Pages
Stay In Touch
More
© 2026 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
Somerville Schools: There will be school and all afterschool, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities tomorrow, Monday May 3 and at this time, school and activities are scheduled to be held throughout the water emergency situation. Students and staff should bring safe drinks to school each day, if possible, until the water emergency is lifted by the Public Health Department. Safe packaged beverages (juice and water) will be available in schools. However, quantities may be limited. The Food Service Department will be serving breakfast, lunch and snacks. The menu and beverages will be limited by the availability of safe water and beverages. |
|||
By Cathleen Twardzik A Somerville High School junior is on her way to China in June after winning an international essay contest. Frozan Omar was one of 20 winners from over 700 applicants for the scholarship. For 10 days, she will go on a free educational tour of China. Ten high school sophomores and juniors were selected from the United States and ten from India. In response to the scholarship's prompt, "How could spending 14,000 minutes of your life on a tour to China equip you with superior communication, leadership and critical thinking skills? What future opportunities could become available to you, as a result?," Omar, who originally hails from Afghanistan, elaborated on how her experience of living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States has forced her to concentrate on her communication, critical thinking and leadership skills. |
||||
Continue reading »
Urgent information about a water ban affecting the Somerville Community. The MWRA reports that there is a leak on a major water pipe in Weston that has disrupted water service to all of its customer communities east of Weston. The MWRA has issued a boil water order and water ban on all non-essential water use until further notice. All water used for drinking or preparing food should be boiled for approximately 2 minutes, and then cooled before consuming. It is also requested that all other non-essential water use be discontinued until further notice. For more information, please visit www.mwra.com, or www.mass.gov, where other emergency contact information is also available. Updates will be posted regularly on those sites. For more information, please view the MassDEP Drinking Water Program Fact Sheet. |
|||
By William Tauro The The movement has been prompted in opposition of Arizona's new immigration policies that have captured national attention. Executive From more information on Centro Presente you can visit their website: www.cpresente.org |
||||||
| William C. Shelton
(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.) On April 7, this newspaper published an op-ed by the Somerville Fire Department's Chief Engineer, Kevin Kelleher. He was responding to my column of the previous week that questioned the city's use of a reserve fire force. |
|
Continue reading »
By Julia Fairclough Somerville Open Studios is not just about art, it's also a good opportunity to check out some local bands and contribute to unique "outsider" art created by those with emotional and physical disabilities. The "It's a Gift" store in Union Square will be holding a fund raising concert from 1 to 8 p.m. on both May 1 and May 2 of open studios weekend. Local bands will play acoustic music, and people can have their shirts silk screened for a fee of $10, with an image of their choice, whether it be their favorite band's logo or image of outsider art. There will be a rack of clothing on hand for those who don't bring in a shirt to be silk screened. There will be a $5 entry fee. "It's a Gift" is an art gallery that has been run by the Walnut Street Center for the past few years. Most recently, the gallery partnered with Outside the Lines in Medford to become "Creative Union." The Walnut Street Center serves the developmentally delayed community by offering numerous support services, including those centered on creating art, which is shown and sold at the It's a Gift store. Outside the Lines is an arts-based alternative day program, collectively run by artists and for those with developmental and physical disabilities. One of the most awe-inspiring aspects of the fund raiser is the response from the Somerville music community, said Allison Stroh, an art therapist and art promotion chairperson for Outside the Lines. A friend of Stroh's put out a call for musicians for the fundraiser in her online magazine, The Deli, and within a week over 20 bands expressed interest in donating their talent and time for our cause, Stroh said. |
|||||||
Continue reading »
Continue reading »
By William Tauro The Middlesex County Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse located at 40 Thorndike St. in East Cambridge is up for sale. Built in 1971 the building is outdated and in desperate need of costly repairs that involve a major undertaking of asbestos removal as well other well needed costly repairs and updates throughout the building. It has been almost two years since the Middlesex Superior Court was forced to relocate from the ill building to it's new temporary home at Cummings Properties in Woburn as well as for the Cambridge District Court that also occupied the high rise, was forced to relocate it's court rooms to Medford. |
||||
Continue reading »
| By George P. Hassett
A Malden man and a Somerville woman were arrested Thursday, April 22 in East Somerville in a stolen car with cocaine, police said. Briana Barnoski, 20, of 30 River Rd., and Barry Jean-Baptiste, 23, of Malden, were arrested and charged with drug violation near a school or park, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, conspiracy to violate a drug law and possession to distribute a class B drug after drug unit detectives saw them meet a person known to investigators, police said. |
|
Continue reading »
Lauren C. Ostberg Whether it comes in the form of The Somerville Theater's window dressing, a "think global, act local" bumper sticker, or Whole Foods' latest sales' pitch, the term "local" has currency. Somerville Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz and Joe Grafton, Executive Director of Somerville Local First along with Cambridge Naturals proprietor Michael Kanter, were featured panelists at MIT's Sustainability Conference on Friday. During a breakout session, they discussed the "pro-local" culture of Cambridge and Somerville and answered audience questions about the movement. |
||||
Continue reading »
Reader Comments