City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne is asking for your assistance in helping families at the Clarendon Hill Towers. She writes, “As we reach the one-year mark of living in a COVID pandemic, I know this last year has been intense and stressful for many of us. It has also been nearly a year since I let you know about 25-30 families at Clarendon Hill Towers who needed extra help with food, and incidental items. YOU GAVE! Nearly every month for about nine months we received donations of food, face masks, grocery certificates, personal hygiene items and more for our neighbors. Thank you! The duration of the pandemic has even more added economic pressures on our families, I am asking if you can help about 60 families at Clarendon Hill Towers. The request this time is the need for a $20 gift certificates from either Stop & Shop or Market Basket. Due date is Sunday, February 28 end of the day. Drop off at 49 Russell Road (last house in dead end), front porch, deposit in box on red Adirondack chair. (please no cash or checks) OR … Purchase online https://marketbasketfoods.com/gift-cards/ for Market Basket gift card and https://stopandshop.com/pages/gift-cards for Stop & Shop gift cards fill in order and name on gift card, fill out to Yetsanaira (Jessie) Alvira, Clarendon Hill Towers, Resident Services Coordinator, email: YAlvira@firsthartford.com, 1372 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144, 617-625-7150.”

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On Sunday, February 28, 4:00 -5:00 p.m., the Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets (SASS) will hold a virtual public summit focused on the safety issues faced by Somerville’s street users. In just the past two years, four pedestrians were killed by drivers and at least 160 pedestrians and cyclists were injured in crashes with motorists. SASS has created a Declaration and Call to Action, available for review at https://tinyurl.com/SASSdeclaration. The Declaration was submitted to the City Council with over 200 signatures. Consider signing on to the Call to Action when you register by going to https://tinyurl.com/SASSsignon. For more information, please contact SASS at somervillesafestreets@gmail.com.

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Happy birthday this week to the following: Happy birthday to Sean Fitzgerald, who is celebrating this week. We wish Sean a good day. Happy birthday to Nancy Trane, a great person. We hope she has a great day for herself as well. Happy Birthday to City Councilor Kristen Strezo, we wish her a very happy birthday. Happy birthday to Christine Resmini. We hope she has a great day as well. Happy birthday to Steven Buckley of East Somerville, we hope Steve has a great day. Happy birthday to great guy, Eamon Fee, who celebrates this week. We hope he has a great birthday. Happy birthday to another good guy, Rod Kreimeyer, we hope Rod has a great day. Happy birthday to David Mangan. We hope David has a great day for himself as well. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Lauren Daddio, Las Carolinas, Wayne A. Fournier, Ann Bourque, Thomas Scott, Sarah Marcone, Lu Alves, Larry J Travaglione and Bill Roy a very happy birthday. To all those that are also celebrating this week, we wish a happy birthday.

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CHA Somerville Campus Urgent Care – located at 33 Tower St. – will be closed on Saturday, February 27, to accommodate required electrical repairs by Eversource. Eversource will be cutting power to the CHA Somerville Campus from approximately 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CHA Public Safety staff will be available to advise and support anyone seeking care. Anyone with a serious illness or injury should call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency room. CHA has 24-hour emergency care at Cambridge Hospital and Everett Hospital. CHA Somerville Campus Urgent Care is scheduled to reopen on Sunday, February 28, at 9:00 a.m. Normal hours are 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., seven days a week. For more information, visit www.challiance.org.

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Visit www.somerville.k12.ma.us/transition for updates and a look at the new website as they get ready to start transitioning to in-person learning.

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On Monday, March 1, at 2:00 p.m., you can tune in to watch Mayor Joe Curtatone’s midterm address. In Somerville, mayors give a midterm address every other year to update residents on work done over the past year and outline goals and priorities for the coming year. Here’s how you can watch the speech live: Tune in to Somerville GovTV (RCN channel 13 or 613, Comcast channel 22). The midterm will be worked into regular GovTV programming after it is first aired. Visit Somerville CityTV’s website, www.somervillema.gov/citycable, and click on the “Watch Live Stream” to see the speech whenever it is aired on GovTV. The video will also be shared on CityTV’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/SomervilleCityTV, where it can be watched any time.

