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This salad is great all year round. It’s refreshing and light and goes perfectly with chicken or fish. It has great texture, a hint of sweetness with a hint of heat and a touch of tartness. These flavors are a true treat that will surely have you going in for seconds.

The excruciatingly slow process of gradually bringing our lives and lifestyles back to normal post-pandemic continues to inch along at its own deliberate and extra-cautious pace.

The recent movement by the city into a modified Phase 4, Step 1 of the state’s reopening plan has breathed new life into the hearts and minds of all who have been affected by the lockdowns and restrictions set forth as an intended means of protecting everyone from the further spread of COVID-19 throughout the community.

—Photo by Doug Holder

Ricky’s Flowers Market, 238 Washington St., Somerville, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They have a new variety of plants this week. Stop by and visit them.

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I caught up with Tova Speter recently. She told me about a fascinating project she is involved with that links words with art. As a poet, I found this fascinating, so I connected with her.

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Allie Hastings is a student at Endicott College working toward her bachelor’s degree in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Communications. She values time spent with family and friends and appreciates all the blessings in her life. Her debut poetry and short story collection, Querencia, was selected in 2018 to be featured in Endicott’s Young Writer Series, and her short story The Deceptive Nature of Love was printed in Teen Ink’s February 2018 issue. When she is not writing or reading, she enjoys listening to music, singing, playing the piano, doing yoga, and baking cupcakes.

Arrests:
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Standly Miranda, May 6, 6:06 a.m., arrested at Somerville Ave. on a courtesy booking.

Anthony Quinones, May 9, 1:23 p.m., arrested at Concord Ave. on charges of destruction of property over $1200 and larceny over $1200, and on warrant charges of receiving a stolen credit card and improper use of credit card over $1200.

The City of Somerville Health and Human Services Department is partnering with Riverside Trauma Center to offer a free two-day virtual training in Psychological First Aid and Post-Traumatic Stress Management for individuals who live or work in Somerville.    

Mary Cassesso  of CHA has announced her run for Somerville mayor. Cassesso took out nomination papers today as a candidate for mayor of Somerville.

The Somerville Arts Council and Metropolitan Area Planning Council are conducting two surveys to find out if Somerville artists have stable access to space for their work. There are two surveys: one for individuals and one for organizations. Artists who live or work in Somerville are invited to take whichever applies to them.

“Gypsy Moth” © Jane Sherrill 2020

During the month of May, Jane Sherrill’s  painting Gypsy Moth is in a show at the pop-up gallery, The Art House in Powder House Square, 862 Broadway, Somerville, through May 30. Open weekend afternoons.

During the pandemic she has  been working from home on a series of black and white drawings made with pen and pencil on layers of translucent Dura-Lar. You can read about her process and see images of six of them on the site Pandemic Lens https://pandemiclens.com/2021/03/14/pandemic-traces/