Join a community panel, take a virtual tour, and explore black voices

Black History Month is a time for reflection, celebration, and learning, and this year, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice (RSJ) are inviting the community to join a series of events designed to engage, inspire, and connect the Somerville community. 

The latest Federal immigration policies are proving to have a significantly adverse effect on small businesses in East Somerville. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Carlie Lombardi

On Thursday, February 13, the Somerville City Council held a meeting to discuss the impact of the new federal immigration policies. The council discussed the concerns from East Somerville’s small business community, which is facing challenges due to these policies.

Bids are being accepted for improvements to the lighting on Somerville’s Community Path. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Jeffrey Shwom

The unlit stretches of the Somerville Community Path Extension on both sides of East Somerville Station may see a brighter tomorrow, as the City of Somerville closed solicitations by contractors to install nighttime lighting. According to the Closed Bids listed on The Procurement and Contracting Services Division’s website, solicitation for “Community Path Extension – Additional Lighting” along a half mile stretch is under review.

The Somerville Police Department (SPD) has produced a list of unclaimed bicycles that are currently being stored at SPD headquarters located at 220 Washington St. Any owner of an unclaimed bicycle who seeks to reclaim it is encouraged to contact Somerville Police at 617-625-1600 as soon as possible. Bicycles remaining in the possession of SPD will be treated as municipal property and will be disposed of in any manner consistent with city surplus property and MGL c. 30B § 15, including but not limited to disposition at less than fair market value to a charitable organization.

(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,

Somerville residents, your generosity in 2024 was extraordinary! Together, you donated over 875 thousand pounds of clothing and household goods to Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, a community-based nonprofit organization.

— Photos by Jeffrey Shwom

By Jeffrey Shwom

With the TVs turned off, and the horns and brass held high, the crowd at Sally O’Brien’s ,  took in the BT / ALC Big Band (www.btalc.com) for two sets of big band funk and soul. A 12-piece band led by Brian Thomas and Alex Lee Clark, every Second Thursday. The bar and music venue features residencies of long time Somerville and Cambridge bands like The White Owls (Dennis Brennan), Dub Apocalypse (a former mainstay at the since closed Bull McCabe’s) and the Gravel Project (every third Thursday). Visit www.sallyobriensbar.com for showtimes and menu.

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This is a great recipe if you have a craving for a rich, dairy free, yet cheesy, and delicious substitute for the real thing. It’s so satisfying that you will want to go back for seconds!

The President’s Day holiday puts us in mind of those great leaders who governed throughout our country’s tumultuous history: The American Revolution, the Civil War, two world wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam, and so on.

Greatness was thrust upon certain holders of that office by events that shaped their legacies, while others are relegated to general obscurity due to a lack of conflict and controversy during their times in office. Each one’s tenure in office should be regarded as equally important. In as much as big events could have elevated their place in history at a moment’s notice.

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Review by Off the Shelf Correspondent Dennis Daly

Use of the third person plural in poetry not only draws the writer away from the overly fashionable confessional style of versifying but adds a sense of universality and transcendence to the wordcraft. The ability to connect the emotions and thoughts of a multitude suggests either deep arrogance (in bad poetry) or collective insight and consciousness (in good poetry). There are obvious pitfalls. For instance, “we” could simply be used as a metaphor for “I.” Or the writer may project his revelations onto others without any real sapience. Eric Greinke’s masterfully edited anthology entitled Speaking For Everyone avoids the pitfalls of this genre and, in his inspired choices of good poetry, bonds together the fears and hopes and commonalities inherent in the nature of mankind.