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Bob “Monty”  Doherty is a local historian. You can find his Historical Fact of the Week column in The Somerville Times. He has written over 200 of the columns to date. Doherty joined the Somerville Fire Department in 1974, before retiring in 2012 he  was one of the city’s Fire Inspectors. While on that job he would try to learn as many historical facts as he could about the house he was inspecting. You can see him at a table of many local events willing to talk about the history of Somerville.

Open Positions: Four;Term: Three years

The Somerville Commission for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) seeks four new members, and Somerville residents are encouraged to apply. Three of the openings must be filled by people who identify as having a disability, and one must be filled by a Somerville resident who is a family member of a person with a disability.

The next-gen LEGO® Discovery Center will open in early 2023 

Opening in spring 2023, LEGO® Discovery Center Boston will give families in Boston and across the northeast the opportunity to experience the next generation LEGO Discovery Center following a $12 million-dollar renovation. This will be the world’s first renovation of a LEGOLAND® Discovery Center to a LEGO Discovery Center along with a sister attraction in LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta.

The Somerville Health Foundation, administered by Cambridge Health Alliance, serves to promote and support educational, research and outreach programs that improve primary care and preventive health services for residents of Somerville. The Foundation is soliciting proposals from 501(c)3 organizations for projects that will support the provision of primary care and preventive health services accessible to the residents of Somerville.

HONK! 2022. The dates for this year’s music festival of activist street bands, October 7-9, are cast in stone. The bird’s-eye view of plans for this year’s HONK! is in place. The fine-tuning has begun in earnest, with a more complete schedule of in-person free outdoor events available soon after Labor Day weekend.

(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

First, an update: I’m happy to say that the. governor signed the Act Expanding Protections for Reproductive and Gender-affirming Care, that I wrote about in an earlier newsletter.   

As you probably know, the legislature finally adjourned formal sessions at about 10 am Monday, after an all-night session.  In the last few days, we passed many important bills.  The governor can still decide to sign, veto, or send them back with amendments.  It’s too late to override a veto, or to deal with an amendment unless there is unanimous support.

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Shuttle bus diversion will help facilitate the opening of the Green Line Extension’s Medford Branch

The MBTA announced that the Medford Branch of the Green Line Extension (GLX) is anticipated to open in late November 2022. In order help facilitate the opening of the Medford Branch and to allow crews to perform final-phase construction work, temporary shuttle buses will replace all Green Line service between Government Center and Union Square stations in both directions beginning Monday, August 22, through Sunday, September 18. This diversion in service is also necessary to allow for continued work at the private Government Center Garage project. Regular Green Line trolley service will resume at these stops on Monday, September 19.

The Massachusetts State Primary election is Tuesday, September 6. This election will narrow the field for Representative in Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Governor’s Council, State Senator, State Representative, District Attorney, and Sheriff. Somerville voters can vote early in person or by mail.