2025 Commonwealth Heroine, Bhavika Kalia.

Somerville Positive Forces (SPF), in partnership with the City of Somerville’s Prevention Services, is proud to announce that Bhavika Kalia, a dedicated and inspiring SPF youth leader, has been named a 2025 Commonwealth Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW).

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

In the summer of 1969, when I had just turned 16, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and True Grit was at the movies. I Dream of Jeannie, Star Trek, and Gomer Pyle were on TV (Golly!).

Some of my friends were making plans to drive to New York for a huge rock festival in Woodstock. I couldn’t go because I had to work at F.W.  Woolworth’s Five and Ten Store in Davis Square.

Some of Somerville’s littlest residents playing with chalk and balloons at the event. — Photos by Norah Doyle

By Norah Doyle

On Tuesday, June 17, Somerville Ward 4 finally got its “Slice of the City” after being rescheduled from its original May date due to bad weather.

Ward 4 has had bad luck with the weather since it rained on the rescheduled date. However, this didn’t stop Ward 4 from having their “Slice of the City,” and the event was moved into the Arthur D. Healey Elementary School cafeteria.

Earlier this year, at the City Council meeting on March 27, the Somerville Youth Hockey Association presented their case for restoring the winter ice sheet for skating activities at Founders Memorial Skating Rink.

By Harry Kane

City Councilors rejected a plan from the Ballantyne administration that would transform the ice rink into a multi-purpose recreation hub that eliminates the winter ice sheet.

The fate of Founders Rink hangs in the balance as the city weighs its options following the refusal of a $160,000 appropriation for floorboards that would end ice activities at the skating rink. 

Councilor Willie Burnley, Jr. delivers a speech at the flag-raising Juneteenth event.

By The Times Staff

While Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, it is also a day to reflect on the values of our society and nation in the effort to protect our rights as Americans.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville raised the flag of freedom on the City Hall concourse on June 16, with local residents and advocates delivering remarks in commemoration of the holiday for the third year in the city.

(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)

Dear Elected Officials,

We are Somerville voters and taxpayers writing to protest the June 4^th election held at St. Anthony’s School. The balloting on the Somernova CBA was run in a misleading manner, with highly irregular rules. We ask that you disregard its outcome and not allow it to influence your deliberations about changes to Somerville’s Zoning Ordinance.

The City of Somerville’s Fireworks Celebration will be held tonight, June 25, at Trum Field (inclement weather date is scheduled for Friday, June 27). In collaboration with the Somerville Museum and the Somerville Arts Council, this year’s annual “What to the slave is the 4th of July” reading will take place during the Somerville July 4th fireworks celebration. Join the annual public Reading of Frederick Douglass with event scholar and musician John Hughes. Stay for a conversation afterwards. 5:30– 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Cedar and Broadway. Festivities will continue at 6:30 p.m. and will feature music by DJ Desy and funk band Search Party. Food vendors this year include Italian Wizard, Dos Manos Kitchen, and more. At approximately 9 p.m., Mayor Ballantyne will welcome and address the crowd and then start the countdown to the fireworks show. Please visit www.somervilleartscouncil.org/fireworks for details on the event, road closures, and parking restrictions.

Somerville’s Big Gay Dance Party took place last Saturday in Uniion Square Plaza. — Photos by Angelina Parrillo

By Angelina Parrillo

Halloween arrived early in Somerville on Saturday, June 21, as partygoers convened in Union Square for the annual “Big Gay Dance Party,” hosted by the Somerville Arts Council and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne.

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Imagine, you just walked around for a couple of hours in 90 degree heat ducking in and out of the Monastery and multiple buildings on the premises on the mountainside of Montserrat just outside of Barcelona, Spain. You have taken in the breathtaking views and are certainly ready for some rest and relaxation.

It’s been getting pretty darn hot lately. And it’s looking like we’ll be facing a good little stretch of even more hot weather in the days and – yes, even maybe – the weeks to come.

There’s little to be done about it other than exercising a little common sense to minimize the dangers of heat stroke. Watch your activity levels, get plenty of water, etc. Just be careful and do the right things. You’ll make it.