Cunniff Elementary School is one of three elementary schools in Watertown to be rebuilt or renovated. The projects closed out with a combined surplus of $4 million. The new school opened in 2021. (Photo by Watertown Public Schools)
Watertown’s elementary school building projects finished with a surplus of more than $4 million, which will allow the high school construction project to stay on budget, and fund designs for a potential new middle school. On Tuesday night, the City Council approved transfers of the $4,052,660 left over from the construction of the new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools, and the renovation and expansion of Lowell Elementary School.
Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Jim McGovern have lunch with Hosmer School second-graders Maya and Daphne. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
A pair of enthusiastic Hosmer Elementary School ambassadors showed two members of Congress around their school Wednesday, ending with a meal cooked up by the school cafeteria staff that featured produce grown in Watertown High School’s hydroponic farm. Congressman Jim McGovern and Congresswoman Katherine Clark visited Watertown as part of McGovern’s End Hunger Now Tour of Massachusetts, in support of the bill he filed on Capitol Hill to increase the amount of federal funding for school breakfasts and lunches. Hosmer second-graders Maya and Daphne guided the two members of Congress through the hallways, into classrooms, through the media center, up and down stairs, and finally through the lunch line in the cafeteria. Watertown City Council President Mark Sideris, left, speaks with Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Jim McGovern during their tour of Hosmer Elementary School, led by Maya and Daphne.
The Boston Gold Kings will face the Salem Sasquatch in a winner-take-all Game 3 of of the PPSHL semifinal series on March 28. (Courtesy of the Boston Gold Kings)
It’s playoff-time in the Power Play Senior Hockey League (PPSHL), and while the league is still young, it’s never too soon for rivalries to form. Last season the number one seed at regular season’s end was the Salem Sasquatch. And when the semi-final results were in, and Salem and the Boston Gold Kings had earned a trip to the Finals, Salem was the favorite. But the Gold Kings won Game 1 on the road and blitzed the Sasquatch in Game 2 on home ice to win the title.
This year a new kid in town, the Hudson Valley Reapers, has steam-rolled the league with a 14-2 regular season record and they just swept the fourth-seed Holyoke Papermen to earn a trip to the Finals. In the meantime, the Gold Kings, seeded second, and Salem, seeded third, met this weekend in a best of three to earn the right to face Hudson Valley. The teams split the season series 2-2, with each winning once on the road. And so… We are heading to a Game 3 on Saturday night March 28 at 7:20 at the John A. Ryan Arena after Salem beat the Gold Kings Saturday night at the JAR in an overtime thriller, and the following afternoon the Gold Kings, with their backs against the wall, returned the favor with a 5-3 win at the ICenter in Salem, New Hampshire. GAME 1
Saturday night both goaltenders stood tall, Gold Kings goalie Mike Cowell and Salem goalie Keegan McLaughlin, and in the case of McLaughlin, he stood on his head as well, robbing the Gold Kings over and over and keeping the Sasquatch in the game. The Sasquatch scored first 5:08 into the game, off a Gold Kings turnover in their defensive zone. The Gold Kings are a good hockey team, probably better and deeper than last season, but the two biggest issues for them this season from the games I’ve seen have been own-zone play and taking too many penalties. Both came into play on this night.
That said, what turned out to be a back-and-forth affair with skating and forechecking and hitting and an intensity that you’d expect from a Game 1 in a best-of-three, the Gold Kins tied the game at 16:02 as defensive stud Ernie Isamatov, who was seemingly on the ice the entire game, sniped a wrister from the point that McGlaughlin might have been screened on. Two minutes, 38 seconds later first-line forward Cam Cordio, who assisted on the Isamatov’s goal, scored a pretty goal to give the Gold Knights the lead after one. Defenseman Shawn Savela sent a great pass from his own zone, off the boards, that Christian Baldino handled with flair. He attacked the zone, drew the defender, and fed Cordio who potted the go-ahead goal with a top-shelf wrister.
Kristopher Surette of Tighe & Bond shows the plans for the Mt. Auburn Street Project to members of the Coolidge Square business community. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Businesses in Coolidge Square will face some disruptions from the construction taking place over the spring, summer, and fall of 2026. Sidewalks will be ripped up and replaced as part of the Mt. Auburn Street Project.
The new Watertown High School is approaching completion, with teachers expected to move in after school ends in June. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Wednesday afternoon, School Committee members, City Councilors and others got to see the new classrooms, theater, gym, and media center that will be enjoyed by Watertown High School students starting in September. The school is taking shape, with the walls and floor covering completed on the upper floors of the four-story structure, and a fresh coat of varnish still drying on the floor of the gymnasium at the new Watertown High School. A view of the gym floor at the new Watertown High School. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Construction should be completed in the next few months, said Christy Murphy of owner project management firm Vertex.
The Boston Gold Kings will host the Salem Sasquatch in Game 1 of the PPSHL playoffs on March 21 at Ryan Arena. (Courtesy of the Boston Gold Kings)
The Boston Gold Kings bring their own form of March Madness to Watertown on Saturday night as the defending champs play Game 1 of the PPSHL playoffs. The series is a rematch of the 2025 PPSHL Finals, with the second seeded Gold Kings facing third seeded Salem Sasquatch. Both teams finished the regular season with 8-8 records, and they split the season meetings 2-2. The Gold Kings are led by Cam Cordio who has 15 goals and 9 assists, while Matt Baldino added 10 goals and Ernie Isamatov added 45 points.
Watertown Firefighters salute during the ceremony honoring Joe Toscano, the firefighter who died nine years ago while working a fire. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Nine years after losing one of its own, the Watertown Fire Department paid honored to Firefighter Joe Toscano just down the street from where he lost his life. The annual event held at the time of his passing brings together members of the WFD, Toscano’s family, and others who remember the tragic day. Toscano, a father of five and 21 year veteran of the Fire Department, died while fighting a fire in East Watertown on March 17, 2017. On Tuesday, dozens of firefighters lined up to salute at Toscano Square, on Bigelow Avenue, just down the street from the home on Merrifield Avenue where the fire occurred.
A panel of speakers discussed the life science industry in Watertown at an event hosted by the Charles River Regional Chamber. From left, City Manager George Proakis, Boylston Properties President Mark Deschenes, CEO of Labshares Phillip Borden, and C4 Chief People Officer Kelly Schick. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Eleven years ago, 25 life science companies had facilities in Watertown. Today, more than four times that many companies are located in the City, making it one of Massachusetts’ life science hubs. On March 10, the Charles River Regional Chamber’s life science panel, “Watertown’s Life Science Future,” looked at how the City became one of the hottest centers for biotechs, and what’s next.
