The Annual Meeting of the Somerville High School Scholarship Foundation will be held in the Library at Somerville High School at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 12, when they will elect Directors to three-year terms. The meeting is for current officers, directors, and members. New members are welcome. For information, contact Noreen Santucci, correspondence secretary, at NFSLEARN@aol.com or at 617-448-0145.

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Happy birthdays this week to the following: Happy birthday to great lady and friend, Maria Nella Nunes. We hope she has a great birthday. Maybe her husband Bruce will cook for her? Happy birthday to Patricia Moran-Quinlan, another nice lady from Winter Hill. We hope she has a great day as well. Happy birthday to Sheila Howe, yet another great lady here in Somerville. We wish her the very best of birthdays this week. Happy birthday to our own Denise Cosby, local real estate agent/author and nice lady. We hope she has a great day. Happy birthday to our good friend and former Winter Hill guy, Jeff Cappello. We hope he has a great day. To all those celebrating this week who we may have missed, we hope you have a great day as well.

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Demets Donuts in Medford is getting very busy, but those donuts and the large variety are like the old Day’s Donuts, huge and tasty. Almost a sin facing you when you come in for just coffee. It’s hard to not get that jelly or lemon, not to mention the coconut donuts. The Somerville Times is available every Wednesday at the donut shop. Stop in, get a coffee and few of those delicious donuts, or maybe the real – and we mean real – egg sandwiches, from real eggs.

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We’ve been watching the Board of Alderman meetings, and it is definitely a different board. It seems as though at first glance they might want to read the charter which outlines their job and responsibilities. The benefit of being older is looking back at previous Boards. This Board sort of reminds us of the ones in the late 60’s and 70’s under then Mayor S. Lester Ralph, which was also interesting to watch. But it’s only a month into a new term of office, so we will still be watching. We suggest, though, that more and more residents and both renters and property owners watch on Somerville City Cable (Comcast 22, RCN 13) or online at https://www.somervillema.gov/video. See what such a small percentage of registered voters elected this past election.

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Somerville laid to rest another proud resident of the city for his entire life. Jerry Fleming was a great guy who loved the fact he was from Somerville and was a dedicated activist in the Democratic Party. He was President of Somerville Youth Hockey for 15 years. He made many friends over the years both with those who grew up here and those who just moved here, making Somerville their home as well. We, along with many others, will miss Jerry. He would often stop in to visit us, talk about the days when politics here in Somerville was rough, but after the election was over, everyone would become friends again. Unlike today, in some respects. He was a positive guy, and a good and loyal friend to us and many others who knew him.

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Over the next few weeks Somerville residents will be receiving the 2018 Annual City Census in the mail and the city urges everyone to fill out and return theirs. High census participation provides an accurate population count and helps the city plan municipal services and adapt as the population changes. The Elections Department also uses the census to help keep voting rolls up to date. Completed census forms can be returned via the postage paid return envelope included in the mailing, by scanning the form and emailing it to census@somervillema.gov, by dropping it off in a census box located in city buildings and libraries, or by faxing it to 617-625-5642. Contact 311 or 617-666-3311 with any questions.

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Non-profit organizations in Somerville are invited to apply for grants from the Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF). The TNSF collects donations from faculty and staff at Tufts University throughout the year and then awards small grants to community-based, charitable organizations that serve Tufts’ host communities. All of the TNSF funds go to nonprofit organizations. In this way, TNSF supports not only community organizations but also the work of the many Tufts students, staff, faculty, and alumni who volunteer with them. Interested organizations should contact the Government and Community Relations office at Tufts University at (617) 627-3780 or obtain an application at http://go.tufts.edu/TNSF. Individual grants will be made in amounts ranging from $250 to $2,000. Applications are due by Friday, March 2, and awards will be announced before April.

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If you’re interested in a more efficient way to heat and cool your home now’s the time to check out Somerville’s HeatSmart/CoolSmart program, which runs through February 15. So far over 100 property owners have signed up for a free site visit from one of the city’s selected heat pump installers and more than 30 have plans to install one. Visit the HeatSmart/CoolSmart website to learn more about the program, the discounts available if you decide to install a system, and a link to sign up for a site visit: https://www.somervillema.gov/departments/programs/heatsmartcoolsmart-somerville.

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With site preparation for construction on the new Somerville High School building project underway, gradual changes to parking options on the Central Hill Campus (which includes City Hall, Somerville High School, and the Somerville Public Library) and the surrounding public streets have begun. All interested residents are invited to attend public quarterly meetings where City staff will provide updates about parking changes, new data collection, and strategies for impact mitigation. The 2018 meeting dates are: Monday, March 19; Wednesday, June 20; Wednesday, September 19; and Wednesday, December 12. All meetings will be held beginning at 6 p.m. in the Somerville Public Library Auditorium, 79 Highland Ave. In addition to the meetings, an online form has been created to give community members and city and school staff an opportunity to submit questions, comments, and/or suggestions about the parking changes. The form, along with additional information about the High School project and resulting parking impacts, can be found at www.somervillema.gov/shsparking. Questions? Contact Mike Tremblay in the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, at mtremblay@somervillema.gov.