution to create the Joseph A. Toscano Memorial in East Watertown last week. “Be it resolved that the Town Council gratefully acknowledges the ultimate sacrifice made by Firefighter Joseph A. Toscano and hereby dedicates a memorial at the corner of Merrifield Avenue and Bigelow Avenue in honor of Firefighter Joseph A, Toscano,” Sideris read. The Council resolution directed Town Manager Michael Driscoll to work with Town Councilor Angeline Kounelis to design an appropriate sign and memorial. The fire that took Toscano’s life occurred in Kounelis’ district in the East End. She added that she believes it is important to have a memorial for a hero like Toscano.

Around Town

Watertown Residents Protest Hate, Rally in Support of Those Hurt in Charlottesville

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Watertown residents lined the Watertown Square Delta Monday evening to show support of those injured during the demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend, and to oppose racial and religious hatred. The candlelight vigil was organized by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment and its Watertown Citizens for Black Lives group. “Distressed by the bigotry and ensuing physical attacks in Charlottesville, and devastated by the deaths of Heather Heyer, Lt. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke Bates, old and young gathered with candles to mourn the victims of the hatred that exploded over the weekend,” Watertown Citizens announced. The event was organized with less than 24 hours notice. “It was clear that Watertown yearned to gather together and show its resolve to reject racial and religious hatred,” said Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, a member of Watertown Citizens.

Around Town

Watertown Park Hosting Basketball Tournament with Prizes, Raffles, More

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A 5-on-5 basketball tournament will be held at Casey Park in Watertown with a cash prize for the winning team and raffles and activities through the day. 

The Second Annual 5-on-5 Mobar Classic Basketball Tournament will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017 form 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Casey Park, 124 Watertown Street. The winning team will take home a $3,000 prize, and there will be a special guest. There will be food, raffles, music, and activities for kids. Mobar Mobile Barbershop is based out of Waltham and cuts their clients include some members of the Boston Celtics.

Fugitive

Watertown Man on the Lam Arrested by U.S. Marshals in Puerto Rico

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A Watertown man convicted of insider trading was arrested in Puerto Rico months after he failed to report to prison for a Federal prison sentence. 

Robert H. Bray, 79, was convicted in May 2016 of securities fraud after he was convicted of insider trading for buying – and later selling – shares of Wainwright Bank & Trust Company based on a tip that Wainwright would be acquired. He was sentenced to pay a $1 million fine and two year prison sentence. Bray was supposed to report to Federal prison in Devens on May 19 to begin his sentence, but he disappeared. After a months-long, nationwide manhunt, U.S. Marshals located Bray in the small coastal town of Añasco, Puerto Rico, according to a report in the Boston Globe. He is expected to appear in federal court in San Juan this week, the Globe reported.

Around Town

Watertown Library Hosting Eclipse Viewing Party

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Come down to the Watertown Free Public Library to check out the solar eclipse. The eclipse will take place on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21. The library will have activities for the rare event from 1:30-3 p.m. While is some places in the United States it will be a full eclipse, in New England we will get a partial eclipse. The library will have activities on the front lawn of the library, located at 123 Main St., Watertown.

Around Town

Vandals Spray Graffiti on Gravestone of Prominent Priest in Catholic Cemetery

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Visitors of a Watertown cemetery this week found several gravestones vandalized including the grave of a prominent Catholic priest. The graves lie in the Sandy Banks Cemetery, also referred to as the Catholic Mount Auburn Cemetery, near Cottage Street, and one of the defaced gravestones belongs to Father Manasses P. Dougherty, who helped found many Catholic churches in the Cambridge area. Dougherty is one of many graves that had been researched by Newton resident Bill McEvoy, who spotted the red spray paint on the monuments and headstones on Aug. 10. First McEvoy and others approached Mount Auburn Cemetery, however, while the Catholic Cemetery abuts the Mount Auburn Cemetery, it is not part of that property, said Bree Harvey, Vice President of Cemetery & Visitor Services at Mount Auburn Cemetery.