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Watertown blog

The coolest Watertown real estate chart you’ll ever see

Posted on July 25, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under business, real estate | Leave a Comment

The coolest chart I’ve ever seen is the famous French chart that told the story of Napoleon’s catastrophic Russian campaign in one page. Now xconomy.com has introduced me to one that might beat it.

Basically, the chart shows four variables on one striking, two-dimensional display. Click on the image above to bring it up in a new window so you can see its glory. You can see that houses in Watertown tend to be smaller, have lower selling prices and not be as old as homes in Newton, for instance. The chart is the work of a Newton company, Visual I-O.

This week’s front page

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under TAB front pages | Leave a Comment

And more “Big Baby” photos (cheerleaders, too)

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under Sports, events | Leave a Comment

Big thanks to Laura Tramontozzi at the Watertown Mall for this spread of photos from yesterday’s event, in which the new Celtics license plates were unveiled at the Watertown RMV. They had that championship trophy there, too, btw.

Photo: Celtics tags unveiled at Watertown RMV

Posted on July 22, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under Sports, State politics | Leave a Comment

Teddy Kokoros snapped this photo of Watertown’s Rachel Kaprielian, our former state rep and current head of the RMV, with Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis at today’s event.

Well, that’s one way to keep the dog from peeing on the carpet

Posted on July 22, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under Crime | Leave a Comment

Okay, so the title of this post is a little flip. My apologies.

You remember last week we reported that a French bulldog died of heat exhaustion because it was left in a car at midday in the Watertown Mall parking lot? Turns out the owners had taken their dog with them because the dog was peeing inside when left alone. The owners will be charged with animal cruelty.

I can understand being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of having a dog who does her business in the house. If my Molly (at left) started doing that, I’d be distraught. There’d obviously be something wrong with her and I’d have to figure it out.

But the way to resolve the issue isn’t to take your dog with you everywhere you go. And it certainly isn’t to leave the dog inside a hot car on blazing asphalt during a summer day.

If any dog trainers are out there, maybe even our own columnist, Dog Lady, maybe you can reply here with how to deal with a dog that starts doing her business indoors. The French bulldog in question above was three years old, so I assume this must have been a new problem from a dog that didn’t used to mess in the house.

Who is Russ from Watertown? And why does he call talk radio so much? (SpeakOut)

Posted on July 22, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under SpeakOut, Watertown people | 4 Comments

This SpeakOut caller wants to know. As ever, responses here will be considered for the print edition.

Who is Russ?
Call received at 7:25 p.m. Friday, July 18
I was wondering who Russ from Watertown is and why he calls talk radio so frequently.

Flickr photo of a Chattanooga, Tenn. sign by Leo Reynolds

Attention area shoppers: Ticketmaster comes to the Arsenal Mall

Posted on July 21, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under business, events | 1 Comment

I’m not sure how this is an improvement, but there’s a Ticketmaster retail outlet at the Arsenal Mall. Here’s the press release, complete with an Onion-esque reference to “area shoppers“:

TICKETMASTER SERVICES NOW OPEN AT ARSENAL MALL

Ticket-buying convenience launched for Arsenal Mall shoppers

WATERTOWN, MA (July 21, 2008) – Area shoppers visiting Arsenal Mall can now take advantage of a wide array of services being offered at the new Ticketmaster retail outlet at the mall’s Guest Services booth.

The new partnership between Ticketmaster, the connection to live entertainment, and Simon Property Group, owner of Arsenal Mall and the country’s largest owner, developer and manager of high-quality shopping centers, means shoppers will now have convenient access to event information and ticket purchases for a variety of area attractions and entertainment, including sporting events, museums, theatrical performances, family shows and more.

For the most popular events, shoppers will find the ticket-purchasing process easy, thanks to a lottery system being implemented by Guest Services. Shoppers also can purchase tickets online at www.Ticketmaster.com for in-mall pickup. Guest Services is open from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily and from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays, and is located on the first floor by GNC and B. Dalton Bookseller.

