By Jim Clark

While working a paid road detail last week, a Somerville police officer was flagged down by several of the workers and an unknown female at the corner of Cedar St. and Cedar Ave.

According to reports, it appeared to the officer that something serious was occurring as these people were flapping their arms in the air in a nervous manner.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

A monthly look at ways to get involved with your city: Don’t just live in Somerville, be Somerville!

Spring ResiStat Meetings

ResiStat meetings are a twice-yearly series of community meetings where residents have the opportunity to interact with the mayor, aldermen, leaders from the Somerville Police Department, City staff—and neighbors. We’ll be sharing the latest city and neighborhood updates as well as the data-based problem solving discussions that help drive decision making at City Hall.  There are three meetings remaining and all meetings take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. with free pizza and socializing beginning at 6. The presentations from the other ward meetings can be found at www.somervillema.gov/resistat. The remaining meetings are:

~Photos by Bobbie Toner

The 2018 Somerville High School CTE Vocational Senior Awards Banquet took place on Monday, May 14, at the Somerville High School Field House.

Work on the Somerville High School building project is underway! Students and staff are comfortably situated in the new modular classrooms, and the East 1929 classroom wing is being prepared for demolition and abatement. You can watch the progress unfold on a Live Construction Feed available on the project website at www.somervillema.gov/highschool.

After months of research, debate, and refinement the Real Estate Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition has been finalized, approved by the city and is set to be scrutinized by the state legislature.

By Jim Clark

At their latest meeting last week, the City of Somerville Board of Aldermen unanimously passed the final draft of the Home Rule Petition (HRP) designed to target and impede targets house flippers, speculators and investor-owners.

The HRP was the subject of much debate between public officials and the public at large. Many in the community came forward at public hearings to express their views on the matter, both pro and con.

“Secret Gardens” runs through June 17 at the Nave Gallery, 155 Powder House Boulevard, Somerville. Image by Rebecca Skinner “Life Finds a Way”.

By Courtney Young

You don’t have to be a traditional artist to curate an art exhibit or build up your local art community, as sometimes connecting different artists, their pieces, and a specific theme is an art-form all its own. At least that’s what Tori Costa, curator of the Nave Gallery, demonstrated in their most recent exhibit, Secret Gardens.

Tonight, Ward 7 Alderman and President of the Board Katjana Ballantyne is having a “Spring Fundraiser” tonight, Wednesday, May 30, at Sabur Restaurant from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., located at 212 Holland St. Join neighbors and friends at the fundraiser. She’s a very nice lady, informed and smart. We hope to see a lot of her friends and supporters at the event to encourage her on to do a great job as usual.

Somerville Representatives Christine Barber, Mike Connolly and Denise Provost joined their House colleagues this week in voting to pass H.4517, An Act relative to firearms, known as the “red flag” bill to allow family members, health care providers and law enforcement to petition the court for an Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO) that would suspend an individual’s license to carry or firearm identification card if they are deemed at risk of harming themselves or others.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

I am writing to register my disagreement with the proposed Fire Suppression Charge.

I disagree not with the concept of having some fee, but rather with the excessive amount of the fees.  Beyond mere self-interest (the building we live in has a fire suppression system), I feel that private sprinkler owners are being unfairly targeted as part of addressing a systemic problem with our water system.

This month, the Somerville Board of Aldermen approved and allocated more than $8.3 million in Community Preservation Act funding to ten open space and historic preservation projects and the 100 Homes Initiative, upon the recommendation of the Somerville Community Preservation Committee (CPC). The Aldermen previously approved the CPC’s recommendation to provide $1,200,402 to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in March.