Around Town

OP-ED: Education Reform Bill Would Provide More Funding

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

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

Friday, the legislature’s Education Committee released the Student Opportunity Act, a very significant education reform bill. It is an especially promising bill because the House and Senate leadership teams are already in agreement on all of its details. 

The bill targets more aid to communities with the highest concentrations of low income students, but schools in every community will benefit. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) computes a budget for each school system in the state, known as the “Foundation Budget.” DESE also computes an amount that the school system should be able to contribute towards that budget. The state then sends the difference between what the community can afford and the Foundation Budget as education aid. Unfortunately, the Foundation Budget computation has not kept up with rising school costs. On average, communities need to spend approximately 30 percent more than the Foundation Budget to run their schools. The poorest communities in the state are unable to spend at that level and are therefore spending much less than the more affluent communities in the state.

Cartoon

Small Saves: One Way to Get Into the Hall of Fame

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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.”

Business

Athenahealth Announces New Chief Financial Officer

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The following announcement came from athenahealth:

athenahealth, Inc., a leading provider of network-enabled services for ambulatory and hospital customers nationwide, announced today that Luis Borgen has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Luis most recently served as CFO for Vistaprint, a global e-commerce brand that empowers small businesses to market themselves with physical and digital marketing products. In his new role, Borgen will lead athenahealth’s finance organization to help propel the company’s strategic goals. “Our vision is to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high quality and sustainable healthcare for all. This is now possible with a complete leadership team and with Luis leading a strong and engaged finance organization,” said Bob Segert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of athenahealth.

Business

Networking Event in Watertown Hosted by Newton Needham Chamber

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The following announcement came from the Newton Needham Regional Chamber:

Make lots of new connections over coffee at our uber-popular morning networking series. A third-generation family business, Designer Bath opened its sparkling new showroom in Watertown in 2016. We’ll explore the beautiful new space while networking with Watertown neighbors and business professionals from across the region. Open to both members and nonmembers (who may attend up to 3 free events), coffee connects typically draw upwards of 50 attendees and are a great way to learn about the chamber, our members and our programs.

Event Details

Coffee Connect

Wed. Oct.

Around Town

Tufts Health Plan Foundation Appoints New Board Members

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The following information was provided by Tufts Health Plan Foundation:

Tufts Health Plan Foundation welcomed Benjamin Perkins, Jo Ann Simons, Mary Skelton Roberts and Kristin Lewis to its Board of Directors, broadening its leadership and expertise in community. The Foundation, which recently celebrated its first decade, works collaboratively to make communities great places to grow up and grow old. “Our board brings diverse, lived, professional expertise to our work, but most importantly a passion for community,” said Thomas P. O’Neill, III, who chairs the Tufts Health Plan Foundation board of directors and serves on the Tufts Health Plan board. Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan, added, “We know our new members’ insights and wisdom will advance our mission and enrich this very important work.”

An avid social-justice practitioner, intellectual, and creative thinker, Benjamin Perkins is the vice president of Health Equity Strategies for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. He has extensive experience in public health and health disparities and inequities.

Development

LETTER: Boylston Properties Responds to End of Agreement with Town Over Arsenal Park

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A view of the planned renovation of Arsenal Park. The following letter is in response to the Sept. 11, 2019 story “Partnership Between Town, Arsenal Yards to Renovate Town Park Over Before it Began”

Editor,

I want to clear up the facts of the state of our partnership with the Town on the Arsenal Park renovation, and to also put into context the recent exchange between the Town and Boylston Properties that you detailed in your piece. Mark Reich has been a great contributor to our early progress in this hoped for partnership, but his letter to the Town was a one-sided summary of that process. As you know, we firmly believe that Arsenal Yards will be of great benefit to Watertown.

Around Town

Get a Look Inside Watertown Cable at the Annual Open House

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Cable Access:

Come on down to WCA-TV on Saturday, October 19th for our annual fall open house. From 12 pm to 4 pm, you will be able to take a tour of our studio space, learn about what kind of video production workshops we’re offering, and learn about many other ways to get involved here at Watertown’s only cable access station. We can get you started on everything you need to put together your own television program. You’ll be able to meet with our staff, some of our volunteers, and board members. We’ll answer any questions you have!

Around Town

Registration Open for Watertown Youth Basketball

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Youth Basketball:

Hello Watertown Basketball Families. ONLINE REGISTRATION for the 2019-2020 Season is NOW OPEN!!! Register at watertownyouthbasketball.com

We offer a fun, competitive opportunity for Boys and Girls Grades 4-8 to play Basketball on either a travel or in house team. Deadline to register for a Travel Team is October 20! Deadline to register for In House is November 16!