Sports

Watertown Summer Basketball League Playoffs Underway

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The Papas Elite Summer League regular season wrapped up last week, and the first round of the playoffs were held Tuesday night. The league features current and former college basketball players, and games are played in Saltonstall Park at the court behind the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. The O’Brien-Jeharian Legends League playoffs also start this week. The fifth-seeded Donohue’s Kaos beat fourth seed Gauchos 50-46 in the first quarterfinal. The second seed, Made Men, had a tough game with No. 7 Middlesex Magic.

Weather

Violent Storm Causes Damage, Flooding in Watertown

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A short but violent storm rolled through Watertown Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m., leaving flooded streets, downed trees and other problems.

The storm dumped water at a high rate for about 10 minutes, and also included hail as big as grapes. A number of streets in town were covered in water, including Summer Street at Cozy Street and at Maude Terrance, and Rosdale Avenue. A tree fell on Warren Street near Waverley Avenue and blocked the road. A tree limb fell on a car on Bridge Street near Waltham Street and brought down wires. Wires also fell on Beacon Park, and a tree limb fell on a car on Putnam Street.

Government

Meeting Planned to Discuss Increasing Rodent Problem in East Watertown

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East Watertown residents have seen a large increase in the number of rats and rodents in their area recently, and town officials will hold a public meeting to hear from residents and talk about solutions. East End Town Councilor Angeline Kounelis said she began hearing from residents about rodent problems in May, and they have gotten worse since then. In a letter to the Watertown Health Department, Kounelis said she has heard from residents who have spent hundreds of dollars trying to deal with the infestation, and some residents say they are considering whether to move because the problem is so bad. Some of the streets impacted include Arlington Street, Dewey Street, Templeton Parkway, Salisbury Road, Prentiss Street and Belmont Street. The problem may have been caused by road construction on Belmont Street.

Weather

Severe Thunderstorm Watch in Watertown on Tuesday

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Severe thunderstorms are expected to hit the Watertown area on Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch Warning on Tuesday, Aug. 4 for most of Eastern Massachusetts, including Watertown. The Warning lasts until 8 p.m.

The severe weather also prompted a Tornado Warning for North Central Middlesex County and Northeastern Worcester County, including Concord, Lowell, Acton and Leominster. The Warning runs until 2:37 p.m.

For more information visit the National Weather Service hazardous weather page.

Around Town

State Raises Risk Level for West Nile Virus After Mosquitoes Test Positive

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After numerous mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile Virus in communities around Watertown, state officials raised the risk for the for the disease. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced that they have raised the West Nile Virus (WNV) risk level to “moderate” in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Revere, Somerville, and Watertown. This change is due to multiple WNV-positive mosquitoes being found in a relatively small geographic area of the Commonwealth that has historically had significant WNV activity, according to the announcement. These findings, combined with the current weather patterns (warm/hot and relatively dry) indicate that human risk from WNV has increased.  

The positive tests came from mosquitoes in Cambridge, Newton, Waltham and Boston, according to the Mass DPH website.

Around Town

Arsenal Project Providing Spots for People to Park Car, Bike to Work

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Watertown’s Arsenal Project will make space available for people who want to park their car and then bicycle into work. 

On July 31, a new multi-modal commuting system called Park&Pedal debuted in Boston, the first program of its kind in the United States, and the Arsenal Project is one of the participating sites, according to the program announcement. The free program is designed to encourage bike commuting by providing a network of parking hub conveniently located cycling distance from centers of employment. Commuters can park their car for free and ride their bike the remaining distance to work, thereby avoiding traffic congestion and parking in the city. There are four spaces at the Arsenal Project reserved for this innovative program. David Montague of Montague Bikes, the creator of the program, said, “We are excited to be working with the Arsenal Project as a retail partner in the inaugural launch of Park&Pedal.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Taxi Stolen and Police Led on Chase, Shoplifters Stopped

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
July 21, 9:40 p.m.: The Probation Office contacted Watertown Police about a man who violated his GPS bracelet requirement. The 25-year-old Watertown man was arrested on the probation violation. July 23, 12:33 p.m.: Target security detained a man for shoplifting. He placed two vacuum cleaners into a cart and tried to leave the store.

Around Town

Boston Mayor Walsh Spoke at Alzheimer’s Conference in Watertown

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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was one of the speakers at a conference about facing Alzheimer’s, which was held at Watertown’s Tufts Health Plan. The Multicultural Coalition on Aging hosted a consumer conference on Alzheimer’s “One Message – Many Voices” on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at Tufts Health Plan’s corporate office in Watertown, according to the announcement from the Multicultural Coalition on Aging. More than 200 attendees representing a myriad of groups from different backgrounds, cultures and origins from the City of Boston attended the free conference. Workshops focused on providing more specific information about Alzheimer’s disease, including Memory Loss and Brain Health, Dementia and Early Detection, Treatment Options, and Community Resources, Research and Advocacy. “Our primary goal was to educate and assist cultural groups in identifying, understanding and dealing with those who may be exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s,” said Gene Mazzella, chairperson of the Multicultural Coalition on Aging.