The City of Somerville’s Elections Department has set up an online appointment system to allow candidates for municipal office to safely pick up and drop off nomination papers and speak with Elections staff while City Hall remains closed to the public. Candidates can sign up for a 30-minute appointment between May 3 and June 9 at www.somervillema.gov/elections. For more information about municipal elections, including how to run for office and a full election cycle calendar, visit www.somervillema.gov/elections

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Reminder: Regular street sweeping schedules resumed Thursday, April 1, and continue through December 31, unless otherwise announced. On designated street sweeping days, vehicles must be moved from the side of the street being swept, as noted on signs posted on each street. The penalty for not complying with street sweeping parking regulations is a $50 fine. You can find street sweeping information for your neighborhood by checking street signs or visiting www.somervillema.gov/sweeper. Please note that if there is a discrepancy between the online schedule and street signs, follow what is printed on street signs.

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The Somerville Community Growing Center is a contender in the Nature’s Path Gardens for Good competition. They have an amazing opportunity to receive $5000, just from crowdsourcing votes. The short window for voting is from now until April 7, but the top 21 vote-getting non-profit gardens will receive the money. Please help them rack up points by voting here (you can only vote once): https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/gardens-for-good/?fbclid=IwAR1415cy4tXIbxzgqjBTWTdM4qHWfpzUsc1OYaDzIdTh9zYI_mye9xbN3wo#the-somerville-community-growing-center.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Big happy birthday to Steve Mac of the DPW. We hope Steve enjoys his day. Happy birthday to Sissy McWatters-Ankenbauer, also celebrating this week. We hope she had a great day too. Happy birthday to Bruce Rollins II, who also celebrated this week. We hope he enjoyed his day as well. Happy birthday to our good friend Ida Fasano, who is a real estate agent with Century 21 North East. 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. We wish a happy birthday to all of our Facebook friends such as Linda Camiel Butler, Patricia Garrity, Kathryn Giuliano, Warren Goldstein-Gelb and Carmen Dolores Ferreira, who are all celebrating this week. To all the others we may have missed and, yes, we must admit there are a few more out there. We sincerely wish them the very best of birthdays.

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Join the City of Somerville planning team and fellow community members to help shape the future of the Brickbottom area of Somerville through an interactive workshop. This will be the first of several events to help us create a Vision Plan that reflects the community’s shared vision for the future of this area and can serve as a guide for future development. In this first session, they will discuss the existing conditions as well as several key improvement opportunities identified in their community outreach thus far. Brickbottom: First Visioning Workshop, Wednesday, April 7, at 6:30 p.m. This is a virtual meeting. You can register at https://tinyurl.com/BrickbottomWorkshop. You can learn more about this initiative at somervoice.somervillema.gov/brick. Questions? Email at planning@somervillema.gov.

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A virtual meeting about Bluebikes is set for Tuesday, April 13, at 6:00 p.m. Learn more about your public bike share. Bluebikes is co-owned and managed by the municipalities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville. At their spring meeting, they will look back at bike share in 2020 and share what to expect in 2021. They want to hear your questions, comments, and ideas. You can submit your thoughts in advance or share them during the meeting. Email bikeshare@boston.gov or use our online form. Register for the Zoom meeting: bit.ly/april-bikeshare. Submit questions and comments in advance: bit.ly/april-bikeshare-comments. Interpretation and translation services are available to you at no cost. If you need them, please contact us at bikeshare@boston.gov.

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All Somerville Public Library locations will be closed from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 9, for a staff development training. Contactless pickup will be available at Central Library and East Branch from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Regular Contactless Pickup hours resume Saturday, April 10.

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Virtual Overdose Prevention Training, Tuesday, April 13, at 3:00 p.m. Learn how to prevent, recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Register for this event: http://bit.ly/April13registration.

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The Somerville Museum will reopen to the public on Thursday, April 8. Hours are Thursdays, 2:00 – 7:00 p.m., Fridays, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., Saturdays, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. They require all visitors to wear face masks regardless of vaccination status, and everyone needs an advance timed-entry ticket. Tickets available on Eventbrite. Time slots are 1/2 hour long. $5 for Non-Members. Members enjoy free admission. Want to become a member? Sign up here: http://somervillemuseum.org/join-html/

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Somerville High School is looking for volunteer speakers. Please contact their Social Studies Department Head if you are interested in learning more about this volunteer opportunity: akersten@k12.somerville.ma.us. Here’s what Ms. Kersten says: “Are you passionate about an issue in society? Do you work to make positive change locally, nationally, and/or globally? Do you work to influence public opinion, policy, representation, or the allocation of resources? Somerville High School is looking for people who are civically engaged to share their experiences with our students.”

