Lovefool Returns to Mosesian Center for the Arts, Also Features 4 Opening Comedians

The following announcement was provided by the Mosesian Center for the Arts:

This February, NYC-based queer actor and comic Michael John Ciszewski returns to Boston with his third solo show LOVEFOOL to celebrate Valentine’s Day Weekend with two performances at Watertown’s Mosesian Center for the Arts after a smash 2023 tour that filled houses from comedy clubs to Pride festivals across the northeast with big gay joy. The show is co-created and produced with Brian Dudley and directed by Noah Simes. Following packed performances in New York City (Asylum NYC, Pete’s Candy Store, QED Astoria), Jersey City (Jersey City Theater Center), Provincetown (Redroom), Providence (Fletcher House), Philadelphia (Yellow Bicycle Theatre), and Boston (Rockwell & New Rep), the LOVEFOOL team is thrilled to bring their “celebration of queer love” back to the community that raised them for the third year running! LOVEFOOL is a dazzling and deliciously silly romp through flings, flirtations, and first loves that brims with heart and hilarity. You’ve heard of LOVE before …

Post Office Warns of Thieves Taking Checks, Credit Cards from Mail

The following information came from the U.S. Postal Service:

Every day, the U.S. Postal Service safely and efficiently delivers millions of checks, money orders, credit cards, and merchandise. Unfortunately, such items are also attractive to thieves. That’s why Postal Inspectors across the country are at work to protect your mail. But with deliveries to more than 164 million addresses, they cannot do the job alone. Here are some proactive steps that both individuals and businesses can take to protect their mail and parcels from thieves:

– Don’t let mail sit in your mailbox.

College Honors for Five Watertown Students During Fall 2023 Semester

Students from Watertown made the dean’s list at College of Charleston, University of Delaware, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Dean College in the fall of 2023. The following information was provided by the college or university. College of Charleston

Dean’s List (Distinguished)

To qualify for Dean’s List (Distinguished), students must earn a GPA of 3.500 or higher and complete a minimum of 12 semester hours. The following students at the College of Charleston were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2023 semester:

Madison Cummings

University of Delaware

Charlotte Deveikas of Watertown has been named to the University of Delaware Dean’s List for the Fall 2023 semester. To meet eligibility requirements for the Dean’s List, a student must be enrolled full-time and earn a GPA of 3.5 or above (on a 4.0 scale) for the semester.

Senior Center Hosting Extreme Weather Preparedness Discussion

Town of WatertownWatertown Senior Center

The Watertown Senior Center announced it will host an extreme weather preparedness discussion with Leigh Meunier from CREW and Dira Johanif from CRWA on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 3:30 p.m.

Are you concerned about extreme weather and its impacts on your community? Want to learnmore about how Watertown is responding to flooding and how you can be prepared? Joinfriends from Communities Responding to Extreme Weather and the Charles River Watershed Association to learn about flooding impacts in Watertown and across our watershed. We’ll share ideas for nature-based projects that address flooding and benefit our environment (tree planting, removing pavement, rain gardens!).

Watertown Resident Designing Costumes for The Huntington’s Upcoming New Play

Watertown’s Zoe Sundra is the costume designer for The Huntington’s upcoming play “John Proctor is the Villain” at the Calderwood Pavilion. (Courtesy of The Huntington)

The Huntington announced that Watertown resident Zoë Sundra is Costume Designer for company’s upcoming production of Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain 

The new play, running at the Calderwood Pavilion from Feb. 8 through March 10, centers young people coming of age as they examine The Crucible in their high school English class through a fresh lens. The piece comes from a young, rising voice in American Theatre, Kimberly Belflower, and is set in a small town in Georgia. This production also features several Boston-based artists including Victoria Omoregie (most recently was featured in Fat Ham this past fall) and Jules Talbot. 

About Zoë Sundra 

The Huntington: assisted on designs for Fat Ham, The Art of Burning, Witch. Regional: Chicken and Biscuits (Front Porch Arts Collective); But Not Buddy, The Addams Family (Wheelock Family Theatre at BU); Bombitty of Errors, Bright Half Life (Actors’ Shakespeare Project). Zoë is also a fiber artist and creates work under the name She Said Embroidery.

Date for Next Meeting on Watertown Square Area Design Announced

The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

The Watertown Square Area Plan project team invites you to attend our next Public Meeting on Thursday, February 29, 2024, beginning 6:30 PM at 64 Pleasant St, Watertown, MA 02472. 

Following the October kickoff meeting and the November Charrette series, the project team has been busy reviewing the ideas discussed and developing proposed roadway configurations, urban design concepts, and zoning options for the Square. This public meeting will summarize feedback from previous events and continue the conversation with residents, businesses, and other members of the community. The project team will discuss updated scenarios and dive into recommendations based on this evolving conversation. Following this public meeting, the project team will incorporate feedback and present the recommendations and plan in Spring 2024. More details on the meeting agenda and virtual participation opportunities will be released closer to the meeting date.

Three Men Indicted for Running Prostitution Ring in Mass. and Virginia, Including Watertown

The following announcement came from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts:

Three individuals previously arrested and charged in November 2023 in connection with operating sophisticated high-end brothels in greater Boston and eastern Virginia have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston, Mass. 

The following individuals have each been indicted on one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution; and one count of money laundering conspiracy: 

Han Lee, a/k/a “Hana,” 41, of Cambridge, Mass.;

James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif.; and

Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Mass. According to the charging documents, from at least July 2020, the defendants operated an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Mass., as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Va. It is alleged that the defendants collectively established the infrastructure for brothels in multiple states which they used to persuade, induce and entice women – primarily Asian women – to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution. 

Specifically, the defendants allegedly rented high-end apartment complexes as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained. It is further alleged that the defendants coordinated the women’s airline travel and transportation and permitted women to stay overnight in the brothel locations so they did not have to find lodging elsewhere, therefore enticing women to participate in their prostitution network. According to court documents, the defendants established house rules for the women during their stays in a given city to protect and maintain the secrecy of the business and ensure that the women did not draw attention to the prostitution work inside apartment buildings. 

The defendants allegedly advertised their prostitution network primarily on two websites – bostontopten10.com and browneyesgirlsva.blog – which offered appointments with women in either greater Boston or eastern Virginia, respectively.

See What Small Saves Does on a Snow Day in This Week’s Comic

James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal – then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”