FY27 Budget Focuses on Core Services, Schools, and City Values Amid Fiscal Constraints 

Yesterday, Mayor Jake Wilson presented the City of Somerville’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, a $394 million spending plan built to deliver results, strengthen core services, and uphold the City’s values through action.

Update: Due to the forecasted rain and potential thunderstorms during the event timeframe, SomerStreets: Carnaval will be held on its rain date of Sunday, June 14.

Carnaval is ready to transform Broadway once again into an open-air festival filled with music, movement, food, family activities, local vendors, and performances celebrating East Somerville.

The Center for Arts at the Armory has been selected as one of 150 nonprofits to receive funding through Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program, which awarded $35 million this year. Chosen through a competitive review process that drew a record 959 applicants, the Somerville-based organization will receive $75,000 over three years.

Linda Kelley, Dojo & Majic Alphonse, Dojo with Major Jake Wilson.

The Dojo @ SOMERNOVA brought the city together for a community block party on May 29 at 24 Dane St. –  The Alley. They got the whole block active with a bouncy house, video game truck, ice cream truck, music and live performances, community speeches, resource tables, and prizes. It was a celebration of community, connection, culture, and good vibes all in one place.

Composting, tree planting, solar phone charging stations, and more – these are the types of hyper-local climate action initiatives youth globally are advancing with microgrants from Bloomberg Philanthropies, and soon Somerville youth will have an opportunity to join in.

The Faces, Spaces & Places exhibition runs from June 5 to August 23 at the Somerville Museum, with an opening reception on Friday, June 5.

Faces, Spaces & Places is a visual exhibition exploring the causes, impact, and potential solutions to end artist displacement, offering a spatial justice view of the overlooked value of affordable artist workspaces across Massachusetts. Through photographs, maps, testimony, and community engagements, The #ARTSTAYSHERE Coalition shares insights into what’s caused artist displacement over time and how their volunteer advocacy organization, in partnership with community and other stakeholders, has turned the displacement trajectory around.

William “Bill” Joseph Gilligan, age 84 of Somerville, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 16th, 2026, at the Aberjona Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Winchester.  He was the beloved husband of the late David G. Sholl, with whom he shared many wonderful years together prior to his passing in 2011.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I graduated from Somerville High School in 1971. Graduation day was an epic time. My best friend Charlie and I walked from Ball Square all the way to Dilboy Stadium. Things were different back then, so we got buzzed while we walked.

(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 Friends,

I’m honored and humbled to share our latest endorsements from leading community members and organizations in Medford and Somerville. These individuals and groups represent exactly the kind of equitable, responsive, community-centered, and worker-focused approach I’ll bring to the State House if elected to serve as your State Representative. I’m looking forward to partnering with them in our fight for economic and climate justice, immigrant rights, strong public education, and more.

City Councilors approved a resolution in support of voluntary recognition for Somerville Workers United

By Harry Kane

The Somerville City Council proclaimed its approval of labor unions, saying they are “critical to workplace and economic justice” in a resolution that supports the voluntary recognition of Somerville Workers United (SWU).