Around Town

Watertown Group Bringing Anti-Nuclear Power Speakers to Town

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A Watertown group will host a community forum on ending use of nuclear power on April 12. 

Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and the Environment sent out the following announcement:
Please join Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment (watertowncitizens.org) for a very special community forum, “Working for Nuclear Free World: From Plymouth to Planet Earth” on Sunday, April 12 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Grace Vision Church, 80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown (#71 Bus from Harvard Square). The program will feature, Diane Turco from Cape Downwinders and Dr. Joseph Gerson, from Peace and Planet Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just and Environmentally Sustainable World. Ms. Turco will discuss the dangers posed by the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. Pilgrim is the same failed GE Mark I design as the 4 reactors destroyed at Fukushima.

Around Town

Sign Up Now for Watertown Helps Out – Dozens of Projects Planned

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Watertown Helps Out is a day of community service organized by Watertown Community Foundation. You can sign up for a one-time volunteer activity in your local community that you can do with your family, friends, or on your own. The Watertown Community Foundation’s (WCF) Watertown Helps Out – annual day of volunteering is taking place again this year on Saturday, May 2 at over 20 Watertown nonprofits. The day begins with a 8:30am Kick-off Breakfast and Sign-in. Roberta Miller, co-chair of WCF’s organizing committee, stated, “Last year’s WHO event saw over 150 volunteers help local nonprofits by gardening, painting, building fences, cleaning up the riverfront, assisting seniors with household tasks, and sprucing up a children’s play area – just to mention a few of the activities. This year we have openings for more than twice as many volunteers, and we expect well over 300 to help out around town.”

Many of the activities are kid-friendly, and there are over two dozen to choose from! Before volunteering, join us for a kickoff breakfast at the Arsenal Project and pick up your free T-shirt.

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Watertown Square Lighting Up for Autism Awareness April 2

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Check out the lights on the “delta” in Watertown Square Thursday night when they light up in honor of World Autism Awareness Day. The Watertown Autism Family Support Group will also have a special display on the grassy area at the major intersection in the center of town. The group released the following information:
Each April 2, the international autism community, in commemoration of the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day, celebrates Light It Up Blue. Light It Up Blue is a unique global initiative that kicks-off Autism Awareness Month and helps raise awareness about autism. In honor of this historic day, many iconic landmarks, hotels, sporting venues, concert halls, museums, bridges and retail stores are among the thousands of buildings lit blue to raise autism awareness.

Around Town

Trouble Reading Regular Print, Find Out How to Use Perkin’s Library

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The Perkins Library has a collection for people with difficulty reading regular print and you can find out more at an information session on April 8. The Perkins Library is a free public library and its collection is available to for anyone who has difficulty reading regular print. Kim Charlson, Director and Debby King, Library Outreach Coordinator, will provide an overview of all the services available on Wednesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at The Apartments at Coolidge School, 319 Arlington St., Watertown during a presentation called “Reading Never Sounded So Good.”

Around Town

Cub Scouts Competing at Pinewood Derby in Watertown

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The top cars from Cub Scout packs around the area will compete in the 11th Annual Sons of Liberty District Pinewood Derby at the Arsenal Project. Each of the scouts have carved out and decorated cars from pieces of wood and won their local Pinewood Derby competition. Cars can weigh five ounces and be seven inches long. The cars will compete on a 30-foot-long track set up at the food court of the Arsenal Project (formerly Arsenal Mall) at 485 Arsenal St. in Watertown on Saturday, April 4 from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

The competitors are first-graders (Tigers), second-graders (Wolves), third-graders (Bears), fourth-graders (first-year Webelos) and fifth-graders (second-year Webelos).

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Watertown’s Unseen Homeless Problem is Growing

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{This is the first in a series of articles on homeless and needy in Watertown}
They may not be as obvious as the homeless in Boston or Harvard Square, but Watertown has its share of homeless people and families, and the problem has grown. Recent bad economic times followed by an upswing in the price of rentals in town has spelled trouble for some in town, said Danielle DeMoss, Watertown’s Social Services Resource Specialist. “This month alone three families are facing evictions, and another is currently homeless,” DeMoss said. Mark Harris, pastor of First Parish Church in Watertown, said he has seen the problem growing. “I had not seen homeless people until a couple years ago,” Harris said.

Around Town

Get Your Pet Vaccinated for Rabies at Watertown Town Hall

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Head down to Town Hall to get your dog or cat vaccinated for rabies! The Watertown Health Department hosts the clinic on Saturday, April 11. Cats in carriers will be seen from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Dogs on leashes will be up next from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

The vaccination clinic takes place on the lower level of Town Hall. There is a fee of $10 for each animal vaccinated.

Around Town

10th Annual Wedding Faire Coming to Watertown’s Commander’s Mansion

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Brides and grooms-to-be can find caterers, photographers, entertainers and more for their big day at the ninth annual Wedding Faire at the Commander’s Mansion in Watertown. Meet the top wedding professionals from the Boston area and see the latest bridal fashions at the event on March 1 and 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sample food and prizes will also be given out during the event. Vendors include caterers, florists, photographers, bakeries, entertainment, transportation and more. Different vendors will be featured each day. Tickets cost $5 and is good for the whole weekend.