This year’s Porchfest takes place on Saturday, May 11, at a neighborhood near you.

Somerville’s porches, yards, and stoops are once again set to host free mini-concerts across the city as part of the city’s annual Porchfest hosted by the Somerville Arts Council. This celebration of local, live, homegrown music offers something for everyone at drop-in home-based shows. Participants can simply stroll from house to house to enjoy the open-air entertainment.

By Dennis Fischman

Dennis Lehane is well known in the Boston area. A Dorchester native, he began his career with the well-written but more conventional mysteries featuring private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. Then, he reached beyond the genre, still holding onto the dark vision of his original series.

Delight in the best of Union Square, one of the most popular neighborhoods in Boston. The next Union Square Food Tour with Off the Beaten Path takes place  Saturday, May 11, 2024 from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m., 11 Bow St. Somerville.

Somerville Public Schools FY25 budget public hearing.

— Photos by Jeanine Farley

As part of May Preservation Month, the Somerville Museum and the City of Somerville hosted a “Jane’s Walk” to honor urban activist and writer, Jane Jacobs on Saturday, May 4, 2024. A worldwide event, this year’s Somerville walk consisted of a leisurely stroll through the “Duck Village” neighborhood of Somerville. The walk organized by David Guss, Tufts Anthropology Professor Emeritus and a Somerville Museum Trustee, Paula Garbarino, a local artisan, and Brandon Wilson, drew over 50 participants and 8 speakers at 10 different sites in order to explore the Evolution of Duck Village.

— Photos by John Lee

SomerNightStudios presented by Somernova and Also Does Stuff took place on Saturday, May 4. The event celebrated 25 years of Somerville Open Studios with performances from Esh Circus Arts and several local performers, community-based art vendors, roller skating, black light art, and much more.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

A relative of mine was killed on a bicycle last week. With more and more bikes on the road, I asked my Somerville friends what could be done to make biking safer. Comments are in quotes.

Students at Somerville High School had the opportunity to recreate donated Bruins hockey sticks into an Adirondack chair, toolbox and table using donated power tools from Bosch. The projects feature autographs from key players like Hampus Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman. This activation continued Bosch’s effort to champion the future generation of skilled trades workers.

Crime reports, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), motor vehicle crash, and traffic violation data will be updated continuously and enhance policing transparency

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Police Department (SPD) are making it easier for residents to access police data in Somerville. In collaboration with the city’s Department of Racial and Social Justice (RSJ) and the SomerStat Office of Innovation and Analytics, SPD is now publishing four updated or expanded police data sets to the City’s Open Data Portal. All data sets will now include new interactive data visualizations. These updates build on the administration’s goals to modernize policing in Somerville and expand transparency with the Somerville Police Department.