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New search feature for Watertown businesses
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under business | Leave a Comment
There’s a new feature on this site, Wicked Local Businesses and I think it’s pretty cool. I’ve just started playing with it. The idea is you can search for businesses and services you need and it will tell you your options in Watertown. For instance, I searched for “pizza,” and it came back with 16 pizza shops.
The initial listings you’ll find are all free to the businesses. The folks over on the ad side of our operation will try to sell upgrades like video, coupons, etc. Because, you know, we can’t keep bringing you Watertown news unless we figure out a way to pay the bills.
We’re still kicking the tires on this. Lemme know if this new feature is useful.
232nd anniversary of reading of Declaration of Independence in Watertown
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under History, events | 2 Comments
Patriots, mark your calendars. Here’s an event that continues the celebration of our nation’s birth two weeks after all the fireworks are gone. The Historical Society of Watertown is re-enacting the reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Watertown, 18 July 1776 - A copy of the Declaration of Independence, having been sent by John Hancock from Philadelphia, is proclaimed to the populace from a window of the Council Chamber followed by rousing cheers and hearty toasts.
“We like it well,” observed Ambrose Var, delegate from the Mikmaq of Nova Scotia in town to negotiate a treaty of alliance with the new United States.
Watertown, 18 July 2008 - Now that the Historical Society of Watertown has succeeded in the restoration of the Edmund Fowle House, once the seat of Massachusetts’s executive branch at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence will once again be read from a window of the newly re-discovered Council Chamber. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 Friday the 18th of July in front of the Fowle House, 28 Marshall St. Watertown. Local colonial re-enactors and Native American guests will be on hand and the public is welcome to attend this anniversary of Watertown’s first Independence Day.
Light refreshments will follow the ceremony plus a look at the Council Chamber (as long as daylight lasts).
Your July Fourth TAB, two days early
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under TAB front pages | Leave a Comment
Car versus building on Highland Avenue
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under Traffic and parking | Leave a Comment
I’ve heard a report of a car crashing into a building at 17 Highland Ave. Would have happened at 5:55 p.m. yesterday.
I’ll post more when I get it. Did anyone see it or snap a photo?
UPDATE (Friday, July 3): The police inform me it was a pretty minor incident. Home owner lost control and hit own home.
Chief Orangio says ‘Leave the fireworks to the pros’
Posted on July 1, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under fire | Leave a Comment
Here’s Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio’s annual appeal to celebrate the Fourth safely:
With Independence Day around the corner, the Watertown Fire Department would like to remind residents about fireworks regulations.
The use and/or possession of all fireworks by private citizens is illegal in Massachusetts. This includes Class C fireworks, also known as consumer fireworks, which are incorrectly characterized as “safer.” Snappers, party poppers, firecrackers and sparklers are all illegal and cause serious injuries. Sparklers can burn at temperatures between 1,800 and 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit! Nationally, more than 3,000 children under the age of 14 are sent to emergency rooms each year as a result of fireworks use. The majority of these visits are to treat burns and eye injuries. In Massachusetts over the past 10 years, fireworks related fires/explosions have caused over $1.5 million in damages and 15 civilian and nine fire service injuries.
The Watertown Fire Department urges you to know and follow fireworks laws.The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to leave the job to trained professionals.
To report fires or life-threatening injuries call 911.
Here are some useful links:
List of supervised fireworks displays
More information on fireworks safety
Public safety video from the National Fire Protection Agency
Mass. AFL-CIO endorses Fahey to replace Kaprielian
Posted on June 30, 2008 by Chris Helms
Filed Under State politics, Town politics | Leave a Comment
Watertown attorney Julia Fahey, who is among those vying in a write-in and sticker campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 29th Middlesex seat recently vacated by Rachel Kaprielian, picked up an endorsement from the state’s AFL-CIO today.
Massachusetts AFL-CIO Announces Endorsements for 2008 ElectionsUtility Workers Union of America Local 369, Braintree, Massachusetts, ISSUED June 29, 2008 – After reforming its endorsement procedures in March, the Executive Council of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO is proud to announce its first round of endorsements in the 2008 election cycle voted on during its Executive Council Committee On Political Education (COPE) meeting this afternoon. In March the largest labor organization in the Commonwealth undertook a comprehensive overhaul of its endorsement procedures that seeks to heighten the level of candidate and elected official accountability. Part of the new endorsement procedures refined the timeline for when the Executive Council would take up endorsements of incumbents. At the Friday meeting, as a matter of procedure, motions were made to undertake endorsements for incumbent legislators without opponents and those with only general election opponents at a meeting after the legislative session concludes. Motions were made to endorse in federal elections, select state elections for open seats, and select incumbent legislators facing primary challengers. The candidates endorsed today, in the first round of 2008 endorsements, included:
Julia Fahey, staff attorney for SEIU Local 5000/NAGE, for State Representative in the race to succeed Rachel Kaprelian in the 29th Middlesex District.
For the full list, including the AFL-CIO’s endorsement for president, see the jump.
Here’s another piece of 29th Middlesex news: Watertown Town Councilor Jonathan Hecht talks to the start-up political news site Politicker.
23 roads to be repaired. Do you live on one of them?
Posted on June 27, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Taxes and services, Watertown life | 5 Comments
Town Councilors approved a $5.3 million loan order to fund street repairs this year, along with installation of an underground duct for a fire alarm for the new police station on Main Street. This is part of a $59 million capital improvement plan designated for town wide street and sidewalk improvements. A total of 23 roads are slated for repair this year - some full reconstruction, some overlay, and some simple patch-ups. Here’s a street list.
