Elections

LETTER: Attorney Running for Governor’s Council Seat

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Dear Friends:

I am announcing my candidacy for Governor’s Council for the Third District of Massachusetts. The district includes much of Middlesex County and parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester counties. Many Massachusetts citizens are unaware of the important, indeed vital, mission that the Governor’s Council is charged by the Massachusetts Constitution. The Council plays a seminal role in our state’s justice system and consequently to the function of our democracy and the stability of our society by having the power of “advice and consent” of all judges and clerk-magistrates in Massachusetts. The Council is the last chance the people of Massachusetts have to make sure that the best candidate for the job is picked.

Letters

LETTER: More than 80 Watertown Residents Participate in Peace Walk

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A broad coalition of community members from Watertown participated in the 2015 Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Dorchester. According to the Rev. Amy McCreath of Good Shepherd Church and the Rev. Mark Harris of First Parish Church, 85 people, including a large number of middle school and high school students, filled two school buses that departed Watertown Square at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 11th. We marched as a group we called “Watertown Walks for Peace” in the hopes of building bridges across difference here in Watertown and supporting the wise work for justice led by others in the Boston area. We also walked to speak out about the needless and senseless violence in our schools, on our streets, and in our neighborhoods. The group raised over $2,675 to support the vital work of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, which helps families who have lost loved
ones to violence.

Development

LETTER: Developer Makes Case for a Hotel on Elm Street in Watertown

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There will be a Special Meeting of the Watertown Planning Board on Thursday, May 21, 2015, in the Town Council Chamber of Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown, to hear a proposal to build a new business class five story hotel on the site formerly occupied by Atlantic Battery. The developer, Cherag Patel, from the Chicago area has owned and developed hotels for the past sixteen years. Mr. Patel said “We are excited about the opportunity to bring another marquis hotel to Watertown. We feel that Watertown’s location is superior to Cambridge and Waltham because Watertown has the unique ability to offer guests both an urban experience like Cambridge, and a suburban experience, like Waltham. Our market research firmly establishes that there is so much demand for hotel rooms from Watertown businesses such as Athena Health, Tufts Health, the Perkins School for the Blind, and the many other thriving businesses in Watertown, that a second hotel in Watertown will flourish.

Environment

LETTER: Watertown Residents Can Join Neighborhood Solar Program

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It is with great pleasure that Neighborhood Solar II is launched. Green Cambridge is partnering with Neighborhood Solar to help promote this program in Cambridge. Right now, Massachusetts has excellent solar incentives and the federal government is giving a 30 percent tax credit through 2016. The goal of Neighborhood Solar is to combine these incentives and tax credits with the best solar prices and the best solar quality and craftsmanship. With this in mind, and based on the success of Neighborhood Solar I, SunBug Solar has agreed to be the installer.

Letters

LETTER: Thank a Nurse During National Nurses Week 2015

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Dear Editor,

As a registered nurse with 57 years of experience, I want to let readers know that May 6th through the 12th is National Nurses Week 2015. During this week, national celebrations are occurring to thank nursing professionals for their tireless efforts in caring for patients in all clinical areas. In fact, On Wednesday May 6 nurses will gather at Fenway Park and be honored in a pregame ceremony. Massachusetts’ 120,000 plus active registered nurses compassionately provide excellent health care to all the citizens of our Commonwealth. The vital contributions of nurses is paramount to the success of our health care system in improving lives of Americans.

Letters

LETTER: Getting Your Children Offline in a Digital World

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{This is the third in a series of three letters about the Watertown Speaker Series focusing on technology and children.}

In 2015, children and adults socialize, learn, work, and play in the digital sphere. Given this new digital frontier, with rapidly available and widely accessible technological innovations, Watertown parents and community members came together to learn about healthy technology use and parenting in the digital age. The research is clear: Media use and digital devices can have negative impacts on health. A study on technology use among 8-18 year olds found that light users were more likely to report earning better grades than heavy users, got along well with parents, and were happy at school. Heavy users were more likely to report getting into trouble and being sad or unhappy.

Letters

LETTER: Health Department Urges Residents to Keep Watertown Clean

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Along with the much anticipated snow melt and onset of Spring, we also anticipate the emergence of debris – paper, cans and bottles, snack bags and wrappers, and, unfortunately, uncollected dog waste – that has remained buried under the blankets, mounds, and banks of snow and ice. Help keep Watertown clean by removing all debris on your property, sidewalks, and other areas around your houses and businesses on a frequent basis as the melting snow exposes it. Assist elderly or disabled neighbors by removing debris on their property. Business and property owners, please clean around dumpsters and rubbish disposal areas and ensure that all debris is properly contained. Survey your dumpsters and rubbish containers for holes, cracks, and other damage that could result in leaks and spillage of waste into parking lots and on public ways.

Letters

LETTER: Parenting in the Age of Texts, Tweets and Skype

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{This is the second in a series of three articles about the Watertown Lecture Series on children and technology.}

Welcome to the digital age! Teens and tweens have unprecedented access to Instagram Tumblr, SnapChat, Secret, Slingshot, Whisper, Ask.fm, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Pinterest, Skype, FaceTime, Omegle and other new apps developed daily.Cell phone ownership among kids is widespread and on the rise. Across Massachusetts, in 2011, 20 percent of third graders, 25 percent of fourth graders, 40 percent of fifth graders and 85 percent of 6-12 graders reported having their own phone. Of these, more than 90 percent could use their phone to go online and text. As a result, the average teenager sends more than 3,000 texts per month or more than six texts per waking hour. Kristin Noto, a Middlesex District Attorney from the Partnership for Youth spoke at the Watertown Speaker Series on Wednesday, April 1.