City offices will be closed Monday, January 16 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Trash and recycling collection will be on a one-day delay all week. Parking meters will not be in effect Monday and there will not be enforcement of resident parking permits.

Need a dash of hope? The Friends of the Community Growing Center want to share with the broader community what has been happening around redesign for this city green space.

Hours of site mapping, community design meetings, and on-site education/planning days have all led to a vision for a sustainable future design. This planning should help expand the mission and reach of the Somerville Community Growing Center.

This fundraiser is being created to assist Charlene Harris and her family while she fights her battle against cancer. Charlene Harris served as Ward 4 School Committee person for many years.

There isn’t anyone who has known Charlene through work, sports, charities, or as a student who hasn’t been positively impacted by her generous and giving personality. In the time that she worked in Somerville she has gone above and beyond for students in the city. The positive impact on these young adults has been immeasurable and now her family could benefit from our helping hand.

In Washington Street’s new show, Ambient, visual art reflects the co-incidence experimental music residency hosted by Non-Event and held in the Washington Street gallery.

In conjunction with the weeklong event led by invited guest artist Michael Pisaro, the visual artists of Washington Street are interpreting the term “ambient.” Represented media include painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, embroidery, and installation.

It has been an exciting and busy season for youth programming  at SCATV. Currently they are serving over 30 youth weekly through a combination of in-house workshops, their drop-in Makerspace, and their  community partner programming with the Mystic Learning Center and Teen Empowerment. Stay up to date about all other SCATV Youth Media activities and opportunities online!

Conclusion: Reassembling the elephant
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By William C. Shelton

(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)

I began this series with the parable of the blind people describing the elephant. Each has experienced one part of the elephant—leg, torso, tail, tusk, ear—and forcefully argues that the others have it wrong. An elephant is really like, respectively, a tree, wall, snake, stake, or blanket.

The City of Somerville is seeking community members to serve on a new community advisory committee to assist in the review and recommendation of capital improvement projects for upcoming fiscal years. The committee, which will comprise five community members, will work with city staff to review and provide feedback and recommendations, on behalf of the entire community, on project prioritization. NOTE: the deadline to apply for this committee has been extended to Tuesday, January 17, by 5:00 p.m.

By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to Assembly Row last Sunday on reports that a Home Depot employee was pursuing a suspected shoplifter who was attempting to leave the area.

Upon arrival, the officers caught up with the Home Depot employee who reportedly told them that a man, later identified as Christopher McBride, of Marshfield, had taken a laser level from the store and that he was presently fleeing the scene, heading towards the AMC Theatre.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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)

During Mayor Joseph Curtatone’s State of the City address on Monday, January 9, 2017, he discussed many of the successes and challenges Somerville faced in 2016 – as well as some of the work the City is prioritizing this year. The excerpts below offer a glimpse into just a few of the upcoming initiatives the City is tackling. To read the entirety of Mayor Curtatone’s speech, visit www.SomervilleMA.gov. 

In a major step toward divesting from the fossil fuel industry, the Somerville Retirement Board (SRB) filed a unanimously adopted updated Statement of Investment Objectives that specifically considers investment funds that do not include fossil-fuel securities with the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC).