New green, open space to be added as part of ongoing mixed-use development project at 1060 Broadway.

As part of the ongoing reconstruction of the former Powder House Community School, located at 1060 Broadway, the pedestrian walkway connecting Broadway and Holland St. will need to be closed for approximately four months as the project team begins work on the new green space adjacent to the building. The walkway was originally expected to close in mid- to late-July, however that start date has been postponed. A new start date will be announced in the coming weeks.

Phase one includes three buildings and an open space. Completion will coincide with the opening of the Union Square Green Line MBTA stop in 2021 – an initiative of SomerVision 2030. — Photo courtesy of US2

By Denise Keniston

On Tuesday, July 11, the Somerville Planning Board took a big step forward in advancing the massive Union Square Revitalization of fifteen acres in Union Square. The board approved the application for a seven-story life science building, included in phase one – a four-acre parcel located on the corner of Prospect Street and Somerville Avenue. Two other buildings and an open space are also part of phase one and their applications will be voted on separately in the coming months.

David Powers was commended by the city for his brave actions that led to the arrest of a bank robbery suspect back in May of this year.

By Jennifer Grimes

The Somerville City Council recently commended bystander Dave Powers for his heroic acts on May 1 of this year when he saw someone in Davis Sq. sprint past him and had a feeling that something was wrong.

Community Meeting: A Cultural District for East Somerville, at Cross Street Center, 165 Broadway, July 18 at 6:00 p.m. Would East Somerville benefit from a Cultural District designation? Come to the community meeting, learn about what Cultural Districts are and what they can do for the local community.

A master bike plan for Somerville is currently being developed by the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee.

By Kori Stewart

The Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee started talks about a master bike plan Thursday. The committee is tasked with creating an advisory plan for the city to overhaul the urban biking system and pinpoint improvements to be made.

The Boston Short Film Festival showcased 54 short films from around the world at the Somerville Theatre’s Microcinema last week.

By  Melissa Rosales

Locals and filmmakers gathered to celebrate the Boston Short Film Festival (BSFF) at Somerville Theatre’s Microcinema. The free event showed 54 films out of 2,000 worldwide submissions from July 8 to 12. Since 2015, BSFF focuses on showcasing unconventional and intuitive short films “with an edge.”

There’s a comforting something in the imagery of health conscious, nature loving individuals shunning their oversized, gas guzzling automobiles and SUVs in favor of pedaling their way to their jobs, schools, and marketplaces in the soft, pastoral glow of self-satisfaction at hopefully “making a difference.”

Eagle Feathers #183 – Tales From the Tree Tops

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Somerville natives have always loved their trees, from the evergreens that Governor Winthrop hewn in building his ship, The Blessing of the Bay, to today’s dissent over how much shade they will cast over Beacon Street. Almost all of her trees were lost during the American Revolution when they were used to shelter thousands of English and Hessian troops imprisoned here.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

Mary Marshall, Ward 3 School Committee candidate, hosted the Somerville Sunsetters at her home on Boston Street this past Thursday, July 11. The Somerville Sunsetters perform popular show tunes and current top hits on Somerville streets and in public parks two nights per week on evenings in July in August, at sunset. The group was originally created and very popular in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and was reinstated by Mayor Joe Curtatone in 2004. Vist the city’s website for the schedule of performances go to the city’s website for the schedule of performances,www.somervillema.gov

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Somerville resident Bridget Seley Galway has a new book of poetry out, What Moments Yield. She writes, “The poem Coyote is about a past experience in 2003, while still living in Provincetown. It defines so much of who I am, and what I find most precious in this life. There is a quote by Mark Strand about the meaning of poetry, which defines perfectly how I feel, and what inspires me to write: ‘A poem is a place where the conditions of beyondness and withinness are made palpable, where to imagine is to feel what is to be. It allows us to have the life we are denied because we are too busy living. Even more paradoxically, poetry permits us to live in ourselves as if we were just out of reach of ourselves.’ ‘Here’ is a poem which relates to what Lawrence Kessenich described on the back of the book. I will paraphrase a bit along with his quote. The physical details of my poetry ‘are interwoven with a deep longing from many losses along the way’. Yet those losses are the channel to recognize the beauty which is still present, and honors what is lost.”