Police/Fire

Man Stopped in the Middle of Breaking Into a House

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Watertown Police caught a man stealing items from a house on Bromfield Street. On Oct. 8 at 12:41 a.m., a man was spotted carrying a TV out of a home on Bromfield Street, and when police arrived they saw a man walk back into the house, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “Officers surrounded the house and rang the doorbell but there was no response,” Lawn said. “They heard someone dragging something across a floor and saw a man’s head pop up.”

Business

Watertown Biotech Firm Gets Big Funding Boost

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A Watertown biotech company received $20 million in funding to developing targeted antigen-specific immune therapies for maladies such as gout. Selecta Biosciences Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology, received the money from new and existing investors. “Severe gout is a highly debilitating disease and just one of the potential therapeutic applications of our proprietary Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP) platform,” said Werner Cautreels, President and CEO of Selecta. “With a well established development path and favorable pro forma economics, SEL-212 is a great opportunity. SEL-212 is just the beginning for us, as we have identified many biopharmaceuticals, including existing and new classes of biologics such as gene therapy, where the effects of anti-drug antibodies are deleterious.”

The company has offices at 480 Arsenal St.

Around Town

Victory Field Plans Scrapped, Requirement for Project – Grass

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The effort to renovate the track area of Victory Field will start again from scratch and Town Council President Mark Sideris gave the group in charge of designing it one directive – it must have natural grass. The plan for Phase 2 of the Victory Field renovation included replacing the grass in the middle of the track with artificial turf. The Town Council asked the architects to make some changes to the plan at the Sept. 23 meeting, but Town Council President Mark Sideris proposed starting the project over at Tuesday night’s Council meeting. The plan had been drawn up by architects from CDM and officials from the Recreation Department. Residents made it clear at two meetings in September, that the majority of the people opposed parts of the project – mostly the artificial turf.

Development

Planning Board Debates Changes to Pleasant Street Zoning

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The Planning Board debated whether to set aside certain parts of the Pleasant Street Corridor for commercial and retail projects, or leave it open for any types of development. Last week, the board looked at proposed changes to the Pleasant Street Corridor zoning. The special zoning area was created seven years ago to encourage redevelopment of former industrial properties on the West End of Watertown. Most of the projects that have resulted have been large residential ones, some of which were criticized for being too tall and too close to Pleasant Street. The Town Council asked for changes to the zoning to encourage other kinds of projects.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Taking Steps Against Speeding, Aggressive Drivers

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Watertown Police officers will have their eye out for speeding and aggressive drivers. 

The intensified enforcement effort against speeding and aggressive drivers underscores the severity of the problem locally and nationwide, according to the announcement from the police. “Speeding greatly reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve. Speeding drivers put themselves, their passengers, and other drivers at tremendous risk,” said Watertown Police Sgt. David Sampson. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2012 speeding was a contributing factor in more than a third of all fatal crashes in Massachusetts. Aggressive driving includes many unlawful and dangerous actions, such as exceeding posted speed limits, driving too fast for road conditions, changing lanes without signaling or yielding to other drivers, and improper passing, Sampson said.

Police/Fire

Man Linked to ID Thefts at Tufts Health Plan Gets Prison Term

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A man who stole and laundered nearly $100,000 of government money received a prison sentence of a year and a day. Marvin Lubin, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $110,299 in restitution to the federal government, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office. In April 2014, Lubin pleaded guilty to theft of government money. The sentencing took place in Boston Federal Court. One of the couriers was Lubin’s sister, Emeline Lubine.

Real Estate

See How Much These Watertown Homes Sold For

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Three condo and townhouses sold this week, see the sales price. $345,000 – 110 Coolidge Hill Road Unit 3, 6 room, 3 bedroom, 2 full & 1 half bathroom, Townhouse condo/townhouse

Sponsored by:

$511,000 – 9 Church Hill St. Unit 9, 6 room, 3 bedroom, 2 full & 1 half bathroom, Townhouse condo/townhouse

$679,900 – 37 Upland Road Unit 37, 6 room, 3 bedroom, 2 full bathroom, condo/townhouse