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Small businesses can start applying for the latest round of federal Payroll Protection Program. PPP loans available for businesses that did not get the grant in the first round, and the application process began on Jan. 11. Also, businesses that got PPP in the first round can apply for the Second Draw can begin applying on Jan. 13.
Watertown Town Hall
The group looking at whether to make changes to how Watertown’s government works heard from chief executives from three communities: two mayors and one town manager. At the Jan. 5 Charter Review Committee meeting, the members were joined by three panelists: Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin, and Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator in Franklin, which has a similar set up to Watertown with a “strong manager.” Each spoke about the strengths and weaknesses of their governments. Hellen said that one of the strengths of Franklin’s council/manager form of government is that he as an appointed executive can take the heat off the elected council for some of the more contentious decisions.
The Watertown Business Coalition has two upcoming virtual events to discuss promoting the different neighborhoods around Town, and creating a Cultural District. The group welcomes the ideas and input from businesses and residents. Neighborhood Identities
The effort to create stronger neighborhood identities emerged as an idea to boost local businesses during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic and moving forward. A virtual meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 20 from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
The event announcement said: “We will discuss ways we can rally around the idea of creating neighborhood identities and promote businesses and the communities within those neighborhoods.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
Dec. 30, 3:50 p.m.: Target security spotted a woman going into two vehicles in the parking lot before entering a third vehicle, which she drove away. Security got a license plate and description, and gave it to police. It was determined that the vehicle had been stolen from Boston.
Watertown moved into the Red, or high-risk, category in the most recent Mass. Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 reporting. The Watertown Health Director fears that people are suffering from “COVID fatigue” and have become lax about taking measures to stop the spread of the virus. In the latest data from the MassDPH, Watertown has an average of 55.8 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, which was up from 51 per 100,000 the previous week. The number that moved the Town from “yellow” to “red” was the positivity percentage of tests, which was 5.14 percent (up from 4.7 percent the previous report).
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:
Snowshoes, KitchenAid Stand Mixer, power washer — these items have nothing in common except that they are all things you can now check out with your library card. On January 6 the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) launched a new collection of non-traditional library materials known as the Library of Things and they’re waiting to be used. “A Library of Things is not uncommon in public libraries and there are so many reasons we’re excited to now offer our own collection” says Katie Kottas who is in charge of Circulation and Access Services. Of course it is fun, but it’s also economical. A lot of people don’t need or want to purchase items they may only use once or twice.
Newly retired State Rep. Jonathan Hecht thanked the supporters who gathered outside his home to thank him for his work representing Watertown for almost 15 years. Longtime 29th Middlesex State Rep. Jonathan Hecht received a serenade some of his biggest supporters on Wednesday, who thanked him for his 12 years representing Watertown on Beacon Hill. Supporters from Watertown and Cambridge sang Hecht a song thanking him for his work on Beacon Hill, including the improvements to the Charles River Park, the Watertown/Cambridge Greenway bicycle and pedestrian path, support for clean energy, transportation and health care. Hecht came out of his home, still bleary eyed from his last day as state rep, which lasted until the early hours of Wednesday. He told the gathering of about two dozen people the day had been a strange and bittersweet one.
The pandemic threw some new challenges at real estate agents in 2020, but the Watertown home sales remained almost as strong as the prior year. The total sales in Watertown figure in 2020 was $586.21 million from 413 properties. The prior year, 429 properties sold for about about $4 million more than 2020. As in prior years, the top agent for Watertown home sales was Ari Koufos, broker/owner of Realty Executives. He sold 23 properties for $22.23 million.