The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is recognizing 103 WIC clinics, among 10,000 nationally, with WIC Breastfeeding Awards of Excellence for work being done to help moms and babies successfully breastfeed. In Massachusetts, two clinics received awards:

• Cambridge Health Alliance, Somerville, MA, Premiere, with 58% of moms fully or partially breastfeeding
• Health First Family Care Center, Fall River WIC Program, Fall River, MA, Gold, with 32% of moms fully or partially breastfeeding

On Tuesday, September 3, 2024 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will hold its State Primary Elections.

The offices on the ballot for this election include:

• U.S. Senator
• U.S. Representative
• Governor’s Councillor
• State Senator
• State Representative
• Register of Deeds
• Clerk of Courts

The primary election is open to all registered voters in Somerville. Somerville voters can vote early in person or by mail or on Election Day.

(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)

Dear Editor:

Animal shelters in Massachusetts are under intense pressure from a Utah-based group, Best Friends Animal Society, to achieve its dangerous and shortsighted fixation on making every shelter in the U.S. “no-kill” by 2025. This push may make for good marketing, but it ignores the reality of the animal overpopulation and homelessness crisis, and it fails animals and communities.

By Dennis Fischman

The epistolary novel is a story that’s told mostly or entirely in correspondence between two people or more. It’s a classic genre, with examples as old as Pamela (1740) and Frankenstein (1818) and much more recently, The Color Purple (1982) and The White Tiger (2008). There have even been murder mysteries in this format: think The Documents in the Case by the classic mystery writer Dorothy Sayers (better known for her series starring Lord Peter Wimsey).