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The Walk for Hunger is seeking participants to join our community dedicated to doing good by helping get food to kids and families during the pandemic. A virtual fundraiser that supports Project Bread’s work to increase food access for people of all ages in Massachusetts, registration opened on Tuesday, February 9. Fundraising continues until May 2, with fun, virtual events taking place throughout the day. In its 53rd year, and its second year as a virtual event, thousands of caring community members will participate in the oldest pledge walk in the country, which is expected to raise over $1 million to help get food to kids and families during this crisis. Likeminded organizations that fundraise as part of The Commonwealth by forming teams can raise money to support their own work, while also furthering the statewide effort. There is no registration fee this year or fundraising minimum. To create a personal or team fundraising page for The Walk for Hunger or to make a donation, visit projectbread.org/walk or call (617) 723-5000.

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The state has announced when all remaining groups will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Monday, April 5: People age 55 or older and people with one certain medical condition became eligible. See the full list of medical conditions at mass.gov/vaccine. Monday, April 19: People age 16 or older will be eligible. For more information and to pre-register for an appointment, visit mass.gov/vaccine or call 211. The City of Somerville is also available to help those who face barriers to accessing vaccines, including people who need transportation or language assistance. If you are currently eligible to receive a vaccine and need help accessing the vaccine, please call 311.

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Greg Nadeau has announced his candidacy for Ward 7 School Committee in November’s election. Nadeau has dedicated his life to public education. In addition to his professional career in educational systems, he has been active with Somerville schools. Any Ward 7 voters interested in meeting to share ideas about working together to better support Somerville young people, should register their interest at PeopleWorkingWithGregNadeau.org. Two Zoom meetings are scheduled: Sunday, April 10, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday, April 14, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.

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Some reopening restrictions have started to ease since April 5. As more residents have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, including essential and service industry workers, the City of Somerville is moving forward with some additional modest business reopening steps. Somerville is still reopening at a more cautious pace than the state, remaining in a modified Phase 3, Step 1 of the state’s reopening plan until further notice. Starting April 5, restaurants have been allowed to stay open beyond 9:30 p.m. until their regularly permitted closing hours, but must remain at 25% indoor capacity. The city will work with recreation facilities to expand their operations in ways that are safe for each business. The Somerville Museum will be allowed to open, but must adhere to special event capacity caps in effect citywide of 10 persons indoors and 25 persons outdoors. The City of Somerville continues to monitor COVID case, vaccination, and other related data on a daily basis. As more people are vaccinated there is hope for further reopening in the near future, but guidance from public health experts does not support further openings at this time given the recent increase in case numbers across the state.

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Massachusetts Military Support Foundation (MMSF) will be distributing USDA Farmers to Families Food Box to local families in Somerville and surrounding communities on Saturday afternoons on a weekly basis. 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. at the Somerville Lions Club, 9 Washington Street, Somerville. Those wishing to receive food are asked to register online by visiting the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation website www.mmsfi.org. On the day of the Food Box distribution, individuals shall arrive in a vehicle, remain in the vehicle and wear a surgical mask at all times. Volunteers will place the box in the vehicle’s trunk, back seat or pick-up truck bed. Distributions will take place once a week at this location.

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Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) is offering free transportation to COVID-19 vaccination sites to Somerville residents age 60 and up as well as adults of any age with disabilities. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. To learn more or schedule an appointment, contact SCES at 617-628-2601 or info@eldercare.org.

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The city has been holding virtual vaccine information sessions and Q&As in multiple languages throughout the vaccine rollout. To find out when a session is coming up, click the “Events” tab on somervillema.gov/vaccine.

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If you or someone you know would prefer to get occasional vaccine updates via a phone call, you can sign up by visiting somervillema.gov/vaccine or calling 311. If you prefer email updates, don’t worry, you won’t be missing any information if you don’t sign up for calls. All information sent out via calls will also be included in these email updates.

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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.