This article first appeared in the April 18, 2018 edition of The Somerville Times. This reprint is in recognition that it was 150 years ago this month that Boston was in ruins from the Great Boston Fire.

Eagle Feathers #268 –The Year Was 1872

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

The date was January 1, 1872, a time when Somerville would celebrate her incorporation from a thirty-year old sleepy town into a young city. One of her immediate priorities was public safety. Less than three months earlier, a fire destroyed the city of Chicago on October 8 and 9, 1871. It remained the worst fire in American history until the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. The Chicago fire killed over 250 people, burned over 200 acres and destroyed over 17,000 structures.

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.

Arrests:
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Kevin Shaughnessy, of The Villages, FL, November 16, 8:14 p.m., arrested at Revolution Dr. on warrant charges of disturbing the peace, assault and battery, resisting arrest, and threat to commit a crime.

Antonio Batista, November 19, 11:21 p.m., arrested at Canal St. on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

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By Off the Shelf Correspondent Rachel Ranie Taube

What does it mean to write from Somerville? To find out, I asked writers associated with our city three questions: How does living here influence your writing practice? What does it mean to write from this place? And what do other Somerville writers need to know?

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Shifra Freewoman is a poet, artist, music maker, writer and social justice activist of longstanding. Shifra, a modern day bard, makes music/poetry everywhere she goes to wake people up to the truth of who we are, to uplift and help bring justice, healing/ transformation. She facilitates a Zoom Open Mic/Sacred Salon, Transformation Station. She belongs to Havurat Shalom, and is deeply involved in interfaith worship/activism. Her focus is on connecting with Spirit to transform and repair ourselves/our world – Tikkun Olam. To embody love in action by standing up to what divides and hurts us for the Unity of the Hueman Race/All Creation.

“Somerville Towards Route 93” – Cynthia Maurice

The City of Somerville has been recognized by CDP as one of 122 cities and counties across the globe that is taking bold leadership on environmental action and transparency, despite the pressures of a challenging global economic situation.

City of Somerville, Somerville Public Schools, City Council, Somerville School Committee

By now, many of you have already heard reports from Colorado Springs, Colorado about a fatal shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub. The shooting is currently being investigated as a hate crime, and rightfully so.

Programs aim to help residents continue to recover from challenging COVID-19 impacts

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s administration is leveraging funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to expand city youth services and grow the city’s Office of Housing Stability (OHS). Both areas of focus are designed to address significant pandemic impacts to the community.

Join Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, the Somerville Department of Health and Human Services, and the Somerville High School Gender and Sexuality Awareness Alliance (GSAA) on Tuesday, November 22, at 3:00 p.m. for a Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony and flag raising in honor of those who have lost their lives to violence. 

City Search for Permanent Somerville Teen Center Prioritizing Feedback from Local Teenagers via Design, Engineering and Innovation Lab (DEILab) students 

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville are pleased to share new teen spaces and updates on the search for a permanent Somerville teen center, building on a successful opening of temporary teen spaces during Summer 2022.