Homepage Featured

Public Wowed During First Look at New Cunniff School, Officials Celebrate With Ribbon Cutting

By |

Charlie BreitroseThe public gathered outside the new Cunniff Elementary School before open house on Tuesday. The first impression of the new Cunniff Elementary School may have best been captured by the boy who yelled, “Oh, my God!” loud enough to be heard despite the fact he was in a car with all the windows up. A few hundred Watertown residents celebrated the opening of the new elementary school on Warren Street on Tuesday afternoon. After a few remarks and a ribbon cutting, the visitors got a chance to walk around the new school.

Community Transmission

First COVID-19 Outbreak in Watertown Schools, One Class Being Quarantined

By |

Several students tested positive for COVID-19 at a Watertown elementary school, in an incident that is the first confirmed in-school spread within the Watertown Public Schools. The nine confirmed cases were in one class, and the entire class is now under quarantine, Superintendent Dede Galdston said during Monday’s School Committee meeting. “We are definitely in a situation right now where we have in-school transmission at Cunniff Elementary School,” Galdston said. “We were able to really get through pretty much a full year in person without having a verified in-school transmission, but it did happen. It is very unfortunate and we are very concerned about the families that are impacted.” Most of the students who tested positive are asymptomatic, Galdton said.

Around Town

Watertown Community Fridge Now Open, Give or Take Food for Free 24/7

By |

Watertown Community FridgeThe Watertown Community Fridge, located outside Francis Market. The Watertown Community Fridge officially opened this week, and people can take or leave food at the free community resource. The fridge is located in a shed outside of Francis Market, 1084 Belmont St. in Watertown. Organizers said people have already made use of the fridge.

Around Town

Charles River Group Makes Case for Removing Watertown Dam During Public Tour

By |

Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam. Around 50 people showed up Saturday morning to hear about a proposal to remove the Watertown Dam, and restore the area to how it was before the first dam was put there in the 1600s. The Charles River Watershed Association organized the tour, and the group is advocating for the dam to be removed to allow more fish and wildlife to travel up and down the Charles River, and also because it poses a risk of failure in a major storm, said CRWA Executive Director Emily Norton. The first dam in the area of the current Watertown Dam was a grist mill built in 1634 by early colonists.

Government

Town Council Moves Toward Creating Trust to Buy, Build More Affordable Housing in Watertown

By |

Watertown Town Hall

Watertown took a major step this week toward creating more affordable housing by starting the effort to create an affordable housing trust and looking into charging fees to new developments that would go toward affordable housing. Tuesday night, the Town Council voted unanimously to move forward with writing an ordinance that would create the Watertown Affordable Housing Trust, and would dissolve the Watertown Housing Partnership. The Council also approved a study of creating linkage fees for new commercial developments for affordable housing. The Trust would work to create and preserve housing for low- and moderate-income households. Among its powers the Trust would be able to receive properties as donations or gifts, and to buy and sell property.

Elections

Watch the Watertown Election Forum Featuring the Councilor At-Large Candidates

By |

The Councilor At-Large candidates appeared at the forum Thursday co-hosted by Watertown Cable Access TV and Watertown News. If you missed Thursday’s Councilor At-Large Candidate Forum, or want to see it again, you can watch it online. The forum was co-hosted by Watertown News and Watertown Cable Access TV. The candidates responded to questions about hiring the new Town Manager, affordable housing, issues of diversity and equity, artificial turf and more. To view the form, click here: http://vodwcatv.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/1205?channel=1

Mark your calendar for the School Committee candidate forum on Oct.