Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

There’s a new Lechmere station for the Green Line, but a lot of us remember standing in that cave of a station waiting for a bus or a train. Maybe we were going to Lechmere Sales to buy a Walkman or cassette tape. Maybe you worked at Lechmere, as many of my Somerville friends have. I asked our readers to share the memories of the old Lechmere station.

On Monday, May 23, Somerville Police responded to 101 Highland Avenue for a report of a fight. When police arrived they were informed that two juvenile males were on the sidewalk after dismissal of nearby Somerville High School when they were approached by a group of other juveniles.

The owner of Sound Bites Café is currently under investigation by the city’s Wage Theft Advisory Committee for allegations of wage theft and employee intimidation. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Sound Bites Cafe, located in Ball Square, has been open for more than two decades. Two weeks ago, the Department of Labor sued Yasser Mirza, Sound Bites’ owner, over alleged stolen wages and death threats.

The scheduling of special events by groups such as Groundwork Somerville was one issue addressed by the Somerville Redevelopment Authority at its recent meeting.

By Maeve Lawler

On Wednesday evening, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) held a public meeting via remote participation to discuss upcoming events hosted by Groundwork Somerville, as well as development updates for Washington Street, Union Square, Boynton Yards, Assembly Square, and Winter Hill.

(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 State Senator Pat Jehlen

Many advocates and legislators have tried for almost 20 years to allow people without legal status to receive drivers’ licenses. This would allow an estimated 200,000 people in Massachusetts to drive to work, and drive their children – many of them US citizens – to their school or doctor without fearing detention or deportation.

Somerville’s Community Design Team recently gathered input from the public concerning future plans for Union Square. — Photo by Luda Tang

By Luda Tang

On Saturday, May 21, the Community Design Team held an event from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Union Square Plaza to gather feedback from residents on how to redesign the square’s public spaces.

This Memorial Day, the City of Somerville will host a ceremony of remembrance to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to our country. The ceremony will take place Monday, May 30, at Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery on Broadway between Alewife Brook Parkway and North Street. Speaking remarks will begin at 10:00 a.m. featuring Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, City Council President Matthew McLaughlin, Director of Veterans’ Services Ted Louis-Jacques, and several members of the local veterans community. Members of the general public are welcome to attend to remember Somerville’s fallen heroes and honor all who serve. The ceremony will be livestreamed on the CityTV Facebook page (facebook.com/SomervilleCityTV) and broadcast after the event on GovTV (RCN channels 13 or 613; Comcast channel 22) and on the city’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/SomervilleCityTV). For more information, please contact the Department of Veterans’ Services at 617-625-6600 ext. 4700 or veterans@somervillema.gov.

Eagle Feathers #254 – The Path to Newtowne

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

To us, it is venerably called Washington Street, in honor of George Washington, who was the leader of America’s Colonial Army and the nation’s first President. In colonial times, it was first called the Path from Charlestown to Watertown and later the Road to Newtowne. The original name for the city of Cambridge, the home of America’s first college, Harvard, was Newtowne.

It began as a way to memorialize the military casualties of the Civil War, and was originally termed Decoration Day.

Decorating the graves of the countless multitudes of fallen soldiers helped to console the grieving survivors of the debacle while uniting the once divided nation in a worthwhile common cause.

(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)

Good afternoon,

The recent MBTA Communities Law requires cities served by the T to zone for multifamily housing in about 50 acres around at least one transit stop. This policy addresses both our regional housing shortage and our global climate crisis, because people living in homes near transit have dramatically lower per-capita carbon emissions. Leaders in some communities have tried to reject the law or find ways to avoid actually creating any housing, and it’s encouraging to know that Somerville City Council isn’t trying to do that. However, we can and should do more than the bare minimum. As a city with multiple T stations, this law presents Somerville with an opportunity to take a leadership role on both climate and housing. Instead of applying the revised zoning to an area near one train station, we should apply it around every train station. And instead of the bare minimum 50 acre space, we should apply it evenly within a half mile of a train station, just as we do with our transit-oriented development parking rules. Our policy leadership can help encourage other cities to do the right thing as well, and truly begin to address the twin threats of housing scarcity and climate change.