Around Town

Lane Closures on North Beacon Street Start This Week

By |

The following announcement was provided the Department of Conservation and Recreation:

DCR Traffic Advisory: North Beacon Street in Watertown

WHAT: On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from Tuesday, June 3, 2025, through Friday, June 6, 2025, from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will close lanes along North Beacon Street from Greenough Boulevard to Charles River Road in the City of Watertown from to accommodate paving and line striping work. Traffic patterns will be clearly marked, and a police detail will be on site.    

WHERE: North Beacon Street from Greenough Boulevard to Charles River Road in the City of Watertown 

WHEN: Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 5 a.m. – 5 p.m. and  Tuesday, June 3, 2025 – Friday, June 6, 2025, 7 p.m. – 5 a.m. 

Around Town

See What Section of Mt. Auburn St. Will be Under Construction During the Week of Memorial Day

By |

During the week of May 27-30, 2025, the removal of the bases for the old MBTA electric bus wires will continue, beginning at School Lane. There will be no work on Monday, May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. See more details provided by the City of Watertown. Beginning Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Newport Construction will resume removing the overhead catenary bases along Mount Auburn Street, starting at School Lane and progressing westbound toward Watertown Square. Newport Construction may also resume drainage installation on Mount Auburn Street at the intersections with Kimball Road and Elton Avenue.

Business

A Pair of New Food & Drink Options Open for Memorial Day Weekend

By |

Watertown has two new places to grab a drink and something to eat, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. One is a pub in the West End, and the other is the newest location for a local brewery and the newest addition to Arsenal Yards. West on Main announced on social media that it was opening on Thursday, May 22. “It’s time!!! The wait is finally over – West on Main is opening its doors!

Around Town

Community Foundation’s Food Drive Delivers Cart Loads of Items to Watertown’s Two Food Pantries

By |

Tia Tison, Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation and WCF Co-President Lauren Coughlin Unsworth push a cart of food into the Watertown Food Pantry. (Courtesy of the Watertown Community Foundation)

The two food pantries in Watertown received a special delivery of supplies courtesy of donations made by the Watertown community during the Watertown Community Foundation’s Food Drive. The collection took place during May, which is the Foundation’s annual month of volunteering called Watertown Helps Out — or WHO. The food was delivered Thursday afternoon to the Watertown Food Pantry, located in the former United Methodist Church, and the Watertown Catholic Collaborative Food Pantry, located the Sacred Heart Church, made Thursday afternoon, said Tia Tilson, Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation. “We delivered food to both pantries, unloading roughly six full grocery carts at each pantry,” Tilson said.

Around Town

See Who Will Participate in the 2025 Memorial Day Parade

By |

The 2025 Watertown Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday, May 26 beginning at noon. The route begins at City Hall and ends at Victory Field with a ceremony. See who will be marching in this year’s parade

The parades starts by heading west on Main Street, then turns right onto Waverley Avenue heading past Watertown Middle School. A viewing area will be put up near the school. The parade continues along Waverley and turns right on Orchard Street, and ends at Victory Field.

Around Town

Watertown Group Hosts Panel “Concerned Jewish Faculty Speak Out On Palestine, Israel & Resistance”

By |

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

The Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment, Working Group for Peace & Common Security is hosting a panel discussion entitled “Concerned Jewish Faculty Speak Out On Palestine, Israel & Resistance” at the First Parish Church on Wednesday, May 28th at 7 p.m.

Jewish Faculty Speak Out on Palestine, Israel, and Resistance

Please join us as members of Concerned Jewish Faculty discuss Jewish resistance to Israel’s policies, Jewish support for Palestinian rights, and Jewish support for protest over Palestine in the U.S.

PROFESSOR MARJORIE N. FELD, Professor of History, Babson College

Author of The Threshold of Dissent (2024) which chronicles the long history of American Jewish dissent over Israel and Zionism & argues for the value of open and safe conversations and criticism to a healthy American Jewish communal life. PROFESSOR JONATHAN FEINGOLD, Associate Professor of Law, Boston University

Expert in antidiscrimination law, affirmative action, and education law. He has analyzed the spread of discriminatory censorship laws designed to demean inclusionary values. Host of #RaceClass Podcast. PROFESSOR MNEESHA GELLMAN, Associate Professor of Political Science, Emerson College

Author of Misrepresentation and Silence in United States History Textbooks: The Politics of Historical Oblivion.

Weather

Weather Forecast: Grey Weather Clearing for Memorial Day

By |

Eastern Massachusetts will experience a stretch of unusually chilly, gray, and windswept weather to close out May, as a late-season Nor’easter rolls through southern New England. While rain tapers by Friday morning, scattered showers linger through Saturday under a stubborn upper-level trough. By Sunday, skies begin to brighten, temperatures slowly rebound, and a drier, more seasonable pattern takes hold just in time for Memorial Day. Next week starts with sunshine, crisp mornings, and gradually warming afternoons, though a few damp periods from passing showers remain possible. A week that starts with coastal flooding ends with backyard barbecue potential, offering a little something for everyone this holiday weekend.

Around Town

Watertown Man Supports Group that Helps Children Who Have Lost a Parent Through His Employer’s Charity

By |

Watertown’s Jay Hughes presented a check to Cara Belvin, founder of Empower. The money was from the charity run by Movement Mortgage, where Hughes works. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A dozen years ago, Watertown’s Jay Hughes met a woman who started a non-profit organization to help young women who had lost their mothers by giving them a special day on Mother’s Day. Hughes was the emcee of an auction in Scituate for Cara Belvin’s organization, Empower. The event raised more than $30,000 and got Belvin’s effort moving toward what it is now — a group that has an impact internationally.