September is National Recovery Month. The social distancing necessary to control the spread of COVID-19 can make it difficult for people in recovery to connect with others and access support. Groups like Narcotics Anonymous, SMART Recovery, and Herren Project, among others, are offering virtual recovery meetings and resources during the pandemic. We have a list of additional resources at www.somervillema.gov/coronavirushelp.

***************************

Unfortunately, Somerville lost two music venues this week because of the pandemic. Bull McCabe’s and Thunder Road, both on Somerville Ave., announced that they are closing. Having their doors closed for such a long period of time has made it difficult for them to keep going. Please support all local businesses as much as you can. These have been very trying times for all businesses and we do not want to see more of them forced to close.

***************************

Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy Birthday to our own photographer, Claudia Ferro. We can’t say enough nice things about her, we are very happy to have her as our photographer. We wish her a very happy birthday and know she will have a great day with her husband Sal and all of her family around her. Happy birthday to a local favorite, Patty Oppedisano, the best waitress around. We wish her a great day. Happy birthday to the sister of our former publisher, Marilyn Publicover, who is celebrating this week. We wish her the very best. Happy birthday to hard working city employee, Nancy Gaudet Bacci. Happy birthday to Judith Medeiros, we wish her very happy day for herself. Happy birthday to local realtor and successful developer, Stephen Bremis, of the famous Bremis Real Estate. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Mary Casavant, Len Glionna, Dennis Kacoyanis, Guillermo Samuel Hamlin, Nick Stavre, Justin Moeling, Billy Harrison, Christine Frazer Amari and Paul Mercier 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.

***************************

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, State Senator Pat Jehlen, State Representative Mike Connolly, City Council President, Ward 1 Councilor Matt McLaughlin, and City of Somerville staff invite you to a virtual meeting to discuss the community needs at the Kensington Connector. The Kensington Connector is the pedestrian crossing under I-93 at Mystic Avenue between the East Somerville neighborhood and the Assembly Square neighborhood. The meeting will be held on Thursday, September 3, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on the GoToMeeting webinar platform. Please visit www.somervillema.gov/KensingtonMeeting1 to register to attend. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the webinar. For more information, contact Cortney Kirk at ckirk@somervillema.gov.

***************************

Share a photo or drawing of what you are doing to keep cool on mapc.org/keep-cool-somerville and tag #keepcoolsomerville. The Keep Cool Somerville Photovoice Project is a part of the Somerville Heat Health Assessment and Toolkit which aims to improve climate and health equity in the City of Somerville.

***************************

Mayor Joe Curtatone, the City Council, the Somerville Arts Council, and the city’s ResiStat program invite Somerville’s artists and the cultural community, as well as all interested persons, to join a virtual town hall to discuss challenges faced by the arts community that have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as possible solutions. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 15, starting at 6:30 p.m. The meetings will be hosted on the Zoom online meeting platform and livestreamed on YouTube and City Cable TV, and those who prefer can also call into the meeting from any phone (no computer or smartphone needed). Residents may also watch repeat showings of recordings of the meetings on City Cable TV. Visit www.somervillema.gov/virtualtownhall at the start time of the meeting to join live or get call-in information. Call-in information will also be available on the day of each meeting on City Cable (channel 13 on RCN, channel 22 on Comcast) or by calling 311.

***************************

Somerville Public Schools students will be starting the 2020-2021 school year virtually in an effort to protect the health of students, teachers, school staff, and the broader community. This is part of a phased hybrid approach that will, dependent on positive health data, transition to some in-person learning. To learn more about SPS’s back-to-school planning, visit their website.

***************************

Thanks to our crafty residents, more than 3,700 reusable cloth masks have been donated as part of our 10,000 Masks Drive. If you’d like to sew and donate some masks, please seal them in a bag and use the book drop at either the Central or East Branch Library. Masks are being distributed to seniors and other vulnerable populations who may not have easy access to reusable masks.

***************************

#WearAMask to protect your friends and family. Wear one for the people in your community you don’t know you’re connected to: the friend of a friend, the elderly neighbor, the person with an underlying condition who shops at your grocery store.

***************************

There is still time to fill out the 2020 U.S. Census – and the time is now! Census takers have begun visiting Somerville homes that have not yet completed the Census. Census takers will be wearing PPE and taking safety precautions, but the safest way to complete the Census (and avoid a visit!) is to respond on your own at my2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020. You can always verify the identity of a Census worker by calling the local Census office at 212-882-7100.

***************************

Looking for a way to practice social distancing but still remain connected to other people? Look no further than the Somerville Council on Aging’s Friendly Phone Caller program. They have many wonderful volunteers who are waiting to give you a call. Whether you are looking to make a new friend or would just like a friendly chat to look forward to every week, this program has you covered. Call Natasha at 617-625-6600, ext. 2317 to learn more about the program and to sign up.

***************************

The city has set up a separate website dedicated to local business needs during this health crisis. Please bookmark somervillema.gov/COVIDBizHelp and visit for regular updates, event announcements, and support during this difficult time. You can also contact the Economic Development team at EconomicDevelopment@somervillema.gov.

***************************

For more than 65 years, Fill the Boot has been a strong fire fighter tradition – giving families with muscular dystrophy in hometowns across America hope for the future and support for today. To make a donation visit https://firefighters.mda.org.

***************************

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has announced the second and third human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in the state this year. The individuals are male, one in his 50s and the other in his 80s. Both were exposed to WNV in Middlesex County in an area already known to be at risk for this virus. Most WNV virus activity this year has been focused in an area around Boston and includes parts of Norfolk, Middlesex, and Essex counties. The risk of human infection with WNV is considered to be generally low throughout most of the Commonwealth. Information about current mosquito activity will continue to be updated regularly and can be found here https://www.mass.gov/mosquitoes-and-ticks.

***************************

The Somerville Bicycle Committee is hosting a Bike Talk Virtual Hour on September 9, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. September’s talk will feature Dom Tribone, General Manager of Bikes and Scooters at Lyft. Dom will take you behind the scenes at Bluebikes and give you an inside look at this very successful bike share system. Zoom info: https://bit.ly/3ituIOO Please use your full name when you enter the waiting room.

***************************

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 7 City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne, and City of Somerville staff invite you to a virtual meeting to review plans to replace the Dilboy Stadium synthetic turf field and improve the natural-grass Dilboy Auxiliary Fields adjacent to Alewife Brook Parkway. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 9, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the GoToMeeting webinar platform. Please visit to register to attend. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the webinar. For more information, contact Arn Franzen at afranzen@somervillema.gov.