Transportation

Mass Pike Allston/Brighton Exit Closed Overnight for Bridge Repairs

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The following information was provided by MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing that there will be overnight bridge deck repairs on I-90 eastbound at exit 18 in Allston/Brighton. The exit 18 off ramp will be closed to facilitate this work from Tuesday, March 31, at 10:00 p.m., until Wednesday, April 1, at 5:00 a.m.  All traffic will be detoured to exit 22, Copley, and re-directed to exit 20 westbound.   

Lane closures will also be put in place in this area to allow crews to safely and effectively conduct bridge deck repair operations. 

Appropriate signage, law enforcement details, and advanced message boards will be in place to guide drivers through the work area. Drivers who are traveling through the area should reduce speed, and use caution. 

All scheduled work is weather dependent and may be impacted due to an emergency. 

For more information on traffic conditions travelers are encouraged to:

Dial 511 and select a route to hear real-time conditions.Visit www.mass511.com, a website which provides real-time traffic and incident advisory information, and allows users to subscribe to text and email alerts for traffic conditions.Follow MassDOT on Twitter @MassDOT to receive regular updates on road and traffic conditions.Download MassDOT’s GoTime mobile app and view real-time traffic conditions before setting out on the road.

Around Town

OP-ED: What Do We Know and What Don’t We Know About COVID-19?

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

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

We all now know that the coronavirus is loose in the community and anyone could be unknowingly spreading it. We’ve all seen the terrifying exponential growth curves that project need for hospital beds peaking well above available supply. And we understand that by social distancing, we can bend the disease curve down, lower the peak hospital demand and gain time so that the hospital system has more time to prepare. What we don’t know is whether we have done as much as we should to check the spread of the virus and what the benefits of additional measures would be. Tomas Pueyo has written one of the more widely read analyses of our current uncertainties: The Hammer and the Dance. His basic argument is that we should be coming down as hard as we can on social distancing initially to buy time (the “hammer”), and that after a few weeks of maximal social distancing, we can let up some while doing widespread testing, contact tracing, and isolation to make sure we don’t reignite community spread (the “dance”).

Coronavirus

Some MassBay College’s Spring Classes Going Online, Others Rescheduled

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The following information was provided by MassBay Community College:

MassBay Community College has transitioned all courses to a remote learning format beginning on Monday, March 30, 2020, in an effort to help the Commonwealth combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). This distance-learning format will replace any previously scheduled face-to-face courses that were scheduled for the spring 2020 semester. MassBay faculty have been transitioning their courses this week, and students will begin their studies with the new format beginning Monday. Students are strongly encouraged to check their MassBay email accounts daily as individual faculty members will reach out with specific instructions about the new format and for any coursework changes. “This is a rapidly-changing situation and our faculty have worked diligently to adjust their course delivery formats.

Schools

Applications Available for Watertown Rotary Scholarships

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The following information was provided by the Rotary Club of Watertown:

All residents of Watertown who are high school seniors and applying to college are eligible for Watertown Rotary Scholarships. The amount of each award and the number of scholarships granted are determined on a yearly basis. 

All eligible residents must submit completed applications, postmarked no later than April 17, 2020, to:

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEEROTARY CLUB OF WATERTOWNc/o Anthony Donato

42 Arden RoadWATERTOWN, MA 02472

The form must be completed in full and accompanied by a transcript and letter of recommendation to be considered a valid application. Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed by the Scholarship Committee. All information supplied on this form will be kept strictly confidential. Only one application need be submitted to be eligible for consideration for all scholarships available through the Rotary Club of Watertown.

Obituaries

OBIT: Bernadette Corbett, 95, Active in Watertown, Travel Lover

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Bernadette Corbett

M. Bernadette (O’Donnell) Corbett, born August 7, 1924. Loving daughter of John (Jack, “Pop”) O’Donnell and Margaret (“Ma”) Hession O’Donnell (both deceased); widow of John F. Corbett (deceased 1999); mother of Peter, Marybeth, Stephen, David, Philip and Tim; mother-in-law of Tobie Atlas, Lee Corbett, Mary Callahan and Jesus Alvarez Piñera; grandmother of Alisha Elliott, Noah Atlas, and Bernadette, Stephanie, John, Eamon and Una Corbett; great-grandmother of Natalie Elliott. Dear sister of the late Claire Olsen, Janet Aucoin, and Arlene Durkin. Bernie was born in Swampscott, Mass, and moved to Watertown in the eighth grade, where she attended St. Patrick’s Grammar School and High School.

Entertainment

This Week’s Small Saves Cartoon Features a Hockey Mom

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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 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.”

Around Town

Two Watertown Groups Get COVID-19 Grants from Tufts Health Plan Foundations

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The following information was provided by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation:

Tufts Health Plan Foundation has identified the first 21 organizations to receive support from the $1 million it has committed to community efforts on behalf of older people affected by coronavirus in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. “This first wave of funding addresses one of the most pressing concerns facing older people — food insecurity,” said Tom Croswell, Tufts Health Plan president and CEO. “These organizations are working on the front lines to meet critical needs and are well-positioned to respond to emerging priorities. Our communities depend on them, now more than ever.”

The organizations include area agencies on aging that provide meals and other support services to older people, food banks, and community organizations that are serving as hubs for collaborative regional responses. They include:

Massachusetts        $150,000

The Boston Foundation, COVID-19 Response Fund $25,000The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts $25,000The Greater Boston Food Bank $50,000Union Capital Boston, COVID-19 Fund $15,000Watertown Community Foundation, Community Resilience Fund $ 5,000Watertown Food Pantry (via Watertown Council on Aging) $ 5,000Worcester County Food Bank $25,000

Rhode Island                $125,000

Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island $25,000Rhode Island Community Food Bank $50,000United Way of Rhode Island, Rhode Island COVID-19 Response Fund $50,000

New Hampshire        $110,000

Granite United Way, COVID-19 Relief Fund $15,000Monadnock United Way, COVID-19 Relief Fund $15,000The New Hampshire Food Bank $50,000United Way of Greater Nashua, COVID-19 Emergent Needs Response Fund $15,000United Way of the Greater Seacoast, COVID-19 Family Fund $15,000

Connecticut                $100,000

Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut $10,000Connecticut Food Bank $50,000North Central Area Agency on Aging $10,000Senior Resources Agency on Aging $10,000Southwestern CT Agency on Aging and Independent Living $10,000Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging $10,000

“Communities and leaders are uniting to face this challenge,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan.

Department of Public Works

LETTER: Residents Thankful for Quick Response by Public Works Employees

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A Watertown Department of Public Works snow plow. To the Editor:

We are writing to thank the Watertown Public Works Department, and to commend two of its workers for the outstanding service they recently provided to us. On Sunday, March 22 our sewer line became blocked. We attempted to unclog it with no success. About 6:30 p.m. we called the DPW to see if it would be possible for someone to come by the next morning.