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State Rep. Denise Provost has a new poetry collection out with Somerville’s Ibbetson Street Press, Curious Peach. She writes The Times, “I’ve always been highly attuned to seasons, weather, and the natural world around me. Several years ago, I collected a number of poems on these themes, arranged them chronologically through the passage of a year’s time, and kept rewriting every word and line until I was mostly satisfied. Most of these poems are hyper local. They include such subjects as Somerville street trees, the wild roses in the parking lot of the porter Square Star Market, and my neighborhood after a snow storm. This sonnet is about the effort to grow vegetables in our difficult urban garden – which, of course, is a metaphor for many other endeavors besides.”

Join the City of Somerville, City Councilors Jesse Clingan, Ben Ewen-Campen, and Matt McLaughlin, and the Gilman Square Neighborhood Association for a community meeting on Monday, July 15, to discuss the implementation of the Gilman Square Neighborhood Plan. The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School, 115 Sycamore Street. 

Arrests:
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Amador Vasquez, of 138 Pearl St., June 26, 12:35 a.m., arrested at Brook St. on a charge of unarmed burglary.

Deandre Singletary, of 795 Cummings Highway, Boston, June 26, 6:45 p.m., arrested at Harding St. on multiple warrant charges of receiving stolen property over $1200, larceny over $1200, larceny under $1200, and forgery of check.

Acrobat Cate Great!, a Massachusetts Health Connector member,performs high above Davis Square in Somerville. ~Photo credit: Eric Haynes

On Thursday, June 27, the Massachusetts Health Connector held “Day of Coverage” activities across the Commonwealth designed to help people #GetCovered and connect with health insurance options via the state’s health insurance marketplace.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 2 City Councilor J.T. Scott, and Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen invite you to a public meeting for an update on the Somerville Ave. Utilities & Streetscape Improvements project and ongoing construction in the Union Square area. The meeting will be held Thursday, July 18, at 6:00 p.m. in the Academy Room at the Somerville Public Safety Building, 220 Washington St. Project staff will outline progress of construction thus far and the planned sequence of work through the rest of the year.

Licensed clinical social worker and outreach specialist for Adult Family Care Angela Clary.

By Angela Clary

As we know, caregiving is a fulltime job that often requires coordinating many moving pieces. Medication is usually a key part of that picture, and it often falls on caregivers to ensure that things stay on track.

 Please join the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development and Ward 4 Alderman Jesse Clingan on Tuesday evening, July 9, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. for the first community meeting with our landscape architecture team from Warner Larson Associates. The meeting will be held in the Healey School cafeteria, 5 Meacham St. Warner Larson will present their qualifications, review the criteria for the new schoolyard design, and discuss the layout possibilities.

The City of Somerville is partnering with the Somerville Garden Club again in 2019 to raise awareness about (BSW), a very aggressive and invasive, non-native weed that can be found throughout Somerville. It displaces native plants and habitats, threatens butterflies and songbirds, and is toxic to deer and livestock. BSW is especially harmful to the monarch butterfly population as BSW resembles milkweed, where monarchs lay their eggs, and once the monarch larvae hatch they die from eating the toxic BSW leaves.

(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 Joseph A. Curtatone

A monthly look at ways to get involved with your city: Don’t just live in Somerville, be Somerville!

Join a Board or Commission

Joining a City board or commission is a great way to get more involved with issues that you care deeply about and right now several have openings for new members. The Planning Board, Somerville Redevelopment Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Somerville Historic Preservation Commission are currently accepting applications for new members. Each of these groups deals with important issues around construction and development – both on a large scale and on a smaller scale, like home renovations. You can learn more about what each board or commission does, what is involved in being a member, and how to apply at www.somervillema.gov/besomerville. And don’t forget to check back for future opportunities to serve on boards and commissions related to other issues.

~Photos by Jennifer Grimes

By Jennifer Grimes

Saturday June 22 was the perfect day for Somerville’s summertime event, which was held from 12 p.m.- 4 p.m. The sun brightened stretches of grass on Trum Field, the breeze was gentle, and the clouds ceased to threaten rain.