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Somerville writer Ari Samuel Alkalay Appel contributes this review to Off the Shelf: 

Often, what we choose to tell children is a better representation of the state which we are in than what we we say to adults. Susan Wood and Sarah Green have given us a gem that shines brightly, a statement about a woman who defines what this planet is missing.

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Heather Nelson is a poet, teacher, mother and recovering attorney based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She studied writing under the poet C.D. Wright as an undergraduate at Brown University. Most recently she studied poetry with Tom Daley and Barbara Helfgott Hyett. Heather is also a member of Poemworks, the workshop for publishing poets. Her work has been published in Main Street Rag, The Somerville Times, Constellations, Ekphrastic and The Compassion Anthology.

Charles Mills ~Photo courtesy of MBTA Transit Police

On June 4, 2018 at approximately 5:20 a.m.  Transit Police officers assigned to the North District received a radio call to respond to the MBTA’s Alewife station for a report of an MBTA employee being assaulted. Upon arrival officers observed several people attempting to restrain a male on the platform, later identified as Charles Mills, 29, of Somerville. Officers intervened and after a brief struggle with Mills were able to place him in restraints.

Hire marks important milestone in Mayor’s affordable housing agenda

Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced today the hiring of Ellen Shachter as the City’s first Director of the Office of Housing Stability, which will operate as a division of the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. The Office of Housing Stability aims to serve as the central point of contact for individuals seeking housing opportunities or advice.

Please join the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Ward 2 Alderman JT Scott, and Alderman at Large Stephanie Hirsch for a community meeting on Tuesday, June 5, to discuss upcoming renovations and review schematic designs for the Allen Street Playground. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 – 8 p.m. in the Community Room at the Public Safety Building at 220 Washington St. For more information or with any questions about the project, please contact Arn Franzen at AFranzen@somervillema.gov.

Somerville High School Graduation will take place tonight at 6 p.m. Due to the inclement weather it will be held indoors at Tufts,  Gantcher  Sports  Center, 161 College Ave.

Performances by SHS Highlander Band, Chorus and Orchestra.

Throughout our lives we all experience grief and loss.  On Thursday, June 7, The Somerville Council on Aging, in conjunction with Beacon Hospice, will be hosting a service of remembrance. Nancy Duffy, a Bereavement Coordinator, will help us take a moment to acknowledge those we have recently lost and to provide us with time to recall some of our fondest memories.

The Cambridge Council on Aging and Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services will distribute purple ribbons this June to raise awareness about elder abuse. June is Elder Abuse Awareness Month.

By Susan Pacheco and Norah Al-Wetaid

Many in the elder services field have long known that elder abuse is a common issue that often goes unreported. However, some new data is helping illustrate how widespread this problem is in the Bay State.

In a recent WBGH story, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs reported 9,800 confirmed cases of elder abuse in 2017 – an increase of nearly 40 percent since 2015.

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So, I’m driving to my next second-hand store to see what they have and I see one of my competitor’s bike parked outside and I think, ‘Darn, he beat me here’.