The September installment of Somerville’s SomerStreets festival,“Strike Up the Bands,” took place on Sunday, September 19, on Highland Avenue. SomerStreets is the City’s take on the internationally renowned Open Streets concept, closing busy city streets to vehicles and opening them up for cycling, walking, dancing, running, and other modes of activity.

City struggles to find replacements amidst the pandemic
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By Joe Creason

The Traffic and Parking Committee, Chaired by Ward 5 City Councilor Mark Niedergang, was held on Monday, September 20.

A major topic of discussion was the resolution submitted by Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, asking that the city urgently address the insufficient number of crossing guards, and to present to the City Council a plan to ensure student safety in the absence of guards at multiple large intersections.

By Jim Clark

Somerville Police officers were dispatched to a Highland Ave. location last week on reports of a motor vehicle hitting a trash dumpster.

Officers located the scene of the incident near the corner of Highland Ave, and Benton Road, where they spotted a male party, later identified as Karl Baer, of South Boston, standing by the open driver side door of a car.

A walk-in clinic for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be held Friday, September 24, from 3 to 5 p.m at the West Somerville Neighborhood School at 177 Powder House Blvd. No appointment is necessary, but pre-registration is highly encouraged. You can pre-register at somervillema.gov/vaccine. 

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I ran into a guy who has Somerville roots the other day who still has a flip phone. We were talking about social media and in particular Facebook and how you can get in trouble posting certain comments and photos. He mentioned that he only had a couple of pictures on his flip and one of them was his pride and joy …. his young grandson. He showed the photo as a smile came to both our faces. So, I started thinking about grandfathers.

Please join in for Somerville Community Corporation’s Movie that Matters in Chuckie Harris Park from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, September 24 (rain date September 25). This event will be outside, with masks encouraged, and social distance enforced.

Local organizations such as Project Soup are helping to provide food for those in need throughout the city.

By Eileen Qiu

Somerville has an estimated SNAP gap of 53 percent. Around 700 individuals in Somerville likely eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are unenrolled according to 2020 statistics from the MA Department of Transitional Assistance.

Food insecurity, instigated by rising costs and the COVID-19 pandemic increased by 55 percent from 2019 to 2020, with Latinx and Black residents disproportionately affected according to a survey conducted by the Greater Boston Food Bank.

The “My Neighbor is a Museum’ Block Party” hosted by the Somerville Museum offered festive activities as well as an opportunity to help support the museum. ~Photos by Fernando Cervantes Jr.

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

On Saturday, September 18, the Somerville Museum held their My Neighbor is a Museum’ Block Party along with an opening for a new exhibition entitled, Penny Chronicles and the Stories They Tell.

The block party was held on Saturday afternoon from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 1 Westwood Road, where the Somerville Museum is located. There was live music, food, local artwork, raffles and games.

(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 Ken Brociner

As practically everyone in town knows by now, City Councilor Will Mbah will be facing off against fellow City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne in the November 2 election to determine who Somerville’s next mayor will be. In the Sept. 14 primary, Mbah finished in first place with 30 percent of the vote with Ballantyne finishing a close second with 27.8 percent. Long-time social justice advocate, Mary Cassesso, just barely missed qualifying for the November election as she came within a mere 79 votes of tying Ballantyne for second place.