Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

When I was young, we didn’t have cell phones or laptops but we sure loved our transistor radios! We took ours to bed and listened every night.

One of my prized possessions as a pre-teen was my little transistor radio. I still remember the smell of the plastic and connecting the earphone for the first time. In 1965 I was 12 years old. My sister was a year older and we both got transistor radios for Christmas. Transistor radios were sold at Radio Shack, Lechmere Sales, Woolworth’s and Grants. You could probably get a slightly burnt and scorched one from Bargain Center.

Denise Cosby, former realtor with Somerville’s The Norton Group and current Realtor with The Messina Realty Collective and her colleague Fay Rackley, is launching a project named The Just-in-Time Initiative on zoom for parents and families of victims of murder. In addition to Denise being a realtor, she is a writer and a parent of a murdered child.

17 Bond St. arrival conditions. — All photos courtesy of Somerville FD

The Somerville Fire Department has battled two serious three alarm fires within the past week. Both of these fires have been determined to be accidental, the result of smoking. The first fire, on Friday, June 18, was reported just after 3:00 p.m. at 93 Temple Street. Arriving firefighters encountered heavy fire in the rear of the third floor. The building was an occupied three story dwelling containing three apartments. The fire spread into the third floor apartment and into the attic space eventually burning through the roof.

The building suffered heavy damage due to fire, smoke and water and all nine adult occupants have been displaced. Somerville Health and Human Services responded along with the Red Cross. Seven firefighters suffered minor injuries. The fire claimed the lives of two pet cats, a rabbit and a bird. Firefighters responded back to the building the following day to extinguish a smoldering area that was burning between several layers of roof. That fire was quickly extinguished.

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By Joe Creason

The Land Use Committee and the Planning Board held a joint public hearing on June 17 to hear the perspective of residents on several zoning ordinance amendments.

The public hearing began with a conversation regarding a petition requesting an amendment to the zoning ordinance in the Boynton Yards sub-overlay district submitted by 13 registered voters living in a condominium building at 80 Webster which abuts the Boynton Yards project.

(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 Benjamin Echevarria

Systemic racism comes in many forms.  While it is often hard to detect, the signs of systemic racism can be found in the way organizations use their rules to favor their white benefactors at the expense of black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC). While conservative organizations such as the police, the Republican Party or Fortune 500 companies are often cited as examples of institutions that perpetuate systemic racism, such systems cannot exist without complicity from liberal and even leftist organizations.

— Photos by Bella Levavi

By Bella Levavi

Somerville Eviction Response Network led a protest in Davis Square Tuesday, June 15, in response to the expiration of the eviction moratorium due to occur nationally June 30.

The City of Somerville will host its annual Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration at Trum Field on Wednesday, June 30 (rain date July 1). Live entertainment at Trum Field will begin at 6:30 p.m. with DJ Brother Cleve playing pop, soul, funk, and other classic tunes followed by Booty Vortex taking the stage at 8:00 p.m. Fireworks will begin at approximately 9:15 p.m. While fireworks attendees are not required to wear masks, anyone who is not fully vaccinated is advised to wear one whenever they are in a crowd. To ensure public safety and pedestrian access to events, traffic and parking restrictions will be in place. For more information, please call 311 (or 617-666-3311), or visit www.somervillema.gov.

The Somerville Board of Health has voted to extend the eviction moratorium through September 15 of this year.

By Rachael Hines

In a virtual meeting at on June 17, the Board of Health (BOH) voted to extend the end date of the eviction moratorium to September 15, 2021.

“We’re still in a state of emergency in Somerville, though the state of emergency in Massachusetts has been rescinded,” said Board member Robert Ciccia. “What’s on the table is a sensible next step given the transition that the entire Commonwealth is in.”

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It’s nice to finally be able to get back to some favorite destinations in Portland since things are starting to get back to normal from the past 15 months.

One of my guilty pleasures is the lobster roll at The Highroller Lobster Company, (https://highrollerlobster.com/about/). Served on a griddled brioche roll, and I highly recommend you get the lobster meat dipped in clarified butter, and topped with the lime aioli. The flavor combination enhances the moist, sweet lobster meat. I’m sure you will order a second one, seriously.

What is more delicious to the young mind than that savory and unrivaled treat, summer vacation? A well-deserved reward for all the hard work and irreplaceable time invested in the previous school year.

As adults, we can look back fondly on those golden days with a warm sense of nostalgia and a longing to return to the carefree days that linger now only in our memories. And yet, we can live those times again vicariously as we engage with the present younger generation who will be making its own special memories.