Welcome to summer, Somerville! We’ve been cooped up for several months now, so we’re raring to get out there and enjoy some fresh air and warm sunshine. Just remember to keep practicing safe distancing and face mask usage. Protect yourself and others now, just as you have been throughout the pre-summer months.

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The city is reminding us all that we can help our neighbors stay safe and cool at home this summer by donating a new, packaged air conditioner or box fan that the Somerville Council on Aging will deliver to Somerville seniors in need. Drop off new air conditioners and box fans on Saturday, June 27, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Department of Public Works, 1 Franey Rd. For safety reasons, all donated equipment must be new and in original packaging. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll all be spending more time at home, and that’s the safest place to stay cool. A new, efficient air conditioner or fan can help our senior friends and neighbors stay safe and comfortable at home. The Council on Aging will distribute the donated cooling equipment on the basis of medical and financial need. Questions about the program can be directed to ose@somervillema.go.

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Celebrating their birthdays this week: Happy birthday to a good guy, Jonathan Buck, who celebrates this week. He currently lives in Winter Hill and is well known there. We wish a very happy birthday to a great person and longtime resident of Somerville, Paula LeBlanc. She is very committed to her work as a paralegal at attorney Sean O’Donovan’s law office. She is great! Go on Facebook and wish her a very happy birthday. We wish her the very best and that all her wishes come true, and soon. Happy birthday to a former writer here at The Times who has moved on, Beecher Tuttle. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Hugo A Volpe, John O’Rourke, Rick Sylvester, Cory Mashburn, Mike Bonanno, Diane Dee-Dee Smith, Mark Anthony Anderson, and Dave Bertocchi, a great guy, we wish him a very special happy birthday. We hope he takes the day off and enjoys his day. We also wish Peter Tsairidie, Leslie Phelan and Kristina Ann a very happy birthday. We hope everyone has a great day. To all the others we may have missed, we sincerely wish them the very best of birthdays.

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All interested community members are invited to attend and speak at the Budget Public Hearing before the City Council’s Committee on Finance tonight, June 24, at 6:00 p.m., for public input on the proposed FY 2021 municipal budget. Written testimony will also be accept-ed. You have two ways to be heard at this meeting. Join online: To attend and be heard, enter the link exactly as it appears below into your internet browser at any time before the meeting. You will then be asked to register for the meeting. After registering, you will receive an email with instructions to join the webinar when it starts. Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4460010996014138895.  Write or email: If you are unable to attend but wish to be heard, you may send written comments by U.S. mail to the City Clerk, 93 Highland Avenue, 02143, or by email to cityclerk@somervillema.gov. Your comments must arrive no later than 12 Noon on the day of the hearing, in order to be sure they are conveyed to the Council.

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GLX officials will host a virtual public meeting, Wednesday, June 24, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Register and attend this meeting using GoToWebinar: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4131561583760589835. GLX presentation topics will include: Project Overview and Benefits, Construction Update and Look-Ahead, Work Fore-cast, Locations, and Hours of Operation.

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The Somerville Mobile COVID-19 Testing Unit free service will augment the existing test site at Somerville Hospital. The City of Somerville, Cataldo Ambulance, and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) formally launched their mobile COVID-19 testing unit in Somerville this week. The mobile unit, designed to lower barriers to testing and offer equitable access, is the next phase of the city’s COVID Action Plan to control the spread of the virus via testing, contact tracing, and safe isolation. The mobile testing unit will accept patients by appointment at roaming locations, as well as hold designated testing days for residents of senior housing buildings. This testing is in addition to the Crown St. testing location at Somerville Hospital, where the City and Cambridge Health Alliance have offered free testing to Somerville residents since April. Individuals seeking tests at either the Somerville Hospital site or the mobile testing site do not need to be symptomatic and do not need insurance or a doctor’s referral. Immigration status will not be checked. The only requirement is that individuals must be Somerville residents and must call ahead to set up an appointment. Residents can call 617-665-2928 to set up an appointment at Somerville Hospital, or 617-398-7770 for mobile testing appointments. City of Somerville Health and Human Services Department staff will call residents of senior housing ahead of time to schedule on-site appointments. The schedule for the coming weeks is as follows: Wednesday, June 24, noon to 2:00 p.m., Prospect Hill Academy, 17 Franklin St.; Friday, June 26, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Prospect Hill Academy; Monday, June 29, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St., at the Glen St. entrance; Wednesday, July 1, 10:30 a.m. to noon, East Somerville Community School. As additional testing dates are scheduled they will be posted on www.somervillema.gov/covid19. Residents can also call 311 for more information.

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If you received a P-EBT card, but you don’t need it for your own family, help support a family that does by donating the value of the card to the Somerville Cares Fund (somerville-ma.gov/somervillecares). The fund provides emergency financial assistance to families that are experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Healthy, local food is important. The Farmers Markets are open again in Davis Square (www.massfarmersmarkets.org/davis) and Union Square (www.unionsquaremain.org/2020-season). But this year they will be different. Both markets will encourage only one person per household to do the shopping, incorporate social distancing guidelines and allow a limited amount of shoppers in the space. Please sign up for a shopping spot in advance at the market websites. SNAP and HIP benefits are accessible for shoppers in both markets. No gathering or socializing is allowed in the markets. See you there and remember that we are in this together … from a responsible 6 ft. distance, of course.

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East Somerville Safe Pick-up Market takes place Sunday, June 28. Pre-order from the list of participating businesses and pick-up your order safely on Sunday between 10:00 a.m. and noon. For more information, visit https://www.eastsomervillemainstreets.org/market.