On Tuesday, May 22, Mayor Joseph Curtatone and staff from Cambridge Health Alliance, including Chief Community Officer Mary Cassesso and Director of the Somerville Community Health Agenda Lisa Brukilacchio, promoted mindfulness health awareness in celebration of National Public Health Week with students at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School. Mayor Curtatone read “Charlotte and the Quiet Place” to a group of students.

Spiritual Caregiver Coordinator Loretta Saint-Louis (center) celebrates with graduates of the most recent SCES Spiritual Caregiver training in May.

By Nathan Lamb

The Spiritual Caregiver program at Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) is seeking caring volunteers to offer support for older adults facing grief, loneliness, and other spiritual challenges in a two-year volunteer experience.

Mayor Curtatone and President of the Board of Aldermen Katjana Ballantyne have announced their appointments to the Mayor’s Appointments Advisory Committee (AAC): Jennifer Blundell, Victor DoCouto, and William Durkin. The AAC will be tasked with making nonpartisan and informed recommendations for appointments to critical City boards and commissions.

By Donald Norton

This past Saturday night, May 19, the Little Sisters of the Poor on Highland Avenue held their Annual Fundraiser Dinner, this year at the Arts at the Armory across the street.

Monday, May 28, is Memorial Day and City offices will be closed for the day. Trash and recycling collection will be on a one-day delay all week and there will not be street sweeping on Monday. Meters and resident permit parking will also not be in effect on Monday.

Treasurer Deb Goldberg has announced that throughout Memorial Day weekend, the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) will focus enforcement on bars in summer communities that have been most identified as the last bar to sell alcohol to a convicted drunk driver. The ABCC will be working with police departments that have identified high-risk locations and direct efforts toward preventing the sale of alcohol to underage persons in these communities.

(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)

By Matthew McLaughlin
Vice President and Ward 1 Alderman

The Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a Home Rule Petition for a Real Estate Transfer Fee tonight.  I plan on canvassing the neighborhood to explain the final bill, but I want to dispel misinformation I routinely hear.  This is a simplified version but I am happy to go into detail for anyone interested.

Ryan Harrington died from a heroin overdose in May 2011. ~ Courtesy of The Ryan Harrington Foundation

By Emily Blackwood

Ryan Harrington was a great kid. Though he played sports, had a lot of friends and knew how to make you laugh, he was probably best known for his kind heart and generous spirit.

One time, his father Dave Harrington recalled, Ryan’s family bought a few new mattresses for the kids. Soon after they arrived, a neighbor called Dave and said that one of those mattresses was currently heading down the street.

These six Friends of the Somerville Homeless Coalition baked cookies and pies and made lemonade for PorchFest and raised $364.95 that they donated to SHC. That’s almost $150 more than they raised last year (and we were amazed then too). Many thanks to (L to R) Millie Gates, Maddy Zucca, Buster Gates, Violet Gates, Avery Zucca, and Juliette Zucca. SHC always says they can’t do their work without the community’s support. You made their day, friends!

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

Sunday, May 20, at Sylvester Baxter Riverfront Park at Assembly Row, marked the exciting debut of a new family-friendly spring fundraiser, the Fast and Furriest 5K – Run, Walk, Wag for MSPCA–Angell!