The Somerville Armory was built in 1903 and has served many purposes for the community. Today, it houses many community events – including a monthly Red Cross blood drive.

By Molly Rains

On Wednesday, July 13, the American Red Cross blood drive returned to the Armory on Highland Avenue in Somerville. For the afternoon, the high-ceilinged performance hall transformed into a bustling donation center where Somerville residents rolled up their sleeves and provided critical donations to patients in need.

By Ryan DiLello

Somerville’s Public Health and Safety Committee gathered for a virtual meeting on Tuesday, July 11 at 6:00 p.m. The summary below captures the discussions around each item raised during the meeting.

Learn about the local food system at this monthly speaker series at the Somerville Community Growing Center. Emily Reckard-Mota will be speaking, Wednesday July 20, 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. This first session will focus on household access to groceries and meals. All sessions will take place at the Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave. All are invited to join the conversation and explore a range of perspectives on local and regional food access. Coordinated by the City of Somerville Office of Food Access and Healthy Communities and the Friends of the Community Growing Center.

Eagle Feathers #258–The Magnificent Seven

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

As 2022 is unfolding, it appears to be a banner year for Somerville. She is welcoming seven new Green Line Extension train stations to her historic backyards. The Cambridge/Lechmere Station and Somerville’s Union Square Station opened on March 21. The East Somerville, Gilman, Magoun, Ball, and Medford/Tufts stations are scheduled to open by the end of this summer.

The word is out that construction activities focused on the rail right-of-way between East Somerville Station and Medford Tufts Station will be taking place at night through the end of the month.

According to reports, the construction work will involve heavy equipment which can make a lot of noise. Work is expected to move at a moderate pace-limiting the duration of noise impacts in specific areas.

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Review by Off The Shelf Correspondent Ruth Hoberman

There’s a deceptive simplicity to Karen Klein’s poems. They ease into your mind, these imagistic depictions of experience (walking a bridge, listening to music, looking at art, raking the yard), and only gradually do you realize how strange and transformative they are. The book’s first poem, Journal 2017: Bilbao, sets the tone:

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Michael C. Keith is the author or coauthor of more than two dozen groundbreaking books on electronic media. Beyond that, he is the author of an acclaimed memoir (The Next Better Place, Algonquin Books), a young adult novel (Life is Falling Sideways), and 20 story collections. His latest is Quiet Geography from Cervena Barva Press. He has two new collections forthcoming from Scantic Books and Pelekinesis. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize several times, a Pen O.Henry Award, and was a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award for short fiction anthology and a finalist for the International Book Award in the “Fiction Visionary” category.

Arrests:
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Patrick Wiswall, July 12, 11:11 a.m., arrested at Washington St. on warrant charges of conspiracy, malicious wanton defacement of property, and felony daytime breaking and entering.

The Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) Nutrition program is distributing free farmers’ market coupons for eligible older adults in August. Available through the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, the $25 coupon booklets can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at area farmers’ markets.

Somerville nonprofit receives 3 years of funding from the Cummings Foundation

The Welcome Project (TWP) is one of 140 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. The Somerville-based organization was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $100,000 over three years.