Around Town

OP-ED: State Senator on the Bad Week for the MBTA

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

It has been a very bad week for the MBTA. Two train derailments injured dozens and massively inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of people. 

As I write, no one seems to know yet how long it will take to repair critical signal systems that the derailed train destroyed. Red line riders may have to endure diminished service and extraordinary rush hour crowding for days or weeks. While expediting repairs, the MBTA has rightly brought in an outside consulting team to review the events. The legislature will take great interest in the results of that review. 

For me, here is the big question: What will that review reveal about the work force and operational management of the MBTA? We knew that from time to time scheduled bus trips simply don’t happen because an employee doesn’t show up. We know that the MBTA’s derailment rate is high. We knew that a terrifying runaway train incident was triggered by an operator disabling a safety device. Investigators have already concluded that the recent green line derailment was operator error. 

While safety is always nominally the number one mission of any transit agency, how strong is the safety culture really? Are line managers overextended and under too much pressure to deliver timely service with inadequate staffing? What do these incidents say about employee morale and discipline? As legislators, we tend to focus less on operational conditions, which are hard to evaluate from outside, and more on the issues of system repair and service expansion. My impression has been and remains that the MBTA’s board and leadership team have been doing a very good job in turning around a state of physical system decay that was produced by decades of inadequate investment.

Around Town

Watertown’s Grecian Festival Features Food, Dance & Raffle

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The Taxiarchae-Archangels Greek Orthodox Church provided the following information:

Watertown’s Taxiarchae-Archangels Greek Orthodox Church is hosting its annual Grecian Festival on June 21, 22, and 23. Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 23.  

The Festival features homemade Greek cuisine (including its famous gyro), pastries, Greek frappé coffee, Greek music and dancing, Greek imports and souvenirs, a bookstore, children’s games, Church tours, and a raffle. 

Live Greek music under the tent will be provided by Orfeas Band (Friday and Saturday, 7-11 p.m. and Sunday, 5-9 p.m.) and indoor and outdoor musical entertainment by Greek Music and Video (Friday and Saturday, Noon to closing; and Sunday, Noon-8 p.m.). 

The Festival will be held in the Church’s Hellenic Cultural Center and under the tent in its parking lot, both located at 25 Bigelow Ave. For further information, please call the Church office at 617-924-8182. Schedule

Friday

11 a.m.-11 p.m.Greek Music All DayFeaturing Orfeas Band, 7-11 p.m.Bar 5-11 p.m.

Saturday

11 a.m.-11 p.m.Greek Music All DayFeaturing Orfeas Band, 7-11 p.m.Dance Performance, 7 p.m.by Sons and Daughters ofAlexander the GreatBar Noon-11 p.m.

Sunday

12 p.m.-9 p.m.Greek Music All DayFeaturing Orfeas Band, 5-9 p.m.Bar noon-9 p.m.

Menu

DINNERS
Served with rice, Greek salad, roll
Beef Souvlaki (2 skewers)
Chicken Souvlaki (2 skewers)
Combo Souvlaki
(1 beef skewer and 1 chicken skewer | No substitutions)
Baked Lamb Shank
Baked Fish
Moussaka
(eggplant, potato, ground beef, baked with a cream topping)
Pastitsio
(layers of macaroni, ground beef, baked with a cream topping)
Spanakopita
(spinach and feta cheese in filo)
Beverages/bar
Friday: 5-11pm | Saturday: Noon-11pm | Sunday: Noon-9pm
Alcoholic beverages available at indoor and outdoor bars
• Imported & Domestic Beer – Featuring Fix Greek Beer
• Imported & Domestic Wine
• Greek Spirits
• Mixed Drinks
OUTSIDE ONLY
Try our famous gyro! Spiced meat, tomatoes, onions, and parsley in a pita pocket with tzatziki,
a yogurt/cucumber dressing. Gyro| Gyro with fries | Side of Fries

A LA CARTE
Beef Souvlaki Skewer (one)
Chicken Souvlaki Skewer (one)
Dolma
(one grape leaf stuffed with rice and ground beef)
Moussaka . (eggplant, potato, ground beef, baked with a cream topping)
Pastitsio
(layers of macaroni, ground beef, baked with a cream topping)
Spanakopita
(spinach and feta cheese in filo)
Rice Pilaf
Greek Salad

HOMEMADE PASTRIES AND DESSERTS
Loukoumathes
(fried dough puffs dipped in honey, cinnamon and walnuts)
Rizogalo/Rice Pudding
Baklava
Galaktoboureko
Assorted Greek Pastries

Entertainment

Small Saves: Pizza Party

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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.”

