No matter how one may feel about labor unions and movements in general, it is clear to many that the employees of the Stop & Shop market chain have got a legitimate beef with their employer.

Last week, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Stop & Shop management reached an impasse in their negotiations, triggering a walkout and subsequent series of protest demonstrations across New England.

Arrests:
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Belhadj Rachid, of 39 Boylston St., Boston, April 8, 1:30 p.m., arrested at Assembly Row on charges of resisting arrest, and multiple counts of shoplifting by concealing merchandise, and on a warrant charge of shoplifting by concealing merchandise.

Reinaldo Perez, of 167 Kennedy Dr., Malden, April 9, 12:47 a.m., arrested at Central St. on warrant charges of uninsured motor vehicle or trailer, possession of a class B drug, assault and battery, possession of a class D drug, and possession of cocaine to distribute.

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Review by Lee Varon, Off the Shelf correspondent

Denise Bergman’s new book of poetry, Three Hands None, is a stunning collection. The incident at the heart of the book is the assault of the narrator by a stranger who breaks into her apartment. She describes “a twenty-year old woman alone in a tiny speck of bed/ deep inside sleep wakes up to a man with a knife at her throat.”

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Karen Klein founded teXtmoVes, a poetry/dance collaborative, performing in concert halls, art galleries, and libraries since 2016. Her lyric poems and haiku have been published nationally and internationally, most recently in SLANT. She is a member of Steeple Street Poets and is working on her first chapbook.

Throughout the month of May, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) partners with local organizations to host events honoring Somerville’s history and historic assets. All events are open to the public, ADA accessible, and free.

• May – October. Launch of Volunteer Docent Program. Three Historic Sites: Prospect Hill Tower, Milk Row Cemetery, and Old Powder House.  Full season schedule on weekends and Thursday evenings is posted on the SHPC and City websites, and at each site.

City-wide cleanup following community breakfast with partners Groundwork Somerville and Comcast Cares

Join the City of Somerville, Groundwork Somerville, and Comcast Cares for the annual Spring Cleanup, on Saturday, May 4, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. All participants are invited to meet at the Blessing of the Bay Boat House on Shore Drive from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. for breakfast, a short speaking program, and information from local environmental organizations before heading out to cleanup sites.

Meet the Savvy Caregiver Instructors: Liz Aguilo (left) is a clinical social worker, Executive Director of Paine Senior Services, and Vice President of the Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) Board of Directors. Nathaniel Meyer (right) is a licensed Social Worker with the SCES Adult Family Care program.

By Nathan Lamb

A free training program that provides family caregivers with skills and knowledge about dementia is returning to Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) in May.

Registration is now open for the next round of Savvy Caregiver training, which starts May 9. The six-session program emphasizes practical training that helps family caregivers navigate the many challenges of dementia.

Somerville Poet Laureate Lloyd Schwartz.

Whether you had a PhD in poetry or have just started reading it, you’re invited to share a favorite poem at the Poems We Love event on Wednesday, April 17. Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Somerville Poet Laureate Lloyd Schwartz, and the Somerville Arts Council from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., to listen to fellow Somervillians read their favorite poems and song lyrics and to read yours, if you’d like. Light refreshments will be served. Please note that this is an event for sharing other’s work, not for poets to share their own work. For more information, please contact Gregory Jenkins at 617-625-6600 ext. 2997 or gjenkins@somervillema.gov.

Monday, April 15, is Patriots’ Day and City and Somerville Public Schools offices will be closed. Trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be on a one-day delay all week. There will be no street sweeping on Monday and parking meters and residential parking permits will not be enforced.

Somerville Media Center announces its debut of VOX POP on May 9 at 6:00 p.m. at 431 Artisan Way, Assembly Row. VOX POP is a pop up community arts space that is the result of a collaboration between Federal Investment Realty Trust (FRIT), the property developer and manager for Assembly Row, and SMC, the non-profit community media center based out of Union Square.