Around Town

Watertown Library Will Start Requiring Masks for In-Person Visits

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Watertown LibraryThe Watertown Free Public Library. The Watertown Library sent out the following information:

Beginning Monday, August 9, face masks will be required for all people ages two and older inside the Library. Current Library Hours:

Monday – Thursday: 9 AM – 9 PMFriday: 9 AM – 7 PMSaturday: 9 AM – 5 PMSunday: 1 PM – 5 PM

You are required to:

Wear a mask while using the children’s room, regardless of vaccination status. Follow CDC and Massachusetts mask and social distancing guidance for unvaccinated people.Beginning Monday, 8/9/21, masks will be required for all people ages two and older in the Library. 

Available Services

Library services have resumed. Library programming will be offered via Zoom and in-person outdoors through the summer. Meeting and study rooms are available for public use.

Arts

Singers of All Ages Can Try Out for 51st Annual Christmas Revels

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Roger IdeChristmas Revels chorus performs in 2009 at the Sanders Theater in Cambridge. Watertown-based Revels sent out the following announcement:

September Chorus Auditions announced as The Christmas Revels returns to Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre in Cambridge for its 51st annual Winter Solstice Celebration! Audition for The Christmas Revels, one of the region’s most popular holiday entertainments! WHEN:  Sunday, September 12 &  Monday, September 13, 2021

(4-6 pm children ages 7-12) (7-9:30 pm adults)

WHERE:  Belmont-Watertown UMC, 80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 

(By Appointment Only)

Revels seeks a diverse and talented volunteer chorus of adults and children to join us onstage for 15 performances of The Christmas Revels at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, MA.

Police/Fire

Rash of Smashed Car Windows Reported Around Watertown

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Watertown Police are investigating several recent reports of vehicles that had their rear windows smashed by large rocks or objects. From late on the night of July 28 to the morning of July 31, Watertown Police received six reports of back windows of vehicles that had been smashed in different locations around town. The first incident was reported on Edenfield Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. on July 28. The owner had seen the window intact at about 6 p.m.

On July 29, a Hillside Road resident found the rear window completely shattered shortly after 8 a.m. A piece of concrete was used in this incident. A Westminster Avenue resident parked on the street at about 2 p.m. on July 29 and at about four looked out and saw the back window of the vehicle had been smashed.

Around Town

Town Designing 311 System for One-Stop Place for Residents to Report Issues, Get Answers

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Watertown Town Hall

The Town of Watertown plans to create a one-stop place where people can get problems addressed and have their questions answered. In July, the Town Council approved a transfer of $30,000 to the IT Department to move forward with the creation of a 311 Customer Service System. Systems in other communities vary from a phone number to an online chat to texting or using social media messages to send in requests. Town Council President Mark Sideris said many residents have been calling for a 311 system. It was a popular idea at the Kitchen Table Conversations, the informal discussions held in 2019 when the Town Council looked for ways to improve communication with residents.

Art

Minuteman Student from Watertown Wins Award in MWRA Poster Design Contest

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The poster designed by Watertown’s Ava Martin, which got an award in the MWRA Poster Contest. Two students from Minuteman High School, including one from Watertown, won awards in the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) poster contest. The annual poster contest asked for posters that publicize the work being done by the MWRA work. “Congratulations to first-place winner Damien Dolan, a rising sophomore from Stow, and third-place winner Ava Martin, a rising junior from Watertown,” said the announcement from Minuteman High School. Both Martin and Dolan are students in Minuteman’s Design and Visual Communications major.

Schools

Watertown Planning for Opening of School; Looking at Masks, Testing & In-Person Classes

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The beginning of the 2021-22 school year is just over a month away in Watertown, but some significant details remains uncertain due to the increased number of cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, particularly the Delta Variant. Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee Monday night that she plans for in-person learning for all students, but there could be some virus-related requirements such as regular testing and wearing of masks. The final decision will come later this month. “I think it is too fluid, with what’s going on with the virus,” Galdston said. “As we get to mid- to later in August I will make a recommendation based on feedback — from the Health Department, from our teachers, from our families — to determine what is going to be the safest options for our students as we return to school on Sept.

Around Town

Charles River Group Releases New Flooding Model for Communities Along River

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Watershed Association:

The Town of Watertown, in partnership with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and 14 other communities in the upper and middle Charles River watershed, is excited to announce the release of the Charles River Flood Model (CRFM). Funded by the MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs FY21 MVP Action Grant Program, and developed by Weston & Sampson, this flood model can help communities protect vulnerable populations and property from flooding. The Charles River Flood Model visualizes the impacts of increasingly severe storm events that will become more common with climate change, then shows what happens if we invest in nature based solutions such as land conservation, green stormwater infrastructure, and/or reducing impervious surfaces. This model comes at an important time.

COVID-19

OP-ED: State Sen. Brownsberger on Updated Mask Guidelines

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

This week, as the delta variant has spread, we’ve gotten new advice from the Centers for Disease Control, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. I’m personally going with the stronger CDC advice. New general advisory from DPH (July 30)

Today, in response to the emerging evidence of about the infectiousness of the Delta variant of the COVID virus, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a new mask advisory. Masks remain mandatory in certain locations where risks of transmission are higher (including public transportation) and are newly advised in some additional circumstances. The mask rules page on the state’s website now includes the following summary.