— Photo by Bobbie Toner

At 1:59 a.m. on Wednesday morning, December 30, the Somerville Fire Department responded to a house fire at 20 Kensington Avenue. Upon arrival, firefighters were confronted with heavy fire conditions in the basement spreading rapidly up the rear stairway. Two occupants were also trapped on the second floor in the rear. A ladder was thrown and they were removed to safety.

After five months of discussions, Union Square Neighborhood Council Co-chairs Michele Hansen and Ann Camara today announced that a Community Benefits Agreement has been signed in good faith with DLJ Capital Partners and Leggat McCall Properties, the joint venture development partners of the development of a 6.5-acre mixed-use development in Somerville’s Boynton Yards.

24 grants totaling more than $40,000 awarded to New England based musicians to enhance their careers and support community outreach projects

Passim has awarded $40,141 to 24 musicians through its Iguana Music Fund. The Iguana Music Fund awards gifts annually to musicians for career building projects and for projects that provide community service through music. Established in 2008 after an anonymous donor approached Passim with the idea to start a program to support local artists’ career growth, the fund provides grants from $500 to $2,000 for musicians with a strong New England connection.  

The Somerville Police Department is seeking any information about a suspect in an unarmed bank robbery that took place on Monday, December 28, at around 10:45 a.m., at the East Cambridge Savings Bank at 285 Highland Ave.

The suspect is described as a white male and was seen wearing mirrored style glasses, a multi-colored face mask, a blue/green hooded sweatshirt, and white sneakers. He was last seen heading east on Highland Avenue. 

Beverly, Cambridge, Canton, Chelsea, Framingham, Malden, Natick, Somerville, Wenham, Winchester and Woburn all awarded grants to address climate change

Eleven cities and towns across Greater Boston will soon be putting more than $1 million to work addressing climate change through local projects, thanks to a new round of grant funding.

SCES Elder Care Advisor Corinne Lofchie.

A:  Yes, the eligibility rules for MassHealth change in a couple of important ways when people turn 65.

The income limit goes down when you turn 65. There are some people who have had MassHealth their whole life, due to a disability, and then they turn 65 and they are no long eligible, because their income is a little too high.

By Max Eidelman

Lisa Brukilacchio, a member of the Cambridge Health Alliance and Director of the Somerville Community Health Agenda, recently spoke at length about local efforts being made to provide food to those in need during the pandemic.