Former Somerville Alderman Bob McWatters enjoyed a great vacation in Puerto Vallarta with his son Bobby McWatters last week.

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Review by Off the Shelf Correspondent Ed Meek

Lost in the Bardo is Carolynn Kingyens’ third book. I reviewed her previous book, Coupling. In her new volume, Kingyens continues to develop as a poet well worth reading. Full disclosure, Kingyens gave a positive review to my book, Great Pond.

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Meg Smith is a writer, journalist, dancer and events producer living in Lowell, Mass., and who spent part of her childhood in Somerville. In addition to The Lyrical Somerville, her poetry has appeared in The Cafe Review, The Lowell Review, Muddy River Poetry Review, Poetry Bay, Acropolis Review, and many more. She is a 2025 nominee for the Stanley Kunitz poetry medal. Her journalism work has been honored by the New England Newspaper and Press Association, including with first-place awards for reporting on religion, race and ethnic issues and social issues. She is creator of Poe in Lowell, honoring Edgar Allan Poe’s three visits to Lowell, and a board member of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac. She is author of six poetry books and a short fiction collection, The Plague Confessor. Her new short fiction collection, Night’s Wheel, is due out from Emu Books. She welcomes visits to megsmithwriter.com.

Arts at the Armory Spotlight Series Presents Tourmaline May 28, 2026

Tourmaline comes to Arts at the Armory on Thursday, May 28 for an evening of art, storytelling, and community connection.

The Union Square Neighborhood Council is excited to invite neighbors, local organizations, nonprofits, artists, makers, and volunteers to join us for our upcoming Kickball Connect Community Event! It’s Saturday, May 30 at the Lincoln Park softball field starting at 2:30pm.

Mayor Jake Wilson joins the Veterans Dept. to remember those who have given all at the annual Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony at The Somerville Veterans Cemetery.

(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)

Friday, May 22, 2026

Layoffs are always a last resort. But like many communities across the Commonwealth and country, we have found ourselves facing a difficult budget season. For Somerville, that took the form of a $5.4 million projected budget shortfall for the next fiscal year that needed to be addressed.