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Patricia Harris met me at my usual spot at the Bloc11 Cafe in Union Square, Somerville, to talk about her latest book New England’s Notable Women: The Stories and Sites of Trailblazers and Achievers.

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Jake Tringali is a Boston poet and performance artist with nine years of experience. He focuses on the edges of society, and the intersection of technology and human endeavors. He is a certified Artist in the City of Boston.

Arrests:
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Frandy Ramirez-Rodriguez, October 16, 5:02 a.m., arrested on charges of resisting arrest, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, and disorderly conduct.

The Somerville Job Creation and Retention Trust (JCRT) Board is hosting its annual public forum on Tuesday, October 25, and launching a survey to understand community priorities for JCRT funds.

The Ward 6 City Hall Community Meeting has been postponed to Thursday, November 3rd at Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31 College Avenue.

The meeting will still be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. In-person and online interpretation is available by request.

To request interpretation, please call 311. For more information and to join online via Zoom, visit somervillema.gov/communitymeetings.

SCES staffers found lots of ways to walk for falls prevention awareness in September. Ellen Provencher (left) while apple picking, Jennifer Velasquez (center) while hiking with dog, and Nina Cohen while walking her children to school. Overall, Team SCES contributed more than 1.8 million steps during Falls Prevention Awareness Month.

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) staff and supporters dedicated more than 1.8 million steps toward falls prevention awareness in the month of September.

The 1,833,169 steps were part of a statewide challenge from the Executive Office of Elder Affairs to dedicate 45 million steps toward the cause during Falls Prevention Awareness Month.

Vigil Scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, at 6:00 p.m.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, the Somerville Commission for Women, and RESPOND, Inc. are honored to invite residents to join them for the annual Domestic Violence Vigil on Wednesday, October 26, to remember those who lost their lives to domestic violence in 2022.

(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 Parma Chai
Manager/Business Owner of OOTB Gallery at the Armory

The Arts at the Armory building and its current tenants have been in flux and worried about their futures. Since the Eminent Domain seizure by the City of Somerville, current tenants of the Armory lack clarity for their futures, have not been provided with meaningful rehousing monies or resources for future places of operation, and have been constantly poked and prodded by the City Management to work with rehousing consultants. We are currently being put through an “arts consultant” research firm from NY working alongside the Somerville Arts Council and the Somerville Economic Development department to determine who gets to stay and who does not. The Somerville Arts Council management has so far not met with the current tenants communally, including not being present at our first introduction to the Arts Consultants. This is happening while the Eminent Domain Seizure was made possible by the division of Economic Development and the Arts Council under the leadership of the former Mayor Curtatone and now the current Mayor Katjana Ballantyne.