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The state has announced that those accompanying someone 75 or older to their COVID-19 vaccine appointment at state sites are also eligible to get vaccinated. Anyone accompanying a senior to their vaccine appointment must have an appointment scheduled at the same site, on the same day, as the senior they are accompanying. To make an appointment at a state site, visit mass.gov/vaccine or call 211. Keep in mind that phone wait times may be long, so please be patient. The City of Somerville is also available to help those who face barriers to accessing vaccines including needing transportation or language assistance. If you are currently eligible to receive a vaccine – including those in Phase 1 or who are 75 or older – and need help accessing local vaccine resources, please call 311. 311 can also connect seniors to the Council on Aging for support in signing up for State vaccine clinics.

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You can sign up to receive occasional phone calls updating you on the latest COVID-19 vaccine information, including where and how to get a vaccine. To subscribe, please visit somervillema.gov/covidvaccine or call 311. If you are already signed up to receive email and text notifications through the city’s alert system you will also get this information. Again, this for people who would prefer to get vaccine updates via phone call. COVID vaccine information is also posted on the city website at somervillema.gov/CovidVaccine. You can also visit the state’s vaccine website, mass.gov/vaccine, for additional information.

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CHA Somerville Hospital offers free COVID-19 testing at Assembly Row. 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. Mobile testing schedules and more information on both can be found under the “Symptoms, Testing, & Medical Info” tab on somervillema.gov/covid19. The state also operates several Stop the Spread testing sites, including in the nearby communities of Chelsea and Everett. For more information, visit the state’s website: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stop-the-spread.

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Make sure you’re wearing the right face covering. The CDC has guidance on choosing a face covering that best protects those around you. Three things to keep in mind: Your face covering should be made of at least two layers of washable, breathable fabric. It should completely cover your nose and mouth. It should fit snugly against the side of your face. That means if you’re getting a face covering for a child, you should look for one designed for smaller faces.

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The Union Square Video Projection Series, curated by Andrew Ringler, features local artists whose works represent: storytelling, abstraction and dance from thirteen individual artists and artist collaboratives. Since November 2020, SAC have shown works from each group looping during the evenings, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. The projection art is shown on a building facade in Union Square. Through February and March, they will be featuring dance-themed videos by artists: Stephanie Sherman, Michal Hall, Melissa Castro, Mike Brun, Margaret Wiss, and Carven Boursiquot. On March 3 at 6:00 p.m., join Facebook Live for a panel discussion highlighting some of the participating artists and the project curator. More details will be added to the website soon: https://somervilleartscouncil.org/projectionseries.

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Somerville’s Winter Farmer’s Market takes place Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., through April 10, at 191 Highland Ave. Offering the best locally grown and produced agricultural items and more. Online pre-order market with a small outdoor “live” shopping market. They offer a diverse range of local and New England produce, as well as cheese, eggs, meats, fish, breads, pastries, chocolate, and wine. They feature rotating guest vendors each week, as well as live entertainment and activities. They accept SNAP/EBT, CREDIT and DEBIT cards. $10 SNAP match for EBT customers. For market information visit: http://www.somwintermarket.org.

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Apply for small business relief funds. The City of Somerville has made $5 million available to small businesses in its third round of the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Fund. Eligible businesses can apply for grants of up to $25,000. Applications are now available and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn more about the funding, including eligibility requirements, or apply for funds online.

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The Pandemic – Electronic Transfer (P-EBT) Program was created spring 2020 to provide eligible families funds to purchase food while schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended through the end of the 2020-21 school year. Visit https://www.map-ebt.org/home/#ihdtab for additional information.