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Selkii will play the final Saltonstall Park Concert of the year in Watertown on Oct. 13. The summer may be coming to an end, but Watertown’s concert series will continue into the fall with four more dates. The free concerts will be held on Wednesday evenings, weather permitting. Two are make up performances from rainouts, and there are two new additions.
Coffee and tea lovers have a new option in Watertown, O’Some Cafe, where you can also grab a freshly baked treat. Owner Ricci Cheng has turned a former vape shop into a cafe right in Watertown Square (100 Main St.) across from the Fire Station. O’Some Cafe opened in mid-August. Before that, Cheng worked at Cupcake City in Reading for about five years. She moved the the United States from Hong Kong a dozen years ago.
Charlie Breitrose
The Town of Watertown sent out the following information:
The Watertown 2021 Local Election on November 2, 2021 will have ballot questions involving the Town Charter as well as elected positions. Vote by mail if you’re unable to come to the polls on Election Day. Information about submitting an application and then voting by mail. You may request a Vote By Mail ballot by:
• Sending a written request via mail (please include original signature). • Completing a Vote By Mail Ballot Application (PDF) and submit the application via email to the Town Clerk’s office, via postal mail, in-person, drop in the Ballot box outside of Town Hall on the Saltonstall side of Town Hall, or electronically via fax at 617-972-6595
• Call the Town Clerk at 617-972-6486 to request a Vote By Mail Application be mailed to you.
Dr. Kimberlee Henry, the Watertown Public School’s Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In her first few months in the Watertown Public Schools, the new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has met with a wide range of people in town to become familiar with the school district and the community, and to build relationships with other departments and organizations in Watertown. The district created the new position in response to reports of students who had experienced racial bias and/or bullying in the Watertown Schools. One such incident was reported on by a local TV news station. The Watertown Schools have hired an outside group to conduct an equity audit, and hired Dr. Kimberlee Henry as the first Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Watertown Town Hall
The Town Council honored Watertown residents who served in the War in Afghanistan with a proclamation, and the idea was raised to create a memorial to those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Tuesday night, the Town Council read and approved a proclamation “Honoring Those Watertown Citizens Who Served in The War in Afghanistan.” The proclamation acknowledged the “new generation of service members who joined the military in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.” Also, adding that Watertown has over 700 residents who are veterans of the military.
Watertown’s Rebecca Shor plays the lead role in The Umbrella Stage Company’s production of “The Last Wide Open.” The following announcement was provided by the Umbrella Stage Company:
The Umbrella Stage Company returns to live theater for the 2021/2022 season with a fresh, intimate staging of Audrey Cefaly’s romantic comedy, The Last Wide Open. Starring Watertown actress Rebecca Shor, with Ethan Butler and Kayla Shimizu, the play tells the story of Lina, a young waitress, and Roberto, an Italian immigrant, who have been working together for years but rarely talk. If they do talk, it’s from a distance or gets lost in translation. But when a late-night thunderstorm finds them alone in the restaurant at closing time, they find their lives intersecting in surprising and mystical ways.
The Watertown Public Schools opened last week and welcomed back full classes of students, with only a handful of COVID-19 cases, and plans to keep as many students in class as possible during the pandemic. The freshman class at Watertown High School is one of the largest in recent years, with 212 students, making the total enrollment at WHS 716, said Superintendent Dede Galdston. The kindergartens in Watertown also got a big group of students. There are 12 classes across the three elementary schools, with a combined 336 students. Watertown High School students were greeted by posters, streamers and banners when the school year started, said Senior Class president Emma Fallon.
The Watertown Mall recently changed owners when Watertown Mall Associates Limited Partnership sold it for $130 million to Alexandria Real Estate Equities on April 21. Business owners in the mall spent much of the early summer wondering what the new changes would mean for them, including Maria Zullo, owner of Miss Maria’s School of Dance. Miss Maria’s School of Dance (MMDS) was founded 10 years ago in Watertown and has grown into a thriving local business. The studio was originally located on Waverley Avenue in the current location of Suzyn Day Spa, and has since moved three times, growing larger with each move.
The first location had a single dance room, and after two years, MMSD expanded into a three dance room location on Main Street. In its eighth year of business, Zullo was able to secure a lease at the Watertown Mall in the location where the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) used to be.