The end of the additional $600 per week unemployment benefit will likely create new financial hardship for people in our community. If you’re lucky enough to have some extra money, please consider a donation to the Somerville Cares Fund. This donation-based fund provides direct assistance to Somerville residents, workers, and parents of school children so that they can cover basic expenses like housing, food, and utility bills. If you’re unable to donate you can still help by sharing information about the Somerville Cares Fund with your friends and family.

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Registered voters in Somerville should have received their applications for mail-in voting. If you fill it out and return it, you will be able to vote in the September 1 primary and November 3 general election without having to go to a poll site. Mayor Joe Curtatone explains this simple process here: https://youtu.be/k8mH7g0Z5ww. Anyone not registered to vote or registered voters who have not received their mail-in voting application can go to https://www.somervillema.gov/ELECTIONS for easy registration and to download a mail-in voting application.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to a local guy who is very well known, Zach Zasloff. We wish him a great day. Happy birthday to Maria Mancini, formerly of Winter Hill. We hope she has a great birthday. Wishing a very happy birthday to our own Bobby Potaris‘ daughter Natalia. To Kaitlin Norton, we wish her a very happy birthday. And finally, happy birthday to Alicia Lafuente, a very nice lady and professional businesswomen. We wish her the very best. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Tori Antonino, Ron Newman, Zach Corey, Keith Anderson, John Alan Roderick, Heather Hanson, Heather Marie Driscoll, E F Marie Wilson, Dale Hodgkins, Trish Bean Oakland and James Bimbo a very happy birthday. We hope everyone has a great day. To all the others we may have missed, we sincerely wish them the very best of birthdays.

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Sad news for Slumbrew fans. The following was just released: “Today we say THANK YOU and goodbye. It has been the honor of a lifetime to bring you Slumbrew beers, the outdoor beer garden, our brewery and American Fresh Brewhouse. Having plenty of time to think, rest and reset we have decided to close for good. Thank you for the good times, great conversations and celebrating the many special moments of your lives with us. Thank you to the hundreds of staff that have served our guests, opened and closed our doors day after day. (You know you work at Slumbrew, when someone you love, picks a mustard seed off you and then asks “What the eff is that!?”) Thank you to our colleagues, wholesalers, retailers, draft accounts and partners. We’ll look in on you from time to time and share our next chapters. Stay safe & be well. Slainte!”

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The Somerville City Council will hold a virtual public hearing on Tufts University’s reopening plan on Wednesday, August 5, starting at 7:00 p.m. There are two ways residents can submit testimony: To attend and be heard, enter the following link into your internet browser at any time before the meeting: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6975948688038741262. You will be asked to register for the meeting, and after registering, you will receive an email with instructions to join the meeting/webinar when it starts. Testimony can also be sent via email to cityclerk@somervillema.gov or mail to the City Clerk, 93 Highland Avenue, 02143. The comments must arrive no later than noon on Wednesday, August 5, in order to be sure they are conveyed to the Council.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that some hand sanitizers containing methanol, which can have toxic effects, are being sold in the U.S. The FDA is keeping a list on its website of brands that contain methanol and the list was recently expanded. Take a look at the list to make sure the products you are using are safe.

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Although there have not been any human cases of West Nile virus reported this summer, mosquitoes that tested positive for the virus have been found in neighboring towns, so it’s important to protect yourself when you’re outside. Mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk; if you will be outside during those times consider using bug spray and/or covering up with long sleeves and pants.

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Just Us Somerville (JUS), a group of People Of Color living in Somerville, is looking for local Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) artists to assist with the development and implementation of a Black Lives Matter mural street project. The plan is to create large text on Broadway. According to Google, the roadway stretch is about 530 feet, starting from after the Medford Street intersection towards Central Street in Somerville. They are seeking an experienced visual artist who is willing to collaborate with the community in the making of a street mural of the “Black Lives Matter” as text and implementing additional graphics within the boundaries of the large text. How to apply: Fill out Google Form: https://forms.gle/9McbuxPEem5Py9VD7 Deadline for submission: August 17. The goal is to have the project done by Sept 12 and 13. If interested, please contact iaritza Menjivar: imenjivar@somervillema.gov.

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The City of Somerville Council on Aging is now accepting donations of new games, puzzles, books, arts and craft supplies, and other fun items to deliver some cheer to local seniors. Sudoku books, word searches, adult coloring books, sketch pads, playing cards, and stationery are especially popular. Donations will be used to create care packages that will be delivered directly to seniors’ residences. During the pandemic, while in-person programming has been on hold, these small but meaningful gestures are one way the Council stays connected to its patrons and continues to support seniors in our community. Donated items should be dropped off in the designated box inside the front door of the Holland Street Senior Center, 167 Holland St. Items are being collected through Friday, August 7. Questions can be directed to Debby Higgins, Outreach Coordinator, at dhiggins@somervillema.gov or (617) 625-6600 ext. 2321.

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The City of Somerville Constituent Services (311 Somerville) is seeking three Part-Time Customer Service Representatives for temporary work through June 30, 2021. Learn more about the job description and how to apply at bit.ly/311jobs.

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As of Monday, July 20, the COVID-19 testing site previously located at the Somerville Hospital has moved to 133 Middlesex Avenue (near the former Kmart site) in Assembly Square. The testing site is part of a larger COVID-19 mitigation strategy by the City of Somerville in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). Patients can arrive at the site via vehicle, walking, or bicycle, and testing procedures will be the same as at the previous location: Patients must have an appointment to be tested. To make an appointment, call 617-665-2928 (Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.). CHA patients can also use their MyCHArt account to set up an appointment. Testing is free and insurance coverage is not a requirement, although CHA may ask for insurance information for administrative purposes. You will not be turned away if you do not have insurance. You do not need to have symptoms to be tested. Immigration status will not be checked. Please bring a photo ID. Patients will receive a phone call with their results, which could take up to five days to come in. There is also a mobile testing unit that accepts patients at roaming locations throughout Somerville. To see the mobile site’s upcoming schedule, visit the “Symptoms, Testing, & Medical Info” tab on www.somervillema.gov/covid19 or call 311. To make an appointment at the mobile testing site please call 617-682-0583 (English); 617-398-7770 (Spanish); 617-684-5625 (Portuguese); 617-735-5553 (Nepali); or 617-625-6600 ext. 2622 (Haitian Creole).

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Mark your calendars. This year’s What the Fluff? festival will be a little zanier than usual as they celebrate through the sphere of cyberspace. In a world reinventing itself, Fluff Fest 2020 unites us – albeit virtually – through the one thing we can all believe in: the sweet, sticky, tasty, magical power of Fluff. For the love of Fluff, wherever our e-news reaches you, get ready to boast your worldwide Fluff pride, support independently-owned by scoring your Fluff stuff online, take part in innovation jubilation with arts, eats and oodles of family fun, and flock with fellow friends-in-Fluff through the first-ever, virtual Fluff Festival on September 12.

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Reminder: city buildings are still closed to the public. Although city buildings remain closed to the public, a number of city services are still available online or by calling 311. Check the “City Service Status” tab on the city’s COVID-19 page for more information.

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Healthy, local food is important. The Farmers Markets are open again in Davis Square (www.massfarmersmarkets.org/davis) and Union Square (www.unionsquaremain.org/2020-season). But this year they will be different. Both markets will encourage only one person per household to do the shopping, incorporate social distancing guidelines and allow a limited amount of shoppers in the space. Please sign up for a shopping spot in advance at the market websites. SNAP and HIP benefits are accessible for shoppers in both markets. No gathering or socializing is allowed in the markets.

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