I am on the board of the New England Poetry Club and I want to let you know about this wonderful series we have coming up this summer.. Such poets as Robert Pinsky, Richard Blanco, Diannely Antigua, and Stephanie Burt–will read from their work at the LONGFELLOW HOUSE in Cambridge, Ma.  Our first event is July 6 with former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. The events will start at 3 p.m. on the Longfellow House lawn.  For more info go to:     https://nepoetryclub.org/we-too-the-people/

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Kathleen Spivack is an award-winning writer. She studied with Robert Lowell and remained friends with him for eighteen years, and is the author of many books, among them Moments of Past Happiness, A History of Yearning, and With Robert Lowell and His Circle. She has had residencies at the Radcliffe Institute, Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, and the American Academy in Rome, and has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Commission. She teaches in Boston and Paris.

The MBTA announced that fares will again be free this year on bus, subway, ferry, Commuter Rail, and the RIDE on Friday, July 4, 2025, after 8:30 PM. Boston is regularly predicted to host over a million visitors for the July 4 holiday. To accommodate increased ridership, the MBTA is encouraging travelers to plan their commute in advance and reminding riders of its holiday service schedules. The public is encouraged to take public transportation to and from the 2025 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and to other holiday events. The MBTA’s July 4 service schedules continue to be available at mbta.com/holidays.  

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are honored to announce that the City’s Community Health Worker (CHW) Division has been named the 2025 Community Health Worker Program of the Year by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers.  

Q: I’m thinking about doing a debt repair or debt relief plan. Should I?!

A: Be careful. Some programs help, but many do more harm than good. Watch out for:

Budget avoids cuts and layoffs, continues significant school investment, and protects core services and progress amid economic headwinds

On Thursday, June 26, 2025, the Somerville City Council passed the Ballantyne administration’s $380.1 million Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) operating budget. The FY26 budget protects vital services, advances key initiatives, and once again significantly invests in Somerville’s schools, workforce, and infrastructure, despite a challenging economic landscape affecting communities across the Commonwealth.