Around Town

Speaker Announced for 17th Annual Unity Breakfast on MLK Day

By |

On Monday, January 16, 2017 Watertown will celebrate its seventeenth Unity Breakfast on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, organizers announced. The event brings together hundreds of people, representing Watertown’s diverse population, to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the man who devoted his life to ending prejudice and racism in our country. The Unity Breakfast has become a Watertown tradition, drawing over 400 guests. The program includes a timely keynote speaker, lively choral music, essays and art projects by Watertown middle and high school students, and the presentation of the Unity Award to Watertown individuals or community organizations that have demonstrated outstanding community service to the town. This year the honorary Master of Ceremonies will be Renee Landers, Esq., Professor of Law at Suffolk University and Watertown resident.

Around Town

Watertown Boys & Girls Club Members Meet Santa at Annual Holiday Party

By |

Watertown Boys & Girls Club hosted their annual Youth Member Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 21, the club announced. There was a great turnout with nearly 200 kids in attendance, as well as dozens of staff, volunteers, and community supporters. Members participated in various activities, including face painting, ornament decorating, and basketball games. They were then invited to visit with Santa, receive a gift, and eat some treats. The Club would like to thank food sponsors: Stop & Shop on Pleasant Street in Watertown, Dunkin’ Donuts on Concord Avenue in Cambridge, Cindi Galligan, and G.M. Walsh Plumbing & Heating, and gift sponsors: The Arsenal Project, Cambridge Savings Bank, Century 21 Commonwealth, Fit-Z’s Bar & Grill, John McElhenny, The Mews, Residence at Watertown Square, Residence Inn, and Tufts Health Plan.

Around Town

Dozens of Recreation Programs, Events This Winter, Including Bruins Games

By |

The Watertown Recreation Department has a wide array of programs and events this winter, and they just added tickets to some Boston Bruins games, along with event such as the Celtics, skiing and the Harlem Globetrotters. Click on the event to see more information and to find out how to register for the event. The Recreation Office, and all offices in Town Hall, is closed on Monday, Jan. 2. Open Forum Meeting:
January 3rd, Tuesday, 7:00pm-8:00pm

Wachusett Mountain Ski-Board Program:
http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21156
Grades 6-12, January 7th, Saturdays 4:00pm-11:00pm

Community Sports and Games:
Ages 5-Adult, January 8th, Sundays, 2:00pm-7:00pm

Yoga at Artemis Studio:
Yoga – K-2, Yoga 3-5, Yoga 6-8
Grades K-8, January 9th, Mon.

Around Town

Pedestrian Struck in Watertown Square Overnight, Police Investigating

By |

Parts of Watertown Square were closed Saturday morning so police could investigate an incident where a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle. Overnight, a person was struck while crossing a street in Watertown Square near CVS, Watertown Police said. The adult pedestrian was taken to hospital, but the extent of injuries were not known. The incident remains under investigation.

Around Town

Find Out What’s Open, Closed on New Year’s Day & Jan. 2

By |

See how the New Year’s Day holiday and the observed holiday (Jan. 2) will impact you. 
New Year’s Day
Restaurants, bars: Open if the owners choose

Convenience stores: Open if the owners choose

Supermarkets: Open if the owners choose

Retail stores: Open if the owners choose

Liquor stores: Open if the owners choose

Banks: Closed

Post Office: Closed

City, Town, State and Federal offices: Closed

Library: Closed

Buses/Subways: The MBTA will run buses, subways and Commuter Rail will run on a Sunday schedule on Jan. 1. Boats will not run on Jan. 1.

Around Town

Watertown Senior Community Hires New Executive Director

By |

LCB Senior Living, LLC, owner and operator of The Residence at Watertown Square located at 20 Summer Street in Watertown is pleased to announce the selection of Paul DiNapoli as the community’s Executive Director. The community includes Independent, Assisted and Reflections Memory Care options for local seniors. Mr. DiNapoli received his Bachelor’s Degree from Nichols College in Business Management.  He has had nearly fifteen years of managerial experience in the hospitality industry, where he has held positions at several hospitality businesses as a Director of Operations. Prior to joining LCB, he was General Manager of the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel for two years. Mr. DiNapoli currently resides in Andover.

Around Town

See Which Book Will was Selected for 2017’s One Book, One Watertown Program

By |

The Watertown Free Public Library announced the selection of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi for the 2017 One Book, One Watertown program. The novel Homegoing opens in 18th-century Ghana, as two half-sisters meet wildly divergent fates: one kidnapped and sold into slavery, the other wed to a British slave trader. In subsequent chapters, author Yaa Gyasi tells the stories of the women’s descendants on both sides of the Atlantic. The WFPL posted the following on their website:
“While these characters’ lives may seem far removed from 21st-century Watertown, their humanity speaks across centuries and continents to our own deeply human fears and hopes. Their history is our history, and confronting it—along with the painful legacies of slavery, colonialism, and racism that it inexorably exhumes—is our responsibility.

Around Town

Watertown Youth Coalition Gets Grant to Map Tobacco in the Community

By |

The Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders, part of  Wayside Multi-Service Center, have been awarded a $2,000 mini-grant from The 84 Movement, which helps mobilize young people across Massachusetts to take action to protect their communities from the influence of the tobacco industry, WYC announced. The grant is one of ten awarded this year to youth groups from across the state. Previously, WYC Peer Leaders have received funding from The 84 to support surveys about pricing and availability of flavored cigars in Watertown, as well as use of different tobacco products by Watertown High School students. During a survey administered last spring, WYC Peer Leaders learned that of those students who had ever tried a tobacco product, 74.8% first tried an e-cigarette product. Over 63% of students felt it was “easy” or “somewhat easy” to get flavored tobacco products, providing explanations such as “Most stores sell them” and “You can go to the store and buy it.” 52% of students who got flavored tobacco products within the last 30 days got their products from Watertown.