This is James Corbett, a long-time employee and Platelet Donor at MGH Blood Donor Center. Recently, Corbett, a Somerville resident, made his one-hundredth blood donation at the center. He is responsible for saving over 300 lives with his generosity and compassion in donating blood over the years. Mass General has been facing a critical shortage of blood products and is appealing to the community to consider donating blood. Phone 617-724-9699 to arrange for a blood donation appointment and help save lives, just like James Corbett.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott, and City staff invite you to a virtual community meeting to discuss roadway upgrades and traffic safety improvements on Washington Street, just west of Union Square. 

Although mask mandates in schools across the Commonwealth will be eased at the end of the month, Somerville public schools will continue its masking protocols for the near future.

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Last week the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley, announced updates to mask mandates in schools across the Commonwealth.

In a statement released by DESE on February 9, the department announced that mask mandates in K-12 schools would be lifted after February 28. The mandate was first implemented back in August 2021.

SMART is an intelligent pest control system that keeps an eye on things you don’t want to see, predicting and preventing costly infestations in an environmentally-friendly way.

By Kyle Dante

Pest control is an issue faced by many communities. Somerville is no exception, having experienced a significant rodent problem for years.

Last year parallels the spike of 2019: 28.07% of the 2021 rodent infestation occurred during the summer, with nearly 41% representing the 2019 spike. Despite the percentage difference, both indicate a large number of rodents. As evidenced by the data, the infestation is bad.

The second virtual meeting on the 90 Washington Street project drew together project team members, associated project stakeholders and the general public to review and look forward to the future of the project as it develops.

By Jim Clark

The second virtual meeting to envision a new 90 Washington Street, the future home of the Public Safety Building (PSB) and the Washington Street Redevelopment Parcels, took place on Wednesday, February 16.

The project team provided updates on the PSB project and showed options for future development based on the feedback received at the December meeting.

Four Somerville High School seniors have set an impressive tone early in the 2022 college scholarship season, each earning multi-year awards to continue their education. Edrick Pacheco earned the prestigious full four-year QuestBridge Scholarship to attend Tufts University starting this fall. Nathalya Castillo is the recipient of a full-tuition Posse Leadership Scholarship and will attend Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. JC Welch was awarded a $27,000 Presidential Scholarship at Pace University’s New York City Campus that is renewable for four years, for a potential total award of $108,000. And Aidan O’Donovan, a 3-time Greater Boston League MVP in golf and a five-time League All-Star received a full golf scholarship to the University of Rhode Island. Aidan won the 2021 GBL Golf Championship in November to wrap up an impressive senior season, and was also named to the Boston Herald HS All-Scholarship Golf Team.

Bill builds on Senate’s work to reduce prescription drug costs,  promote transparency, and increase patient access   

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Senate passed by a vote of 39-1 An Act relative to Pharmaceutical Access, Cost and Transparency (PACT Act 2022), comprehensive pharmaceutical legislation to address the rapidly increasing cost of prescription drugs and to ensure life-saving medications are affordable, fairly priced and accessible for all consumers.      

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This past New Years Eve, I made a prime rib along with a few sides, including haricot verts, roasted brussel sprouts, corn casserole and a copious amount of mashed potatoes. Leftover mashed potatoes can be used in many different ways. For example, a Shepherd’s Pie, potato croquettes, creamy potato soup, potato pancakes, potato gnocchi, and even potato waffles. This time around, I chose to make waffles. The waffles came out slightly crispy on the outside and had a creamy texture in the middle. They were a huge hit in my house!

Somerville Firefighter Rudy Revilla retired last month after working 30 years with the Somerville Fire Department. Friends gave him send off with a cake at the Medford Sons of Italy on Wednesday, February 16.