Somerville Mayor Jake Wilson has been selected to take part in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

By The Times Staff

Somerville Mayor Jake Wilson has been selected to join the tenth class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Mayor Wilson is one of just 46 mayors chosen from 15 countries to participate in this nine-month program.

Several community groups will jointly host a multi-community forum for the 2nd Middlesex State Senate candidates on July 16, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The forum features all five candidates: Burhan Azeem of Cambridge, Christine Barber of Somerville, Tom Hopcroft of Winchester, Matt McLaughlin of Somerville, and Erika Uyterhoeven of Somerville. Each candidate will deliver a short opening presentation and closing remarks. Moderators will ask questions submitted pre-forum by community groups, residents, and businesses. Community members from all four municipalities are encouraged to attend. To submit a question in advance and register for the event for either an in-person or virtual event, attendees can fill out the forms on the Neighbors in Action Forum Page: https://www.neighborsaction.org/forum or the Union Square Neighborhood Council Forum Page: https://sites.google.com/view/usnc/middlesex-second-forum.

 A group of friends made plans for a get-together, and we discussed getting pizza for our evening. The question was, what style of pizza did our group prefer? The consensus, Neapolitan style. I said, I know just the place!

School may be out, but nutritious meals are still on the menu! The City of Somerville is offering free summer meals for all children and teens ages 18 and under from July 6 to August 14. No registration, ID, income verification, or proof of residency is required – just stop by during meal service. This program is open to everyone and helps ensure kids stay fueled all summer long.

On July 12, the city held a soccer clinic with the New England Revolution at Dilboy before the SomerCup 2026 tournament. The clinic was led by coaches of the New England Revolution.

The Somerville Arts Council’s ArtBeat festival has become a much-beloved annual tradition here in the city for many.

One thing can be said for certain: it brings to the fore some of the most imaginative and unique creations one could ever wish to see, hear, and – sometimes – even feel.

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Steve Ratiner is the president of the New England Poetry Club. I talked with him about the WE (too) THE PEOPLE poetry series at the Longfellow House in Cambridge this summer. On July 12, the club hosts Tracy K. Smith, the former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner. There will be readings throughout the summer.

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Gary Metras’s 10th poetry book, Counting Bricks, was just published by Dos Madres Press. His essays, reviews, and chiefly poems have appeared in hundreds of periodicals since the 1970s, including Chiron Review, English Journal, Ibbetson Street, Poetry, Poetry East, and Yankee. He has worked as tobacco picker, short order cook, mason tender, air traffic controller (U.S. Air Force), book store manager, high school English teacher, and college writing instructor. He fly fishes the rivers and streams of western Massachusetts for recreation and inspiration.