Somerville’s youngest community members will be receiving a special welcome to Somerville, thanks to a new initiative by the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative (SFLC) and the Kiwanis Club of Somerville. The program, SomerBaby, focuses on welcoming Somerville newborns by providing parents of newborns with information, resources and connections, to assist in their new journey as parents and to help establish a support structure early in a child’s life. The official kick-off of SomerBaby will occur during the Week of the Young Child, April 11-15, 2016.

~Photo courtesy of Scott Tingley/Tufts University

Tufts University President Anthony P. Monaco stands with Charlotte Kafka-Gibbons, the highest-scoring Somerville High School student at the Region IV Science Fair, in front of her winning project. Monaco presented Kafka-Gibbons with a $250 award from Tufts University for her work on bacterial growth in pickles.

By Mayor 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)

Even though we got snow earlier this week, it is springtime here in Somerville. That means the Mayor’s Wellness Challenge is right around the corner. The official kickoff is April 24 at the Somerville High School concourse, but I always try to emphasize that this shouldn’t be like a New Year’s resolution where you buy a gym membership you forget to use or where you eat a few more vegetables for a couple of weeks. We’re trying to take advantage of the return of pleasant weather to get people living more active, healthier lives. Not for nothing, we’ve built a city that ranks 7th in the nation in walkability and 4th in bike commuting. We’ve got farmers’ markets running year round and urban agriculture initiatives designed to put more produce on your table. We’ve expanded rec programs for kids and adults, and built or upgraded parks and playgrounds all around the city. We’re doing everything we can to make Somerville a place where you can live a healthy, active life.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

6th–8th grade students were encouraged to form teams of three and come play basketball with other students in the district at the ESCS Gymnasium on Friday, March 18. There were many games and surprises at this night of fun and basketball.

(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)

To: The Somerville Police Department
Chief David Fallon
Deputy Chief Paul R. Trant
Officer Sean Sylvester

On February 29, my wife of 52 years lost her battle. For the past 15 years she fought and beat numerous illnesses. On that day she had nothing left to fight with.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

The 2016 Career & Technical Education (CTE) Vocational Fair took place at the Somerville High atrium on Saturday, March 19.
Guests were invited to stop by the Career & Technical Education center at SHS to learn more about the CTE programs available to all Somerville High School students.

By Charles Lane

Chief Fire Engineer Patrick Sullivan briefed the Board on the department’s needs for additional funding.

The City of Somerville Board of Aldermen considered and ultimately approved several funding measures brought forward at its latest regular meeting on March 10.

The first, a request by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, asked the Board to approve a grant of $50,000 from the MA Office of Public Safety for Fire Dept. staffing.

A special gathering took place at City Hall last Saturday celebrating Greek Independence Day and honoring George Dilboy, the first Greek American to receive a Medal of Honor during WWI.

By Blake Maddux

Petty Morals will be gracing the stage at Once Lounge and Ballroom on Friday, March 25. — Photo by Joshua Pickering

“The Rolling Stones are like our spirit animal,” says Lauren Recchia, aka LoWreck, drummer for the Salem, MA-based synth-punk band Petty Morals.

In addition to the musical influence of the Stones, this all-female sextet took its name from a 1967 Keith Richards quote.

By Josie Grove

Suspension of late night service is regarded as necessary by the MBTA.

The last late-night trains passed through Somerville’s lone subway station at Davis Square shortly after 2 a.m. on March 19. Train and bus service from midnight until 2 a.m. was a year-long pilot program introduced in March of 2014 and extended for another year in March 2015. The service’s cost outpaced its revenues. Although all MBTA service runs a deficit, this one was particularly large: revenues covered just 16.5% of the late-night service’s costs in 2014.