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Karen Klein founded teXtmoVes, a poetry/dance collaborative, performing in concert halls, art galleries, and libraries since 2016. Her lyric poems and haiku have been published nationally and internationally, most recently in SLANT. She is a member of Steeple Street Poets and is working on her first chapbook.

Throughout the month of May, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) partners with local organizations to host events honoring Somerville’s history and historic assets. All events are open to the public, ADA accessible, and free.

• May – October. Launch of Volunteer Docent Program. Three Historic Sites: Prospect Hill Tower, Milk Row Cemetery, and Old Powder House.  Full season schedule on weekends and Thursday evenings is posted on the SHPC and City websites, and at each site.

City-wide cleanup following community breakfast with partners Groundwork Somerville and Comcast Cares

Join the City of Somerville, Groundwork Somerville, and Comcast Cares for the annual Spring Cleanup, on Saturday, May 4, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. All participants are invited to meet at the Blessing of the Bay Boat House on Shore Drive from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. for breakfast, a short speaking program, and information from local environmental organizations before heading out to cleanup sites.

Meet the Savvy Caregiver Instructors: Liz Aguilo (left) is a clinical social worker, Executive Director of Paine Senior Services, and Vice President of the Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) Board of Directors. Nathaniel Meyer (right) is a licensed Social Worker with the SCES Adult Family Care program.

By Nathan Lamb

A free training program that provides family caregivers with skills and knowledge about dementia is returning to Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) in May.

Registration is now open for the next round of Savvy Caregiver training, which starts May 9. The six-session program emphasizes practical training that helps family caregivers navigate the many challenges of dementia.

Somerville Poet Laureate Lloyd Schwartz.

Whether you had a PhD in poetry or have just started reading it, you’re invited to share a favorite poem at the Poems We Love event on Wednesday, April 17. Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Somerville Poet Laureate Lloyd Schwartz, and the Somerville Arts Council from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., to listen to fellow Somervillians read their favorite poems and song lyrics and to read yours, if you’d like. Light refreshments will be served. Please note that this is an event for sharing other’s work, not for poets to share their own work. For more information, please contact Gregory Jenkins at 617-625-6600 ext. 2997 or gjenkins@somervillema.gov.

Monday, April 15, is Patriots’ Day and City and Somerville Public Schools offices will be closed. Trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be on a one-day delay all week. There will be no street sweeping on Monday and parking meters and residential parking permits will not be enforced.

Somerville Media Center announces its debut of VOX POP on May 9 at 6:00 p.m. at 431 Artisan Way, Assembly Row. VOX POP is a pop up community arts space that is the result of a collaboration between Federal Investment Realty Trust (FRIT), the property developer and manager for Assembly Row, and SMC, the non-profit community media center based out of Union Square.

Check back Monday a.m. for confirmation on whether “Paul Revere” will ride

Due to a forecast of rain and high winds for Monday, the Colonial Fair portion of the Patriot’s Day events planned for Monday, 4/15, at 10:00 a.m. at Foss Park is canceled. On Monday morning, please check www.somervillema.gov or contact 311 for confirmation of whether “Paul Revere” will still ride and be met by members of the Historic Commission in Somerville at Foss Park at approximately 11:20 a.m.

Activities for all ages planned including Earth Day story times, a meatless cooking class, and the Annual Spring Clean-Up

Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Somerville’s SustainaVille program, and other city and community partners in celebrating the Third Annual SustainaVille Week. From Saturday, April 27, through Saturday, May 4, there will be a variety of activities for all ages celebrating sustainability and climate action. Activities include an Arbor Day and Gardening Fair, a self-guided citywide sustainability tour, and an interactive panel discussion about the changing world of waste and recycling. The full schedule of events is below.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers.)

By Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Superintendent Mary Skipper

Two of the highest callings in public service are to provide basic equality and to educate our children. Sadly, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has fallen short on both of those fronts when it comes to education funding. In 2015, the State Legislature formed a Foundation Budget Review Commission that laid bare our shortcomings. The true costs of educating special needs students, English language learners, and low-income students have been overlooked. The rising cost of health insurance benefits also has eaten into education funding. Many lower-income communities find themselves in crisis mode.