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.

Homepage Featured

Police Log: Suspect Seen on Video Going to Bathroom on Driveway, Fire Damages Home

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

None

Incidents

July 19, 12 p.m.: A woman wanted to cancel a flight she had booked on Priceline and contacted a number she found online. The person she thought was a customer service representative gave her a promotional offer to rebook the flight. She was told she would have to pay $300 in Target gift cards. The woman went to Target and bought the cards, and then contacted the number and gave the person the gift card numbers.

ARPA

Local Data Consultant Discovers Line in Federal Law that Cost Watertown Millions in Pandemic Relief

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CivilyticsWatertown’s Jared Knowles, president of Civilytics, discovered a line in the ARPA Pandemic relief act that cost Watertown millions in aid. A small data analysis firm discovered a five word section in the American Rescue Plan Act that cost communities such as Watertown millions in federal dollars compared to small towns in other states. Watertown-based Civilytics Consulting looks at a variety of data, including public financing, K-12 and higher education and public safety. While examining the ARPA funds found a surprising thing when they sent out their estimates for what states receive, said Jared Knowles, president of Civilytics. “One person called us and said ‘I’m getting told by our state we are getting a lot less than this,'” Knowles said.

23 Elm St.

Life Science Building in East Watertown Approved by Zoning Board

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Elm Street PartnersA rendering of the new life science lab building approved to be built at 23 Elm St. The building to the right is the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel. Months after it first appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeal, a three story life science lab building at 23 Elm Street got approval to be constructed on Wednesday night. The proposal first came before the ZBA in February, at a meeting where board members expressed their concerns about the amount of parking for the then 78,000 sq. ft.

Sports

Watertown Rower Will Row for the Gold After His Crew Qualified for the Olympic Final

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U.S. RowingWatertown’s Alexander Richards and the U.S. men’s eight boat qualified for the Olympic final. Team USA’s Men’s eight rowers, including Watertown’s own Alexander Richards, finished a close third late Tuesday night to book a spot in Thursday’s Olympic Final. Richards and the USA crew raced against Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Romania for spots in Thursday’s final at the Tokyo Olympics. The top four in the repechage race advanced to compete for medals. The Americans hit the 500 meter mark in third place, behind the Brits and New Zealand.

Election 2021

Candidate List for 2021 Watertown Election Taking Shape, Several Seek At-Large Council Seats

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Updated July 28 at 3 p.m.:

A late rush of candidates for the Town Election means that there will be enough people running for Councilor At-Large to fill the seats, and then some. There will be at least five contested races if all the candidates’ signatures are certified. Last Wednesday, only three people had put in papers to run for the four Councilor At-Large seats, but by the end of Tuesday — the last day to submit papers and signatures — there were seven people who had turned in papers to run, and a few more possible. The people who turned in their nomination papers with at least 100 signatures required to run are: Anthony Palomba, Caroline Bays, John Gannon, James Mello, Daniel D’Amico, Megan O’Halloran, and John Airasian. Three others have pulled papers but had not turned in the signatures as of early Tuesday afternoon.

Arrests

Police Log: Driver Busted After Driving With No Tire on Rim, Valuables Taken from Apartment

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

July 15, 1:54 a.m.: An officer who stopped at a red light on North Beacon Street heading toward Watertown Square when he heard a loud scraping noise coming from behind him. He looked in the mirror and saw a grey Ford SUV, with the driver’s side tire completely off the rim. The SUV was driving on its rim, and sparks were coming from the rim as it traveled past the cruiser. When the officer stopped the vehicle, the driver said he had not been in an accident but that he got a flat when he drove over a nail.

Around Town

State Repairing Bridge on Mt. Auburn St., Will Impact Traffic on Several Sundays

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MassDOT announced upcoming roadwork on Mt. Auburn Street at the intersection with Belmont Street, just east of Greg’s Restaurant in Cambridge, and near the Mount Auburn Cemetery. MassDOT provided the following announcement:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing that it will be conducting concrete deck, joint, and asphalt wearing surface repairs on Mount Auburn Street over the bicycle path at the Belmont Street intersection in Cambridge. The repairs will take five consecutive Sunday shifts, starting Sunday, July 25, and will have travel impacts on those Sundays and into the early morning hours of the following Mondays. Starting Sunday, July 25, at 2:00 a.m. and until 2:00 a.m. on Monday, July 26, only a single traffic lane will be open in each direction on Mt.