By William C. Shelton

(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)

State transportation officials are extorting $50 million from Somerville to help fill a cavernous budget deficit created by their own mismanagement of the Green Line Extension. It’s a shakedown that is unprecedented in Massachusetts.

By Daniel Sullivan

Last Saturday night, May 7, the Boston Renegades trounced the Cleveland Fusion 47-18 at Dilboy Stadium. The Boston Renegades are a full contact semi-professional women’s football team and are part of the Women’s Football Alliance, an eight team league that features teams as far south as Washington D. C. and as far west as Chicago.

On Thursday, May 12 at 7-9 p.m. at the Somerville Visiting Nurses Association assisted living facility, parents, educators, students and community leaders from Somerville will discuss the potential impact on Somerville of the proposed ballot question that would lift the existing cap on the number of charter schools in Massachusetts and drain millions more in taxpayer money from Massachusetts’s public schools every year.

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)

Your general practitioner knows your body better than any other doctor, but she’ll refer you to a specialist when conditions call for it. That’s what we have in mind with our plan to shift the upkeep of Somerville’s athletic fields to specially trained city employees who will focus solely on the care of our natural grass playing fields.

Join Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, city staff, and project engineers to get your questions answered about Beacon St. reconstruction at off-site office hours this Thursday, May 12. Stop by the Beacon St. Whole Foods Market, 45 Beacon St.,  from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and stay tuned for future off-site office hours.

If you live in West Somerville, join us Wednesday night for the spring Ward 7 ResiStat meeting. You’ll have a chance to learn more about what’s going on in Somerville, share your feedback, and chat with elected officials, city employees, and your neighbors.

By Louise Carpenter

— Photos by Bobbie Toner

M.O.M.’s Run 2016 took place on Mother’s Day, this past Sunday. The traditional Kids 0.1 Mile took off at 9:30 a.m., with the Walkers 5K following at 9:45 a.m., and the Runners 5K heading out at 10:00 a.m.

A fired-up group area residents attended the MassDOT board/FMCB meeting on Monday, with many arguing in favor of seeing the GLX project through to completion. — Photo courtesy of the MBTA

By Josie Grove

For the first time in months, Green Line Extension supporters have reason to hope. At a packed meeting on Monday afternoon, the MassDOT board of directors and the MBTA fiscal management and control board voted to provisionally allow the embattled project to move forward.

The SHS Building Committee is hard at work analyzing the essential needs and requirements for an improved high school for the city. — Photo by Sal Ghamo

By Sal Ghamo

The SHS Building Committee gathered on Monday, May 9 to discuss the next steps in the renovation or rebuilding process. Tony Pierantozzi, Former Superintendent of Schools in Somerville and Chairman of the SHS Building Committee, recently gave a tour concerning a variety of physical issues currently afflicting the Somerville High School building. The May 9 meeting recapped some of these problems and the tour did a good job explaining why a metamorphosis for the SHS building is crucial.

The Posies are strictly hush-hush regarding the exact whereabouts of their Somerville appearance, but their new album “Solid States” will be widely available on May 20. — Photo by Dot Pierson

By Jim Clark

Esteemed alt-pop combo The Posies are currently engaged in a “secret” U.S. tour of unconventional spaces in support of the impending release of their new album Solid States, due to drop on May 20. They will be stopping off in Somerville on Friday, May 13 for a sold out show at a yet-to-be-disclosed location.