Early Voting for the 2020 State (Presidential) Election began on October 17 at Somerville City Hall. Please be advised that early voting will be available exclusively at Somerville City Hall. Visit https://www.somervillema.gov/events/2020/10/17/early-voting-2020-state-presidential-election for a complete list of dates and times. If you are not registered to vote, or if you need to update your address or party affiliation, you have until Saturday, October 24 to do so. Visit the city’s Register to Vote page: https://www.somervillema.gov/departments/elections/register-to-vote to learn more about your options for registering.

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Stay vigilant, this week, Somerville moved into the red category on the State’s COVID-19 map. Communities move into the red category when they have more than eight cases per 100,000 residents in the previous 14 days. Somerville’s rate is currently 8.2. This serves as an important reminder that we all need to keep up the good practices that helped flatten the curve in the spring – social distancing, limiting gatherings with people you don’t live with, wearing a face covering in any public indoor or outdoor space, and frequently washing or sanitizing your hands and high-touch surfaces.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to former writer for The Times, Harry Kane. We wish him a great day. Happy birthday to Barry Rollins, who is celebrating this week and we wish him a good day. Happy birthday to Erin DiBenedetto from Medford, but Erin grew up here in Winter Hill. We wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday to Valarie Spinale-Bolduc, who grew up in East Somerville and is well known as someone who loves the city. A special happy birthday to our good friend and Winter Hill resident, Vicki Potaris. We wish her a great day. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as George Lally, Jim Douthart, Jackie Lucas, Charlene Murphy, Stephen Bertoncini, David LaCroix, Kip Lyall, Patricia Capadanno, Harry Levasseur and Mel Fraser 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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Sadly, yet another Somerville restaurant will be closing its doors because of the financial losses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moroccan Hospitality Restaurant recently announced that it will cease operations indefinitely. In a statement on Facebook, co-owner Amina Nouzha expressed her gratitude to the community and revealed that the restaurant could not recover from the coronavirus shutdown.

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As the state eviction moratorium expires, Somerville’s moratorium remains in place. The state’s eviction moratorium expired on Saturday, October 17, which means landlords will be able to begin eviction proceedings through the courts. In Somerville, however, a local moratorium remains in place that prevents the physical removal of people or their belongings from a residential or commercial property. If you are served with eviction papers, the city’s Office of Housing Stability (OHS) can help connect you with resources and support. Anyone in Somerville facing housing insecurity should contact the OHS either by visiting somervillema.gov/ohs and clicking on “Make a Referral” or by calling 617-625-66000 x2581.

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Earlier this week, the state announced that an additional $171 million would be invested in eviction prevention programs. Again, if you are facing housing insecurity, please contact OHS either by visiting somervillema.gov/ohs and clicking on “Make a Referral” or by calling 617-625-66000 x2581.

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ResiStat will host a series of virtual events in the coming weeks, giving residents the opportunity to engage with Somerville elected officials and staff on key topics. The remaining meetings will cover: October 28 – Mental Health and Wellness, and TBA – Racial and Social Justice. The meeting geared toward seniors planned for tonight, October 21, has been postponed. A new meeting date will be announced as soon as it is available. For more information on this fall’s series of ResiStat meetings, visit the city’s website. All meetings will start at 6:00 p.m. and are scheduled to run at least an hour. Residents can log in to the meetings through somervillema.gov/virtualtownhall. Live simultaneous Spanish interpretation and English captioning will be available. Portuguese, Haitian Kreyol and Nepali interpretation can be requested by emailing sbernt@somervillema.gov.

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Funding available to support artists, schools, organizations for 2021 is now available. The deadline this year is Monday, November 16, 2020. To review this year’s guidelines, visit http://somervilleartscouncil.org/grants. In addition, the SAC offers grants specifically to Somerville schools in support of cultural fieldtrips. The Local Cultural Council (LCC) Grant Program is funded and overseen by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Somerville LCC program grants are reviewed by SAC board members and local peers with expertise in the appropriate disciplines. Each year new panelists are convened to review new submissions. There will be two virtual workshop info sessions: Thursday, October 22, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., virtual meeting via Zoom, and Tuesday, October 27, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m., virtual meeting via Zoom. Please go to SAC’s website for specific Zoom links: https://somervilleartscouncil.org/grants/info.

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Making masks you’d like to donate? We’re nearly halfway to our goal for our 10,000 Mask Drive. So far, you’ve made and donated 4,605 masks. If you’re a crafty Somerville resident who has been sewing reusable face masks, please consider donating some to help us meet our 10,000 mask goal. After being laundered, masks are distributed to seniors and other vulnerable populations. If you would like to donate masks, put them in a sealed bag and bring them to the drop box at either the Central Library, 79 Highland Ave., or the East Branch Library, 115 Broadway.

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CHA Somerville Hospital offers free testing at Assembly Row by appointment. To make an appointment, call 617-665-2928, Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The mobile COVID-19 testing unit also offers testing in our neighborhoods to make access easier for residents. Mobile testing schedules and more information on both can be found under the “Symptoms, Testing, & Medical Info” tab on somervillema.gov/covid19.

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The Wheat Paste Photo Series features six local Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) who have photographed their experiences during the pandemic, as well as commented on the racial injustices their BIPOC community has experienced. The photographs were printed on large sheets of paper and then applied with wheat paste to a brick wall located on Glen Street intersecting with Broadway in East Somerville. This project has been sponsored by the City of Somerville and the Somerville Arts Council. For more information on the artist visit http://somervilleartscouncil.org/eastpaste.

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Teen Empowerment is looking for Somerville youth ages 13 – 21 to join their team of youth organizers. Learn more about Teen Empowerment at https://teenempowerment.org/somerville/. Sign up for an interview this month at https://tinyurl.com/ApplyTESomerville.

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Kitty Connection, an all-volunteer non-profit dedicated to rescuing and finding safe, loving homes for local cats and dogs, will hold its fourth annual Silent Auction online this year due to health and safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online event will run from 6:00 p.m. Thursday, November 12 through 6:00 p.m. Sunday, November 15 at www.myminiauction.com/kittyconnection. Kitty Connection will share auction guidelines and policies on the auction website the week before the November 12 – 15 online event. Items up for bid will be listed at the auction start time. Kitty Connection is still accepting donations for the silent auction. To donate, or for any questions, please email kcsilentauction@gmail.com. To learn more about Kitty Connection and pets available for adoption, visit: www.kittyconnection.net

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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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