Schools

Many Watertown Students Among Minuteman Award, Scholarship Winners

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Minuteman High School in Lexington. The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

The following awards and scholarships were presented to members of the Class of 2019 from Minuteman High School in Lexington:

National Honor Society: Noor Alwaz (Watertown), Tazmin Anbar (Watertown), Benjamin Cook (Arlington), Sabrina Correa (Arlington), Arrik Crouse (Acton), Matthew Dunham (Stoneham), Fae Eisenheim (Arlington), Anthony Fiore (Woburn), Seth Flueckiger (Needham), Kimmee Hanson (Lancaster), Adnan Kabir (Arlington), Benjamin Keaton (Concord), Sophia Li (Acton), Judeleen Modestin (Everett), Kaienteres Maracle (Lexington), William McPhee (Winchester), Halle Merkowitz (Peabody), Jennifer Mills (Waltham), Jordan Mills (Waltham), Ethan Moore (Arlington), Lillian Powell (Wayland), Sage Romano (Woburn), Edward Seidman (Watertown), Daniel Spencer (Arlington), Amanda Sullivan (Arlington). Outstanding Vocational Technical Student of the Year: Sophia Li (Acton). Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators and the Massachusetts Vocational Association

2019 John & Abigail Adams Scholarship Recipients: Jeffrey Benoit (Lancaster), Tyler Benoit (Lancaster), David Castillo-Ordonez (Watertown), Benjamin Cook (Arlington), Henry Dionne (Concord), Laura Espinosa-Jaramillo (Lincoln), Tyler Ferrin (Tewksbury), Noa Geva (Lexington), Isabel Halstead (Lexington), Samuel Harris (Lncaster), Devon Jones (Arlington), Adnan Kabir (Arlington), Levi Kane (Lancaster), Matthew Larzelere (Stoneham), Sophia Li (Acton), Michael Merrick (Lexington), Jennifer Mills (Waltham), Jordan Mills (Waltham), Ethan Moore (Arlington), Stephen Munroe (Watertown), Lillian Powell (Wayland), Daniel Spencer (Arlington), Amanda Sullivan (Arlington), Zachary Umbsen (Watertown), Elizabeth Whitman-Kinghorn (Lexington), Jeremy Whitman-Kinghorn (Lexington)

Senior Class Officers:

President | Amanda Sullivan (Arlington)Vice President | Erica Grandon (Arlington)Secretary | Tyler Benoit (Lancaster)Treasurer | Jordan Mills (Waltham)

President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence: Tazmin Anbar (Watertown), Jeffrey Benoit (Lancaster), Tyler Benoit (Lancaster), Jared Burke (Waltham), Saba Challant (Winchester), Henry Dionne (Concord), Matthew Dunham (Stoneham), Fae Eisenheim (Arlington), Tyler Ferrin (Tewksbury), Noa Geva (Lexington), Kimmee Hanson (Lancaster), Benjamin Keaton (Concord), Sophia Li (Acton), Kaienteres Maracle (Lexington), Halle Merkowitz (Peabody), Michael Merrick (Lexington), Jennifer Mills (Waltham), Jordan Mills (Waltham), Ethan Moore (Arlington), Stephen Munroe (Watertown), Edward Seidman (Watertown), Daniel Spencer (Arlington), Amanda Sullivan (Arlington), Paige Zbyszewski (Arlington)

