NEW TIME: Two Chances to Hear from Council President Candidates

(Note: The time of the Chamber’s debate has changed. See the new time below)

The two candidates for City Council President will appear in a pair of candidate events this week. WCA-TV & Watertown News Hosting Live Forum

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, Watertown Cable News, Watertown Cable Access Corp and Watertown News will host an election forum featuring the two candidates running for City Council President. Incumbent Mark Sideris is being challenged by former Town Council President Clyde Younger.

WCA-TV Channels Have Changed for Comcast Subscribers

The following information was provided by Watertown Cable Access Television:

Please be advised that WCA-TV’s channels on Comcast, also called Xfinity, have changed to the following:

Education – 8 and 1071

Public – 9 and 1075

Government – 22 and 1076

We currently are troubleshooting issues with channel 8, but you can still view the education channel on channel 1071. If you are experiencing any other issues or outages with these channels, please call 1-800-XFINITY.

Watertown Cable Channels Going Off Air During Move

The following announcement was provided by Watertown Cable Access TV:

WCA-TV channels will be off air from August 22 through August 25, 2023. What this means is that their channels will be down on cable as well as online through their Video on Demand (VOD) service. This is a planned outage due to WCA-TV’s relocation to the Phillips Administration Building at 30 Common St. While we will not be running programming 24/7 on cable or on demand during this time, any and all scheduled live programming will be streamed on our website at wcatv.org/government. Please keep an eye out on WCA-TV’s social media pages, newsletter, and website for up to date information regarding off air time.

Watertown Cable Show Celebrates Popeye’s 90th Anniversary

The following information was provided by Fred Grandinetti:

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of Popeye the Sailor’s animated cartoon debut in July 2023 Drawing With Fred will be airing Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves. The Watertown Cable Access TV show, created by Watertown resident Fred Grandinetti, will show the special color cartoon produced in 1937 by The Fleischer Studios for Paramount Pictures. “It is twice as long as a regular short subject featuring multi-dimensional backgrounds,” said Grandinetti, who added that it was the second Popeye cartoon to be made in color, after 1936’s Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor. The episode of Drawing With Fred will begin airing on July 10, and will run for two weeks on WCA-TV’s Public Channel (RCN Channel 3, Comcast Channel 9), and online (click here). Since his animated cartoon debut in 1933 Popeye has gone on to be featured in approximately 500 cartoons for both theater and television screens.

City Manager Discusses Comprehensive Plan, Resident Participation & the High School Project on Watertown Cable Show

Inside Watertown hosts Bob Airasian, far left, and Charlie Breitrose were joined by City Manager George Proakis and Director of Community Development and Planning Steve Magoon. (Screenshot from Watertown Cable). Watertown City Manager George Proakis talked about the ongoing Comprehensive Plan update, how residents can get involved when projects go before the City, and what’s going on with the Watertown High School project in the latest episode of Watertown Cable’s Inside Watertown. Along with Proakis, co-hosts Charlie Breitrose and Bob Airasian were joined by Steve Magoon, Watertown’s Assistant City Manager and the Director of Community Development and Planning. The City recently held a public forum on the Comprehensive Plan, which is being updated for the first time since it was adopted in 2015.

Create Your Own Video Announcement at WCA-TV’s Community Production Day

The following information was provided by Watertown Cable:

WCA-TV is hosting another Community Production Day on Friday, April 14th from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. for all non-profit organizations in Watertown! As always, the staff here at WCA-TV will work with you to produce a video announcement free of charge but this time you will also get the chance to collaborate with other community members in the studio! All videos can be up to 90 seconds in length and will be shown across all WCA-TV channels. All we ask is that you come in prepared, and ready with an idea! Content produced on Community Production Day will also be uploaded to our video on demand service so you can share it on your organization’s social media, website, and online outreach efforts!

Watertown Cable Board Names New Executive Director

WCA-TVAndrea Santopietro has been named Watertown Cable Access Television’s Executive Director. The following information was provided by Watertown Cable Access:

Watertown Cable Access Corp. (WCA-TV) is thrilled to announce that its Board of Directors has named Andrea Santopietro as the new Executive Director of the station. Andrea has worked at WCA-TV for almost nine years and has served as Interim Executive Director for the past six months. 

A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Andrea graduated from the New England Institute of Art with a Bachelors of Science in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production in 2014. She was hired as a videographer at WCA-TV shortly after graduating and was quickly promoted to Media Outreach Coordinator.

Learn About Video Production at Watertown Cable Workshops

WCA-TV has exciting news – Spring Workshops are just around the corner! From learning how to edit in Adobe Premiere to hands-on experience with our field cameras, lighting kits, and studio equipment, there is a workshop for everyone! Brand new Orientation Workshops are available on a monthly basis. These workshops will give a brief overview of WCA-TV, our services and offerings, and a basic training on our field cameras, so you’ll be able to check cameras out right away! An Orientation Workshop is required to sign up for subsequent workshops.