Around Town

Volunteers at the Senior Center Fill 100s of Plastic Eggs for the Brigham House Easter Egg Hunt

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Volunteers filled plastic eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt at Brigham House. Pictured, from left, Mary Ann Di Luzio, Maria Monahan, Theresa Cameron, Jo Balboni, and Paula Mahoney. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Tables full of volunteers at the Senior Center filled pink and yellow plastic eggs with candy in preparation for an intergenerational event at one of Watertown’s assisted living homes. On Monday, about 30 volunteers filled 250 eggs, and with another round on Tuesday, said Arlene Smith, who organized the event. “I enjoy filling the eggs,” said Jo Balboni, a volunteer who has two granddaughters.

Sports

Nine Watertown Athletes Named Middlesex League Winter All-Stars, One Named MVP

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Watertown junior Will Carty was named Middlesex Freedom MVP, as well as being All-Conference for the 2024-25 boys basketball season. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Several Watertown High School athletes received League All-Star honors, including members of the boys and girls basketball teams, boys and girls wrestling, and boys ice hockey. See who made the list in the announcement from the Watertown Public Schools, below. The Middlesex League has announced its All-Star rosters for the 2024-2025 winter sports season, with nine Raiders athletes taking home All-Star or All-Conference honors across five sports. 

Boys Basketball:

Will Carty (Freedom Division MVP and Middlesex League All-Conference)

Aiden Didovic

Olivier Labossiere

Girls basketball:

Caroline Andrade

Adrianna Williams

Boys Ice Hockey:

Domenic Moynihan

Boys Wrestling: 

Brady Gleason (Middlesex League All-Conference)

Jimmy Strestha

Girls Wrestling:

Tessa Master (Middlesex League All-Conference)

Sports

Gold Kings Hockey Teams Lifts Trophy, Cliched First Title in Watertown With Comeback Win

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The Boston Gold Kings celebrate scoring in Game 2 of the PPSHL Finals. The Gold Kings won the game 5-4 against Salem. (Photo by John Merritt)

Two goals in the third period capped a dream playoff run by the Boston Gold Kings, who won Game 2 of the finals 5-4 over the Salem Sasquatch and clinched the team’s first title in its second year of existence. The Gold Kings lifted the Power Play Senior Hockey League (PPSHL) trophy on home ice at the John A. Ryan Arena on March 29. The semi pro team now seeks to keep improving and hopes to see the league add more competition, said Cameron Labrecque, the Gold Kings’ General Manager & Director of Hockey Operations.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Arrest Man Suspected of Having Child Pornography

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A Watertown man faces charges of possession of child pornography after an investigation by Watertown Police. Police, working with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force searched a home in West Watertown on Wednesday and took Patrick Athridge into custody. Watertown Police posted the following announcement on social media on April 3, 2025 at 12:30 p.m.:

Chief Justin Hanrahan announces that on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at approximately 6:00 PM in the West End of Watertown members of the Watertown Police Department, in collaboration with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, executed a search warrant in Watertown. As a result of the investigation, Mr. Patrick Athridge was taken into custody and charged with possession of child pornography. Mr. Athridge is scheduled to be arraigned later today in Waltham District Court.

Around Town

Armenian Photo Archive Celebrates 50 Years; Runs Exhibit Space in Watertown, Holding Event the Library

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A photo from the Project Save archive, which preserves the Armenian experience. (Courtesy of Project Save)

Project Save, the photo archive that has preserved original photographs, the stories, identities, and histories of the Armenian diaspora celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, and has opened an exhibition space in Watertown where the public can view changing exhibits. A temporary exhibition is now on display at the Watertown Library. The organization began in the 1960s when founder Ruth Tomasian was living in New York City. It was officially registered in 1975.

Government

Gov. Healey Concerned About Impacts of Federal Funding Cuts & Tariffs, Sees Housing as State’s Biggest Challenge

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Gov. Maura Healey speaks with Charles River Chamber President & CEO Greg Reibman during the Chamber’s Government Affairs Forum on March 31. (Photo by Leise Jones)

NEWTON — Gov. Maura Healey worries about the uncertainty in the economy created by policies coming out of Washington, as well as federal funding cuts negatively impacting some of Massachusetts’ biggest industries, she told an audience at the Charles River Regional Chamber event on Monday. Other challenges to maintaining one of the strongest economies in the United States includes creating more housing and the cost of energy, Healey said at the Chamber’s Government Affairs Forum at the Newton Marriott. Congressman Jake Auchincloss also appeared at the event. Massachusetts receives the most NIH (National Institute of Health) funding per capita, but that funding — some of which is used for life science research and development — may be at risk if cuts are made by the Trump Administration.

Police/Fire

Council Committee Exploring Cost of Adding a Second Fire Department-Run Ambulance

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The Watertown Fire Department has run its own ambulance since 1975, and has offered paramedic service since 2017. The one ambulance cannot always cover all the calls, however, and the City Council is looking at whether to add a second ambulance. Currently, when the WFD’s ambulance is not available, Watertown uses Pro EMS, a private ambulance company in Cambridge. Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson told the City Council’s Committee of the Budget and Fiscal Oversight that there is a significant difference in response time depending on which ambulance is dispatched. “Regarding response times, National Fire Protection Association standards require emergency medical services to respond within 9 minutes 90 percent of the time,” Nicholson said, according to the Committee report.

Police/Fire

Two Protesters Struck by Truck Mirror Near Tesla Facility, No Serious Injuries Occurred

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Two people were struck by a vehicle’s side mirror during a protest at the Tesla repair facility on Pleasant Street in Watertown Saturday. No serious injuries were reported. Watertown Police officers, who were on the scene of what is becoming a weekly protest, attended to the two people struck. Both refused medical treatment, according to the statement from the WPD. Police also identified a suspect, but no further information was released.