Government

City Buying Former Parker School, Council Approves Funds & Deal

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City of WatertownThe City of Watertown will purchase the former Parker School building on Watertown Street. The City of Watertown will purchase the former Parker School, now an office building, and use it for municipal offices as well as renting out space. The purchase was approved by the City Council on Dec. 13, along with transferring $12 million to help with the deal. The total cost will be $14 million, and City Manager George Prokis said he expects the purchase to be completed by mid-January 2023.

Around Town

Watertown’s Parking Ban Suspended Over Holidays

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Police Department:

Effective December 23, 2022 enforcement of the All Night Parking Ban will be temporarily suspended – barring any snowfall that would require plowing or sanding. Should there be a snow event please refer to the City website for available off-street parking locations. The City of Watertown is monitoring weather forecasts that include a potential for winter precipitation and/or icing on Saturday morning December 24, 2022, and therefore a parking ban may be implemented for a period of time if it becomes necessary for snow/ice removal operations. Please monitor the City’s website, social media, WCA-TV and other sources for any potential announcements that would temporarily put a parking ban back in place. Police Chief Thomas Rocca encourages all homeowners to continue using available off-street parking during the overnight hours.

Around Town

Watertown Celebrates Festival of Lights with First Hanukkah Menorah Lighting

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Charlie BreitroseRabby Dovid Zaltzman of Chabad Watertown lights the menorah at Arsenal Yards during the Hanukkah celebration. The Festival of Lights was on full display in Watertown Monday night, with a Hanukkah Menorah lighting, a gelt drop, and even a fire dancer. The first annual Watertown Menorah Lighting took place in a courtyard at Arsenal Yards, and the event was organized and presented by Chabad Watertown, a recent addition to town. Rabbi Dovid Zaltzman, from Chabad Watertown, said Hanukkah celebrates a miracle that occurred back in Biblical times. The Jewish people had just defeated the Greeks in a war, but during the war the Jewish Temple was damaged.

Around Town

Watertown Police Take Children to Shop With a Cop at Target

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Charlie BreitroseMembers of the Watertown Police Department took a group of kids from the Watertown Boys & Girls Club shopping at Target. One afternoon last week, the aisles of Target were filled with children looking for toys, clothes and other gifts. The kids were accompanied on their holiday shopping trip by members of the Watertown Police Department as part of the annual Shop with Cop program. The children, who came from the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, anxiously awaited the trip, said Peter Gardula, Director of Mission Advancement at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. “They’ve been looking forward to doing this the last three or four days,” Gardula said.

Around Town

See What Book the Library Chose for This Year’s One Book, One Watertown

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Watertown LibraryMecca Jamilah Sullivan’s “Big Girl” is this year’s One Book, One Watertown title. The Watertown Library will host a series of events associated with the book and its themes. The Watertown Free Public Library announced this year’s One Book, One Watertown selection. Find out details provided by the library below:

This year’s One Book, One Watertown selection questions who is permitted to take up space. Big Girl by Lambda Literary Award-winning, Harlem native Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, is a lyrical and tender coming-of-age story set to the rich soundtrack of 1990s Harlem. 

Big Girl is Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s first novel and has been lauded by reviewers and readers, earning a place on the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize shortlist. Her previous books include the short story collection Blue Talk and Love, which earned her the Judith Markowitz Award for Fiction from Lambda Literary.

Around Town

City Council Urges State to Remove Watertown Dam

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam. The City Council sent a letter to State officials in support of removing the “Watertown DCR Dam” from the Charles River, near Watertown Square. The Council cited climate resilience, rebuilding the population of fish species in the Charles, and the opposition of the dam by indigenous people in the letter. While the dam is located on a stretch of the river in Watertown’s city limits, the Charles and its shores are controlled by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

Sports

Watertown Girls Basketball Looks to Build on Foundation Set by Prior Teams

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Catherine WilliamsThe 2022-23 Watertown High School girls basketball team. Watertown High School’s girls basketball team will have to replace a couple big contributors from last season, but Head Coach Pat Ferdinand said he wants to build on the foundation the team built last year. Gone are 1,000+ point scorer Taylor Lambo and long-time starter Ellie Monahan, who were part of last year’s team that won a State Tournament game before falling to the eventual State Champion, St. Mary’s. The 2022-23 season got off to a good start on Tuesday night.