Environment

Grant for ‘Green’ Lights, Fire Negotiations Update & Heroin Crisis Discussion

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Watertown will replace several hundred street lights with energy efficient LED lights thanks to a grant awarded to the town by the state. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced the awarding of a $207,505 Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources grant to Watertown as part of the Green Community Competitive Grant program, Town Manager Michael Driscoll told the Town Council Tuesday. The money, along with $92,495 in incentives from Eversource, will pay for the $300,000 project to replace 800 high-pressure sodium and mercury vapor street lights with LED lights, Driscoll said. The new lights will provide the equivalent amount of light while consuming 62 percent less energy,” Driscoll said. The town is expected to save $50,000 in energy costs annually.

Entertainment

Music, Family Movie, Historical Reenactment and Popsicles on Tap This Week

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This week Watertown is packed full of fun and interesting events, and most of them are free! Thursday evening you can enjoy the latest Watertown Summer Concert. This week’s featured performer is Southern Rail. The band has been playing Bluegrass music for more than 30 years. The free concert begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 16 at Saltonstall Park (next to Town Hall).

Letters

LETTER: Ideas for Making Watertown a Happy, Healthy Community

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Dear friends, town councilors, local architects, designers, planners, developers, and other interested individuals,

As a Watertown resident researching ways to increase wellbeing and reduce stress in cities, I believe despite recent conflicts this can still be a happy, healthy place to live. Now is the time for government and planners to make decisions that support wellbeing here. After surveying the research I’m convinced that besides relieving poverty, the best way to create wellbeing is to adopt practices researchers find in the healthiest, happiest cultures. Here are two of the most powerful:

1. Easily available in-person socializing: Many Americans barely know their neighbors and don’t have one close friend.

Police/Fire

Charges Dropped Against Man Arrested for Wearing Ammo Belt

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Suffolk County prosecutors dropped charges against a Watertown man who was arrested Friday when he wore an “ammo belt” made from fake bullets when he got onto an MBTA bus. Kevin Young, 26, appeared in Brighton District Court Monday facing charges of unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawfully carried dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct. Those charges were dismissed, however, according to a WBZ News report. Prosecutors determined the ammunition “could not and weren’t intended to be fired,” according to the WBZ report. Passengers on the bus which Young boarded in Brighton called 911 fearing that he might have a gun (see more here).

Food

Watertown BYOB Program Hits Bump on Road to Approval

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Tuesday night, the full Town Council got its first taste of the bring your own bottle – BYOB – proposal for Watertown, but it will still be some time before the ordinance allowing the program. The proposal was hashed out over three joint meetings of the Rules and Ordinances, Economic Development and Public Safety subcommittees. The BYOB licenses could go to restaurants that do not already have a liquor license, and only establishments featuring full wait service would be eligible. One restaurant in particular, Royal, is anxious to get a license. The recently opened eatery on Main and Lexington streets does not have a liquor license and the owners say that is hurting them.

Police/Fire

Woman Attacks Teen at Sporting Goods Store with Lacrosse Stick

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A woman faces assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charges after she allegedly hit a teen-aged boy with a lacrosse stick. The woman had been shopping at Sports Authority with her daughter on the afternoon of July 6 when she began yelling at the 14-year-old boy, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “The woman said the boy was looking at her and said something to her daughter,” Lawn said. “She picked up a lacrosse stick and hit him with it.” Security said the women then left the store and she was later located by police.

Around Town

Alzheimer’s Association Hosting Free Dinner and Discussion with Legal Expert

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The Alzheimer’s Association will host a free dinner and discussion with a legal expert on Thursday, July 23 from 6-7 p.m., at the Alzheimer’s Association, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with Don Freedman, a practicing attorney for over 40 years and founding partner of Rosenberg, Freedman & Lee LLP of Newton. Freedman concentrates on protecting the interests of elders as well as children and adults with special needs, according to the event announcement. He speaks frequently on elder and disability law issues experience by individuals with early stage Alzheimer’s disease and their families. For more information on the program or to register call 800.272.3900.

Food

Find Out Where You Can Botanical Springs’ Birch, Maple Infused Products

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Botanical Springs, a Watertown-based company specializing in maple and birch sap infused products and honey, will be holding a couple of free tastings in the area. On Sunday, July 19, Botanical Springs will be serving free popsicles made with their award-winning infused lemonade at Strip T’s, said co-founder Francesco Capaldi. They will be at the restaurant, located at 93 School St. in Watertown, from 2-4 p.m.

The next week, the company heads to Follow the Honey, 1132 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with their Evolution Academy mobile classroom.