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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Dec. 21: A man took $100 worth of merchandise from the Stop & Shop on Pleasant Street. Dec. 21: A vehicle ran a stop sign and collided with a Watertown Police cruiser at the intersection of Bemis Street and Edenfield Avenue.
City Council President Mark Sideris gave his inaugural address on Jan. 2, 2026. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown’s elected officials face some key decisions that will impact the future of the City, including the future of Watertown Square and whether to build a new Middle School, said City Council President Mark Sideris, who also talked about the keys to successful governing of the City. Sideris spoke of what has been accomplished over the past few years, and the challenges facing the City Council, School Committee, and Library Board of Trustees during the Inauguration ceremony held on Jan. 2 at the Mosesian Center for the Arts.
City Councilor John Airasian, and School Committee member Lily Rayman-Read. Two Watertown elected officials served their final meetings in December, and each was bid farewell by their colleagues. City Councilor At-Large John Airasian departs the Council after two terms (four years), and Lily Rayman-Read finished two-four year terms on the School Commmittee. John Airasian
The City Council bid Airasian farewell at its Dec. 9 meeting with a proclamation in honor of his years of service to the community.
Lyrical Faith was selected as the Mosesian Center for the Arts’ Ignite Fellow, one of the first group of Artists in Residence. The following announcement was provided by the Mosesian Center for the Arts:
The Mosesian Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the selected artists for its 2026 Artist-in-Residence Program, including the inaugural Ignite Fellow and the newly created Emerging Artist at Mosesian Arts award. This cohort of artists will be in residence during the Winter and Spring 2026 sessions, bringing a wide range of creative practices to MCA’s studios and engaging the community through public programs and events. The inaugural residency supports emerging and mid-career artists by providing dedicated time and studio space to develop new work in a vibrant, multidisciplinary arts environment. The Winter and Spring 2026 sessions will support five artists working across visual art, illustration, literature, spoken word, while conducting interdisciplinary research in public art, fashion and design, material experimentation, and socially engaged creative practice.
The Winter Parking Ban will be in effect starting on January 1, 2026. The City has options for off-street parking in municipal owned lots. See information provided by the City of Watertown, below. From January 1, 2026 (January 2, at 1:00AM) to March 1, 2026, the City’s overnight parking restriction is strictly enforced, unless an updated start and end date is announced by the City. The regulation reads in part; “No vehicle may remain on any public way for more than one hour between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. all days of the week”.
Cris Patvakanian wrote “In the Shadow of Mount Khustup” after visiting Armenia in 2023. A trip to his homeland of Armenian in 2023 changed Cris Patvakanian’s life, and the experience became the inspiration for his first novel. Growing up in Watertown, Patvakanian was an active member of the Armenian community but a visit to the area where his family came from, Syunik — the southernmost region of Armenia — was eyeopening. He visited the cities of Goris and Kapan. “I had never been there before, and it was a transformative experience meeting the resilient people there, especially after the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan war and all the hardships the veterans and families face now as they now live on the border with Azerbaijan since the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh,” Patvakanian said.
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Dec. 15: A package containing a suitcase was taken from the front porch of a home on Commonwealth Road. The value of the suitcase was $310. Dec.
Arie Orchanian and Anie Manoushagian. Arie Orchanian and Anie Manoushagian, the victims of a car accident after a family member’s funeral, were remembered by members of the church that they attended for years. At Saturday’s service, Pastor Aram Bedrossian of the Armenian Memorial Church in Watertown, said Arie Orchanian, 32, and his aunt Anie Manoushagian, 80, had been members of the congregation for decades. “[Orchanian] was a pure man and a good man,” Bedrossian said, according to the report by WCVB Channel 5. “He always wanted to do the good thing.