LEGO® Brick’s 67th Birthday and LEGO Discovery Center Boston is celebrating by launching a brand-new event called LEGO Creativity Academy  through March 3.

During LEGO Creativity Academy, guests will stretch their imaginations and LEGO building potential with one-of-a-kind LEGO activities during this limited-time event. Master Model Builders Sean and Kaleb will teach builders how to make the seemingly impossible, possible, while learning the art of creating a perfect LEGO circle. Plus, experience unique build challenges, Master Model Builder talks, giant LEGO mosaic builds and more at LEGO Discovery Center Boston, operated by Merlin Entertainments.

Can discrimination exist in an America where everyone is Black?

That’s among the questions posted by ‘The Flying Ace’ (1926), a rare surviving example of movies produced early in the 20th century for Black audiences in segregated cinemas.

The Flying Ace, named to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2021, will be screened in honor of Black History Month on Sunday, February 2, at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

— Photos by Jeffrey Shwom

By Jeffrey Shwom

The clangs, thumps, sounds of falling pins and cheers filled the brightly lit candlepin bowling alley Sunday morning, January 19. There were multiple multi-generational groups of families and friends enjoying a long weekend activity (and at least one birthday party).

The City will now prioritize the sale of the property for private development, focusing on mixed-use residential development with ground floor retail space–including both affordable and market rate units–that aligns with the community vision outlined by the 90 Washington Street Civic Advisory Committee. Staff will also explore the possibility of integrating Engine 3 into private development, an approach that faces hurdles but could follow the private-public model used to build Somerville’s new Assembly Row Fire Station, which is expected to open this spring.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

In the 60’s and 70’s a lot of Somerville kids were starting rock groups. Many were self-taught but others took lessons. The city was cultivating a fine array of talented musicians.

In 1968 I started taking guitar lessons like a lot of kids around that age. We found a guitar teacher named Mr. Cuneo in Bow St. in Medford. He was a pipe smoker. The whole house smelled like pipe smoke. Mrs. Cuneo gave piano lessons in another room.

Somerville city leaders are taking steps to both inform and protect vulnerable resident populations and let them know that they stand with them.

By Harry Kane

Many residents in Somerville expressed concerns regarding President Donald Trump’s order to target undocumented immigrants, and while federal authorities are cracking down on high-risk individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety in sanctuary cities, the new policy raises the specter of persistent raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who have been tasked with implementing the presidential mass deportation directive amid a slew of executive orders.

The “Care to the People” mural at CHA.

By Jeffrey Shwom

The Times caught up with Iaritza Menjivar, Events Manager with Somerville Art Council (SAC), to discuss two upcoming street art and outdoor public art projects they are planning for spring and summer 2025.

After months of intensive work to identify ways to improve affordability for residents, small businesses, nonprofits, and artists in Somerville, the city’s Anti-Displacement Task Force (ADTF) is ready to share their recommendations with the community. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) invite all to join an online community meeting presenting ADTF reports on Thursday, January 30, at 7 p.m., as well as to an in-person event this spring. For the link to the online meeting, online access to the reports, or to visit the ADTF SomerVoice web page, please visit www.voice.somervillema.gov/adtf.

Community invited to review and share their questions for task force members and city staff ahead of public discussion of report findings on Tuesday, February 4

Three critical task force reports addressing community safety, police oversight, and anti-violence strategies in Somerville are now available for public review. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the city’s Office of Racial and Social Justice (RSJ) invite the community to both share their questions in advance online and to join a public discussion on February 4. 

By Erica Voolich

Many teachers have great ideas on how to make their classrooms a better place for their students to learn math. The teachers’ ideas frequently outrun the budget schools have for supplies and their own ability to subsidize their classroom. The Somerville Mathematics Fund tries to fill this need through the generosity of their donors with grants up to $500.