Around Town

OP-ED: How Safe is Watertown from a Bio Lab Emergency? Part 4: Conclusions

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

A Thank You

First, if you have been following this series, you know that many people have dedicated their time to helping Watertown residents understand this issue. I thank Provisional Chief Nicholson, Director of Health Larry Ramdin, industry professionals, including Heather McManus, for context on the biotech industry, and the volunteer BioSafety Committee for literally showing us how it’s done. I entered this process with some serious questions about how we were handling our new (and potentially dangerous) corporate neighbors. I have learned that the Fire Department, with the help of a new Lab Safety Fire Captain is “on it” and that the BioSafety Committee, with their tremendous knowledge in the Life Sciences field is tirelessly committed to making this new venture work and work safely for Watertown, despite persistent information sharing problems with the Health Department. (See BioSafety Meeting Feb.

Around Town

OP-ED: How Safe is Watertown from a Bio Lab Emergency? Part 3

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CSET, Georgetown University

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

In my interview with Mr. Larry Ramdin, Watertown’s Director of Public Health, I focused mainly on the nuts and bolts of permitting and keeping track of bio labs entering Watertown as a safety issue. After our telephone conversation, I followed up by sending this interview to Mr. Ramdin to review. I’d like to thank Mr. Ramdin for his input. At my request, Mr. Ramdin sent me the most recent list of bio labs in Watertown. Although the list contained 63 separate entries, at least 14 had the same company name as another, which Mr. Ramdin explained in some cases indicated two divisions of the same company.

Around Town

OP-ED: How Safe is Watertown from a Bio Lab Emergency? Part 2

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Yesterday, I explored the process for responding to such an emergency. Today I am looking at the process for permitting bio lab companies coming into our city and the follow-up once the bio labs are in Watertown. Bio lab safety has been on my mind. I admit it. I by nature am a worrier, which sometimes works out to be an advantage.

Around Town

Our History: Tavern Provided Revolutionary Patrons Food & Lodging, Including George Washington

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The Coolidge Tavern (Courtesy of the Watertown Free Public Library)

This is part of a series of stories that originally appeared in the Historical Society of Watertown’s newsletter. It was written by Joyce Kelly, Board member of the Historical Society of Watertown. Joyce writes for the newsletter and is the newsletter editor. This was published in the April 2003 newsletter, “The Town Crier.”

THE COOLIDGE TAVERN

The Coolidge Tavern was built c. 1740 at the corner of Galen and Watertown streets. The Tavern was on the road leading to Boston and therefore a highly popular stopover for travelers.

Entertainment

Check Out This Week’s Small Saves Cartoon

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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.”

Around Town

OP-ED: How Safe is Watertown From a Bio Lab Emergency? Part 1

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

In both numerous news articles about Watertown becoming a biotech hub and from our own personal observations here in Watertown, the vast and rapid proliferation of biotech buildings is looming large. It has become a grave concern for me and for many in this community. And in Waltham, a neighboring city, it was recently reported in the Globe that there was a chemical spill at the Waltham Azenta Life Sciences Lab, involving a liter to a gallon of acid-based, flammable solvent, and requiring the Waltham Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Hazmat team to be called in for assistance. Because of the massive proliferation of bio lab space in Watertown and a recent bio lab chemical spill just next door in Waltham, I decided that it was worth taking a closer look at Watertown’s biosafety preparedness status. To do so, I reviewed the Watertown Biosafety Committee meetings and regulations and City Council meetings.

Entertainment

New Rep Holding Tryouts for Three Plays in 2023 Season

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New Repertory Theatre will hold auditions for Local Equity actors for roles in New Rep’s 2023 Season: The Normal Heart, June 21 – July 9, and A Raisin in the Sun, September 6 – October 1 in repertory with DIASPORA! September 13 – October 15, at Watertown’s Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA.  

The audition dates are:  

Sunday, March 5: 11 am-7 pm, lunch 2:30-3:30pm 

Monday, March 6: 1 pm-9 pm, dinner 4:30-5:30 pm (Union Members Only) 

Sunday, March 12: 11 am-7 pm, lunch 2:30-3:30 pm (Union Members Only)

Call backs will be held on Sunday, April 2nd and/or Monday, April 3rd 

DIASPORA! Director: Pascale Florestal 

A Raisin in the Sun Director: Lois Roach 

The Normal Heart Director: TBA 

The auditions will be held at the Black Box Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown.  Free parking is available in the garage next to the facility.  

Detailed information regarding the roles and a sign up available at: 

2023 Season Auditions

New Rep welcome Actors of all races and all gender identities, abilities, and body types. Please take this into consideration when auditioning. In addition to genders listed in character breakdowns, New Rep is ACTIVELY SEEKING TRANS AND NON-BINARY PERFORMERS for all roles. 

New Rep cannot provide local accommodations at this time, so performers must live within commuting distance of the theater.  

“We believe the themes of these works are as timely as they are powerful, and offer a beautiful reminder that history has given us plenty of answers on how to build our future. Addressing activism in the time of an epidemic, and an exploration of home and displacement, these plays enlighten us in how to love in the face of terror, how to forgive in the face of betrayal, and how to connect in a time of isolation.” 

      - Artistic Directors Michael Hisamoto, Lois Roach, Maria Hendricks 

New Repertory Theatre (New Rep) has been an award-winning professional theatre company for 39 years, staging productions and events that speak to the vital ideas of our time. New Rep has emerged from the pandemic with a renewed commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and accountability (IDEAA) infusing every aspect of the company’s work as it seeks to build community collaborations and give voice to the diverse interests of those communities. 

More information on New Repertory Theatre at www.newrep.org. 

Around Town

Arsenal Yards Welcoming More Than a Dozen Food, Fitness & Beauty Offerings

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Arsenal Yards, the thriving new neighborhood in Watertown’s historic East End from Boylston Properties and Wilder, is thrilled to kick off 2023 by welcoming several highly-anticipated dining, shopping, and fitness venues opening over the coming months, beginning this winter and spring. Adding to the neighborhood’s already bursting roster of popular restaurants, retailers, fitness, service, and entertainment offerings, the exciting openings coming soon include service offerings like Bond Vet, Arsenal Modern Dentistry, GNC, and KinderCare, beauty and wellness venues James Joseph Salon, Restore Hyper Wellness, Prenuvo, and Skin Laundry, fitness studios F45 Training, Rumble, and [solidcore], and dining options TEN ONE TEA HOUSE, Chip City, and Butterbird. “After a successful year of numerous openings, bustling community events, and significant growth milestones, we could not be more thrilled to kick off 2023 strong with even more exciting new additions to the neighborhood,” said Tom Wilder, principal of Wilder. “These new openings at Arsenal Yards expand upon the vibrancy and diversity that make our community so special – a place where our visitors, workers, and residents can experience what they enjoy most. We look forward to giving these new tenants the warmest of welcomes and continue to celebrate what truly makes Arsenal Yards greater Boston’s most vibrant new neighborhood.”

A sampling of upcoming openings at Arsenal Yards this winter and spring includes:

Bond Vet Opens With 365-Day Urgent Care for Pets 

Bond Vet, the female-led primary and urgent veterinary care service, recently opened its fifth Boston-area location at Arsenal Yards, offering full-service treatment for pets in a friendly and compassionate setting.