Around Town

LETTER: Watertown Group Commemorating Bombing of Hiroshima, Nagasaki

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Candleboats float on the Charles River in Watertown in memory of those who died in the nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and the Environment is holding a commemoration of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Sunday, August 9, the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. NEVER AGAIN – NO MORE HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI – NO MORE VICTIMS – ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS

7:30 PM – Silent Vigil – Watertown Square8:00 PM – Music and Testimonials8:30 PM – Launching of the Candle boats on the Charles River

NEVER AGAIN! NO MORE VICTIMS! ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS!

Elections

LETTER: State Rep. Lawn Thanked for Role in Passing Election Law

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State Rep. John Lawn of Watertown, who represents the 10th Middlesex District. To the Editor,

Massachusetts voters will have many new ways of casting a ballot this fall thanks to an emergency bill passed by the legislature and signed into law a few short weeks ago. The law will help ensure that no Bay Stater has to choose between their right to vote and their health by sending mail ballot applications to all registered voters, providing a safer in-person voting experience by providing PPE and additional early voting options, and streamlining administrative procedures for local elections officials. There are many other changes as well as these toplines, all designed to modernize ourelection system and make it safer and more participatory. It is an outstanding example of moving forward for the benefit of all Bay Staters, and one of the strongest election reforms in the country.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Wants Tree to be Saved, Provides Cooling in Summer

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To whom it may concern:

I’m writing to add my voice in support of preservation of the public shade tree at 142 Forest Street, which by Mass. State law is receiving a public hearing today.  

I’ve heard from multiple concerned Watertown residents about the risk to this tree. All reports indicate that this is a vigorous, healthy pin oak which is providing significant benefits to the neighborhood and if preserved and protected should have decades of healthy service ahead.  

In sweltering hot weather, large-canopy urban trees like this oak play a critical role in cooling city neighborhoods.

Government

OP-ED: Is It Time to Hit the Brakes on Reopening in Mass.?

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

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

In order to safely reopen our schools, we may need to hit the brakes on our phased reopening of the economy in Massachusetts. The latest numbers are telling us that we may need to reclose some businesses or find other ways to reduce infection. As we manage the reopening of the economy, we need to think more clearly about the trade-offs we are making and the consequences we are willing to accept. The decision to open optional services like casinos, movie theaters, and health clubs may make it impossible for us to safely reopen our schools. There is some guesswork in estimating how each specific business closure or infection control measure will affect the average rate at which people with COVID-19 transmit it to others.

Letters

OP-ED: Call to Dismantle Nuclear Weapons 75 Years After Atom Bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Nagasaki

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Candleboats float on the Charles River in Watertown in memory of those who died in the nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The following piece was submitted by Jeanne Trubek, Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, Pam Phillips and Sue LaDue of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:

Seventy-five years ago, the United States opened a new era, the Age of Nuclear Weapons. In August, 1945, the US dropped one atomic bomb on Hiroshima and one atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Those two bombs killed 226,000 people — immediately. In the years that followed, the survivors — in Japanese as “Hibakusha” – suffered cancer and chronic disease as a result of the extreme radiation.

Letters

OP-ED: Watertown Group’s Statement on Policing, Systematic Racism

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The following op-ed was written by Watertown Citizens for Black Lives, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment:

July 2020

Something about the moment we are in – maybe it’s because COVID-19 has made it impossible to ignore the deadly ways race predicts health outcomes, or because our disrupted routines make it possible for a single event to galvanize our shared attention on a huge scale – something made everyone notice the brutal killing of George Floyd. As sickening as his murder was, it was far from unique. Floyd’s name is one in a very long list of Black people killed by police (or by vigilantes with ties to law enforcement), a list that includes Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and too, too many others (https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/). Activists campaigning for safe communities have been imploring for years that we reaffirm the individual humanity of each of these lives, and our own, by saying their names, by holding their killers accountable, and by creating conditions such that Black lives are no longer disproportionately the victims of state violence. Since George Floyd’s death, more people, and notably more white people, are finally beginning to reckon with the long history of police brutality against Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC).

Government

OP-ED: Mass. Senate Passes Police Reform Bill, Brownsberger Gives Details

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Massachusetts State House. State Sen Will Brownberger provided the following piece:

Early in the morning on July 14, the Senate passed S.2800 — the Reform, Shift and Build Act. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the House of Representatives to finalize soon a joint package to lay before the Governor. The outline below offers a thematic organization of the bill. Links in the outline lead to relevant resources.

Government

OP-ED: Legislation Needed to Fight Systematic Racism

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The following was written by Progressive Massachusetts and is endorsed by Progressive Watertown:

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, and Rayshard Brooks have served as a tragic reminder of the epidemic that is police brutality in the United States. 

Over the past few weeks (indeed, over the past few years), we keep seeing more and more video examples of how widespread, how dehumanizing, and how fatal police violence is and how disproportionately such violence is used against the Black community. Some say the current wave of protests is a historic turning point; we need to make it one. 

It is important to recognize that the graphic imagery of police brutality is just one of the many violent manifestations of systemic racism and white supremacy. The underfunding of schools in communities of color is a form of violence. The denial of health care access is a form of violence. Exclusionary housing policies are a form of violence.