— Photos courtesy of Somerville by Design

By Emmanuel Vincent

The Assembly Square Neighborhood Plan Update Meeting took place this past Friday. Presented by Dover, Kohl & Partners, this virtual gathering focused on concepts in regards to mobility and street design ideas, as well as well as the infancy stage of a drafted economic development strategy.

— Photos by Hongyu Liu

By Hongyu Liu

Everyone is invited to check out six beautifully decorated Christmas trees while visiting Assembly Row this holiday season. Several local non-profit organizations have participated in the “Deck the Cause” event by decorating six twelve-foot Christmas trees.

The rumor mill has it that Ward 5 City Councilor Mark Neidergang may not be running for reelection next term, and already someone has announced that they will be running for his seat. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but whatever the facts are we wish him the best for the future and thank him for his service to the city.

Every year we put out a call for Somerville residents to shop local during the holiday season. It’s a good practice that keeps your money circulating inside your community. Directing our spending money to local businesses is something each of us can do to make the world around us a better place. The local economy plays a big role in our quality of life.

Food-insecure communities are depending on several socially concerned nonprofit organizations to get them through the hard times they are contending with in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Max Eidelman

Despite the tumult of the past year, we still find ourselves in the season of giving right now. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that it is more important now than it has been in recent history to give to those in need.

Revolutionary Clinics check presentation (L to R: Jen Atwood – Executive Director of East Somerville Main Streets; Tom Schneider – CMO of Rev Clinics, Mike Kerwin, GM of Rev Clinics Somerville, Gary Perry, Community Outreach Manager Rev Clinics, Michael Libby, Executive Director or Somerville Homeless Coalition).

Revolutionary Clinics, one of the state’s leading providers of medical marijuana, is celebrating the three-year anniversary of its medical marijuana dispensary located at 67 Broadway, Somerville. Since opening on November 9, 2017 as the city’s second dispensary, the location has served over 160,000 patient visits. To mark the momentous occasion, Rev made $10,000 in contributions to be split among four local non-profits.

Eagle Feathers #219 – Pearl Harbor Week

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

The riveting reality of the Japanese attack on our American fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, horrified our nation.

As we get into the snowy months of winter it’s good for all of us to make sure we understand what the odd-even rules are and where we stand this season.

Here is a reminder of what the city’s snow parking rules and guidelines are for the 20/21 winter season:

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Interview with Meia Geddes.

Off the Shelf correspondent Meia Geddes, a former Somerville resident, is the author of The Little Queen, a whimsical and wise epic that received a starred Kirkus review and was included on their “Best Indie Books” list. Actor Rosie Jones recently narrated The Little Queen to create a beautiful audiobook, good company for these pandemic times. Below is an interview with narrator Rosie Jones on the craft of audio and acting.

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Joshua Corwin, a Los Angeles native, is a neurodiverse, two Pushcart Prize, one Best of the Net nominated poet and Spillwords Press Publication of the Month winner. His collection Becoming Vulnerable (2020) details his experience with autism, addiction, sobriety and spirituality. Corwin has forthcoming collaborative poetry projects with Ellyn Maybe and David Dephy. He hosts the poetry podcast Assiduous Dust, writes for Oddball Magazine and teaches poetry at The Miracle Project, an autism nonprofit. www.joshuacorwin.com.