Zoning Board Discusses Medical Marijuana Facility, Delayed Final Vote

The proposed medical marijuana facility went before the Zoning Board, the final approval required before it would be allowed to open in East Watertown, but the vote will have to wait until May. Natural Selections has applied to open a facility in a building at 23 Elm Street, behind the one that is home to A-Affordable Auto Insurance. The Zoning Board asked about the building it would go into and about how the dispensary would work. Only patients who are registered with the state and have a Medical Marijuana ID, or registered  personal care givers will be able to go to the center to get cannabis, said attorney Stephanie Haughey. Aidan O’Donovan, chief operating officer of Natural Selections, said that smoking or any other form of consumption of marijuana will not be permitted on site.

Waltham Woman Busted for Allegedly Dealing Opiates in Watertown

A 45-year-old Waltham woman who had been under investigation for drug dealing was arrested for allegedly dealing drugs in Watertown. 

The Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force had been surveilling a known heroin dealer in Waltham and followed a woman driving a vehicle into Watertown.  She was later identified as Elizabeth M. Caliri of Waltham. “They observed her vehicle pull onto Olcott Street and made a hand-t0-hand transaction,” said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “The pulled away and they followed her to Belmont Street where they watched her enter a residence and return to the vehicle a few minutes later.” The woman returned to Olcott Street, pulled over in the same area of the street.

Watertown Tree Warden Has Trees Available to for Residents

The Watertown Tree Warden has a variety of species available to plant on street in front of resident’s homes or in parts of the front yard close to the street. If you would like a tree to be planted, contact Tree Warden Chris Hayward at chayward@watertown-ma.gov. He will come out to your site to see if there is a suitable planting location and let you know whether a tree can or cannot be planted. Trees can also be planted on private property within 20-feet of the public right of way. Watertown Spring 2017  Street Tree Availability List
Species (Common), Species (Botanical), Height, Spread

Small and Front Yard trees

Purple leaf plum, Prunus cerasifera, 15′ to 25′,  15′ to 20′

Akebono cherry, Prunus x yedoensis ‘Akebono’, 20′ to 25′, 20′ to 25′

Kwanzan cherry ‘Royal burgandy’, Prunus serrulata, 15′ to 25′, 15′ to 25′

Shantung maple, Acer truncatum “Shantung”, 20′ to 25′, 15′ to 25′

Sugartyme crab, Malus floribunda ‘Sugar tyme’, 20′ to 30′, 15′ to 20′

Japanese Tree Lilac, Syringa reticulata, 20′ to 30′, 10′ to 15′

Medium sized trees

Cleveland select pear, Pyrus calleryana ‘Cleveland select’, 25′ to 35′, 15′ to 20′

Autumnalis cherry, Prunus subhirtilla “Autumnalis”, 20′ to 40′, 15′ to 30′

Sun valley maple, Acer rubrum “Sun Valley”, 20′ to 30′, 20′ to 30′

Large Shade Trees

Pin oak, Quercus palustris, 50′ to 70′, 30′ to 40′

Red oak, Quercus rubra, 75′ to 100′, 60′ to 75′

Elm “Princeton”, Ulmus spp., 50′ to 70′, 30′ to 50′

Ginko, Ginko biloba, 50′ to 80′, 35′ to 45′

Skyline Honeylocust, Gleditsia triacanthos inerms, 45′ to 60′, 25′ to 35′

October glory red maple, Acer rubrum, 40′ to 50′, 20′ to 35′

Red Sunset maple, Acer rubrum, 40′ to 50′, 20′ to 35′

Autumn blaze red maple, Acer rubrum, 40′ to 50′, 30′ to 40′

Redpointe maple, Acer rubrum “Frank Jr”, 35′ to 45′, 20′ to 30′

Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua, 50′ to 70′, 30′ to 40′

Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, 60′ to 100′, 30′ to 50′

Black gum, Nyssa sylvatica 40′ to 65′, 30′ to 40

A Wide Variety of Watertown Properties Hosting Open Houses

These 14 homes in Watertown are having open houses this weekend. $799,000 – 21 Lovell Road, 8 room, 3 bed, 1.5 bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30

$389,000 – 22 Palfrey St. Unit 22, 4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$699,900 – 65 Oakley Road, 7 room, 4 bed, 1.5 bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 1:30-3 Sunday 1:30-3

$825,000 – 60 Katherine Road, 2 unit, 11 total room, 4 total bedroom, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30-1 Sunday 12-1:30

$230,000 – 99 Pleasant Unit A1, 3 room, 1 bed, 1 bath garden condo, Open House: Sunday 11:30-1

$419,900 – 158 Langdon Ave. Unit 158, 5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30-1 Sunday 12-1:15

Sponsored by:

$419,000 – 32 Whites Ave. Unit F3304, 3 room, 1 bed, 1 bath garden condo, Handicap Access/Equipped, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$579,000 – 22 Springfield St., 6 room, 3 bed, 1 bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 1-2:30 Sunday 1-2:30

$999,900 – 186 Pleasant St.

Project Literacy Celebrating 30 Years of Teaching English to Immigrants

Project Literacy, the Watertown group that offers free help to adults seeking to learn to read, write or speak English, will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 30. Executive Director Philippa Biggers said that the celebration will take place on Sunday, April 30 from 1:30-4 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St., Watertown

Project Literacy provides free classes taught by professional ESOL teachers, as well as, one-on-one and small group tutoring by trained volunteers, and conversation circles led by native English speakers. To become a student, make an appointment to register. Contact Philippa Biggers at pbiggers@watertown-ma.gov or 617-924-8797 to schedule an appointment. Once registered, students go on a waiting list.

New Local Cable Show Puts Spotlight on Groups Making a Difference in Watertown

A new show debuted on Watertown Cable on Thursday called Inside Watertown hosted by longtime local business and community leader Paul Airasian and your’s truly, Charlie Breitrose, editor of Watertown News. Paul and I have worked together a number of times beginning when I was editor of Watertown Patch and he was hosting Watertown Business Report on WCA-TV. That collaboration has continued, most recently when I helped in the offices of the Watertown-Belmont Chamber of Commerce during Paul’s time as executive director. When he moved on from the chamber, we looked around for other ways to work together and he came up with the idea of a local cable show. I had been a guest on Paul’s previous show, but we wanted to look at Watertown from a broader perspective.