Government

City Council Update: Police Removed from Civil Service, Memorialization Committee Approved, Arshile Gorky Honored

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The City Council took a number of actions at the Feb. 25 meeting, including purchasing the former Sterritt Lumber site, removing the Watertown Police supervisors from Civil Service, honoring an Armenian artist and immigrant, and approving a Memorialization Committee. See more details in the City Council Newsletter provided by the City of Watertown. City Council Newsletter 

Please see below for the city council’s newsletter for its meeting on February 25, 2025. You can view the video recording of the meeting here. 

Purchase of 148 Waltham Street

The council voted unanimously to approve a purchase & sale agreement of $9.2 million for the property located at 148 Waltham Street.

Around Town

City Manager’s Thoughts on Winter Parkin Ban, Part 2: City Operations & Unintended Consequences

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In the second piece on the question of lifting the Winter Parking Ban permanently, Watertown City Manager George Proakis focused on the impact on City operations and possible unintended consequences. See the piece sent out by the City below,

Recently, a group of Watertown residents signed a petition to seek a public hearing in front of the City Council. The topic of the petition and the hearing was our long-term ban on overnight parking that we enforce each winter. The Council hosted this hearing in January. 

Our winter parking ban requires individuals who have a car and a driveway to ensure their car is in their driveway or garage each night. Most residents meet the requirements of the ban by relying on their own driveway, garage or apartment building parking lot.

Entertainment

Small Saves Loves His New Equipment in This Week’s Comic

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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.”

Schools

School Committee Update: Support of LGBTQ Students & Staff, Possible Budget Shortfall

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The School Committee update was provided by the School Committee Chair Kendra Foley:

The Watertown School Committee has had a busy start to 2025, with three meetings in the last six weeks that have been filled with reports, votes, and action items.

In the face of executive orders that threaten the safety, security, health, and humanity of the LGBTQ community, our committee unanimously reaffirmed our 2018 resolution supporting LGBTQ students and staff. Every student and staff member of the WPS community is entitled to an environment that feels safe, respectful, and welcoming, in which they can learn and work free from bullying, harassment, intimidation, threats, and violence. The WPS School Committee is committed to providing such an environment, and it will stand up to actions made by individuals or institutions to threaten, intimidate, or harm transgender and gender nonconforming students and staff. This commitment is grounded not only in our shared values but also in our adherence to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 76, Section 5, which ensures that “no person shall be excluded or discriminated against in our schools based on race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.”

Budget season is underway. Initial numbers show that, with the city’s annual 3.5 percent funding increase, WPS would still be on pace for a shortfall of $495,000 to meet a level services budget.

Sports

Watertown Middle School Hockey Team Repeats as League Champs

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The Watertown Middle School hockey team won the Valley Middle School Hockey League in 2025, the second straight championship. For the second year in a row Watertown Middle School won the Valley Middle School Hockey League Championship. The following recap was provided by Pat Dayton. Watertown and Billerica battled back and forth throughout the fist with a score of 3-1 at the end of the first. Goals by Jake Mosca, Maguire Cruz, and Niko Taormina.

Letters

LETTER: Thoughts on Hiring of Federal Employees & Deal with Ukraine

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Dear Editor,

I have considered myself a Liberal; however, my Wife Mary has said “you are not as Liberal as you think you are”. Therefore, I have considered myself a Practical Liberal. To me everyone seems cowed by President Trump and his new henchman Musk. However, I have thought Elon Musk or some other Oligarch has been there all along. As a former federal official, no one, even Democrats are telling you that “No” U.S. federal departments and agencies can simply create positions on their own without oversight and authorization.