Streetwise Talk next meeting will be held January 18, at 6:00 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St. Come hear Joe Barr, former Director of Transportation for Cambridge, talk about his 7 years working to create safe streets in Cambridge. Attend in person at Aeronaut or Zoom in (visit bit.ly/3ORnXHn)

— Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Ryan DiLello

On Thursday, January 12, members of the Somerville Traffic Commission convened to vote on several proposed motions for the month. The commission approved the installation of three accessible parking spaces and two fire lines, but spent the majority of its time on a motion that would extend parking restrictions along Highland Avenue, School Street, and Walnut Street during the school drop-off hours of 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. 

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Skordalia is a Greek puree/dip typically comprised of garlic, potatoes, soaked bread, and in some recipes, soaked nuts, usually walnuts, cashews, or almonds. It usually accompanies fried vegetables, like eggplant and zucchini. As a dip on a meze platter, it goes great with beets, crackers, and pita. It can be served hot or at room temperature.

The City of Somerville has passed a new ordinance that expands bereavement leave for city employees to include up to five days of paid recovery following a miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. Passage of the ordinance was led by City Council Vice President Judy Pineda Neufeld. It was approved by a unanimous vote of the Council on October 25, 2022 and signed into law by Mayor Katjana Ballantyne on October 27. 

As we get into the snowy months of winter it’s good for all of us to make sure we understand what the odd-even rules are and where we stand this season. Here is a reminder of what the city’s snow parking rules and guidelines are for the 22/23 winter season:

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You might know JJ Gonson. You may have seen her ubiquitous photograph of Kurt Cobain floating around in the ether on the Internet. You may have attended her music venue the ONCE Lounge and Ballroom, or you might have sampled some of her food from her catering company. In any case, I became more familiar with the punk/rock/grunge scene after talking with her at my favorite haunt, the Bloc 11 Café, where she has an exhibit of her work.

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Chad Parenteau hosts Boston’s long-running Stone Soup Poetry series. His latest collection is The Collapsed Bookshelf. His poetry has appeared in journals such as Résonancee, Molecule, Ibbetson Street, Pocket Lint, Cape Cod Poetry Review, Tell-Tale Inklings, Off The Coast, The Skinny Poetry Journal, The New Verse News, The Rye Whiskey Review, Nixes Mate Review and anthologies such as French Connections and Sounds of Wind: New American Lyrics, where his work was translated into Albanian. He serves as Associate Editor of the online journal Oddball Magazine.

Arrests:
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 Joseph Balistreri, January 13, 10:28 a.m., arrested at Kensington Ave. on a warrant charge of destruction of property over $1,200.

Edwin Canales, January 14, 10:24 a.m., arrested at Fellsway West on a warrant charge of receiving stolen property over $1,200.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville Housing Division are pleased to announce two affordable homeownership opportunities to income-eligible, first-time homebuyers through the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program: one 3-bedroom unit at 411 Norfolk St. and one 1-bedroom unit at 432 Norfolk St. Both condos will be offered to households earning between 81% and 110% of the area median income (AMI).