Government

Town Manager Announces His Retirement After Nearly 3 Decades

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Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced he will retire after nearly three decades in the position and over 40 years working for the Town. After nearly three decades leading Watertown’s government, Town Manager Michael Driscoll told the Town Council Tuesday night that he soon will be retiring. “On August 18, 1977, I began working for the Town of Watertown at the young age of 24!,” Driscoll said Tuesday. “Tonight, I am announcing my intention to retire as Town Manager the end of January 2022, when I will be 69 which will be 45 years of serving our community, with the last 29 years as Watertown’s Town Manager.” Driscoll said he has recently been contemplating retirement.

Homepage Featured

Shuttle to Start Running Down Pleasant Street After Labor Day

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Watertown TMAA shuttle will start serving Pleasant Street in Watertown in the fall of 2021. Residents of the Westside of Watertown will have a new public transportation option in September when the Pleasant Street Shuttle launches. The shuttle run by the Watertown Transportation Management Association (TMA) will operate along Pleasant Street, then stop in Watertown Square before going to the Red Line subway stop in Harvard Square. The first day of shuttle service will be Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021.

Assistant Principal

Watertown Schools Welcome Two New Assistant Principals, Administrator Who Will Integrate Technology into Learning

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Superintendent Dede Galdston introduced the School Committee to two new assistant principals and an administrator who will focus on using technology in education. The new assistant principals will be working at Watertown Middle School and Lowell Elementary School, while the district also filled the administrative position is known as the Coordinator of Digital Learning and Libraries. The middle school’s new assistant principal, Susan Carle, is returning to the area after working in the Midwest. She has been the assistant principal at Northwest Middle School in Chicago since 2016, Galdston said. Prior to that she was an instructional support leader and resident principal.

Around Town

Shoppers, Vendors Happy to Be Back at Opening Day of Watertown Farmers Market

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Anaïs MarkwoodShoppers returned to the Watertown Farmers Market at Saltonstall Park on June 16. The Watertown Farmers Market opened on Wednesday, June 16, with the white peaks of vendors’ tents once again lining Saltonstall Park. After having restrictions last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market is now fully open once again, and has introduced a handful of new vendors for the 2021 season. 

Shoppers streamed back and forth around the outdoor market and queues even formed in front of some of the more popular vendors, including the stalls for Clear Flour Bread and Boston Smoked Fish Co. Everyone seemed excited to have the market fully open again, whether they be vendors, shoppers, volunteers, or the market manager, Stephanie Venizelos. 

While Venizelos described the 2020 season as “an exceptional year,” saying that the market actually saw an uptick in business as shoppers worked from home and tried to avoid supermarkets, she is hopeful for another successful year. “We love the park, we love the vendors, so we’re confident that the market will do well again this year,” Venizelos said.

Arrests

Police Log: Bike Thief Caught in Sting, Man Who Hit Bicyclist Arrested on 5th OUI

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

June 10, 2:28 a.m.: An officer patrolling in Watertown Square spotted a Toyota Highlander with a revoked registration. The vehicle was pulled over on Mt. Auburn Street near Walnut Street. While speaking with the driver and the passenger, police learned that the passenger had warrants for her arrest.

Entertainment

New Rep’s Newest Play Takes Audiences on Tour of the History of Local Indigenous People

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Jennifer KavanaughSipu, played by Maria Hendricks, addresses the audience during a performance of New Rep Theatre’s “Listen to Sipu.” Looking on is Emma the tour guide, played by Grace Wagner. New Repertory Theater has brought live theater back to Watertown with its second Historical Moving Play, Listen to Sipu. The production focuses on the Indigenous people who lived on land that is now Watertown, looking at both their past and present. Listen to Sipu features what New Rep calls Indigenous culture-keepers: actors Maria Hendricks (Mashpee Wampanoag) and Grace Wagner (Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah), script writer Morgan (Mwalim) J. Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag), and directed by Jaime Carrillo (Aymara).

Business

Celebrity Chef Opening Restaurant at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards in July

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Buttermilk & BourbonCelebrity Chef Jason Santos will open his second location of Buttermilk & Bourbon at Arsenal Yards. The menu includes buttermilk fried chicken. The following announcement was provided by Arsenal Yards:

Boylston Properties and Wilder proudly announced that they’ve leased 3,000 square feet at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards to local celebrity chef and restaurateur, Jason Santos. Following the success of Buttermilk & Bourbon in Boston’s Back Bay, the nationally-recognized chef will open his second location of the popular restaurant in the new neighborhood in mid-July 2021, bringing a taste of Southern hospitality to Watertown. The New Orleans’ inspired restaurant will be an exciting addition to the eclectic mix of offerings at Arsenal Yards, which will offer a true neighborhood experience with its more than one million square feet of retail shops, residential apartments, life science space, and a 146-room hotel when construction is completed later this year.

Government

Planning Board Approves BB&N Fields Project with Objections About Artificial Turf

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BB&NA planning document showing the design for the athletic field to be built by Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School on Grove Street. The project has met resistance from residents who oppose using artificial turf on the fields. After receiving many letters and comments opposing the installation of artificial turf at a new athletic complex being proposed by Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, the Planning Board grudgingly approved the project. The decision was made with strong objections by members of the board and after efforts to delay the vote proved unsuccessful. The project would build two athletic fields on property at 165 Grove Street, just north of Filippello Park.