Around Town

Tufts Health Plan Foundation Awards Nearly $1.9 Million in Grants

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Tufts Health Plan Foundation today announced new community investments reflecting a commitment to a community approach for making our cities and towns great places to grow up and grow old. The nearly $1.9 million supports 15 nonprofit organizations working in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. 

“Building communities that are responsive to the needs of older people is essential as our society ages,” said Thomas P. O’Neill, III, chair of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation board of directors. “Our investments support community-based organizations in their efforts to implement age-friendly policies and practices.” 

The new grants reflect a trend of increased regional and local efforts to create age- and dementia-friendly communities, and to re-imagine the relationship to health care and community. The initiatives promote cross-sector collaboration, expand engagement of older people, advance improvements to support the health and wellbeing of older people, and address the social determinants of health. 

“Each community has its own unique needs. Tufts Health Plan Foundation focuses resources in communities that want to achieve age-friendly practices that are relevant, focus on under-represented communities and engage older people in the process,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president of corporate citizenship for Tufts Health Plan.

Around Town

High School Students Can Enter MassDOT Video Contest

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The following announcement was provided by MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the sixth annual statewide high school video contest, Safe Streets Smart Trips. The contest serves as an initiative within the Massachusetts Strategic Highway Safety Plan to promote and educate the public about safe walking, bicycling, and driving behaviors. The contest began five years ago to encouragehigh school students to showcase their understanding of roadway safety across all travel modes to try to decrease pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities. “We are pleased to once again be able to give students the opportunity to create educational videos which underscore messages in the ‘Scan the Streets for Wheels and Feet’ initiative,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “The video contest has resulted in very creative ideas during the last few years and we look forward to seeing what teenagers will produce during this year’scontest to make the public more aware of safe behaviors while traveling.”

In summer 2017, MassDOT launched a new statewide campaign to raise awareness about motorists, pedestrians and cyclists safely sharing the Commonwealth’s streets. This initiative reminds travelers to “Scan the Street for Wheels and Feet.” The campaign slogan emphasizes the notion that everyone who is traveling on a roadway is responsible for doing their part to ensure safety.

Entertainment

Small Saves: Tea 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.”

Transportation

Survey Finds Bus Priority Lanes Improve Speed, Reliability During Commute

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Buses like this one on the 71 bus will get priority heading toward Harvard Square on Mt. Auburn Street in the new Cambridge-Watertown Bus Priority Pilot program. The following information was provided by the Town of Watertown:

Evaluation of the Cambridge-Watertown Mt. Auburn Street Bus Priority Pilot shows improved travel time and service reliability for 12,000+ daily MBTA bus and shuttle riders along Mt. Auburn Street, west of Fresh Pond Parkway.

Around Town

LETTER: Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment Celebrates 40 Years

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Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment celebrated its 40th anniversary in June. The following information was provided by the Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:

On Sunday, June 9, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment gathered at our Annual Meeting and Potluck at the Belmont/Watertown United Methodist Church to celebrate our 40th anniversary. Forty years ago, the worst accident at a U.S. nuclear power plant took place at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. That was 1979, and in response to that seminal event, Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety was born. We later became Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment.

Around Town

Watertown Youth Coalition Hands Out Community Spirit Awards

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The Community Spirit Awards recipients from left to right: Ellen Kolton, Carol Pennington, Deanne Galdston, Theresa McGuinness, Tina Loguidice, Lisa Bartlet, and Andy Short. (not pictured: John Straus, Barbara Beck, and Richard Arnold of the Watertown Board of Health). The following announcement was provided by Samantha Chan from the Watertown Youth Coalition:

On a beautiful Wednesday evening, June 12, 2019, the Watertown Youth Coalition and Wayside Youth & Family Support Network’s Multi-Service Center hosted their 12th annual Community Spirit Awards. This celebratory event honors individuals who are committed to the health and well-being of Watertown’s youth and families. The evening began with a dinner donated by various local restaurants, and was followed by a showcase of the WYC Peer Leaders projects, depicting the vaping epidemic affecting all schools nationwide.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Join Other Departments to Patrol Along Charles River

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Police from Watertown, Waltham, Newton and the State Police will patrol the Charles River this summer. Pictured L to R, Capt. Dowling (Newton PD), Capt. Rodley (Waltham PD), Lt. Dear (MSP
Brighton), Chief Lawn, Capt. Dupuis

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department:

The Massachusetts State Police, Waltham Police Department, Watertown Police Department, and Newton Police Department, along with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, are partnering in a summer initiative to enhance safety along the Riverwalk and other parkland along the Charles River Upper Basin. Troopers and Officers this weekend will launch Project Safe Summer, a joint patrol initiative that recognizes the four police agencies’ shared responsibility to enhance public safety along this serene area popular with walkers, runners, cyclists, and nature lovers. Teams consisting of members from each of the four departments will patrol the Upper Basin parklands and work collaboratively to address quality-of-life issues and other public concerns. The joint teams will patrol the area at various times, supplementing existing regular patrols.

Around Town

First Parish of Watertown Holding Rummage Sale

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The following announcement came from the First Parish of Watertown:

The First Parish Church of Watertown will be hosting a rummage sale on Saturday, June 29, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. The rummage sale had been a tradition for many years, but was discontinued for a couple years. A number of new parishioners have stepped forward to revive the event. As with previous rummage sales, the items for sale will be from First Parish members and the sale is a community-wide social event to which anyone can come. The minimal proceeds will be applied to church operational expenses.