Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

It’s easy to complain about all the changes Somerville is going through but we have to keep one thing in mind and that is our pride for our city shines through. I’ve always been proud to be from Somerville as most of my friends are also. Folks my age go to grow up in the best city anywhere. We experienced the “old” Somerville and got to see all the exciting changes.

The city’s Legislative Matters Committee is considering changes to the Code of Ordinances to ensure the rights of alternative family structures.

By Jim Clark

On February 14, the Somerville City Council’s Legislative Matters Committee convened for their regularly scheduled meeting. Committee Chairperson Ward 6 Councilor Lance L. Davis, Vice Chair Councilor At-Large Charlotte Kelly, Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott, Ward 1 Councilor Matthew McLaughlin and At-Large Councilor Willie Burnley Jr. were all present virtually for the meeting.

By Ryan DiLello

The Somerville Land Use Committee voted unanimously to enable Councilors At-Large, or abutting councilors, to fill in at neighborhood meetings in the event that the ward’s official councilor is unable to attend.

The City of Somerville’s Inclusionary Housing Program and Winter Hill Bank invite the Somerville community to join a First-Time Home Buyer Seminar on Wednesday, February 22, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Register online at winterhillbank.com/lending/homebuyer-seminar to attend. Depending on interest, the seminar will be held at either the Winter Hill Loan Center Conference Room (345 Broadway) or The Somerville Public Library auditorium (79 Highland Avenue). Registered attendees will receive a location confirmation via email prior to the event. While space is limited, everyone who pre-registers is welcome. Translation services are available upon request. For more information on the Inclusionary Housing Program, please visit somervillema.gov/inclusionaryhousing.

The Somerville Council on Aging held their Valentine’s Day Luncheon on Thursday, February  16 at the George Dilboy Post. It was an afternoon of music, dancing, a special meal, along with a visit from Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and City Councilor At-Large Kristen Strezo. ~Photos by Claudia Ferro

Eagle Feathers #273 –Father of Our Country

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Two hundred and forty-six years is a long time to honor any person’s memory, and yet Americans of all generations have done so. We have lauded this man for the heroic deeds he achieved in a time when no other person could have accomplished them. This remarkable person was General George Washington.

If there is one invaluable resource that all city residents can appreciate and be proud of, it is the Somerville Parks and Recreation Department.

They operate year-round programs throughout the city’s public facilities, playgrounds, schoolyards, and various other locations to promote positive and healthy activities for all members of the Somerville Community, in our particular our kids.

Arrests:

Michael Gwiazda, February 13, 10:06 p.m., arrested at Everett Ave. on warrant charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on ambulance personnel, and assault and battery on a police officer.

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Review by Off the Shelf correspondent Karen Klein

Reading Stephen Honig’s fifth book of poems, Burn-Out, this reader is struck by the author’s voice. He is conversational, addressing the reader directly, telling us if we seek certainty, don’t read his poems in Section 1 About Myself which he admits is “much confused.” He is an astute observer of self and the ordinary dilemmas of being an aging human, caught in our historic period and this United States. Sometimes laconic, dismissive, wry, he always questions without getting or giving answers, but sometimes good advice. One such is “be careful when you choose to clean your closets basements/attics back rooms … you are asking for a dialogue with time. “

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Thomas DeFreitas was born in 1969 in Boston. He was educated at the Boston Latin School, and attended the University of Massachusetts (Boston and Amherst) for two years. His poems have appeared in Dappled Things, Ibbetson Street, Pensive, Plainsongs, and elsewhere. Thomas’s first chapbook, Winter in Halifax, was published in 2021 by Kelsay Books. A resident of Arlington for the last twelve years, Thomas is a member of the Academy of American Poets, the New England Poetry Club, and Arlington’s Bee Hive Poets.