Because COVID-19 is less likely to be transmitted in outdoor settings, the City of Somerville has updated its COVID-19 guidelines to allow some outdoor performances to resume, both in public and private spaces, such as parks, plazas, or restaurant outdoor dining areas. Performances must have no or very low aerosol projection, meaning activities that do not include speaking or other vocal projection. For example, dance performances or instrumental music using non-wind-instruments are allowed, but a performance involving singing, speaking, or playing a woodwind or brass instrument is not. Crowd size is capped at current outdoor gathering limits of 25 persons or at the approved venue capacity.

This story was originally printed on July 12, 2008. I decided to update, tweak, and recycle it as The West Branch Library renovation nears completion.

As in all of my recollections, this timeline is as close to reality as my memory allows it.

About 10 years ago, my oldest boy and I went to the West Branch Library on College Avenue. Up the winding, creaky stairway on the top floor of the library is the attic – or rotunda, if you will. There is (was) a small stage along the back wall (see photo) – a stage that local bands, including my band Shadowfax (in photo) used to perform on during a very short period in the early 70’s. You see, there use to be a Teen Center on top of the West Branch Library, until the craziness of those times destroyed it.

Join Andre Green, Ward 4 Somerville School Committee member and SMC’s Joe Lynch for their School Committee update.

Join Ben Ewen-Campen, Ward 3 and SMC’s Joe Lynch for their city council update.

Among the agenda items addressed at the latest meeting of the City Council Legislative Matters Committee was discussions pertaining to police officer hiring policies.

By Joe Creason

The Legislative Matters Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, March 18, to discuss pending issues on the city’s agenda. Many of the Committee items being discussed this past week focused topics of public safety, health and the police.

Disposal of fats, oils and grease – such as those produced by restaurants and other sources – was a major topic undertaken by the city’s Board of Health at their latest meeting.

By Max Eidelman

Somerville’s Board of Health met for a virtual meeting this past Thursday, March 18.

The bulk of the meeting addressed the city’s FOG (fats, oils, grease) regulation. Per the EPA’s website, “Grease from restaurants, homes, and industrial sources are the most common cause (47%) of reported blockages” in sewage systems.

Spring has finally sprung in Somerville and elsewhere, so here’s to hoping that in the months to come we can all begin to enjoy a return to something more akin to the kind of living that we are accustomed to. May one and all stay safe, remain patient, and keep looking forward to better days. They are on their way.

(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)

One bright spot over the past twelve months of COVID-19 has been the expansion of outdoor dining. It has made Davis Square a better place and kept some of our businesses alive. This success has shown that traffic does calm, and pedestrian safety is improved when outdoor space is prioritized for people.

One of the finer benefits of New England living is standing witness to the massive explosion of nature’s rebirth and renewal, seemingly amplified here. Grass, trees, wildlife and flowers seems to go forth and multiply at an astounding rate, as if on cue to the call for “Action!”

How nice it will be to stroll through a park and feed a few squirrels. To replant a garden plot and watch as life springs forth. Or to take the family on a weekend getaway to the beach or mountains.