Around Town

High School Students Spend Summer as Watertown Community Foundation Interns

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What did you do this summer? For eight Watertown high schoolers, the dreaded first assignment is a little easier this fall. Together they completed over a thousand hours of work as interns for which each received a $1,000 stipend under the Watertown Community Foundation’s high school internship program, WCF announced. The program, open to Watertown residents in grades 9-12 attending any school, required at least 20 hours of voluntary work per week for at least six weeks. This was the second year WCF has offered the program, which grew from five students in 2015 to eight in 2016.

Charity

Watertown Family Joins Walk to Promote Acceptance, Inclusion for Downs Community

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On Sunday, October 9, in the midst of National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, the Flanagan family of Watertown will join over 3,500 family members, friends and people with Down syndrome at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield to celebrate, promote acceptance and inclusion, and look to a bright future for the Down syndrome community in Massachusetts and beyond, the MDSC announced. This year, the Buddy Walk & Family Festival celebrates its 20th year. It has grown from a gathering of a handful of families to what is now the largest gathering of people with Down syndrome and their loved ones in New England and among the largest in the nation. Helping us celebrate this occasion, the MDSC welcomes special guest John Tucker (aka “JT”) from the emmy-winning series Born This Way. JT will meet and greet fans and sign photos before the walk and will kick off a dance “after party” following the walk around beautiful Lake Quannapowitt.

Elections

LETTER: Watertown Schools Parent Group Says Fund Schools, Not CPA

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Fund Schools First, Vote No On The CPA

Watertown Strong Schools (WSS) is urging Watertown voters to vote no on ballot question #5 regarding the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Here’s why:

The funding needs of our schools should be Watertown’s highest priority at this time. • All 5 of our schools are in urgent need of renovations and physical upgrades so that our buildings can support the overcrowding issues facing our Elementary schools and the high-quality 21 st Century education that all our children deserve. • The Watertown Public Schools (WPS) Facilities Master Plan study is almost complete, and initial cost estimates are that we will need at least $200 million to upgrade our school buildings. • We believe that the passage of the CPA in November could jeopardize the willingness of Watertown residents to vote in favor of a debt exclusion override that will be necessary in the next 1-2 years to fund these essential school renovations.

Obituaries

OBIT: Marvin Mitchell, 94, Respected Scientist, Served on Watertown Boards

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Dr. Marvin Mitchell, 94, of Watertown died at home on Friday, Sept. 29.  A respected scientist who loved oil painting, vegetable gardening, and running, he was down to earth, interested in others, and more likely to arrive at work in sneakers and a hoodie than a white coat. 

He continued to publish scientific papers into his last year, and was still at his lab just two weeks before his death. He was loved by all those who knew him, family, friends, and co-workers. Mitchell was born in 1922 in Toledo Ohio. His parents and older sister Shirley  (who had a successful career as a radio and TV actress) were immigrants from Poland, Jews escaping the Russian Civil War.

Elections

Environmental League Endorses Watertown State Representative

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The Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund today endorsed Representative Jonathan Hecht of Watertown for reelection in the 29th Middlesex District, a credit to his work on behalf of the environment in the Legislature the last two years, the group announced. With critical issues of energy policy and environmental protection to be addressed in the next legislative session, the leadership of the ELM Action Fund believes it is important to return proven environmental champions like Hecht to the House Chamber. “Representative Hecht has been a tireless advocate to increase the amount of Massachusetts’ energy that comes from renewable sources,” said ELM Action Fund Political Director, Joe O’Brien. “Representative Hecht is a thoughtful and passionate lawmaker who appreciates the complexities of issues, and he was an outspoken champion during the legislature’s debate on solar policy. We appreciate his consistent supporter on a wide range of environmental issues.”

“I greatly appreciate and value the endorsement of ELM’s Action Fund,” said Representative Hecht. “ELM is highly respected in my district and I look forward to continuing our work together on climate change, energy, and other crucial environmental issues.”

First elected to the State House of Representatives in 2008, Hecht is up for reelection this year and is unopposed.

Around Town

Access the Watertown Library on a New Cellphone App

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Library users now have the ability to carry the Watertown Free Public Library in their pocket with the Minuteman Library Network app, the library announced. Users on the go can use the app to search the catalog and place holds, keep tabs on their library account, renew or freeze their items and manage holds. Users have access to a digital library card on their phone. The app provides access to thousands of eBooks, streaming movies, digital magazines, and premium subscription resources for lifelong learning. The app is customized for each library in the Minuteman Network – it’s like having 43 different apps, each with its own unique resources, events and social media.

Activist

Motorcycle Riding Grandma from Watertown Named ‘Intactivist” of the Month

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Cynthia Maloney’s first public opposition to infant circumcision was unexpected and visceral. In her early 30s, she sat in a bar with a friend in Waltham, chatting with two guys. When talk turned to circumcision, Maloney could not stay quiet, according to a report from Intact America. “I popped up off of the barstool and onto my soapbox,” she recalls. Back then, in 1999, she didn’t know the facts behind her position.

Elections

LETTER: Community Preservation Act is Not A Good Fit for Watertown

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The CPA tax is the proverbial round peg in a square hole when it comes to Watertown’s already cash-strapped homeowners and renters. CPA funds can only be spent on projects involving: affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space/recreation. Please consider these facts:

• Watertown property taxes will rise by 2 percent if the CPA passes. This increase will be passed on to many renters. • The Watertown Housing Production Plan of 2014 said that 40 percent of Watertown households was “housing cost burdened,”meaning that housing costs consume more than 30 percent of their gross household income, according to federal estimates.