Letters

LETTER: Watertown Gridiron Club Thanks Business Supporters

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To the Watertown Business Community:

The Watertown Football Gridiron Club, coaches, and players would like to thank you for your generosity and support during this football season! Many of our local businesses paid for an ad in our Program Book—we thank you and hope you had an opportunity to see your ad displayed. Others donated items, food for our players’ lunches, or for our snack shack on game nights: Boston House of Pizza, The Chateau Restaurant, Donohue’s Bar & Grill, Gerry’s Italian Kitchen, Friendly’s Restaurant, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Supercuts, The Talk Restaurant, Tri-City Restaurant, and” W” House of Pizza. Your generosity was truly appreciated. The Watertown Raiders had a great 9-2 season this year and part of that success is due to the support you and the Watertown community has given them.

Government

LETTER: Watertown Republicans Condemn Endorsements of Dems by GOP Officials

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The Watertown Republican Town Committee released the following statement about fellow GOP members endorsing Democrats in the Nov. 4 election:

A Resolution of Censure

Whereas; prior to the November 4th election, the GOP controlled roughly 15% of the State Legislature, and no Statewide Constitutional Office…

And Whereas; it was therefore incumbent upon all Republican office-holders and high-profile, celebrated former officer-holders, to actively support faithful Republicans seeking office, or at the very least not cause divisions by endorsing their Liberal Democrat opponents…

And whereas; in spite of the fact that former Governor William Weld endorsed Barack Obama for President in 2008, the MA-GOP Leadership embraced him upon his return to Massachusetts, welcoming him back into the inner circle of decision-makers and party strategists, further celebrating the former Governor as a great Party Patriarch by honoring him with the Prestigious Lincoln-Reagan Award, and then showcasing him at the 2014 State Convention…

And whereas; Former Governor William Weld endorsed Michael Day, an extremely Progressive Democrat, who was also endorsed by the Uber-liberal “Mass Alliance” group, over Caroline Colarusso, a well qualified conservative Republican running for State Representative in the Republican friendly 31st Middlesex District, in which the Weld endorsed Democrat, Michael Day, went on to win by 1%… And whereas; Former Governor William Weld endorsed Richard Moore, another very Progressive Democrat and entrenched incumbent over Ryan Fattman another well qualified and conservative Republican rising-star in the Worcester/Norfolk State Senate District race…

And whereas; Republican Essex County Sheriff endorsed the radical agenda-driven Uber-Liberal Maura Healey over the well-qualified Republican candidate John Miller for Attorney General…

And whereas; former MA-GOP Chair and current Chair of the MA Republican State Senate PAC, Brian Cresta endorsed Theodore (Ted) Speliotis, a Progressive Democrat who holds a 10% (f-) rating from Mass Fiscal Alliance and a similar grade from Citizens for Limited Taxation, over Republican Tom Lyons in a race for 13th Essex State Representative, in which Speliotis went on to win by 2%… And whereas; Lawrence Republican (Former) Mayor Michael J Sullivan and Republican City Councilor Marc Laplante endorsed Progressive Democrat Marcos Devers over Republican Roger Twomey in the 16th Essex race for State Representatives…

And whereas; the Republican Party unity is necessary to End to One Party Rule in Commonwealth…. And whereas; the aforementioned actions, by the aforementioned High Profile Republicans caused deep wounds to party unity, furthermore they may well have had serious negative impact on the outcomes of the aforementioned races…

Therefore be it resolved; that on this day, December 3rd, in the year of Our Lord 2014, at a regularly scheduled meeting, we the duly elected members of The Watertown Republican Town Committee condemn in the strongest possible manner, the aforementioned endorsements of Democrats by the aforementioned high profile Republicans….

