Around Town

Hatch Makerspace Offering Curbside Pickup of 3D Printing, Laser Cutting

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Hatch Makerspace Coordinator Liz Helfer preps the 3D printer for new orders. Design and submit your 3D printing or laser cutting projects and the Watertown Library’s Hatch makerspace will do the work. Then you pick it up! See details in the Hatch announcement below:

Even though the Watertown Free Public Library’s Hatch Makerspace is closed to the public, you can still access Hatch’s 3D printers and laser cutter for free. Starting the week of May 25, Hatch staff will be available to 3D print and laser cut original work submitted online.

Around Town

Scams to Watch for Related to COVID-19, Unemployment

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There are a number of ongoing scams to watch out for and Watertown Savings Bank has put together a list of the details for some of these scams.

Read the announcement from Watertown Savings below:

Safeguarding your personal and financial information is crucial to preventing fraud. We would like to make you aware of new scams—some related to COVID-19—that have recently affected our communities. The scammers have targeted the elderly, those applying for and receiving unemployment benefits, those seeking information on the coronavirus, and others. Elderly Scams: A scammer calls elderly residents claiming to be their grandchild or their grandchild’s lawyer; they proceed to tell fake stories to ask for money (e.g. the scammer claims the grandchild is in jail and needs bail money). Be mindful of the information you share on social media about your family and whereabouts.Always be wary of urgent requests for money made over the phone, by email, in person, or on social media.

MassDOT

Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles Extends Deadlines for Licenses, Permits

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The following information was provided by MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is announcing today it will be implementing further extensions to the renewal timelines for expiring motor vehicle inspection stickers, passenger plate registrations, professional credentials, and driver’s licenses and learner’s permits, including Commercial Driver’s Licenses and Commercial Learner’s Permits (CDLs / CLPs). While the RMV has previously announced extensions for most credentials, passenger plate registrations and inspection stickers expired or expiring in March, April, and May, today’s action will apply an additional extension to those credentials and an extension to some credentials expiring in June, July, and August. These extensions replicate the ongoing measures the RMV has taken to reduce the need for customers to physically visit an RMV Service Center or one of its business partners’ facilities, allowing for ‘social-distancing’ by decreasing non-essential travel and customer volume. Additional, longer-term extensions will also allow the RMV to ensure ‘social-distancing’ guidelines are met as demand for in-person service and renewals resumes during the Commonwealth’s reopening phases. The new changes to expiration extensions will be in effect as follows:

Driver’s licenses and ID cards, including Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), that expired or will expire in March, April, and May 2020, will now expire in September 2020 and do not need to be renewed at this time. Driver’s licenses and ID cards that will expire in June have been extended until October 2020, those that will expire in July have been extended until November 2020, and those that will expire in August have been extended until December 2020 and do not need to be renewed at this time.   The specific expiration date typically coincides with an individual’s birth date.

Schools

Minuteman High School Honored by State Reading Association

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The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School is pleased to announce that the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA), an organization that promotes literacy, has honored Minuteman with its Exemplary Reading Program Award. “This award legitimizes the work we have done over the last 10 years to make sure we take care of the needs of the students,” said Minuteman High School Principal George Clement. “We recognized a need and stuck with it. It’s all been worthwhile.” For the first time in MRA history this award is being given to a secondary school. The previous recipients of this honor have been elementary schools. Minuteman was selected in a competitive process that involved 12 nominated schools from across the state. According to the MRA, the five objectives of this award program are: 

To improve literacy in our society;To recognize schools that demonstrate excellence in reading and literacy programs;To encourage the development and refinement of exemplary reading/language arts programs;To report to the public noteworthy efforts to improve reading/language arts, and;To disseminate specific information about high-quality programs so that other professionals can use it to improve their own instructional efforts.” 

 “We were very impressed with Minuteman,” said MRA Vice President-Elect Patricia Kelley. She specifically mentioned the media center situated at the hub of the school, the integration of reading skills in the school’s career and technical programs as well as in its academic programs, the outstanding reading program for freshmen, the multi-tiered system of support for the reading program throughout the school, and the allocation of financial resources to the reading program. “There is a lot of commitment from everyone at Minuteman,” Kelley said. “Literacy is being integrated across the curriculum.

Around Town

See This Week’s Virtual Programs at the Watertown Library

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Watertown Free Public Library

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department:

The Watertown Free Public Library’s new curbside book pickup service has been a big hit with Watertown residents. “Talking to patrons and hearing how thrilled they are to have books again is truly the highlight of my day” says WFPL director Leone Cole. 

While curbside orders pick up, WFPL continues to offer virtual programs. This week via Zoom, find peace during Community Yoga, learn to knit, or make homemade mac & cheese during Cook the Books: Pantry Edition. For tweens in grades 5-7, the Library is starting First Chapter Fridays (via Facebook Live) to spotlight some fantastic books available online via the Library apps Hoopla and Overdrive. Here’s a full list of virtual offerings for the week of May 25 – 31:

FOR CHILDREN

Springo!May 1 – 30 | Can you get bingo on our spring-themed outdoor scavenger hunt? Post your bingo board on social media and be sure to tag WFPL! Download the Springo bingo board here: bit.ly/SpringoWFPL

Story Time (via Facebook Live)Tuesday at 10:30 am with Emily | Thursday at 11 am with Kazia | facebook.com/watertownfpl

Lunch Bunch Book Group (via Facebook Live)Mondays and Thursdays | 12 PM | Children’s Librarians will read aloud from The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. This title is available without waiting via Hoopla.

Around Town

Senior Center Offers Programs Online, Answering Phone Calls

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Watertown Senior Center

The following announcement came from the Watertown Senior Center:

Good afternoon,

We hope you are doing well! As you know, the Senior Center remains closed, but the Council on Aging continues to operate with staff on hand to answer your calls and emails. We are always happy to hear from you. We have moved many of our programs to an online format using Zoom. Please call us at (617) 972-6490 to register for a program and to receive Zoom access information.

Entertainment

Small Saves is Missing the Ice Rink in This Week’s Cartoon

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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 Savesemerged 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.”

Transportation

MBTA Closing Green Line from Lechmere for One Year, Replacing with Buses

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The following announcement was provided by MassDOT:

Today the MBTA reminded customers that Green Line service between Lechmere and North Stations is replaced with shuttle buses every day beginning at the start of service on Sunday, May 24, for approximately one year to accomplish work as part of the Green Line Extension project (GLX) and the Green Line Transformation Program (GLT): the closure, relocation, and complete replacement of Lechmere Station and work to demolish, relocate, and reconstruct sections of the Lechmere Viaduct. During the Green Line diversion, GLX crews will remove the existing Lechmere Station, reconstructing a brand new Lechmere in a new location in Cambridge. The GLX team has also closely collaborated with the GLT team to close and replace the existing Lechmere Viaduct, which carries Green Line trains from Lechmere across the Charles River and into Downtown Boston. When complete, upgrades made to the Lechmere Viaduct will allow more trains to pass over the bridge, serving the new Lechmere Station and six new Green Line stations in Somerville and Medford constructed as part of GLX. Starting May 24, shuttle bus service will replace Green Line trains between Lechmere and North Stations every day, including weekdays and weekends.