Charity

Cunniff Hosting Event at Boston Basketball Raising Money for 5th Grade Class

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A fundraiser will be held at Boston Basketball on Saturday, Nov. 14 to raise money for the fifth-grade class at the Cunniff School . Come out to have some fun playing corn hole at Boston Basketball, Boston Basketball, 411 Waverley Oaks Road in Waltham, while raising money for the Cunniff School fifth grade class. Doors open at 6 p.m. and games begin at 7 p.m.

This is a 21+ only event with a cash bar, DJ and raffles. First place winner receives a prize!

Real Estate

Open Houses A-Plenty Around Watertown This Weekend

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Home seekers have dozens of options this weekend in Watertown with homes priced from the $300,000’s to $1.2 million. $399,000 – 50 Watertown St. Unit 301, 4 room, 2 bed, 2 bath mid-rise, Handicap Access/Equipped, Open House: Saturday 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

$639,888 – 20 Norseman Ave., 2 unit, 11 total room, 5 total bedroom, Open House: Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$899,000 – 222 Main St. Unit 222, 8 room, 5 bed, 2f 1h bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 p.m. Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$949,000 – 224 Main St. Unit 224, 7 room, 4 bed, 3 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 p.m. Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$469,000 – 58 Edward Road, 7 room, 3 bed, 2 bath cape, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 p.m. Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$449,000 – 98 Franklin St.

Business

PowerHouse Kickboxing Holding Open House at New Studio in Watertown

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A well known kickboxing instructor has opened a new gym in Watertown, and will host an open house on Saturday. 

Konstantin Selivanov first began training in martial arts 40 years ago in his native Russia. He learned Kung Fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai. After running a martial arts club in Russia, he moved to Brooklyn in 1991. In 2004, he headed up to Boston, and opened PowerHouse Kickboxing and Fitness in Cambridge. This month, after 10 years in Cambridge, PowerHouse moved into a 4,000 square-foot space at 150 Belmont St.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Make Prostitution Bust at Massage Parlor

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Police arrested a New York woman on prostitution charges after a sting at a Watertown massage parlor. 

Detectives investigated the Herbal Massage parlor at 195 Mt. Auburn St. after receiving numerous complaints from residents, according to the Watertown Police announcement. A sting operation was conducted and an employee of Herbal Massage was arrested. He Chun Ma, 43, of Flushing, N.Y., was charged with sexual conduct for a fee, according to police. “The Watertown Police Department would like to thank the public for their help in keeping our community safe,” the announcement said.

Around Town

Head of Watertown-Based Drug Recovery Group Featured in Statewide Campaign

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Mike Duggan’s story does not fit many people’s picture of drug addicts, and his experience is being featured in a statewide campaign to bring awareness of the problem of opiates in Massachusetts and to erase the stigma of addiction. Duggan grew up in Arlington and first started using painkillers after he broke his wrist playing hockey. Soon he was hooked, not realizing that what he was taking was “basically Heroin in a pill.” Now, Duggan works at Wicked Sober, an organization helping drug addicts get treatment and get into recovery. The organization recently moved to Watertown.

Elections

LETTER: School Committee Chair Reflects on Watertown Election

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Editor,

I am extremely grateful to the voters of Watertown for their continuing trust in my work to support the Schools. None of that work ever happens without the robust assistance and counsel of other citizens. 

Thank you to all who participated in the election process, and who helped bring attention to the vital role that education plays in nourishing a healthy and welcoming community. Out of these discussions will come new good ideas and energy and participation. Congratulations to Kendra Foley and Candace Miller for their success, and thank you to Julie McMahon and Mike Shepard for being willing to put themselves and their families to the personal test that an election represents. I look forward to serving the School Committee and the School community in whatever way I can be most useful.

Schools

Watertown Teaming with Boston College to Encourage Parent Participation

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In an effort to encourage more participation among families in their children’s schools, Watertown Public Schools is forming a pilot-program partnership with faculty at the Boston College Lynch School of Education to identify how to attract more diversity among families who actively participate in school programs and events, according to an announcement from BC. The first research collaboration of its kind between the town and the Lynch School is made possible through a grant by the Collaborative Fellows Program of the Lynch School. “I’m delighted to be partnering with the Boston College Lynch School on this important initiative,” said Dr. Jean Fitzgerald, Superintendent of Watertown Public Schools. “I believe that a strong school community is built through the positive connections we make with the families of our students.  The collaboration between the Lynch School and the Watertown Public Schools will shine a light on the strengths and opportunities for increasing those connections and expanding family engagement here in Watertown.”

“Administrators in the school district have noticed that some families, often those more established in the community, are very engaged in schools – they come to all the parent-teacher conferences and are active members in parent-teacher organizations, the school-site council, that kind of thing,” said Lynch School Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Rebecca Lowenhaupt, Ph.D., lead researcher in this project. “But other community members are much less likely to become involved.”

Dr. Lowenhaupt said her team, which includes middle school assistant principal Jason Del Porto, school district administrators, and researchers from the Lynch School, will undertake a system-wide needs assessment of family engagement using focus groups, data analysis, and conversations.

Business

Tufts Health Plan Names Vice President for Business Diversity

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Tufts Health Plan today announced Juan Lopera has been appointed vice president of business diversity. In this new role, Lopera will work in close collaboration with leadership across the company’s three principal business divisions – Commercial products, Senior products, and Medicaid/subsidized plans – to implement strategies to increase Tufts Health Plan’s presence in diverse communities. Demographics across the state point to growing diversity. For example, recent census data indicates that Suffolk County now has 52 percent of residents identifying as diverse. Similarly, Worcester County is a “majority-minority” community.