Letters

OP-ED: Housing Group Celebrates Well-Attended Forum on Building 100% Affordable Housing Projects

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One of the most pressing ways that our region’s housing shortage affects Watertown is through an acute lack of deed-restricted affordable housing. It’s quite simple: more of these units would help to keep Watertown’s working people in our city. Yet while Watertown’s inclusionary zoning policy ensures that a proportion of each market rate development’s units are set aside as affordable housing, this only chips away at the shortage. What if, instead, there was a way to build more developments that were composed of just workforce and lower income housing? As an effort to explore more expansive solutions to the affordable housing shortage, Housing for All Watertown hosted a forum on February 23rd to share more about what it will take to build these 100% affordable housing developments (click here for highlights of event).

Letters

LETTER: Questions About What’s Happening in Washington DC

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Dear Editor,

It appears that Americans are no longer seeking domestic tranquility and peace among nations, especially our allies. Certain media is reporting that the U.S. President is or has changed America’s policy and opinion in favor of a Federal, Semi-Presidential Republic under an Authoritarian Dictatorship.    

We know a Dictatorship form of governmental control has existed since man was first born.  I liken what is happening in America today to the reigns of the two French Kings Louis XIII, recognized for increasing the Power of the Monarchy, and Louis the XIV, Known as the “Sun King” for his Absolute Rule. The Three Musketeers served under both of these Kings, and notably were not good or bad, but rather complex characters with flaws, loyal only to each other and their King. Apparently, the dark side of the Musketeers prevailed and they went to Hell.

Letters

LETTER: Actions People Can Take Before the Midterm Elections

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Dear Editor,

I just attended “Protecting Democracy in the Era of Donald Trump including a Discussion of Citizens United” with State Senator Brownsberger at the Watertown Library. Attendees from Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, and Brighton got to express their concerns about the current situation in Washington, D.C., and asked how to impact it. The most salient point was to participate in the electoral process. Last night, we shared our concerns and asked Party representatives there what we can do?  I invite those who attended to share here because the local paper is a media, we the people, still possess. Some of you were so eloquent and some of you hit the nail on the head! I agreed with all of you. Remember it was pamphleteers, including our own Samuel Adams, that spread the unpopular idea for independence. Fair warning there will be responses from idolaters but there are more of us, left, right and center who share very similar concerns. An election won by 1.5% does not a mandate make. I will go first.

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Should Think Twice Before Adopting BERDO

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By Max Woolf

Fighting climate change is essential, but how we do it matters. Watertown is considering new rules that would shift the costs of decarbonization onto property owners, businesses, and renters. The proposed ordinance, known as BERDO, would have Watertown join Boston, Lexington, Cambridge, and Newton by requiring owners of properties 20,000 square feet or larger to track and reduce fossil fuel use — or face fines. While specific requirements and timelines vary based on building size, under the proposal, all large commercial and residential property owners in Watertown will have to take a combination of the following steps to comply:

● Hire a consultant to measure and benchmark energy use● Report energy use annually to the city● Take steps to reduce emissions, such as replacing gas boilers with heat pumps, upgrading HVAC systems and adopting other efficiency measures, or pay fines● Periodically verify energy data through third-party consultants at the owner’s expense● Implement efficiency upgrades, like installing new insulation, optimizing building controls, or reducing overall energy consumption, or pay fines● Possibly install on-site solar panels or instead purchase costly electricity offsets (even after completing retrofits)

On top of that, Watertown’s BERDO rules are different from Boston’s, Cambridge’s, Newton’s, or Lexington’s, and that’s a problem in and of itself because anyone who owns or manages property in multiple communities must navigate a different set of complex rules and deadlines. Watertown’s proposed ordinance also goes further than Newton’s, Cambridge’s, or Lexington’s, raising concerns about the city’s future affordability and competitiveness, not just against these communities but also communities across the region that have not adopted BERDO rules.

Letters

LETTER: Rock Salt – Cheap, Effective, and Very Harmful

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by Anne Harrington PhDTrees for Watertown

Rock salt is the No. 1 de-icer in the United States. It’s cheap, effective at melting snow and ice, and provides good traction on treated surfaces. But road salt is referred to as a “silent killer” because of the seen and unseen damage that it causes to infrastructure and the natural environment. Tons of rock salt are applied every winter in the U.S. Nearly half a million tons are used annually for winter road maintenance in Massachusetts alone (Source: EPA, Nov 2020).

Letters

LETTER: More Than 100 Join Tesla Takedown Protest in Watertown

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The Tesla Takedown in Watertown on March 1. (Copyright 2025 Joshua Touster)

On Saturday morning, March 1st, over 100 people showed up at the intersection of Bridge Street and Pleasant Street near the Watertown Tesla Service Center to participate in a standout targeting Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk. 

The standout was part of a national protest of Elon Musk and his unelected role in the current Trump administration. Known as the Take Down Tesla Campaign, www.teslatakedown.com, the campaign urges people to sell their Tesla  cars and stock and to join the movement to protest Musk and the Department of Energy Efficiency (DOGE). 

(Copyright 2025 Joshua Touster)

Many people who attended were from Watertown and adjacent communities: Brighton, Cambridge, Newton, and Waltham. But some came from as far away as Worcester. There was a lot of support for the protest from those who drove by as several different chants were called out, one that was particularly popular was “Hay, Hay, Ho, Ho, Elon Musk has got to go.” Protest signs referenced the parallels to the rise of Nazi Germany, the current threat to democracy, and the takeover of our federal government in the form of a soft or administrative coup. choosedemocracy.us/what-is-an-administrative-coup

A protest rally that was held later in the day at the Tesla dealership on Boylston Street in Boston drew over 300 participants. The Boston Tesla protests will continue on a weekly basis Starting on Sunday, March 9th, and continuing on Saturdays beginning on March 15th. Stay tuned for a possible future standout in Watertown. 

Tesla Takedowns were held in Watertown and Boston on March 1. (Copyright 2025 Joshua Touster)

Eileen Ryan of Watertown and Janet England of Brighton were the two organizers of the Watertown Standout on Saturday.