The 20^th Annual Honk Festival of Activist Street Bands will be hitting the streets of Somerville from October 9 through 12 (rain or shine).

Ordinance updates effective October 1

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is sharing that starting today, October 1, 2025, updates to the City of Somerville’s Condominium Conversion Ordinance take effect. These updates are part of the city’s continued efforts to prevent residential displacement and enact stronger protections for tenants.  

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I was 16 in 1969 when I got a job at Woolworths in Davis Square. I was hired as a stock boy but graduated to the luncheonette counter. WT Grant and FW Woolworth were 5 and 10 cent stores, or “five and dimes” in the square. Those are the two, along with Savel’s in Ball Square, that I grew up with.

The Somerville City Council Finance Committee discussed a number of issues of importance at their latest meeting in September.

By Jordan Pagkalinawan

Somerville’s finance committee met on September 23 to approve several grants and prior year invoices, as well as extend and amend a contract with Eastern Bank. The councilors also expressed concern about proposed requirements for Urban Area Security Initiative grants, which include cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Groundwork Somerville’s Harvest Festival takes place on Saturday, October 4, 12 – 4 p.m. at South Street Farm, 138 South Street. This Harvest Festival, they are celebrating Groundwork Somerville’s 25th Anniversary of its founding. Activities for the day include: Hands-on stations for all ages, interactive community art project, live music from local artists, free food from local restaurants, and informational stations. (Rain Date: Sunday, October 5, from 12 to 4 p.m.)

(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 Ivan Abarca-Torres

“Soccer is life,” a phrase made famous by Danny Rojas in the series Ted Lasso carries real meaning, especially for those of us from Latin America like me. The Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano once wrote, “The ball is never just a ball.” Soccer is more than a game. It is connection, culture, and community. In Somerville, where I’ve lived for more than a decade, soccer has been the bridge that brought immigrant and non-immigrant Somerville families together. And no one has done more to make that possible than Jake Wilson.

“Magic Flute” by Iku Oseki, featured artist at the event.

Visual Artists often use language when speaking about their work that mimics the vocabulary of musicians: Composition, Improvisation, Collaboration, and Repetition. Creative endeavors of all kinds pull inspiration from the rhythms and movements around us. Artists tune into the pulse of life, whether it comes from the motion of the city, the tranquility of the country, or the noise inside our heads. The Music of Art brings together two painters, a printmaker, and a mixed media artist, each expressing their connection to music in their own unique way.

Who among us actually likes getting a shot of any kind? There are certainly a given number of masochistic types out there who don’t mind taking a little jab in the arm or … elsewhere.

But many of us put off or completely avoid the prickly deed for as long as we can push it, until the cold and flu season completely bypasses us altogether, or we fall victim to the merciless clutches of our microbiological nemeses.