The Center Arts at the Armory is proud to present the acclaimed Sweet Honey in the Rock on March 25, 7:00 p.m., at the historic and intimate Armory Performance Hall as part of their signature Spotlight Series. And they have just announced that Boston Children’s Chorus will be opening the show.

Workshop to cover budget basics and budget process, followed by Q&A, and an opportunity for residents to share budget priorities 

The City of Somerville is hosting an informational workshop about the city’s annual budget process. All are invited to learn about what the budget is, how it’s created, and how residents can keep up-to-date with the process. After a presentation by the city’s budget team, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and share their priorities for the fiscal year 2024 budget. 

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

This article was first published in the March 11, 2020 edition of The Somerville Times.

St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s not just the boiled dinners and everyone wearing something green, it’s more. It’s the classic historic songs, the parades, and the general happy atmosphere that the day brings.

The Somerville City Council is responding to calls to establish rent control measures by introducing a Home Rule petition on the matter.

By Emilia Wisniewski

Rent stabilization, affordable housing funds and this year’s Capital Investment Plan were among the many agenda items in the weekly City Council meeting on March 9.

The meeting, lasting nearly four hours, began by introducing a Home Rule petition to establish rent control to combat the rising rent costs across the city.

(L to R) Somerville authors Kevin M. McIntosh, Denise Provost, Lloyd Schwartz, Lesley Bannatyne and Dave Ortega. — Photos by Mina Rose Morales

By Mina Rose Morales

Somerville writers met at the public library on Saturday, March 11 to discuss the inspiration for their work.

The afternoon began with Dave Ortega. He is a cartoonist from El Paso, Texas who relocated to Massachusetts when he found a job in graphic design at Harvard Square. He read an excerpt from his graphic novel Días de Consuelo. Ortega’s graphic novel was inspired by his grandmother who grew up during the Mexican Revolution.

By Morgan Gaffney

The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind’s virtual town hall meeting on Friday marked a stride to further accessibility for those living with disabilities in the Boston area and beyond. The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB), in collaboration with Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), discussed the services provided by MCB’s Orientation and Mobility Team, as well as MBTA’s Mobility Center, first opened in July 2022.

CAAS’s monthly Somerville Renters Meeting will be tonight, Wednesday, March 15, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Zoom. Extra SNAP has ended, but everyone should be able to have the food they need. Join them this month to learn about food resources in Somerville. Please register at this link: http://bit.ly/Somerville-Renters.

CultureHouse and East Somerville Main Streets has announced he development of CultureHouse East Somerville, a month-long pop-up community public space hosted in a vacant East Somerville storefront. The project, opening in May, is designed to reconnect the community of East Somerville in the wake of the continued impacts of the pandemic by creating an inclusive, shared public space that boosts the commercial vibrancy of the area. Through the community input phase starting today, community members will have the opportunity to join these efforts and help shape the future of their neighborhood.

After three years of serving as a Chair for the Somerville Democratic City Committee, Anika Van Eaton has stepped down from her position. Van Eaton writes, “Somerville Democrats, thank you for the last three years of partnership. I appreciated working on campaigns with committee volunteers, seeing folks at virtual and in-person social events, and caucusing with you. I am stepping down from my position as Chair and will work with the Chair Pro-Tem to ensure a smooth transition. As first Vice Chair, Jim Vetter is now serving as Chair Pro-Tem. At the next SDCC citywide meeting, which will be held on Monday, March 27 at 7:00 p.m., an election will be held for SDCC Chair. We will also hear updates about SDCC-endorsed priorities from last year and learn about this current legislative session. Please visit www.somdems.org for more information.”

It’s a tradition that most of us have a lot of fun with. Whether one is of Irish lineage or not, St. Patrick’s Day stands for a recognition of Irish and Irish-American culture, and in many ways its resulting fusion.