(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 Matthew McLaughlin

When people use the phrase “identity politics” transportation policy does not come to mind. Yet if you examine the debate over bike lanes, there are undertones of a cultural divide that mirrors national politics.

Bike lanes straddle the line between basic infrastructure improvements and cultural lightning rod. They are seen as an attack on the American way of life to some, and treated as a progressive litmus test to others.

Well, the big news around the city this week is the announced delays in construction and reopening of the bridges that have been closed due to the Green Line Extension Project’s activities. We are certainly disappointed by the delays. We have been contending with the traffic snarls and rerouting for quite some time already, and now we’re being asked to put up with it a bit longer. It is important for all of us to get out and support the local businesses that are have been feeling the effect of the bridge closures already. We sure hope that it will all ultimately be considered worth the trouble and expense.

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Located just inside the Armory building on Highland Ave., the café is a great meeting spot to grab specialty coffee, like lattes, cappuccinos and beyond, a great selection of teas, freshly baked muffins and an assortment of other baked goods, as well as fresh breakfast sandwiches like bacon, egg and cheese, or an egg sandwich on a bagel or on regular bread if preferred, bagels with cream cheese, oatmeal and smoothies.

There seems to have been a bit of a dust up created since the City Council’s Legislative Matters Committee lent serious consideration to the idea of banning gas powered and very loud leaf blowers in the city.

Some are vociferously in favor of such a measure, while others bemoan the perceived notion that the city – once again – is overstepping its authority by micro-managing issues that should otherwise be left to the general public to work out on their own.

A public information meeting will be held by MassDOT to discuss the planning study for the proposed Intersection Improvements at McGrath Highway (Route 28)/Mystic Avenue (Route 38) project in Somerville.

The meeting will be held at East Somerville Community School Auditorium, 50 Cross Street, Somerville, on Wednesday, February 12 at 6:00 p.m.

( L to R) Bob McWatters, Congressman Joe Kennedy III and Sally O’Brien’s owner, Liam Mannion

Congressman Joseph Kennedy III made an impromptu visit to Union Square on Sunday, January 26. While in Union Square he visited Bow Market and stopped in at Sally O’Brien’s. Kennedy is challenging fellow Democrat Ed Markey for the Senate seat in Massachusetts.

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“Miriam Levine is a poet, memoirist, and fiction writer. Her five collections of poetry include The Dark Opens, winner of the Autumn House Poetry Prize, and Saving Daylight (2019). She is the author of Devotion, a memoir, and In Paterson, a novel. Levine has won grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Southern Review, and Virginia Quarterly Review. She is professor emerita at Framingham State University in Massachusetts and lives in New Hampshire and Florida.

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This poem from Isabelle Kenyon was published in the Somerville-based literary magazine Ibbetson Street (46).

Arrests:
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Robert Messina, of 820 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, January 20, 2:49 p.m., arrested at McGrath Hwy. on a warrant charge of larceny from a person.

Tameka Kelly, of 10 Webster, January 20, 2:49 p.m., arrested at McGrath Hwy. on warrant charges of larceny from a person number plate violation, uninsured motor vehicle or trailer, juror failure to appear, and larceny over $1200.

— Photo courtesy of Somerville Fire Department

Two new firefighters were sworn in at latest City Council meeting last Thursday evening. Randy Oliver and Daniel Roche will begin training with the Fire Department on February 3. Pictured L to R: Assistant Chief Christopher Major, Daniel Roche, Randy Oliver and Chief Charles Breen Jr.