Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/page/1792/)
Watertown City and State officials appeared before a joint committee at the State House on Jan. 27, 2026, to discuss the City’s Home Rule Petition. Pictured, from left, Steve Owens, George Proakis, John Lawn, Earl Smith, and Mark Sideris.
The City of Watertown’s effort to prevent a tax hike for residential property owners, which could be as high as 18%, cleared a major hurdle when it was approved the the House of Representatives on Beacon Hill.
Watertown residents will see an increase of 4.5% in both the water and sewer rates for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2026, which is slightly higher than forecasted a year ago. However, the future increase could be significantly higher than projected due in part to an error made calculating future year revenues.
The Watertown Police Department is considering purchasing a drone like this one made by Paladin Drones (Photo from Paladin)
An automated drone is one of the new technologies being considered by the Watertown Police Department. On July 9, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee held a hearing to ask questions and hear from the public about the possible use of a drone.
Those looking to join other soccer fans in Watertown to catch the World Cup Final have two choices of venues to catch Sunday’s big game.
To the Editor,
We are writing to support the choice of the Grove Street entrance to Filippello Park for the East End Dog Park, using the guidelines written by the Watertown Dog Park Task Force more than a year ago.
Watertown officials will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Social Services Resources Specialist Program, and the public is invited to come and meet the specialist.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
The Raiders football team continued their unbeaten season with a tough game at Burlington on Friday night.
A Massachusetts State Police helicopter joined the search for someone reportedly in the Charles River Friday night.
The Town Council voted to approve steps to increase the number of affordable housing units when new developments are built in Watertown.
More than 100 people showed up Wednesday night to find out about Watertown’s new design standards and give input about what they hope to get from them.
Bravo’s reality cooking show Top Chef shot its latest season in the Boston area, including one episode in Watertown.