On Sunday, May 12, 2024, at approximately 2:58 a.m. Somerville Police responded to Memorial Rd. for reports of shots fired. Officers located a victim suffering from two non-fatal gunshot wounds who was then transported to the hospital. Ten spent shell casings were recovered from the scene. A residence, an administration building, and a vehicle all sustained ballistic damage from stray bullets but there were no other injuries.

This is an active police investigation and anyone who has information is asked to contact the Somerville Police Department at 617-625-1600 ext.7236 or 617-308-0730.

Somerville’s porches, yards, and stoops once again presented free mini-concerts across the city last Saturday as part of the city’s annual Porchfest, hosted by the Somerville Arts Council. This celebration of local, live, homegrown music offered something for everyone at drop-in home-based shows. Participants simply strolled from house to house to enjoy the open-air entertainment. More than 300 bands participated across wide-ranging musical genres from youth playing classical music to electronica groups, karaoke, and – a first this year – stand-up comedy.

At Somerville’s Porchfest this weekend, Sara Adkins performed a Live Coding music set, during which she wrote computer code that created music in real-time.

— Photos courtesy of Cynthia Frawley and ConserveART LLC

Throughout the month of May, the Somerville Museum will partner with the City of Somerville and members of the community to host events honoring Somerville’s history. All events are open to the public, ADA accessible, and free to all. We hope you’ll join us for some exciting special events this month! Location details and sign-up links will be posted in advance of each event at somervillemuseum.org/preservation-month.

The City of Somerville is working with consulting firm Raftelis in hopes of finding viable options for lowering water and sewer bills for lower-income residents.

By Parker Garlough

The Somerville City Council’s initial proposal for assisting residents with water bills is prohibited by an obscure Massachusetts state law, local government and utility management consulting firm Raftelis’ Vice President Dave Fox said at last Thursday’s City Council meeting. Raftelis recommended other solutions, and will continue to research their feasibility.

The refiling of Somernova’s zoning application comes after extensive review of community feedback and suggestions. — Photo courtesy of Somernova

Somernova has officially re-filed its zoning application with a revised Community Master Plan. The Somernova community blog page provided an overview of the major changes in the zoning:

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Somerville Chief of Police Charles Femino have confirmed the ongoing investigation into the death of an Everett woman and the hospitalization of a Somerville woman.

David Ortiz, also known as Big Papi, is making an appearance at Revolutionary Clinics in Somerville today to promote his premium cannabis brand, “Papi Cannabis.” Revolutionary Clinics is a vertically-integrated operator with a flagship medical and recreational dispensary located at 67 Broadway Street in Somerville. Big Papi will be greeting customers at the store from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15. The event is open to customers 21+ (and medical patients 18+ with a valid Massachusetts medical marijuana card). For more information, please visit www.revclinics.org.

At Somerville City Hall tonight, left to right, Councilor At Large Willie Burnley, Jr, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Eastern Region Political Coordinator Gerald P. Leary III, Teamsters Local 25 member Paul Weiskell of Somerville, Ward 4 City Councilor Jesse Clingan, and Ward 3 City Councilor (President) Ben Ewen-Campen.

Teamsters Local 25 praised the Somerville City Council today for its unanimous vote to pass a resolution aimed at stopping Uber, Lyft, Doordash and other so-called ‘gig’ companies from abusing drivers by misclassifying them as independent contractors.