Readers of our print edition will will notice that we are running fewer pages this week. This is due to the fact that so many of our regular features such as Villens on the Town, the Council On Aging listing, Somerville Police arrest reports, etc., are not being produced because of the lack of activity in the city during the coronavirus stay at home advisory. Be assured that we will continue to publish and include the latest and most vital news you need to get, both in print and on our website at www.thesomervilletimes.com, and will return to our usual usual page count as conditions warrant. And remember, we invite everyone to submit their Somerville Sheltering Stories, photos, anecdotes, etc., to news@thesomervilletimes.com. We want to know how everyone is doing while we are all going through this uniquely challenging time.

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To discourage organized games and contact sports that could hasten the spread of COVID-19, Tufts University’s athletic fields, including the Ellis Oval, are now closed. In accordance with the City of Somerville (Official) guidelines, the playground on Powder House Boulevard has been closed as well. The vast majority of the Medford/Somerville campus, including the academic quad, the President’s Lawn, the Triangle Park (corner of Powder House Boulevard and College Avenue) and Fletcher Field (corner of Professor’s Row and Curtis Street), will remain open for walks and passive use. These decisions are being made on an ongoing basis with great care and consideration for public health. The university has never taken such extraordinary actions in its history. They ask for your patience and sincerely thank you for your cooperation, understanding, and flexibility as we move forward together.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Big happy birthday to Steve Mac of the DPW. We hope Steve had a good day. Happy birthday to Bruce Rollins II, who also celebrated this week. We hope he enjoyed his day as well. Happy birthday to Sissy McWatters-Ankenbauer, also celebrating this week. We hope she had a great day too. Happy birthday to our good friend Ida Fasano, who is a real estate agent with Century 21 North East, Norton Group. We’re wishing her a great day as well. Happy birthday to Chris Pedersen, we hope he has a great day. Happy birthday to Linda Rock Coutoumas, who is celebrating this week. Happy birthday to Cheryl Constantine Leatham, who is also celebrating. We hope she is having a great day. Happy birthday to Talt Gregory Shackelford IV, who is celebrating as well. We wish him the very best of birthdays. Happy birthday to Linda Camiel Butler, Christos Ringos, Warren Goldstein-Gelb, Patricia Garrity, and Kathryn Giuliano. To all the others we may have missed – and yes, there are a few more out there – we sincerely wish them the very best of birthdays.

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In response to COVID-19, the Somerville Winter Farmers Market will be a pre-order only market held in the Armory parking lot from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 11. You can order from several of their vendors this week, and then pick up your goods on Saturday. This is a great way to support vendors, especially smaller vendors who do not have the capacity to set up their own delivery systems at this time. Please consider purchasing some of their delicious products. To preorder or for more information, go to https://www.somwintermarket.org/vendors SNAP/EBT are accepted.

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The Somerville Library has been hosting virtual story hours live on their Facebook page. Besides Cathy reading to her pup Rocky, the Children’s Librarian staff are going to try to keep their regular story time schedule on FB Live.

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East Somerville is holding a Virtual Egg Hunt. You can create colorful eggs out of paper, or even draw them on a sidewalk. The goal is to display them in a place where everyone can see them. When you spot the eggs, you can snap a photo and post it to the East Somerville Main Streets Facebook page with the tag #SomervilleEggHunt. Hint: You can find one at East End Grille. For more info, visit https://www.eastsomervillemainstreets.org/virtual-egg-hunt.

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Support local business and enjoy the best of Somerville’s culinary scene by ordering takeout or delivery during this difficult time. Check out https://www.somervilledelivers.com for a list of restaurants accepting orders now. Don’t see your restaurant listed? Add it here: Somervillema.gov/covidbizhelp

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Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is accepting masks. The link below offers a pattern and provides more details. Thanks to many local sewers who have already been hard at work on this. The link for CHA’s Call for Masks is: https://www.challiance.org/about/newsroom/personal_protective_equipment_ppe_homemade_donatio_1180

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The Somerville Arts Council understands the importance of social distancing and the impact this has caused on the arts community. They want to stay connected and continue to support artists as much as they can. They are launching the Home Alone Art Series (HAAS). HAAS is a series of art related performances live streamed by Somerville artists on Facebook. The performances can represent a variety of genres, including music, visual arts, performance, writing, theater, dance and multidisciplinary art forms. HAAS will be scheduled throughout the month and they will provide a schedule to share and follow. Their goal is to hire and pay Somerville artists (both residents and those who have a studio in the city) who are experiencing financial difficulties because of Covid-19 restrictions. To apply, see the website for details: https://somervilleartscouncil.org/homealone. The Somerville Arts Council enjoys bringing people together. Through their events they are able to support artists financially. They understand the importance of social distancing yet also want to stay connected and continue to support artists as much as they can.

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Everyone should also remember to please support our local businesses in any way they can. Even though restaurants closed and most are only available for takeout, you are encouraged to order out and buy gift cards at the restaurants and small businesses for future use.

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To contact us at The Somerville Times during these closures, please go to news@thesomervilletimes.com. We are still up and running but will be working remotely.