Jeanne Leyden (left) and Melissa Guevara display items from the caregiver appreciation packages that Adult Family Care is distributing as part of National Family Caregivers Month. The program serves more than 250 caregivers across the Greater Boston Area. — Photo by Nathan Lamb

By Nathan Lamb

November is National Family Caregivers Month, and a regional non-profit program is marking the occasion by promoting caregiver well being.

The Adult Family Care (AFC) program provides support for more than 250 family caregivers in the greater Boston area, and will provide care packages for its caregivers during the month as a show of appreciation for all that they do, explained AFC Program Director Jeanne Leyden.

Intersection of Medford & Pearl closed for  emergency  sewer work through –12/5

Beginning on Monday, Nov. 28, and lasting for approximately two weeks, the intersection of Medford and Pearl Streets will be CLOSED AT ALL TIMES to through traffic in order for City contractors to repair a collapsed sewer at that intersection. The portion of Medford St. between School St. and Pearl St. will remain open to abutters and for patrons of local businesses. Work hours each day will be from 7 a.m. to approximately 8 p.m., however the intersection will remain closed after work hours (24 hours a day, seven days a week) for public safety. Sidewalks will remain open. Trash pickup in your area will occur as normal.

Michael McWilliams, Middlesex Federal Loan Officer and Somerville Kiwanis President, places his toy donation into the Middlesex Federal’s Davis Square Toys for Tots collection box.

By Louise Carpenter

Middlesex Federal invites employees, customers, neighbors, and friends to bring a new, unwrapped toy between November 25 and December 13 to any one of its branch locations. For every toy collected at its three locations, Middlesex Federal will donate another toy, up to at least 125 additional toys. This matching program is part of the Bank’s 125th anniversary local giving initiative. All toys will be distributed by the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program to local children.

The Wrap Around Project will be featured at the Nave Gallery through December 18.

By Rebecca Danvers

Created as an annual sale of knitted goods to benefit SHC, The Wrap Around Project has grown into a yearlong campaign that combines art and activism to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in our area. Somerville’s homeless population is comprised of elders, single working adults, disabled individuals, and many families with children from newborns to teenagers. The typical homeless family that SHC serves is a mother with two children.

Chairman of the Somerville Board of Alderman’s Committee on Public Health and Public Safety Alderman at Large Jack Connolly and Ward Six Alderman Lance Davis, will host a neighborhood meeting on Monday, November 28th, at 6:00 P.M. at the Community Baptist Church, 31 College Ave., Somerville, MA. The purpose of this meeting is to allow members of the public to hear a presentation from Garden Remedies Inc. dba Garden Remedies (www.gardenremedies.org) regarding a medical marijuana dispensary proposed by Garden Remedies inc. , to be located at 245 Elm St. (currently the site of Family Dollar). Representatives from Garden Remedies will take questions regarding the application and their intent to seek a Special Permit form the City of Somerville.

Part 1:  Community disintegration and voter fragmentation
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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)

You may be familiar with the parable of the blind people describing the elephant. One asserts that an elephant is like a wall. Another, that it’s like a tree trunk. A third counters that it’s like a snake. “Not a snake, but a stake,” insists the fourth. The fifth can’t imagine why the others don’t know that an elephant is like a warm flapping blanket. And so on. Each is certain because, for a moment at least, each directly experienced the elephant.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro
On Saturday,November 12, Mayor Joseph Curtatone hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner for Somerville Seniors at the Holiday Inn on Washington St.

On Thursday and Friday trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be on a one-day delay. There will be no street sweeping on Thursday and parking meters will not be enforced Thursday and Friday.
Annual Gobble Gobble Road Race: Detour Info for Thursday November 24

GLX funding took center stage at a recent Board of Aldermen public hearing.

By Joe Ruvido

The question of Somerville’s contribution to the Green Line Extension (GLX) project was discussed before the Board of Aldermen at a public hearing on Thursday night. The Board listened as Mayor Curtatone and other members of his administration asked the board to approve a 50 million dollar spend for the project. The money would be borrowed in 10 and 30-year bonds, paid to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in installments of 10 million dollars over five years.

Many visitors attended and enjoyed last weekend’s open studios event at Brickbottom.

By Manna Parker

Brickbottom Art Association (BAA) was masterminded in the mid 80’s by “a group of artists seeking a stable and affordable space” to set up shop according to statement released by Brickbottom. From their humble beginnings, one of the biggest live-work artists’ building and community in America has been built. This historic moment in art history took place right in Somerville’s backyard.