Accessibility is further complicated by cultural, linguistic, and structural differences
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By Shira Laucharoen
Somerville Wire

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine is not an easy process for immigrants, even in a progressive city like Somerville. Facing language barriers, transportation obstacles, and a digital divide, the difficulties around access are compounded when considering individuals’ own personal fears and uncertainties. According to Ben Echevarria, executive director of the Welcome Project, the information coming out from the State has not been systematic or predictable, leading many immigrant families and residents to ask, what is going on?

Saturday, March 6, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Massachusetts Military Support Foundation (MMSF) will be distributing USDA Farmers to Families Food Box to local families in Somerville and surrounding communities on Saturday afternoons on a weekly basis.

(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)

Dear Editor,

I appreciated reading the February 15th article “AG Healey awards $1.5 million in grants to promote racial equity in treatment of opioid use disorder” which includes the City of Somerville as a recipient. Two components struck me: 1) the restorative nature of the funding source and 2) the limited scope of cultural humility in practice.

Building to serve urgent pandemic needs to start, welcoming highest needs and younger students first

The new Somerville High School is ready for its debut. In an opening no one could have envisioned at the project’s outset, the building welcomed younger students starting March 4 as part of the district’s phased return to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

By Jim Clark

Somerville Police officers were dispatched to a Powder House Blvd. location last Thursday on reports of a fight.

Upon arrival, the officers spoke with Manuel Marroquin-Orellana, who reportedly appeared to be very upset and speaking loudly, stating that he was ready to fight another man who was apparently in the vicinity.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Somerville has a lot of Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Most of my friends are boomers. The parents of these babies, including mine, bought their houses for very cheap money, by today’s standards.

(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)

I have difficulty believing that there are some amongst us who oppose a living wage.

Raising the basic minimum to a new baseline starting point of $15 is a step towards breaking the poverty cycle and a path forward towards reduction of rampant racism. Keeping the hourly base low is a form of enslavement that prevents people from breaking out of the poverty cycle, and too many of this cohort are people who have been targets of the racists. It is a feudal mechanism meant to keep the labor input low so that employers, now because there is no slavery, can reap larger profits. It has become a way to control people, keep them in a certain social strata and remove a way for anyone in that strata to leave it.

(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 State Representative Christine Barber

One year into the COVID pandemic, we have many urgent needs across the Commonwealth. The pandemic has changed life for all of us and exposed wide disparities in our ability to access health care and housing, disproportionately harming communities of color. Simply put, there is a lot to do at the State House this session to meet this moment. 

By Joe Creason

The Somerville City Council held a regular meeting to discuss committee reports, councilor orders and other matters of the city agenda, on Thursday, February 25.

The meeting began with a citation from the City Council and the Mayor’s Office, honoring Marvin H. Spitzer for his 100th birthday. The citation recognized Spitzer as an honorable Somerville resident and WWII veteran.