Environment

LETTER: Watertown Can Participate in Local, State Solar Programs

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Neighborhood Solar is very happy to pass along the following information:

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) would like to provide an important update regarding the Commonwealth Solar II rebate program. As MassCEC has previously indicated, the Commonwealth Solar II rebate program is scheduled to sunset permanently at the end of funding Block 20.  Launched in January 2010, the program has helped to jump-start the small-scale solar market in Massachusetts, and has grown along with this segment of the industry.  To date, the CSII Program has awarded over 10,000 rebate applications for over 62 MW of solar capacity, facilitating the investment in solar of over $314 million by home owners and business owners across Massachusetts. As a result of higher-than-anticipated demand associated with the end of this program, the $3 million that was initially allocated for Block 20 is fully subscribed as of today (October 30, 2014). Given the funding depletion has happened earlier than expected, MassCEC has today obtained approval from its Board of Directors for an additional $3 million in funding to ensure the orderly close-out of the program. 

This is the final funding allocation for the Commonwealth Solar II Rebate Program, which will sunset at the end of the fourth quarter 2014, or when the additional funds are fully reserved, whichever occurs earlier. So, in addition to the 20% discount that Neighborhood Solar is offering (through December 31, 2014), the 30% federal tax credit (through 2016), the 30% state tax credit capped at $1,000 (through June 2015), and the SRECS that are still in place although vulnerable, there is the above additional rebate program available on a first-come, first-serve basis (through December 31, 2014).  If there was ever a time to install solar, this is it.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Writes Watertown Needs New Public Transit

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Watertown was dealt a blow with the approval of the referendum to prevent the gas tax from changing with the consumer price index. We in Watertown will suffer as a result because public transit will suffer: the MBTA won’t have a reliable source of funding even to keep pace with inflation, just at the moment when we all need better T service more than ever. But we can do things as a community that will actually improve our transportation future. In Watertown, we experience daily that the MBTA is overstretched and underfunded, that traffic congestion is overwhelming, and infrastructure is outdated. Service on the T’s Watertown bus lines was never stellar, but it has deteriorated.

Elections

LETTER: Watertown Resident Helped Question 1 Succeed

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To the Editor,

On November 4th the voters of Massachusetts said no to “Taxation Without Representation” by voting Yes on Question 1. We repealed the legislation that raised the gasoline tax atomically every year without any further debate or vote of the legislature. In so doing the Commonwealth’s voters restored representative democracy, in it’s birthplace and cradle. The vast majority of credit for this effort belongs to Watertown’s own Steve Aylward. He conceived this ballot initiative.

Elections

LETTER: Residents Explain Why They Support Coakley for Governor

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We are supporting Martha Coakley for Governor on Tuesday, November 4. We hope you will too. Martha has been a dogged and courageous force for fairness and progressive values throughout her public service career in Massachusetts. She has consistently protected women’s access to reproductive health services and fought for equal pay for equal work.  She challenged the Defense of Marriage Act and won and she went after predatory lenders and kept over 30,000 families in their homes. However even beyond her clearly progressive record, there is another critical issue facing us now: the growing inequality of wealth in our Commonwealth and across America. How we deal with this now will impact us all, rich and poor, for many years to come. The growing gap between haves and have-nots is an urgent moral and political issue, but there is also a growing chorus of economists who contend that the accelerating hollowing-out of the middle class in America will have a severe negative impact on the long term health of our economy and our society. Policies that support the growing concentration of wealth actually weaken our economy.

Elections

LETTER: ProgressiveWatertown Endorsements for Nov. 4 Election

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Dear Editor,

On September 28th, a large group of Watertown citizens met to talk about the November 4th Election. We all felt the Ballot Questions were extremely important, and all faced monied opposition. We voted and endorsed our majority opinion on these questions. Later 25 citizens chipped in to print up our positions and take the issue voter to voter. On Question #1 we voted NO to the repeal of the indexed gas tax.

Letters

LETTER: Resident and Dog Want Dog Park at Filippello Park

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To the Editor,

We are writing to support the choice of the Grove Street entrance to Filippello Park for the East End Dog Park, using the guidelines written by the Watertown Dog Park Task Force more than a year ago. We are grateful for the other off leash dog parks. There is a need for a somewhat larger one in this area with larger numbers of people potentially using it. 15,000 sq ft is an optimal size and possible in this space. It is accessible and part of a well-used neighborhood park and, most importantly, in the middle of a well-trafficked area.