Around Town

Watertown Pride 2024 Parade Route, Festival at Saltonstall Park

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The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:

A parade and festival for Watertown Pride is planned for Sunday, June 2, 2024. All are invited to meet at the Moxley parking lot beginning at 11:45 a.m. or join in along the parade route! The parade will start at noon and lead to a festival at Saltonstall Field until 5 p.m.

Watertown Pride 2024: Loud, Proud, Island-Bound is an inclusive, all-ages event that celebrates our LGBTQIA+ communities. 

It is free and open to everyone on Sunday, June 2, 2024 from 12 to 5 p.m.The event kicks off with a parade at noon that will begin at Moxley parking lot and travel along the Watertown Community Path to a festival at Saltonstall Park. 

There will also be a Tipsy Tea Party on June 23 at the Commander’s Mansion from 11:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. See more information about this and the other Watertown Pride 2024 events at www.WatertownPride.com

Around Town

Watertown Peace Group Hosting “Understanding Palestine & Witnessing Reality” Educational Event

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

The Peace and Security Working Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment announces “Understanding Palestine & Witnessing Reality” on May 11 at 2 p.m. at the Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St. The free educational event features Rev. Ashlee West-Laird who will share her experiences on a recent solidarity delegation to the Holy Land. Currently pastor at the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, Rev. Ashlee has also served as the Southern Baptist chaplain at Harvard University and worked in Jerusalem with Sabeel Liberation Theology Center and the Middle East Council of Churches. Short films providing context about the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank will also be shown.

Around Town

LETTER: Let’s Take More Time to Consider Watertown Housing Plan

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Lately, I’ve been attending public meetings, and I’ve been speaking with citizens about their thoughts and feelings about development plans in Watertown Square. The Watertown Square Plan and its Moving Parts:

As most of you know, in response to the State’s MBTA Communities Law, which requires Watertown to zone for 1701 new multifamily housing units, Watertown City Manager George Proakis and the Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP) have been enthusiastically over-achieving. First, they proposed zoning for 6,320 new housing units instead of the State mandated 1701. They justified this momentous decision to more than triple the housing units by referring to a straw poll of 75 Watertown citizens and nonresidents who chose the 6,320 option. (See Democracy Dismantled One Poll and Survey at a Time, click here)

The choices that the City Manager and the DCDP gave the Watertown public for this vote:

6,320 housing units by right or

2,631 housing units by right

There was no option for 1,701 units – the number actually mandated by the MBTA zoning law.

Around Town

Armenian Church Hosting Boston Children’s Hospital Blood Drive

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The following announcement came from Armenian Memorial Church:

Boston Children’s Hospital will host a blood drive at Armenian Memorial Church on Saturday, May 11. The event takes place at the church located at 32 Bigelow Ave. in Watertown from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 11. Donate today and be a part of the wonderful blessing and care that Boston Children’s Hospital Provides for children and their families! To make an appointment, log onto bostonchildrens.org/halfpints or call 617-355-6677.

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Perkins School Hosting Discussion of Housing and Benefits for Families of People with Disabilities

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The following announcement was provided by Mainstay Supportive Housing & Home Care:

Doreen Cummings, Director of Marketing and In-Home Services at Mainstay Supportive Housing & Home Care will share the organization’s expertise on affordable housing and public benefits for families of people with disabilities at the inaugural “Transition Planning: Preparing for the Future Starts Today” event hosted by Perkins School for the Blind on its Watertown Campus Saturday, May 11, 2024 from 9:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is open to family members, caregivers, and professionals. Mainstay provides supportive housing for adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities. Cummings works closely with Mainstay families to help coordinate a successful transition to living in a Mainstay home. “I’m honored to be included in this event at the Perkins School for the Blind,” said Cummings. “I look forward to sharing information about Mainstay and our supportive housing model.

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LETTER: Former Councilor Questions Addition to Traffic Commission

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Dear Committee on Public Safety:

Attn: City Councilors John M. Airasian, Chair; Emily Izzo, Vice Chair; and Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Sec. RE: Tuesday, 05/07/2024 Meeting at 6:00 P.M.

Discussion – Amendment to the Traffic Commission Ordinance

Herein, I reiterate my statement, with attachments, as read into the record at the First Public Forum of the 01/23/2024 City Council Meeting. On 01/22/2024, my opinions were also discussed with Councilor Caroline Bays. I offer additional comments and emphasis as follows:

1. Membership of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is comprised of like-minded individuals in joint efforts to support bicyclists. I see no commitment to protect me, as an elder pedestrian, by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee.

Around Town

Mount Auburn Cemetery Adds New Pedestrians Gates in Effort to Welcome the Community

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Photo by Charlie BreitroseThe opening of new pedestrian gates at Mount Auburn Cemetery was celebrated with a ribbon cutting. Pictured, from left, Mount Auburn Cemetery Trustee Sean McDonnell, Bree Harvey, Vice President of Cemetery & Visitor Services; Assistant City Manager Steve Magoon, State Rep. Steve Owens, Mount Auburn Cemetery President and CEO Matthew Stephens, and Cemetery neighbor Sarah Baker. Mount Auburn Cemetery opened its gate to the public, literally, on Friday when they celebrated the four new pedestrian entrances installed along the fence around the historic cemetery located in Watertown and Cambridge. Matthew Stephens, President and CEO of Mount Auburn Cemetery, said that the gates are part of Mount Auburn’s effort to make the property more open and welcoming to the public. “We want the community to be here in Mount Auburn,” Stephens said.

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Jury Rules Not Guilty on Rape Charges in Trial of Watertown Police Officer

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A Middlesex Superior Court jury found Watertown Police officer Kevin Rooney not guilty in the trial in which he faced two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault from an incident in 2021. Rooney has been placed on administrative leave by the Watertown Police, and Watertown Police Chief Justin Hanrahan told WBUR that he will remain on leave pending the results of the Police Department’s internal affairs investigation. Rooney also had his police certification suspended by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission when he was indicted on the charges in December 2022. A woman who accused Rooney told prosecutors that she blacked out after three alcoholic drinks while at dinner in South Boston, and the next thing she next remembered was waking up next to a man she didn’t know. The man told her he was an off-duty Watertown Police officer, and he told her they had “hooked up,” according to court documents obtained by WBUR.