Common Street, Lovell Road, Otis Street, Palfrey Street, Cushman Street, Hudson Street, School Street, Arlington Street, Maplewood Street, Summit Road, Rangeley Road, Irma Avenue, Calvin Road, Elm Street, Water Street, Capitol Street, Eliot Street, Berkeley Street, Warren Street, Hilltop Road, Edenfield Avenue, Bemis Street, Whitney Street
Pleasant Street work kicks off this fall
Posted on June 27, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Traffic and parking | Leave a Comment
Finally!
Pothole-riddled Pleasant Street is getting the repair work it deserves. DPW Superintendent Gerald Mee said on Tuesday that Mass Highway announced a July 12 date for construction bids. Work will begin this fall. Within the next two weeks, KeySpan will be relining the gas main and will work with the DPW regarding any traffic issues.
This week’s front page
Posted on June 26, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under TAB front pages | Leave a Comment
Letter: US Petroleum is cheating its customers
Posted on June 26, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under business | 2 Comments
Have you had the same experience at US Petroleum on Galen Street like this Newton resident did? The TAB has received more than one notice about this.
I had an interesting experience at the US Petroleum gas station at 70 Galen St., in Watertown last night that I want to let you know about. I was driving home from Cambridge to Newton and passed several gas stations that were selling gas for $4.19 or $4.20. So when I saw that US Petroleum was selling gas for only $4.05, that caught my eye and I stopped at the station. I asked the attendant to “fill it 87.” After he began pumping the gas, I looked over my shoulder and saw that the price for the gas he was pumping was not $4.05, but rather $4.33. I got out of my car and protested and asked him to stop pumping. I said I thought the price was $4.05. He said $4.05 is the price for “Economy” or “86” gas, not the “87” I requested. I asked him to continue pumping “86.” When he gave me back my credit card, I told him that I thought his business practice was questionable, advertising the $4.05, knowing that most people don’t even know that there is such a thing as “86” gas and then charging $4.33 for regular, when the going rate is around $4.20. I told him I thought that was deceptive. He nodded his head as if in agreement.
I think a lot of people are being duped by this very questionable and ethically-challenged practice.
Gary Roma
What’s that car?
Posted on June 25, 2008 by Keith E. Jacobson
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment
If you have seen a taxi driving around town that looks different from traditional cabs you might have just seen the hybrid Toyota Camry recently put into service by McCue’s Taxi. The car easily identifiable by a green stripe on the rear and helps the environment by reducing emissions and the company with lower fuel use. Click for the full story here.
Owner Sean McCue shows off the new cab.
Keith E. Jacobson/Staff Photographer
Need some “Comfort”?
Posted on June 25, 2008 by Keith E. Jacobson
Filed Under business | 3 Comments
Comfort Restaurant & Bar has recently opened above the Persian Restaurant Molana at 5 Spring Street. Owner Andrew Ward says the burger is outstanding and the mac and cheese can’t be beat. Have you eaten there yet? What are the best places to eat in town? Check out a Q&A with Comfort owner Adam Ward here.
Andrew Ward looks out the front window of the new restaurant.
Keith E. Jacobson/Staff Photographer
Some tips on commenting online
Posted on June 25, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under General | 2 Comments
Ever since our website has required readers to register before they comment on stories… commenting has drastically gone down. Don’t be shy! Here are a few pointers from our Director of Online Content Development Sarah Corbitt:
We know there are some continuing technical issues with our new registration system and are working hard to resolve them. In the meantime, if you are having trouble registering, here are three things to check:
- If you registered and did not receive the confirmation e-mail as promised, try checking the “spam” or “junk” folder in your e-mail account. Some confirmation e-mails are being treated as spam by some e-mail accounts.
-If the “link” in that confirmation e-mail does not appear as a link, copy and paste the url into the browser bar at the top of your web page.
-If neither methods gets you to the page where you can enter a user name (the name that will appear with your comments), go back to the confirmation e-mail and make sure you have included the equal sign (=) at the end of the link or url.- If none of that gets you registered, please contact our web operations manager at myregistrationhelp@yahoo.com . Please include what operating system you are using (Windows XP, Vista, etc.) and what internet browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.). We’ll work with you to get you registered even as we also work to debug the overall registration system.
Executive session sought for “intimidation” of Globe reporter
Posted on June 24, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Town politics | 5 Comments
Town Council president Clyde Younger announced at the end of tonight’s meeting that an executive session should be scheduled to address a concern that Town Manager Michael Driscoll allegedly “intimidated” Globe West correspondent Christina Pazzanese over an article she wrote last week on the new police station and its cost. Read the Globe’s original story here.
Driscoll said he contacted both Pazzanese and her editor to share his frustration because the Globe article allegedly mislead readers about a recent vote to appropriate $14.2 million to construct and fully furnish the new Main Street station. Instead he said the article centered around Councilor Angie Kounelis’ concern of added interest payments for the project that did not pertain to its construction by 2010. Kounelis was the lone abstention on the appropriation.
“I certainly have a right to have a discussion about this,” Driscoll said. “We are doing this project within the confines of Proposition 2 1/2, and we should be commended for that.”
Here is what the TAB & Press wrote about the 8-0-1 vote on financing the new station. Now, I have certainly butted heads with politicians in the past about articles I’ve written - it goes with the territory - but it’s never gotten to the point of an executive session…. just a subpoena or two…
World Series trophy to visit Watertown
Posted on June 24, 2008 by Jillian Fennimore
Filed Under Fun and games | 1 Comment
The Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series Trophy will be visiting the Watertown Police Department on Thursday June 26, 2008 at 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. The Watertown Police Department will be providing the popcorn (donated by AA Rental) along with face painting. J.G. Willis Tent has donated a tent for the event.
