Government

OP-ED: Is It Time to Hit the Brakes on Reopening in Mass.?

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

The following piece was written by State Sen. Will Brownsberger, who represents Watertown, Belmont and parts of Boston:

In order to safely reopen our schools, we may need to hit the brakes on our phased reopening of the economy in Massachusetts. The latest numbers are telling us that we may need to reclose some businesses or find other ways to reduce infection. As we manage the reopening of the economy, we need to think more clearly about the trade-offs we are making and the consequences we are willing to accept. The decision to open optional services like casinos, movie theaters, and health clubs may make it impossible for us to safely reopen our schools. There is some guesswork in estimating how each specific business closure or infection control measure will affect the average rate at which people with COVID-19 transmit it to others.

Letters

OP-ED: Call to Dismantle Nuclear Weapons 75 Years After Atom Bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Nagasaki

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Candleboats float on the Charles River in Watertown in memory of those who died in the nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The following piece was submitted by Jeanne Trubek, Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, Pam Phillips and Sue LaDue of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:

Seventy-five years ago, the United States opened a new era, the Age of Nuclear Weapons. In August, 1945, the US dropped one atomic bomb on Hiroshima and one atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Those two bombs killed 226,000 people — immediately. In the years that followed, the survivors — in Japanese as “Hibakusha” – suffered cancer and chronic disease as a result of the extreme radiation.

Around Town

Sheriff’s Office Offering Virtual Youth Public Safety Academy

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The following information was provided by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office:

Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian is inviting Middlesex County families to participate in a series of live, virtual Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA) events beginning July 29 at 10 a.m.

The virtual series will replace the annual in-person camp designed for youngsters ages 8-12 that was cancelled this year due to COVID-19. “YPSA is one of our most successful community programs,” said Sheriff Koutoujian.  “Each year, more than 1,000 youngsters participate alongside our staff and other public safety professionals from across Middlesex County.  Not only do participants learn value safety lessons, but they build relationships with the public safety professionals who work hard to keep them safe.  This virtual series will allow us to maintain and strengthen the important connections we strive to make with our county’s youngest residents.”

The live session will include videos and presentations on important public safety topics. Families wishing to register for the series can email YPSA@sdm.state.ma.us to learn more.

Around Town

Watertown Library Partially Reopening Next Week, Will Have Hours for At-Risk Patrons

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Watertown Free Public Library

The Watertown Library sent out the following announcement:

The Watertown Free Public Library will reopen to the public on Monday, July 27. Using the Library will be a very different experience until coronavirus is no longer a major health concern. We are very excited to invite our patrons back. Unfortunately, we cannot offer all of the services that so many have been able to depend on, but it won’t be forever. This is what we can do for you now until the time comes that is safe to resume our regular services.

Around Town

Kingian Nonviolence Group, Watertown Police Sponsoring Vigil in Square

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Watertown Square will be the location for a vigil in memory of George Floyd co-sponsored by the Kingian Response Team and the Watertown Police Department. The following announcement was provided by the Kingian Response Team:

CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL TUESDAY, JULY 28TH 7:30-8:30 p.m.

The Kingian Response Team in collaboration with the Watertown Police Department is sponsoring a vigil which will include a Silent Reflection in memory of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives due to racial bigotry and injustice. The Silent Reflection will run from 8:15 p.m.– 8:23 p.m.

Locations:

1) Watertown Square, including the delta & along Main & Mt. Auburn St. Please bring your phone or flashlight instead of candles in public spaces.

Around Town

Online at the Library: Baking for Kids, Teen Crafting & Wax Sculpting

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Library:

This month, the Watertown Free Public Library launched a new online classes library. In response to the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, Library staff have recorded many of the Library’s most popular virtual classes and guest programs so patrons can learn from home, anytime. Topics include: library streaming services, online privacy basics, smarter online shopping, “cutting the cord,” cloud storage, and more. Head to watertownlib.org/onlineclasses to see what’s available. In addition to recorded classes, “live” Library programs continue on Facebook and Zoom.

Schools

Minuteman’s Peer Leadership Program Flourishes Despite Pandemic

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Minuteman High School students Annalise Linden of Waltham and Day Kolz of Wayland craft hearts and other decorative items for the school’s Kindness Week that was held in February. The following information was provided by Minuteman High School, and was written by Judy Bass:

During the spring closure caused by the pandemic, students in Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School’s Peer Leadership Program continued to find ways to stay connected and serve as role models for younger students. The program is one of many activities beyond the classroom that encourages students to cultivate their maturity, sense of responsibility and character in ways that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. “The students gain a sense of why it’s important to make positive connections with people,” said English teacher Terri O’Brien, who is a co-advisor of the Peer Leadership Program. “We put a lot of emphasis on the idea that they can create the culture of the school through their example.

Letters

OP-ED: Watertown Group’s Statement on Policing, Systematic Racism

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The following op-ed was written by Watertown Citizens for Black Lives, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment:

July 2020

Something about the moment we are in – maybe it’s because COVID-19 has made it impossible to ignore the deadly ways race predicts health outcomes, or because our disrupted routines make it possible for a single event to galvanize our shared attention on a huge scale – something made everyone notice the brutal killing of George Floyd. As sickening as his murder was, it was far from unique. Floyd’s name is one in a very long list of Black people killed by police (or by vigilantes with ties to law enforcement), a list that includes Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and too, too many others (https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/). Activists campaigning for safe communities have been imploring for years that we reaffirm the individual humanity of each of these lives, and our own, by saying their names, by holding their killers accountable, and by creating conditions such that Black lives are no longer disproportionately the victims of state violence. Since George Floyd’s death, more people, and notably more white people, are finally beginning to reckon with the long history of police brutality against Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC).