Annual festival celebrates university’s relationship with Medford, Somerville communities

Tufts University, in cooperation with the cities of Medford and Somerville, will host the 15th annual Community Day festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held rain or shine on the Tufts University Academic Green in the center of the Medford/Somerville campus.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston invite all interested community members to a neighborhood meeting to discuss mobility and safety issues in the Inman Square and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 25, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Argenziano School, 290 Washington St. With several active construction projects underway in the area, the goal of this meeting is to discuss large-scale traffic challenges and potential mitigation strategies. City staff from the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development will be joined by transportation staff from the City of Cambridge. The meeting will be structured in two parts – an open house-style element from 6 to 6:30 p.m., for residents to review technical traffic safety data and have small group discussions with one another and with City officials, followed by a presentation and Q&A session beginning at 6:30.

Somerville poet and educator, Doug.

By JT Thompson

Doug: grey beard, brown suit jacket, blue baseball cap, 61 years old, is a poet, professor, publisher, newspaper journalist and host of an interview show on SCATV. Doug has been a key player in the local poetry scene for over 20 years; he’s published and interviewed hundreds of poets, and taught hundreds of students.

We meet at Union Square’s Bloc 11 café, where he is a fixture; his usual spot is in the tucked away, tiny backroom, where he does a lot of his interviews, as well as his own writing.

“What the Fluff? A Tribute to Union Square Invention” is a zany and fun-filled festival that celebrates the invention of Fluff by Archibald Query in Somerville’s Union Square.  This year’s theme of “FluffCentennial: Inspiring the Next Century of Union Square Invention” highlights the100th anniversary and the fact that invention is still alive and thriving in Union Square today.

By Kristen Strezo, Co-Chair of the Somerville Commission for Women

Women face a double-edged sword when it comes to salary negotiation and that’s leaving us behind in the workforce. Because of this, the Somerville Commission for Women (SCW) has partnered with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for the AAUW Work Smart program – which focuses on pay negotiation education – on Thursday, September 28.

~Photos by Bobbie Toner

The City of Somerville hosted “Strike Up the Bands” on Sunday, September 17, for the September installment of the city’s SomerStreets festival.

By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to a Calvin St. location last week on reports of someone stealing packages from a residential front porch.

While en route, the officers were provided with a description of the suspect, later identified as Carlos Carrion, of Cambridge. They were informed that Carrion was seen carrying a bag and riding a bicycle along Calvin St.

Former Somerville native Gregory Ferreira’s band The Bushwick Hotel will be performing this coming Friday night, September 22, 8:00 p.m., at The Middle East in Cambridge. Ferreira grew up in Winter Hill and attended St. Ann’s parish. A veteran musician who began playing professionally at the age of 9, he has worked with many bands and as a solo artist. The Bushwick Hotel has been described as “a reimagining and reinterpretation of classic rock ‘n’ roll with modern retooling. Opening the evening, The Fellowship of Feeding Wolves and Heavy Necker.

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)

Somerville may be just four square miles in size, but 119 linear miles of roadways criss-cross our city, and last year, 636 crashes (224 of them resulting in injury) were reported on those roads. This is unsettling and unacceptable because crashes leading to serious injuries and fatalities are preventable. As the most densely populated city in New England, we have thousands on our roads at any given time in cars, on bikes, on foot, and on their way to public transit. This activity creates vibrancy, but it also creates danger. As we strive to be the most walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly city in the country, we must also reaffirm our dedication to safer roadways for all users.

Kids of all ages joined in as Somerville Youth Soccer League kicked off its fall 2017 season. ~ Photos courtesy of Somerville Youth Soccer

By Jake Wilson

Fields across the city were filled with the sounds of soccer on Saturday morning, as teams ranging from toddlers to teenagers opened the fall season.

Somerville Youth Soccer League (SYSL) prides itself on providing a positive, affordable athletic experience for kids and their families. With nearly 1,000 children registered this fall season, SYSL is the largest community youth sports organization in Somerville, as participation and interest in the sport of soccer continue to grow both locally and nationally.