Read more

Celtics trophy at the mall Tuesday

Posted on July 21, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Sports, events | 3 Comments

Want the very first chance in Boston to take a picture with the 2008 NBA Championship Trophy and a Celtics player while supporting the new Celtics charity license plate? Then come down to the Watertown Mall located at 550 Arsenal Street this Tuesday, July 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. to get your shot with the Larry O’Brien Trophy and Boston Celtic Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

But here’s the catch: To get a shot with the trophy and Big Baby, you gotta purchase a $40 Celtics license plate. All proceeds will benefit the Children’s Hospital.

Did you lose power yesterday?

Posted on July 21, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Watertown life, the environment | 2 Comments

I heard that some areas of Watertown lost their power during the storm yesterday.  I hope that no one suffered freak lighting strikes like people in Dorchester.

Did your home survive the rough weather? I was at a rifle range in Braintree when it started rolling in.  Nothing like shooting guns for the first time during a severe thunder storm.

Watertown treated and tested for West Nile Virus

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Watertown people, the environment | Leave a Comment

Last week, two mosquitoes in Brookline tested positive for West Nile virus.

Animal Control Officer Karen O’Reilly reported to the Board of Health this week that catch basins across town were treated with larvicide on July 8-10. According to O’Reilly, 3,777 catch basins were treated, and next week town parks will be larvicided.

There are also three mosquito traps - one on Carroll Street, Copeland Street, and Mt. Auburn Cemetery. A collection of deceased crows and blue jays have been sent to the state lab in Jamaica Plain for West Nile Virus testing.

No results have come back yet.

Watertown ice cream would be called…

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Food, Fun and games | 3 Comments

OK, so I stole this idea from the Cantabrigia blog.

If you could create the name of an ice cream that embodies all of Watertown, what would it be called?

Go ahead, try it out…

Watertown Starbucks is not among 600 to close

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under business | Leave a Comment

The Seattle coffee giant has put out the list of the 600 stores it plans to close. Mt. Auburn Street ain’t on it. This should make Charlie Mosesian’s day!

Dog in car outside Watertown Mall dies from heat exhaustion

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under General | 4 Comments

Police have confirmed that a dog died Wednesday inside a parked car. They were not yet able to verify what lead to the dog’s death, which could have been old age, sickness or possible heat exhaustion.

More as we get it.

UPDATE: It has been confirmed that a 3-year-old female French Bulldog died from massive heat trauma. Police report that yesterday at 12:42 p.m., they responded to a call from Main Street at Church Street with reports of an injured dog. Upon arrival the dog appeared “limp and unconscious” with no signs of trauma. After speaking with the owner, a 39-year-old man from Waltham, police were informed that he left the dog unattended in his car for a half hour while inside the Watertown Mall. The dog was transported to the Watertown Animal Hospital where doctors attempted to resuscitate her but were unsuccessful.

The incident is being investigated by Watertown police and the Watertown Animal Control Officer. No word yet on whether the owner will be cited or charged with animal cruelty or neglect.

This week’s front page, a day early

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under TAB front pages | Leave a Comment

Street sign missing? Want to file a complaint about a dog? Town debuts online “Request for Service” feature

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under Taxes and services | 3 Comments

The town debuted a new, potentially very cool feature of its Web site. You can notify the town of various problems, complaints, suggestions, and they will follow-up:

When the request is received from the citizen, an e-mail receipt will be sent automatically back to the sender with a tracking number. This number will allow the citizen to check on the status of the request at anytime simply by coming back to the “Request for Service” button on the town’s website and logging in to the “Login to check on existing requests” area.

An e-mail will be sent back to the citizen upon completion of the request.

As this new website feature evolves, more departments and forms will be added, existing forms expanded, etc.

To me, this seems like a great idea. Kudos to the town for using the Web this way. It’ll be interesting to see how this feature develops.

keep looking »