Around Town

What Watertown is Doing to Fight Hunger, What More Can be Done — See the Panel Discussion

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A live roundtable discussion about how hunger impacts Watertown took place on Feb. 12 at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. (Courtesy of Watertown Cable)

Nearly one-in-seven Watertown residents qualify for government food programs, but only about half have signed up for the assistance. Many more people living in town do not qualify for the programs, for one reason or another, despite being in a low-income household. And putting more stress on the situation is the increasing cost of housing in town.

Around Town

2024 Watertown Memorial Day Parade Registration Now Open

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A girl waves the Stars & Stripes as Watertown Fire Department’s mascot rolls by. (Photo Courtesy of Natalie Nigito Photography)

Watertown’s Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 27, 2024, and organizations can now register to take part in the annual procession. The Watertown Veterans Services Office wrote: “Join with members of your company, organization, neighborhood, friends, and family to participate in the parade!” Those interested in participating must fill out the registration (see below), which must be submitted no later than April 29, 2024. Fill out the registration form and return it marked ‘Memorial Day Parade Registration’ to: The City of Watertown, Veteran’s Services, 149 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472 or email it to: Pgeorge@watertown-ma.gov

Sports

Watertown Wrestlers Make History, Hope to Add to Story This Weekend

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Watertown wrestlers Tommy Dicker (front in grey), Brady Gleason (in black), and Tessa Master (back) are preparing for the Div. 3 State Meet this weekend. Gleason and Dicker won their bracket in the Sectional Meet. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Last weekend, not just one, but two Watertown High School wrestlers — senior Tommy Dicker and junior Brady Gleason — won their division at the MIAA Div. 3 Sectional meet.

Around Town

Arsenal Park Improvements Approved, Project Cost Significantly Higher Than Expected

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Photo by Charlie BreitroseArsenal Park will be getting a major overhaul. Here it is set up for the Watertown Arts Market. The second phase of renovations at Arsenal Park was approved by the City Council, which will include improvements to the recreation areas, but came in more than $4 million higher than originally budgeted. On Tuesday night, the City Council unanimously approved borrowing $10.35 million to cover the cost of the project. The project will make significant improvements to the park in the East End, said City Manager George Proakis.

Entertainment

Watertown Poets Reading from New Collections at Upcoming Event

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A pair of poets from Watertown will be reading from their new collections during an event in Cambridge. Watertown’s DeWitt Henry, who co-founded the literary magazine Ploughshares, will be reading from his new collection, Trim Reckonings: Poems. See more about the collection here: https://pierianspringspress.com/trim-reckonings/

Fellow Watertown resident Andrea Cohen will read from her eighth collection of poems, The Sorrow Apartments. Read more about Cohen and her works at https://www.andreacohen.org/

The reading/signing event is Sunday, March 3 at the Plough and Stars, 912 Mass. Ave. in Cambridge, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. No cover charge.

Schools

Preliminary School Budget Has Small Surplus, Includes A Few New Positions

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The Watertown Public Schools budget forecast for Fiscal Year 2025 would provide the district with a small surplus. The budget for the current school year is $57.58 million, and when adding the 3.5 percent increase budgeted by City Manager George Proakis (about $2 million) the budget for the 2024-25 school year will be $59.6 million, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee last week. That would provide a surplus of $75,138. Most of the budget, about 85 percent, falls under personnel, said Lisa Gibbons, the district’s Director of Finance and Operations. Galdston said the figures are for a “level services budget.”

Government

Watertown City Council Hosting Remote-Only Meeting Tuesday

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The City Council will meet Tuesday night in a remote-only session. See more details below. The agenda includes a public hearing and vote on $10.3 million for the Arsenal Park Improvements Phase B project, and the City Council will hear requests for accepting gifts to be used as memorials in the City. The meeting will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. See the entire agenda here.