Around Town

State Repairing Bridge on Mt. Auburn St., Will Impact Traffic on Several Sundays

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MassDOT announced upcoming roadwork on Mt. Auburn Street at the intersection with Belmont Street, just east of Greg’s Restaurant in Cambridge, and near the Mount Auburn Cemetery. MassDOT provided the following announcement:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing that it will be conducting concrete deck, joint, and asphalt wearing surface repairs on Mount Auburn Street over the bicycle path at the Belmont Street intersection in Cambridge. The repairs will take five consecutive Sunday shifts, starting Sunday, July 25, and will have travel impacts on those Sundays and into the early morning hours of the following Mondays. Starting Sunday, July 25, at 2:00 a.m. and until 2:00 a.m. on Monday, July 26, only a single traffic lane will be open in each direction on Mt.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Gets Biggest Grant Ever, Using it to Support 3 Organizations

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The Watertown Community Foundation will help three local organizations with grants over $100,000 after the foundation received the largest grant in its history. The money will go to Metro West Collaborative Development, Watertown Boys & Girls Club, and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network. The funds came to the Watertown Community Foundation in a grant from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Community Foundations Grant Program for COVID-19 Relief. “This $400,000 grant is the largest single grant that our foundation has ever received,” said WCF co-president Darshna Varia. “We have been able to distribute the funds quickly and directly to where they are needed most.

Around Town

Deadline Coming Up for Participants to Apply for First Watertown Arts Market

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The first Watertown Arts Market will be held on Aug. 21, and the deadline for participants to join is coming up soon. The Arts Market will be held at Arsenal Park on Saturday, Aug. 21, 12-5 p.m., and the deadline for participants to apply is Saturday, July 31. The Watertown Arts Market Team sent out the following announcement:

Enjoy the artistic and cultural offerings of over 60 local artists and organizations.

Affordable Housing

UPDATED: Community Preservation Committee Seeking Applications for Potential Projects

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The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) seeks applications for potential projects to be funded by Watertown’s Community Preservations Act funds, and informational meetings have been scheduled for potential applicants. 

The money raised from a 2 percent surcharge on Watertown property tax bills can be spent on projects in four areas: open space, outdoor recreation, community housing, and historical preservation. As of June, the CPA Fund had nearly $9 million. 

The CPC takes applications and recommends which projects should receive funding, but it does not initiate, implement or manage projects. Community Preservation funds can be used for the following types of projects:

buy, create, preserve open space and rehabilitate and/or restore open space that is  acquired or created using CPA funds;acquire, preserve, rehabilitate, or restore historic resources;acquire, create, preserve, and support community housing; andacquire, create, preserve, and rehabilitate and/or restore passive and active outdoor recreation facilities. Projects can be done on public or private property, said Watertown Community Preservation Coordinator Lanae Handy, but the applicants must have permission. 

“If they are a local group interested in doing a project on town property they need to get the consent and support of the Town,” Handy said. “They can’t just apply for funds if they don’t have the approval of the Town.”

Similarly, applicants may have to get permits and approvals for other types of projects before getting funding. 

Town Departments can also apply for projects using CPA funds, Handy said, but they cannot be projects that already have approved funding.

Around Town

Wicked Dog Apparel Store Coming to Pop-Up Space at Arsenal Yards

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Wicked Dog Apparel will be occupying the pop-up space at Arsenal Yards. Arsenal Yards provided the following announcement:

Looking to partake in some summer shopping with a local brand that gives back to the community? Head to Watertown’s Arsenal Yards and shop local at the Wicked Dog Apparel Pop-Up Shop open Thursdays through Sundays now through the fall at 101 Arsenal Yards Blvd., next to Ben & Jerry’s. Launched in 2016 and inspired by a love of Boston, good times, and man’s best friend, Wicked Dog has set up shop at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards in the space next to Ben & Jerry’s. The pop-up is open weekly Thursday–Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and is selling a variety of apparel for folks of all ages including shirts, pullovers, hats, bags, sneakers, and more.

Around Town

MassBay College Has New Fund to Assist Single Mothers Getting Their Degrees

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MassBay Community College provided the following announcement:

MassBay Community College and Metrowest Women’s Fund are creating a new fund with a $25,000 grant from the Metrowest Women’s Fund to assist MassBay’s single mother students with their emergency financial needs. These funds will provide financial aid for non-tuition-related emergencies these students may encounter while pursuing their degrees including childcare expenses, housing costs, living expenses, and other basic necessities. “Our single mothers have many responsibilities outside the classroom, and we want them to have the peace of mind knowing there is a support system behind them while they earn their degree,” said MassBay President, David Podell. “The support of the Metrowest Women’s Fund will allow our students who are single moms to focus on their education by lifting the crushing burden of fiscal stress. For these remarkable single mothers, the funds will make a tremendous difference in helping them overcome the sizable challenge of managing their life expenses while they pursue the education that can transform their lives and the lives of their children.

Around Town

See How to Join the Watertown Library’s Knit Graffiti Project, Decorate the Tree in Front of the Library

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Watertown LibraryIn 2020, the tree in front of the Watertown Free Public Library was decorated by the participants in the Watertown Strong Knitting Graffiti Project. The Watertown Library provided the following information:

Based on the success of the Watertown Strong Knit Graffiti Project in Fall 2020, WFPL has decided to again collect donations of knitted, crochet, sewed, and other crafted items to decorate the Maple Tree — and more — in front of the Library on Main Street. Are you a crafter? We will be collecting items that are crafted with the fall theme, Watertown Woodland Wonderland, in mind! Sew a leaf, crochet a fairy, carve a toadstool, knit with fall harvest colors, or whatever your crafter hands can think up.

Around Town

Gore Place Features New Nature Programs, Tot Time Is Back

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Gore Place sent out the following information:

Nature Identification Workshop, Saturday, August 21

Visit Gore Place and learn about our new project on iNaturalist. iNaturalist is an online platform that allows users to record observations, identify living things, and contribute to a body of data used by scientists and researchers around the world. We are launching a project to record as many of the living things as we can find on our grounds. Join us for this in-person program to learn more about our iNaturalist project and start making observations. Click or tap the button below for more details. JOIN THE PROJECT

Young Naturalists Classes Begin September 25

Come explore with us at Gore Place!