Development

Town’s Design Guidelines and Standards Revealed by Consultant

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A draft of the set of requirements that guide and limit developers who build new projects in Watertown was revealed by the urban design consultants hired by the town. Last week, David Gamble of Gamble Associates discussed the proposed design guidelines and design standards that will shape how development will be done in Watertown in the future. They were presented at the third public workshop held in the past four months held during the making of the guidelines and standards. The Town Council voted to hire the consultant to address what they and many residents believed had become out of control development in Watertown. The changes were broken into nine categories: public realm interface, building massing, facade treatment, parking & access, building height, material selection, sustainable design, building setbacks and signage.

Schools

Watertown Spelling Bee Humming Along After 5 Years

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Watertown Middle School was buzzing with activity of the fifth annual Watertown Education Foundation Youth Spelling Bee on Sunday. Unlike many spelling bees, the Watertown event is a team event, with three students combining to spell the words. Students in grades 1-5 could participate, and the second- through fifth-graders competed to be top spellers. While having fun and testing student’s spelling abilities, the event also raises money for the Watertown Education Foundation. It started five years ago, largely due to the efforts of WEF President Amy Donohue.

Around Town

Watertown Community Gardens Meeting Coming Up

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Find out about the Watertown Community Gardens at the group’s annual meeting this week. Guest Speaker Juliet Stone will be discussing urban and classroom gardening, along with public green space development during the WCG  annual meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library (in the Watertown Savings Bank room). Stone is a former Watertown resident who has helped transform and renovate community and schoolyard gardens throughout the Boston area. Watertown Community Gardens will also be voting on new board officers for the upcoming year, along with giving updates on the Summer Youth Crew program and the Live Well Watertown project.

Weather

Blizzard of 2015: Travel Ban Ending, Parking Bans Continues

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The biggest storm of the winter is bearing down on Watertown, with heavy snow and blizzard conditions expected to start Monday night. Keep up with the latest news, cancellations and updates on Watertown News. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for phone numbers that may be useful in the storm)

6:49 p.m.: The parking ban will continue, announced Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee. He expects it to last until 5 p.m. Wednesday so snow can be removed from the streets to allow for parking. His crews have been working for about 36 hours straight, and Mee thanked the public for observing the travel and parking bans.

Around Town

Watertown Snow Photos from the Blizzard of 2015

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The Blizzard of 2015 has hit Watertown, leaving a thick coat of fluffy white snow on everything. Share your photos with Watertown News! You can email them to watertownmanews@gmail.com, or on Facebook or Twitter – @WatertownMANews. Fayette Street covered with snow, courtesy of Stacia Russell. The clean up begins.

Sports

Watertown Runner Sets School Record; Girls’ Hoops Keep Winning

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Watertown runner Austin Lin continues to turn in amazing times during the indoor track season. 

After running the seventh fastest 400 meters in the nation earlier this year, he ran the 600 in a school record time at the MSTCA Elite Meet/Coaches Invitational on Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. The time of 1:23.02 placed Lin fourth in the event which features many of the best high school track and field athletes in Massachusetts. The WHS junior broke a mark that stood for 40 years, according to a report on the Wicked Local Watertown. Girls Basketball Stays Undefeated
The Raiders put their unbeaten record on the line against another undefeated team Friday night, and Watertown came out on top. Woburn led the Liberty Division of the Middlesex League – the big school division – but fell to the top team in the small school division – the Freedom Division.

Obituaries

Cecilia O’Keefe, 84, Lifelong Watertown Resident

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The following obituary was sent to the Watertown Town Clerk’s office. Cecilia Ann O’Keefe, wife of the late John O’Keefe and mother of Rachel went to meet the Lord on Jan. 19. Cecilia was born in Watertown on June 22, 1930, and lived in town all of her life. She was known to visit the Watertown Mall every day and was liked by all.

Around Town

UPDATED: Blizzard Coming Monday and Continue Through Tuesday!

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One of the biggest blizzards in years is heading toward the Boston area on Monday night could dump more than a two feet of snow on Watertown. The storm is expected to be a long one. The Blizzard Watch was upgraded to a Blizzard Warning, and will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday and runs to 1 a.m. on Wednesday. WBZ-TV’s forecast puts Watertown in the area which could get 20-30 inches of snow! Light snow should start after 5 p.m. Monday, and the heavy snowfall will begin Monday evening.