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2025 GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE CHAMPIONS:  Girls Cross Country and Boys Cross Country

From left: Mary Cassesso, Brendan Webb, Timely Johnson, and Reverend Jordan Harris host the Come to the Table Community Meal in Somerville, MA, Nov. 12, 2025. — Photo by Christopher Morris. Copyright 2025 Christopher Morris

 By C. Scott Morris

They didn’t miss a week.

When the Come to the Table Community Meal almost faltered last year, Connexion took it over, finding new ways to fund and enhance the East Somerville-based program.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By Chris Dwan

Somerville’s ballot question number three passed last week with 55% of the votes. It instructs the Mayor and City Council to “end all current city business and prohibit future city investments and contracts with companies as long as such companies engage in business that sustains Israel’s apartheid, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine.”

We here at The Times wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. As we approach holiday gift shopping, don’t forget to shop local to support local businesses. City offices will be closed on Thursday, November 27, and Friday, November 28, for Thanksgiving. Trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be delayed by one day. The Council on Aging will be closed on November 27 and Friday, November 28, in observance of Thanksgiving.

Barcode Journeys featured at Somerville Museum, Fall 2025.

A Somerville artist’s obsession with barcodes

If you are looking for a family outing everyone can enjoy this Thanksgiving weekend, don’t miss the final weeks of Barcode Journeys, a whimsical, contemplative, and easily accessible art exhibition, just around the corner at Somerville Museum (through December 6).

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By Evan James Fontana

Fifty-five percent of Somervillians who voted on November 4 voted ‘Yes’ on Question 3: “Shall the Mayor of Somerville and all Somerville elected leaders be instructed to end all current city business and prohibit future city investments and contracts with companies as long as such companies engage in business that sustains Israel’s apartheid, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine?”

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I never purchase store-bought cranberry sauce anymore because homemade is easy to make, and tastes so much better. The rosemary and orange essence complement the tartness of the cranberries perfectly. Feel free to substitute a cinnamon stick for the star anise.

Giving thanks for our blessings is normally an easy thing to do. We may often get caught up in the day-to-day trappings of scratching out a living, ducking misfortune, and seeking out an occasional highlight to add to our mental scrapbooks. Usually, though, we come around to feeling and expressing that special sense of appreciation and gratitude that comes in moments of quiet reflection just in time to validate ourselves as worthy recipients of such blessings.

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A H A N D P I C K E D P O E M

presented by Off the Shelf Correspondent Michael Todd Steffen

From AGNI 102, autumn 2025