Around Town

Learn to Make Face Masks With Hatch’s Online, And More Classes This Week

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The Hatch Makerspace may be closed, you can still participate in their classes online, including how to make face masks and making your own book. The following classes will be held this week:

Maker Questions with Liz & Yi BinTuesday, May 5, 4-5pmJoin the Hatch Coordinator, Liz, and the Hatch Assistant, Yi Bin, to ask all your maker questions. They will field anything from fine art to finding tools. If they don’t know the answer, they know someone that does! This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the Hatch Makerspace community and tap the expertise of the hive mind to work on your projects.

Around Town

Library Closed Until May 18, But Plenty of Online Activities for Children, Teens & Adults

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The historic facade of the Watertown Free Public Library. The Watertown Free Public Library sent out the following information:

As directed by Town Manager Michael Driscoll, the Watertown Free Public Library will remain closed to the public until Monday, May 18th to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. This extends the Library’s previous closure period by two weeks. 

Do you need help accessing WFPL’s (newly expanded) digital library? The Reference Department has created simple video tutorials to introduce our most popular digital services and help you set up an account, step by step: watertownlib.org/eLibTutorials

While the Library is closed, WFPL will continue to offer virtual programs for children, teens, and adults. Here’s what’s coming up for the week of May 4 – May 10:

FOR CHILDREN

Springo!May 1 – 30 | Can you get bingo on our spring-themed outdoor scavenger hunt?

Around Town

LETTER: Local Authors, Photographers Seek Help with Children’s Picture Book About Watertown

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Dear Watertown residents past and present,

I am asking for your help with a picture book which will be titled “W is for Watertown: A Watertown, Massachusetts ABC Book.” This book will be modeled in the style of regional ABC books where each letter of the alphabet goes along with a local landmark(s). For example, in the Boston ABC books “F is for Fenway Park.” These types of books are intended for young children (infants/toddlers through first grade) to learn more about their community; the goal with this book is to create a fun educational book for the youngest Watertown residents. Usually, these books are illustrated, but for “W is for Watertown: A Watertown, Massachusetts ABC Book” my colleagues and I will be taking photographs of Watertown’s landmarks and locations. In this project, I will be working with photographer Eleni Demos and Vice President of Ideas and Innovations In Early Childhood Education Raseel Alahmed. Some Watertown landmarks are obvious inclusions in a book like this such as “P is for Perkins School for the Blind” or “B is for Brigham House, Browne House, and Bemis Park.” However, even with research, there is a possibility we might miss some important locations and landmarks in Watertown.

Around Town

U.S. Post Office Hiring in Massachusetts & Rhode Island

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The following information was provided by the U.S. Post Office:

Post Offices across Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island are currently hiring. We have positions open in processing and delivery operations, on all shifts, at a location near you. By logging in to www.usps.com/careers from the comfort of your home, you can search by state for positions in your area.  If you’ve ever considered a career with the Postal Service, come and learn about the variety of positions available, job duties, salaries, benefits and more. The Postal Service offers flexible schedules, competitive salaries and opportunities for career advancement.  Login and see what a postal career can offer you. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Thanks Volunteers, Still Has Ways to Help

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The Watertown Community Foundation sent out the following information:

May 2,2020 would have been our 7th Annual WHO-Watertown Helps Out! A Town Wide Day of Community Service. Because of COVID-19 we are unable to gather in groups but the wonderful spirit of helping out and giving back continues. THANK YOU for volunteering the past 6 years.THANK YOU for always being willing to step up and help out.THANK YOU for your donations to the Community Resilience Fund.THANK YOU for keeping the spirit of the day alive.THANK YOU for making Watertown a wonderful community. See how to volunteer to help during the COVID-19 outbreak by clicking here.

Around Town

OP-ED: Sen. Brownsberger’s Survey Finds Most Agree with Mass. Social Distancing Measures

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

State Sen. Will Brownsberger surveyed people about the social distancing steps that Massachusetts officials have taken, and found that the vast majority agree with them and expect it to be “a long time” before the situation returns to normal. Brownsberger — who represents Watertown, Belmont and parts of Boston — sent out the following write up about the survey, which was the second he has conducted about the state’s response to COVID-19 (see the first here). COVID-19 Check-in Survey II

Key Takeaways

95% support Massachusetts’ social distancing policies or feel we should go further.96% expect we will take a long time to get back to normal or will have to adapt to a permanent new normal. Summary of Survey

A total of 2,662 of people responded to an email and Facebook survey initiated on Saturday, April 25, 2020, with 85% responding on that day.As to Massachusetts’ COVID-19 response, only 5% of respondents stated “We have gone too far — the economic impact is not worth it.”Public support for social distancing remains strong: 65% felt “The balance is right at this time” and 30% felt “We have not gone far enough — people are still doing unnecessary and unsafe things.”As compared to the March survey which was completed mostly before the Governor’s non-essential business closures of March 23, the group feeling “We have not gone far enough” has declined from 54% to 30%, while the group feeling “We have gone too far” has increased slightly from 3% to 5%.9% reported that they were unemployed as a result of the epidemic while 3% reported they were previously unemployed. The newly unemployed were somewhat more likely to feel our response has gone too far (12%) than the respondents as a whole (5%), but 88% of them felt we have the balance right or have not gone far enough.The share of respondents currently behind on bills dropped slightly from 3% to 2%.

Schools

WHS Guidance: Course Selection for Next Year, New Dates for SATs, APs Online

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While Watertown High School students are in virtual learning mode for the rest of the school year, they can start planning for the return to campus next year, as well as, taking tests to prepare for college. The WHS guidance department sent out the following information for students:

Dear Watertown students and families,

First and foremost, I hope this email finds you and your family well during this challenging time. So much is changing, and all of it quite quickly. While it’s possible that more will have changed by the time you read this email, the WHS Guidance Department wants to provide you with some information in regards to course selection, post-secondary planning, and resources for support. We also plan to share a brief video covering this information in the coming days.

Around Town

Library Adds Streaming Options for Movies, TV & Music; See What Else is New

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Watertown Free Public Library

The following information was provided by the Watertown Free Public Library:

While the Watertown Free Public Library is closed, we’ve been expanding our digital collection. Last week, we added two new streaming platforms: Acorn TV (specializing in British TV and movies) and Qello (full-length concert films and music documentaries). Watertown residents can access both services for free. 

We’re also bringing new programs (and old favorites) online. Democracy Talks, Mystery Roundup, and Cook the Books: Pantry Edition all return this week via Zoom. WFPL’s Teen Department is offering online audiobook discussion groups, and the Children’s Department continues to add new stories and fun sing-alongs to our Story Time Video Library. 

Here’s a full list of virtual offerings for the week of April 27 – May 1:

NEW IN THE DIGITAL LIBRARY

Stingray QelloExplore the world’s leading streaming service for full-length concerts and music documentaries. (Watch The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Beyonce…)Acorn TVStream TV and feature films from Britain and beyond. Binge-watch a classic series or discover a new favorite among 60 exclusive shows!PressReaderAccess over 7,000+ domestic and international newspapers and magazines from 160 countries.Ancestry Library EditionTrace your family tree with access to billions of records, including census data, vital records, and directories. Visit watertownlib.org/elibrary to view our full digital collection.