Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and special guests for two of Somerville’s annual holiday celebrations. The festivities will begin with the annual Christmas tree lighting on Thursday, December 2, at 5:00 p.m. on the City Hall concourse. After the tree lighting, Santa Claus will join in for a meet and greet next door at Somerville High School (don’t forget your camera if you’d like a photo). Santa will be escorted by the Somerville Fire and Police Departments, with a gift and cookies for each child in tow. Live entertainment will feature the Somerville High School Chorus, Somerville High School Orchestra, El Sistema Somerville, and the Somerville High School Jazz Band. Later in the week, the ceremonial menorah lighting will take place on Sunday, December 5, at 5:00 p.m. on the City Hall concourse with Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz from Temple B’nai Brith. Light refreshments will be served. Both events are open to all members of the community. Social distancing will be enforced and masks will be required indoors.

The other housing crisis: Housing for people with disabilities
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By State Representative Christine P. Barber

The COVID-19 crisis is not only a significant health threat, it also exposes inequalities that continue to grow in our communities. As we respond to and recover from the pandemic, the connection between housing stability and public health has never been stronger. Safe housing is necessary for our public health. Families and individuals, particularly in Somerville and Medford, are facing evictions and increases in the cost of housing at record levels. But COVID-19 has also illuminated another housing crisis: the need for homes for people with disabilities.

— Photos by Bobbie Toner

So, what is the big buzz lately that’s got the whole city enthralled? The Omicron variant? That Beatles documentary? Maybe the very spirit of the holiday season that is finally upon us? All of the above perhaps, to a certain degree. But once you’ve been to “Elfland” you’ll understand why the site has taken the region by storm.

Eagle Feathers #242 – Row On Row

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

To an American, a row is a number of objects arranged in a typically straight line; and to an Englishman, a row is a noisy argument or fight.

• On September 1, 1774, British General Thomas Gage sent a row of thirteen boats carrying two hundred soldiers up the Mystic River. The force landed at Ten Hills Farm. They next marched to the Colonial Powder House and raided 240 half-barrels of gunpowder. They then brought it back to Castle William in Boston Harbor.

The shopping is well underway, and all the presents should be wrapped on time. And once the plans for the big day have been made, don’t forget to slow down, relax and enjoy the holiday season and all the finer things that come with it.

Being with family, friends and loved ones and sharing warmth of the occasion is unquestionably at or near the top of the list of things we like most at this time of year. It’s especially gratifying in a city as fun and heartwarming to be in as ours.

Former Alderman Bob McWatters with his son Bobby McWatters enjoying Thanksgiving in Austin Texas.

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On Saturday, December 4, at 10:00 a.m., Members of Toastmasters clubs from over a dozen countries will descend upon the “Humor and Drama” Toastmasters club, which meets in Cambridge and Somerville, for a warm, happy, welcoming meeting entitled.

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Michael Todd Steffen curates the Hastings Room Reading Series in Cambridge. His poetry and articles have appeared in The Boston Globe, Connecticut Review, Poem (HLA), ACM (Another Chicago Magazine), Ibbetson Street, Taos Journal and in the window of the Grolier Poetry Bookshop. His first book, Partner, Orchard, Day Moon, was published in April of 2014 by Cervena Barva Press, edited by Gloria Mindock.

Arrests:
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 Jodi Faria, of Billerica, November 29, 3:07 a.m., arrested at Assembly Row on warrant charges of receiving stolen property over $1200, trespassing, and possession of a class B drug.