Around Town

Sidewalk Work, Lane Shifts and Parking Restrictions on Mt. Auburn Street This Week

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Construction of the Mt. Auburn Street Project this week includes work on sidewalks, but business entrances will still be accessible. Also, expect require lane shifts and parking restrictions. See details in the announcement from the City of Watertown, below. Traffic Line Striping – Overnight Work

Traffic line striping is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, 2026, beginning at 8:00 p.m. and lasting approximately four hours.

Around Town

Watertown Elected Leaders and Community Activists Endorse Daniel Lander for State Senate

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Daniel Lander. The following announcement came from the Landers for Senate Campaign:

Daniel Lander announced that his state senate campaign had been endorsed by a slate of elected and community leaders in Watertown. These leaders include elected school committee members, labor activists, and democratic party leaders. They are supporting Daniel’s vision for a more progressive Massachusetts that will take on the status quo and fight the affordability crisis while standing up to the Trump administration. “I am so grateful to have earned the trust and support of so many amazing leaders in Watertown,” said Daniel Lander, Candidate for State Senate, “These leaders and so many others in Watertown have organizing to take on our some of our state’s most pressing issues: building affordable housing, protecting our immigrant neighbors, and making sure every child gets an incredible education.

Around Town

Youth TV Production Workshop Offered by Watertown Cable

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Cable Access Television:

WCA-TV’s Youth Workshop is back this summer for children between the ages of 9 to 14. Our students will learn the basics of video production, from scriptwriting to editing. By the end of the Workshop, students will have produced a film. This Workshop will run Monday-Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. during the weeks of July 20th and 27th. This Workshop is free of charge to all students thanks to a generous grant from the Watertown Cultural Council.

Around Town

Watertown Eco Fest will Feature Sustainable Vendors, Demonstrations & Activities for All Ages

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The second annual Watertown Eco Fest will feature activities including electric bike test rides, vendors of sustainable products, activities for kids, and more. The event, hosted by the City of Watertown, will also include representatives from City departments and community organizations focused on sustainability. Eco Fest will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 9 at the Commander’s Mansion, 440 Talcott Ave., Watertown. Watertown Sustainability Planner Mia Kania said Eco Fest the City created Eco Fest after the City Council approved the Resilient Watertown Climate and Energy Plan. “It started last year, which was right after we had expanded the Sustainability Team, essentially doubling,” Kania said.

Around Town

Watertown Historical Society Event Focuses on True Crime Story from Colonial Times

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The Historical Society of Watertown will host a talk about a historical true crime, and host its annual meeting on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 2 p.m. at the Watertown Library. See more information provided by the Historical Society, below. Annual Members Meeting with Election of Board Members Immediately following slide show and talk by historian Marie Daly: “Incident at Rock Meadow — True Crime Story of Ruth Sawtell & Thomas Loveran.”

Location: Watertown Free Public LibraryWatertown Savings Bank Meeting Room123 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472

In 17th century Watertown, Zachariah Smith fled charges of unlawful relations with neighbor Ruth Sawtell. The ensuing repercussions of his subsequent murder contributed to the outbreak of King Philip’s War. Three years later, an assignation with another neighbor made Ruth Sawtell a repeat offender, and the scene of their crime was the “Great Rock” in Rock Meadow.

Around Town

Group from Watertown Joining the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Walks for Peace:

Join the Watertown Walks for Peace Team on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10th, and support the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Dorchester. This year is the 12th consecutive year that the Watertown team will participate in the 5K Walk for Peace. For those who would like to walk with us, there will be a bus leaving Watertown at 7:30 a.m. and returning to Watertown by noon. Sign up here to walk, donate, or take the bus to Dorchester.  

–> Sign up to walk, or donate. –> Sign up for a free bus which will depart from First Parish in Watertown at 7:30 a.m. (returning by noon), or meet us at Fields Corner at 8am. Whether you walk, donate, or both, you’ll be part of a strong, hopeful community working for peace. 

The Peace Institute was founded by Chaplain Clementina Chery, the mother of Louis D. Brown, after her son was shot and killed in 1993 by random gunfire. The Peace Institute has become an inspiration and model for breaking the cycle of violence for all of those affected by gun violence in Boston and beyond. A donation to the Peace Institute helps to provide vital services to families and communities affected by murder and trauma with dignity and compassion. 

The Peace institute and its partnership with the city of Boston has helped to make Boston one of the safest cities in the U.S. and is a model around the world. It embodies the hopes we all have for a better future for all. To learn more: https://ldbpeaceinstitute.org/

Come be inspired by the words of Massachusetts leaders, join a welcoming community of supporters, and help the Watertown team surpass its past fundraising success in raising over $6,000.

Around Town

Parts of School Street Closed This Week as Part of Mt. Auburn Street Project

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This week drivers can expect detours and lane closures along Mt. Auburn Street, including a complete closure of a block of School Street. See more information provided by the City of Watertown, below. Milling and Paving

Milling (removal of the top layer of pavement) and paving will occur on Mount Auburn Street between Boylston Street and Chauncy Street and on School Street between Porter Street and Adams Avenue. Detours will be in place for this work.

Around Town

Japanese A-bomb Survivors Appearing in Watertown During Visit to the Boston Area

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment:

Japanese A-bomb survivors, who have transformed their excruciating physical and emotional wounds into the world’s strongest force for nuclear weapons abolition, are coming to the Boston area to help us reinvigorate our movement. The delegation, which includes Hiroshi Kanamoto, Yoshinori Ohmura, and Yayoi Tsuchida, will have recently participated in meetings for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations. 

We face unprecedented times on the world stage with the risk of the use of nuclear weapons and the potential for a nuclear accident increasing daily. With the end of long-established nuclear treaties between the U.S. and Russia, the absence of any confidence building dialogues among the nine nuclear nations, and the consideration of non-nuclear nations to acquire nuclear capability, we must do whatever we can to move the goal of nuclear disarmament forward. 

Come learn from those who have experienced the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and its consequences and those who are leading the nuclear disarmament efforts in Japan. Our guests are Hirosi Kanamoto the Assistant Secretary General of Nihon Hidankyo, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize recipient organization, Yoshinori Ohmura a second generation Hibakusha and a leading figure in Nihon Hidankyo, and Yayoi Tsuchida the Assistant Secretary General of Gensuikyo, the Japan Council against A- & H-Bombs. Organized by Dr. Joseph Gerson, a long-time resident of Watertown and the Executive Director of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, the delegation will join nuclear disarmament activists at events in Cambridge on May 3, in Bridgewater on May 4, and in Worcester on May 5. Special note about the Cambridge event: People will be welcome at 1991 Massachusetts Avenue beginning at 2 p.m. You can register for any of the three events at https://cpdcs.org/events/join-japanese-a-bomb-survivors-massachusetts-disarmament-activists/

Intimate Gathering with the Delegation

There will be a special gathering with the delegation in Watertown on Sunday, May 3 at 11 a.m. at the home of Dr. Joseph Gerson and Lani Gerson at 4 Washburn Street in Watertown Please RSVP to watertowncitizens.org. 

This event is being sponsored by the Nuclear Disarmament Committee of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment. We hope that you will join us for an intimate opportunity to learn from and share with the members of the delegation. The Nuclear Disarmament Committee organized the Citizen Petition in support of a Nuclear Disarmament Resolution to the City Council in February. While the Council defeated the Resolution 4-5, organizing the effort provided an important opportunity engage with Watertown Citizens about the dangers of nuclear war and the need for nuclear disarmament.