Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/guest-writer/page/397/?sfw=pass1705501616)
Cartoon by James Demarco
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.”
The giant pumpkin is on display now at Arsenal Yards. It had originally been grown to be in the Topsfield Fair. The following information was provided by Arsenal Yards:
Through the end of October, Watertown’s Arsenal Yards is making Fall a daily holiday with a new “Fall Falladays” activation. Guests and residents are invited to come out to the River Green at Arsenal Yards for autumnal activities taking place throughout the month. The River Green is decorated for the season with hay bales, pumpkins and gourds.
The following information was provided by Watertown Savings:
Watertown Savings Bank (WSB) is pleased to announce that they have won in multiple categories in Wicked Local’s Annual Readers Choice Awards. WSB has been voted as the Regional Gold Favorite for the eleventh year in a row. The Metro 2 and NW-1 regions represent 14 towns, including all five towns where WSB branches are located. WSB has been voted the Number One Community Bank in Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Waltham, and Watertown once again. Readers Choice Awards is an annual contest that invites readers of Gatehouse Media and Wicked Local newspapers, to vote for their favorite local businesses in a variety of categories.
The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:
Are you trying to forget our brutal summer that featured heat wave after heat wave? Now it’s official: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that June through August 2020 was the hottest summer on record for Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. As hot as it was, on walks around the neighborhood (what else was to be done during a global pandemic?), I felt instant relief as I passed beneath the green canopies of street trees. The immediate cool I felt was not only due to the leafy parasol above sheltering me from direct sunshine, it was also thanks to the lack of heat radiating off asphalt and sidewalks, which store up solar gain and turn our streets into ovens. Evaporation from trees helps cool the air, too.
This November, voters in the 29th Middlesex district are encouraged to vote YES on 100% Renewable Energy and YES on Transparency, which will be Questions 3 and 4 on the ballot in this district. Climate science demands that we enact sweeping changes to our energy economy in the next 10 years to avert climate catastrophe. A commitment to 100% renewable energy will put us on the right track. Transparency of committee votes is key to realizing this goal. Bills committing MA to 100% renewable energy have been killed in committee repeatedly over the past 6 years, and, without committee vote transparency, we don’t even know who is responsible for their failure to come to a vote. Please join me in voting YES on 100% Renewable Energy and YES on Transparency to put Massachusetts on the right track to be a leader in climate change solutions. Richard KalishPleasant Street, Watertown
The European Wax Center opened its doors at Arsenal Yards. The following announcement was provided by Arsenal Yards:
European Wax Center, Watertown – Arsenal Yards is now open! Located at 65 Bond Street, and situated between Chipotle and T-Mobile, European Wax Center is open seven days a week. Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sundays. First time guests are invited to enjoy a complimentary wax to try out the service! Reservations can be booked online, or by calling the center at 617-641-2929.
The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:
Please join us at the October Monthly Meeting of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment for a very special program “Israeli Annexation – Geopolitical Implications and the Future of Palestine.”
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 6:45 PM to 9:00 PM
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86157111785?pwd=a1NJMU1qaG5jbjh5bGtmWTIrbkVVQT09
We are very excited to have as our guests Phyllis Bennis, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, one of the founders of U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, board member of Jewish Voice for Peace and author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer and Leila Farsakh, Associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at the UMass Boston, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Development Studies at Birzeit University, West Bank and author of Palestinian Labor Migration to Israel: Labor, Land and Occupation.
The government of Israel threatened to formally annex parts of the West Bank in July 2020, while they have been carrying out de facto annexation for years, since 1967 – by confiscating land, building the wall within the Green line, demolishing homes and expelling Palestinians. July 1 came and went without annexation – and then we learned in Sept. that the UAE, and subsequently Bahrain, agreed to normalize relations with Israel, in return for which (or so it seems) “formal” annexation has been delayed. Our speakers will present the geopolitical context in which all this is happening and what annexation actually means for Palestinians in the occupied territories and within Israel proper (within the Green line). Jeff Klein, Coordinator of Mass Peace Action’s Israel/Palestine Committee and member of the Steering Committee of Massachusetts Against Israeli Annexation, will close the program by presenting action items that the participants can take to address the issue of annexation and occupation.
For questions email watertowncitizens@gmail.com and visit us at watertowncitizens.org
Co-sponsors: Mass. Peace Action, The Community Church of Boston, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East – MA Chapter, Jewish Voice for Peace Boston.
Editor,
The Watertown Public Schools have had unsafe buildings for years. The school Administration and Town officials since spring of 2017 have denied, deflected, or ignored-the concerns of Watertown parents, faculty and students. The goal of creating safe buildings has been our petitioners goal from the start. Please read our petition to learn more about W.P.S. building conditions and the years of asbestos compliance violations. https://www.change.org/p/mark-sideris-asbestos-and-other-dangers-in-the-watertown-public-schools
I’d add that our petition group thinks all of this takes on a more immediate importance given the short-term latency effects of the COVID-19 virus.