Social Media and Community Engagement Specialist Meghann Ackerman presented interested attendees essential data regarding issues facing Ward 3 and its residents. — Photo by Douglas Yu

By Douglas Yu

As part of the community engagement process, the City of Somerville gave a quick review of the news and data of the city’s pressing issues, such as rodent control and Union Square development, at a recent Ward 3 ResiStat meeting.

By Jeremy F. van der Heiden

The Somerville Board of Aldermen gathered for a regular meeting this past Thursday, June 26, to discuss a variety of matters ranging from problems with speeding drivers in certain neighborhoods to the city’s divestment from the fossil fuel industry.

Look out for a new attractive, handicapped accessible entrance to the Somerville Museum this fall. The Massachusetts Cultural Facility Fund (MCFF) has awarded the Museum $40,000 toward a $200,000 renovation project to bring the building up to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Fireworks are this week, Thursday night, July 3. The city will celebrate its 10th Anniversary of Fireworks at Trum Field. Live entertainment for our Independence Day celebration will include performances by the Somerville Sunsetters, local Disco-Funk band Booty Vortex, the USO Metropolitan New York Performers, and the U.S. Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble beginning at 6 p.m., all leading up to a 30-minute fireworks display at approximately 9:15 p.m. In case of rain, the USO Metropolitan New York Performers and the U.S. Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble will perform at the East Somerville Community School at 7 p.m. on July 3. All other entertainment will be postponed until July 10. For the tenth anniversary celebration, community members are invited to send in any old photos or items from past celebrations (recent and distant past) to help us celebrate Somerville’s history. Send photos or information to Carlene Campbell-Hegarty at CCampbell@somervillema.gov, or call 617-625-6600 ext. 2615.

By Jim Clark

Police were called to the Target store on Somerville Ave. last week on reports of an alleged shoplifter being detained by the store’s loss prevention personnel.

Upon arrival, officers were told by the store’s staff that a man, Christopher Williams, 38, of  Medford, had been detained after reportedly attempting to leave the store without paying for merchandise that he had taken with him.

It isn’t exactly a beauty contest, but – all things being equal – how do we choose our next Chief of Police from among this group of highly qualified and capable individuals?

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Here are some headlines for Somerville Neighborhood News (SNN), your local online and TV news source. Who is behind all those “not art” signs? What’s up with Somerville’s recreational fields? Kids, growing food for the mobile farmers market truck, promises of local jobs on the Green Line Extension construction, and a look behind the World Cup frenzy. Watch the full newscast and the short news segments on Somerville Community Access TV Channel 3 Tuesdays at 7 pm, or on our website at www.somervilleneighborhoodnews.org. Have a story that should be investigated or covered? Want to get involved with SNN as a news anchor? Email us at news@scatvsomerville.org! Stay updated on local news and follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @SCATVSNN.

Poets Neil Callender and Nicole Terez Dutton with their baby in tow arrived at my quiet nook in the back of the Bloc 11 Café in Union Square for a chat about their lives and work as poets. Dutton relocated from Jamaica Plain in Boston, and Callender moved from the Republic of Cambridge, to live in Somerville together. Both find Union Square a fine place to set down roots as they are surrounded by creative types: editors, graphic artists and fellow poets. Dutton told me: “I love the diversity and sense of community Somerville has to offer.”

Poet Bob Clawson wrote the LYRICAL: “I hope the poem speaks for itself, the casualties being not only the son and the father, but also any semblance of military dignity that might have preceded our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, back when we used the draft to assemble fighting units rather than hiring mercenary killers.  That’s a heavy load for a little poem to carry, but most veterans I know get it and I, myself, still find it chilling when I read it.”

In honor of the Fourth of July, all city offices will be closed this Friday. Residents who normally have trash, recycling, and yard waste pickup on Friday will be on a one-day delay – put everything out on Saturday. There will be no street sweeping and parking meters will not be in effect on July 4.