President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement: Luc Barbeau (Medford), Jonathan Benoit (Lancaster), David Castillo-Ordonez (Watertown), Benjamin Cook (Arlington), Jayne Coppola (Lexington), Sabrina Correa (Arlington), Arrik Crouse (Acton), Jenna DeCampo (Arlington), Nicholas Delorey (Concord), Nicholas DeVincent (Sudbury), Jake Dionne (Concord), Laura Espinosa Jaramillo (Linncoln), Lyazzat Feldman (Arlington), Robert Floyd (Lancaster), Sarai Gonzalez (Acton), Erica Grandon (Arlington), Samuel Harris (Lancaster), Adnan Kabir (Arlington), Matthew Larzelere (Stoneham), James Linarte (Watertown), William McPhee (Winchester), Judeleen Modestin (Everett), Andrew Nash (Waltham), Jordyn Nobrega (Burlington), Alexander Northup (Needham), Lillian Powell (Wayland), Sage Romano (Woburn), Ethan Scerra (Concord), Samantha Thebodo (Arlington), Elizabeth Whitman-Kinghorn (Lexington), Jeremy Whitman-Kinghorn (Lexington), Justin Wood (Burlington)

COMMUNITY SERVICE

The Community Service and Interact Club would like to recognize the following students for their outstanding work during Minuteman’s Community Service and Learning Trip. Each of these students volunteered over 45 hours the spring of 2019 in Puerto Rico.

Entertainment

Celebrate the Coming of Summer with Songs, Crafts & More

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Mall:

The Watertown Mall, located at 550 Arsenal Street, together with Watertown Families Together invite you to come on Thursday, June 20, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. for “Set Sail for Summer,” an event to kick off the summer season with an aquatic/nautical theme. There will be themed songs, stories and crafts! This is a free event & allages are welcome, although the stories are catered to younger children. This will take place in the back hallway of the mall, across from Carter’s. Come kick off the summer the right way at the Watertown Mall with your loved ones!

Entertainment

Plumbing Museum Hosting the First WATERtown Film Festival

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The following information was provided by The Plumbing Museum:

The Plumbing Museum is pleased to announce its first annual WATERtown Film Festival designed to increase the public awareness of environmental, social, and cultural importance of water. This two-day festival will kick off on Thursday, June 27 at 6 p.m. at the Plumbing Museum featuring an exciting line up of documentary, narrative, and experimental short films from around the world. The full program will screen 20 films in four screening blocks over two days. Highlights include a narrative film Haleema about two young children in a search for water in Sudan, a documentary film Bass by Kayak about an expedition party crossing from the Australian mainland to Tasmania in sea kayaks, a narrative film The Great Route about the effects of global warming in the west cost of Greenland, and an experimental film Plankton about the ideas and aspirations that float around at the bottom of the food chain. “We’re excited to bring such a great variety of unique films to Watertown,” said Sasha Parfenova, Festival Director.

Around Town

LETTER: Trees Group Thanks Those Who Supported Teen Program

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Trees for Watertown President Libby Shaw and Meghan O’Connell chat at the fundraiser for Teens for Trees at Branch Line. The following piece was provided by Trees for Watertown:

On Saturday, June 8th, local residents gathered at Branch Line restaurant to support Trees for Watertown’s youth summer program, Teens for Trees (tfwteensfortrees.org). Supporters enjoyed refreshments donated by Branch Line and coffee donated by Intelligentsia. They learned about the Teens for Trees program’s past successes and its goals for the 2019 summer. 

For the past two years the program has provided over a dozen Watertown youth with opportunities to learn, work, and give back to the community.  For some, this program is their first job, providing them with leadership skills in local environmental issues and teaching them how to advocate and care for the urban greenery around them. 

This year the program will be hiring six to eight teens to care for trees through watering, pruning, and other basic maintenance. They’ll also be engaging with residents to teach them about the important role of trees in creating healthy environments. “We’re thrilled for the continued support and enthusiasm shown by community leaders and local businesses,” said David Meshoulam, Teens for Trees Program Director.

Around Town

New Networking Series at Commander’s Mansion Starts This Month

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The Commander’s Mansion in Watertown. The Following information was provided by the Commander’s Mansion:

The Commander’s Mansion is excited to announce a series of networking events geared towards local Watertown businesses. We will be kicking off the Summer series on Thursday, June 27th with guest speaker Steve Magoon, Director: Community Development and Planning/Assistant Town Manager. Meet us in the Grape Arbor, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – rain plan is in the tent. Join us for lite bites provided by Catering with Distinction and beverages provided by Donahue’s Bar & Grill.