News across Middlesex County

Deaton pitches himself as independent voice
Republican Senate candidate says his willingness to work with Trump would benefit the state, calls Markey's proposals "campaign slogans."
Same Site, New Look — Changes Coming to Watertown News
In coming days, readers will see a new look for Watertown News, but you can expect the same type of stories, announcements, and information that has been produced for more than a dozen years. Some of the changes that will be most noticeable will be the smaller “Watertown News”…

Sitting in the catbird seat
The birds who mimic even more than mockingbirds

Field status: All public fields may be used
Editor’s Note: YourArlington updates this listing when the town updates its posted announcements. UPDATED, Sept. 25: From Sept. 25 to 27: All fields may be used at users’ discretion. Please note that fields are often closed when it rains and the Town will post field conditions…

Power outages, reports of minor damage as nor’easter storm passes through
UPDATED, Sept. 27, 4 p.m.: As the rare fall nor’easter moves out of the region, less than 50 houses are reported to be without power, according to the main utility companies, Eversource and National Grid. On Saturday night, at the height of the storm, about 800 properties in town…

Arlington weather: Nor’easter leaves
The nor’easter will be slow to leave New England. Additional periods of rain are expected, with gusty northeast winds continuing. Rainfall intensity will depend on the storm’s exact track, but another unsettled day is likely. Prolonged rainfall may lead to localized flooding in…

Health insurance set to rise again in 2027, locals feel squeezed
Consolidation, new drugs and treatments and inflation all play roles in double digit cost increase

The sweet and somewhat sour history behind the Concord grape
Concord grapes are bursting into season on farms and in backyards throughout the Northeast. But even with their telltale name, a lot of people aren’t aware those musky, deep-purple orbs actually did originate in Concord, Massachusetts.

Remembering the Craigie Street bathtub
Look closely at this photograph, undated but taken after 1890. Two horses pull a streetcar past bare trees, and in the middle of it all stands a granite basin right where Sparks, Craigie, and Brattle Streets meet. Cambridge once called this five-way intersection Washtub Square.…
Deaton has a plan for jumpstarting housing
To the editor: Cambridge is facing a staggering shortage of new housing construction, and it’s time to face the fact that politicians in power are benefiting from the status quo. Most of our politicians can’t even seem to identify the source of the problem, but John Deaton has a…

Armyworms besiege Cambridge
What do armyworms and Vincent van Gogh have in common?

OP-ED: Gray Divorce is Rising, and the Financial Stakes are Higher than Most People Expect
By Nicholas J. LaFountainPartner, LaFountain & Wollman, P.C. While divorce in the United States has fallen to a 50-year low, divorce among adults 50 and older is moving in the opposite direction, and has been for years. The term “gray divorce” was coined by researchers Susan…