Development

Planning Board Approves Master Plan for Watertown Mall Transformation

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The master plan for Alexandria Real Estate’s Watertown Mall Transformation was approved by the Planning Board. (Courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate)

The basic plan for remaking a large portion of Arsenal Street, including the Watertown Mall, has been approved by the Planning Board. Before the multiple lab buildings, residential units, retail, and garages can be built, however, developers will have to come back for approval of each building. Almost all of the project falls within Watertown’s Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD), which allows for additional height and density that most of the town but requires a master plan to be approved. On Nov.

Around Town

Watertown Veterans Honored at Ceremony, City Plans to Create Square for World War II Vet

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Watertown veterans gathered to celebrate Veterans Day at a breakfast at the Shutt Detachment. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown’s veterans organizations came together at the Shutt Detachment on Saturday to celebrate Veterans Day, and the City will likely soon be permanently honoring a Watertown man killed in World War II. The annual Veterans Day breakfast drew members of the veterans groups in town, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Marine Corps League, and the AmVets. Watertown Veterans Services Agent Patrick George noted that people from almost all the branches of the military were represented. “The only one we don’t have is Space Force and I think they are all still in bootcamp, so we are not going to have any Space Force veterans just yet,” George said.

Entertainment

“Dreams Do Come True” — Watertown Musician Nominated for Grammy

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Watertown’s Noah Kahan has been nominated for a Grammy Award. (Photo courtesy of NoahKahan.com)

A whirlwind year for Watertown singer/songwriter Noah Kahan continues as he was recently nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy Award. “Dreams do come true,” Kahan posted on social media after the announcement. Kahan became well known for his song “Stick Season,” inspired by growing up in Vermont. He also recorded Dial Drunk with Post Malone.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Offensive Symbols Found on Road, Man Busted for OUI & Leaving Scene of an Accident

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Nov. 1, 9:45 a.m.: Police were called to Derby Road after a resident observed two swastikas drawn in the middle of the roadway with chalk. One was drawn in green chalk and was about four-feet-by-four-feet, a second was one-foot-by-one-foot. Some Jewish residents live on the street an were very upset by the symbols.

Schools

Ground Breaking for New High School, Demolition Will Have Impacts on Local Roads

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Watertown High School

Say good bye to the old, and welcome the new …. Watertown High School. This week the demolition of the old school at 50 Columbia St. will really get rolling, and on Thursday there will be a groundbreaking ceremony with local and state officials taking part. Groundbreaking

Work has already started around Watertown High School, but the official ceremony celebrating the start of the construction of the new school will take place on Thursday, Nov.

Sports

Watertown Lifts Final Four Field Hockey Trophy After Defeating Dennis-Yarmouth

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Senior Molly Driscoll raises the Final Four trophy after Watertown defeated Dennis-Yarmouth 7-0 Friday. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Dennis-Yarmouth held Watertown off the board for nearly five minutes in the MIAA Div. 3 Field Hockey Quarterfinal, but goals just seconds apart gave the Raiders the lead on the way to a 7-0 win. Junior Caroline Andrade scored the first goal for the Raiders against Dennis-Yarmouth in the State Tournament. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Senior Molly Driscoll received the Final Four trophy after the game and scored three goals in her last game at Victory Field.

Police/Fire

Three Busted in National Prostitution Ring That Used a High-End Apartment in Watertown

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Three men face charges in a federal bust of a prostitution ring that used an apartment in Watertown and allegedly included politicians, high-tech and pharmaceutical executives, professors, doctors and lawyers. The court filing lists one of the locations used for prostitution was located in the Blvd & Bond apartments located in Arsenal Yards. Other places used by the ring were located in Cambridge, Dedham, Virginia, and California. Han Lee, a/k/a “Hana,” 41, of Cambridge, Mass.; James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif.; and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Mass., were arrested on charges of conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity, and face sentences of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Watertown Police had no comment about the investigation.

Entertainment

Two Watertown Natives Bring Play Focused on Interrogation of JFK’s Assassin to the Mosesian Center

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Louis Fantasia was in West Junior Middle School — the former name of Watertown Middle School — when the principal came on the school P.A. system and announced the school was closed for the rest of the day. “They didn’t say anything about what it was. They just dismissed us and sent us home,” he said. “In those days there were maybe 10 houses between the school and Main Street, so all the old ladies saw us coming out of school, and they knew something was up, and that’s when people turned on their radios and TV.”

What had happened? JFK had just been assassinated, one of those moments that pauses our collective historical memory and everyone can recall clearly exactly where they were and what they were doing.