Schools

See What School Officials Included in the Budget Request for 2015-16

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Watertown school officials have requested a $2.7 million increase for the 2015-16 school year, which includes more than 20 new jobs, new equipment and bolstering technology in the town’s public schools. Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said the budget includes teachers to reduce class sizes at Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools, teachers at the high school to strengthen the computer science and environmental science programs, and an Arabic teacher at the high school. The $41.93 million budget, a 6.87 percent increase from 20141-15, was presented to the School Committee on Monday night. Another area of focus for the budget is student support. This includes adding part-time psychologists at Cunniff and Lowell schools, a part time school adjustment counselor at Watertown Middle School, and two part-time psychologists and a behavioral specialist for the special education program.

Around Town

Marathoner Running Boston Race for Operation American Soldier

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The 2015 Boston Marathon will be Peter Walker’s second, but this year he wanted to raise money for a good cause. That’s when he discovered the Watertown-based charity that sends care packages to American troops overseas. Walker searched for a charity and got a suggestion while he was dining. “I was in Conley’s in Watertown talking with someone,” Walker said. “I said it would be nice to run for a foundation.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Boston Marathon Bomber Case Goes to the Jury after Closing Arguments

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Jurors in the case against accused Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev heard final arguments from attorneys on Monday, and now must decide his fate. 

Prosecutors said the Tsarnaev brothers “were the mujahedeen, and they were bringing their battle to Boston,” according to an account of the court proceedings in the New York Times.  They said Dzhokhar wanted to “punish America for what it was doing to his people,” according to the Times. Tsarnaev’s defense attorney, however, argued that he was an “adolescent” who just followed his older brother Tamerlan into carrying out the bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Tamerlan was killed in the firefight in Watertown after being run over by Dzhokhar, according to the Boston Globe. The jury of seven women and five men, all white, will consider 30 counts against Tsarnaev, one of which is if he used a weapon of mass destruction.

Around Town

Meet Dic Donohue at the Watertown Strong Blood Drive

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On Saturday, April 11, the Watertown Strong Blood Drive will be held in honor of MBTA Police Officer Dic Donohue. 

When Donohue was injured in the shootout with Boston Marathon Bombing suspects on April 2013, he required more than 46 blood products when Mount Auburn Hospital doctors saved his life. “Trauma patients like Officer Donohue are just one example of why it’s so important to donate blood or platelets,” said the Red Cross announcement. “It’s blood on the shelves that saves lives before, during and after disasters.” Donohue will be on had on Saturday, April 11 the Watertown Strong Blood Drive in Honor of Officer Dic Donohue will be held at Watertown High School, 50 Columbia St. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

He will be joined by Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Heather Abbott, Watertown Police Captain Ray Dupuis, Mount Auburn Hospital Vice President, Planning and Marketing Michael O’Connell and American Red Cross Massachusetts Blood Services Region CEO Jeff Meyer.

Letters

LETTER: Health Department Urges Residents to Keep Watertown Clean

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Along with the much anticipated snow melt and onset of Spring, we also anticipate the emergence of debris – paper, cans and bottles, snack bags and wrappers, and, unfortunately, uncollected dog waste – that has remained buried under the blankets, mounds, and banks of snow and ice. Help keep Watertown clean by removing all debris on your property, sidewalks, and other areas around your houses and businesses on a frequent basis as the melting snow exposes it. Assist elderly or disabled neighbors by removing debris on their property. Business and property owners, please clean around dumpsters and rubbish disposal areas and ensure that all debris is properly contained. Survey your dumpsters and rubbish containers for holes, cracks, and other damage that could result in leaks and spillage of waste into parking lots and on public ways.

Business

Rep. John Lawn Working to Make Pleasant Street Part of New District

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The west end of Watertown has undergone a building boom, but lacks some services, so State Rep. John Lawn is working to bring that part of Watertown together with nearby areas of Newton and Waltham to create the Charles River Mill District. 
Lawn spoke about the effort during the Watertown Belmont Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Towns Breakfast on April 2. His district includes precincts in all three communities, and Lawn has met with leaders in each one. Lawn has been in discussions with Watertown Town Council President Mark Sideris, Newton Mayor Setti Warren and Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy about the new district. The area would include the Pleasant Street Corridor in Watertown, the Chapel Street are of Newton and River Street to Moody Street in Waltham, Lawn said. “We want to promote the area for business and create a stronger voice for state assistance for maintenance and MBTA services,” Lawn said.

Letters

LETTER: Parenting in the Age of Texts, Tweets and Skype

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{This is the second in a series of three articles about the Watertown Lecture Series on children and technology.}

Welcome to the digital age! Teens and tweens have unprecedented access to Instagram Tumblr, SnapChat, Secret, Slingshot, Whisper, Ask.fm, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Pinterest, Skype, FaceTime, Omegle and other new apps developed daily.Cell phone ownership among kids is widespread and on the rise. Across Massachusetts, in 2011, 20 percent of third graders, 25 percent of fourth graders, 40 percent of fifth graders and 85 percent of 6-12 graders reported having their own phone. Of these, more than 90 percent could use their phone to go online and text. As a result, the average teenager sends more than 3,000 texts per month or more than six texts per waking hour. Kristin Noto, a Middlesex District Attorney from the Partnership for Youth spoke at the Watertown Speaker Series on Wednesday, April 1.

Around Town

Watertown Group Bringing Anti-Nuclear Power Speakers to Town

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A Watertown group will host a community forum on ending use of nuclear power on April 12. 

Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and the Environment sent out the following announcement:
Please join Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment (watertowncitizens.org) for a very special community forum, “Working for Nuclear Free World: From Plymouth to Planet Earth” on Sunday, April 12 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Grace Vision Church, 80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown (#71 Bus from Harvard Square). The program will feature, Diane Turco from Cape Downwinders and Dr. Joseph Gerson, from Peace and Planet Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just and Environmentally Sustainable World. Ms. Turco will discuss the dangers posed by the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. Pilgrim is the same failed GE Mark I design as the 4 reactors destroyed at Fukushima.