Government

City Releases Draft of the Watertown Comprehensive Plan

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The City has been working on updating Watertown’s primary planning document, the Comprehensive Plan, for months. This week, the City released the draft of the plan to be considered by the City Council. See the plans and more details about the process on the Comprehensive Plan website,  www.watertown-ma.gov/comp-plan. “This draft is updated based on input from the spring Open House and Online Survey. The formal approval process with the City Council and Planning Board is the next step,” the City’s announcement said.

Government

Zoning Board Wants More Changes to Main Street Project

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A view of the revised plans for the 104-126 Main Street project. The sixth floor has been scaled back and would not be seen from Main Street. (Illustration by Icon Architecture)

Developers of the six-story mixed-use project on Main Street reduced the number of apartments slightly and increased the landscaping along the public walkway along the building, but that did not satisfy some members of the Zoning Board of the Appeals. The hearing for the project at 104-126 Main Street, which stretches to Pleasant Street and Cross Street, was continued for a second time after some Zoning Board members said on Wednesday night that they did not think the project met the requirement to provide public amenities. Meeting that requirement is necessary to get the additional height to allow the sixth story.

Schools

Former Students, Educators Get Final Look Around Watertown High School

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Photo by Charlie BreitrosePeople lined up to get one last look at Watertown High School before it is torn down. The hallways of Watertown High School buzzed with activity one last time last week, as former students, teachers, even principals took a look around the old school and shared memories. The school, parts of which date back to the 1920s, will be torn down in the fall to make way for a brand new, state-of-the-art building. While many looked back on their memories at WHS fondly, most agreed it was time to say goodbye on June 22. Photo by Charlie BreitroseFormer students and staff milled around the hallways at Watertown High School one last time.

Sports

Watertown Girls Basketball Coach Leaving for Div. 1 Boys Position

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Watertown Girls Basketball Coach Patrick Ferdinand announced he will be leaving to take a job in Framingham. Here he is pictured working with a player in 2018. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Leaving a community that has grown to be like family will be difficult, said Watertown Girls Basketball Coach Patrick Ferdinand, but he is taking a job as boys coach closer to his home which will allow him to spend more time with his wife and daughter. After more than a dozen years leading the Raiders girls team, Ferdinand announced this week that he will be taking the job as coach of the Framingham High School boys basketball team. “It’s a major change, from Division 3 to Division 1 and girls to boys,” Ferdinand said.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Man Attacked After Altercation at Boston Club

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

June 14, 1:15 p.m.: The Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force, which includes a Watertown detective, had been conducting a narcotics investigation. During the investigation, they observed a man driving on Rosedale Avenue whom they had probable cause to arrest. The man’s car was stopped at Rosedale Avenue near Acton Street. Inside the car, officers observed in plain view a small plastic bag with a white powdery substance that is believed to be fentanyl.

Sports

Young Softball Players Worked to Put Together Undefeated Regular Season

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The Watertown Youth Softball Under 12 team made a leap ahead this season, finishing the regular season undefeated. (Photo courtesy of Watertown Youth Softball)

When the Watertown Youth Girls Softball Under 12 team entered their new division last spring the season was all about learning the game and trying out positions. For this past season, the girls had come into their own and really took on a different kind of mentality, said coach Nicole Keuchkarian. “I saw the girls before my eyes unite as a team. And everyone sacrificed their own wants for what was best for the team.

Police/Fire

Watertown Man Charged in Deadly Crash on New Year’s Eve 2022

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A 25-year-old Watertown man faces multiple felony charges stemming from a deadly crash in Rhode Island on New Year’s Eve 2022. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s office said that he was drivng while intoxicated. The following announcement was provided by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office:

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Massachusetts man has been charged in Providence County Superior Court with multiple felony counts stemming from his role in a driving under the influence crash that killed a 22-year-old passenger and left another seriously injured on Route 146 on New Years Eve 2022. On June 5, 2023, the Office of the Attorney General charged Christopher Vincent (age 25), of Watertown, Mass., by way of criminal information, with one count of DUI resulting in death, one count of DUI resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of driving to endanger resulting in death, one count of driving to endanger resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of possession of a controlled substance (10 grams or less). As alleged in the criminal information, at approximately 2:29 a.m. on December 31, 2022, members of the Rhode Island State Police (RISP) responded to a motor vehicle crash on Route 146 North at the intersection of Route 116 in Lincoln.

Schools

Watertown Students Get Their Chance to Run Their Own Radio Station

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Watertown High School senior Henry Broadstone got experience as a radio DJ during WHS’s pilot program through the High School Radio Project. (Photo by Todd Robbins). A group of Watertown High School students got a taste of what it’s like to be a radio DJ, putting together their own shows and recording song introductions, banter between tracks, and even interviews with fellow hosts. Their work can be heard on a streaming audio station that airs 24/7. The students from Watertown, along with a high school in Nebraska, were the first to test the High School Radio Project program, designed to empower students with the opportunity to experiment with radio as a potential career, said WHS Radio & Television Broadcasting Teacher Todd Robbins.