Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

It’s getting harder and harder to own a car in Somerville. There are not enough municipal lots and they are taking away more and more parking meters every week. Pulling over to stop and run into a store has become very difficult. Here are social media comments from Somerville people.

— Photos courtesy of Somerville Police Department

On Tuesday, November 14, the Somerville Police Department and the Community Outreach, Help and Recovery (COHR) unit partnered with Autism Eats to host a very special Friendsgiving Dinner at Mount Vernon Restaurant.

Construction of the Glen Park Community Garden expansion kicked-off on Monday, November 20. — Photo courtesy of City of Somerville.

The City of Somerville kicked-off the construction of the Glen Park Community Garden expansion on Monday, November 20. Area residents and others joined Mayor Katjana Ballantyne in celebrating more inclusive access to community gardening amenities in Somerville.

The Somerville City Council’s Legislative Matters Committee recently discussed possible measures pertaining to rent stabilization in the city.

By Jennifer Purcell

The process to stabilize rent in Somerville is now well underway. On Tuesday, November 14, Somerville’s Legislative Matters Committee met once more to discuss the future of rent and how they could make the current and future situations as easy as possible for both renters and landlords by inviting the director of the Office of Housing Stability Ellen Shachter to give a presentation that detailed what enforcing rent stabilization would look like and how it would benefit the community.

(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 Chris Dwan

Somernova — a subsidiary of Rafi Properties —is applying for a zoning overlay under which they would demolish the low-slung industrial buildings along the railroad tracks between Market Basket and Park Street, replacing them with new buildings 9 to 16 stories tall — well beyond the four stories allowed by current zoning.

We here at The Times wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. As we approach holiday gift shopping don’t forget to shop local to support local businesses.

The Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee is weighing in on its views regarding plans to overhaul sidewalks and repave Tufts Street and its immediate environs. — Photos by Bobbie Toner

By Beatriz Leite

This past Thursday, November 16, the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee met to further discuss the plans for Tufts Street reconstruction. The meeting primarily centered on the concept design with a focus on the overarching goals to improve safety and accessibility.

Giving thanks for our blessings is normally an easy thing to do. We may often get caught up in the day-to-day trappings of scratching out a living, ducking misfortune, and seeking out an occasional highlight to add to our mental scrapbooks. Usually, though, we come around to feeling and expressing that special sense of appreciation and gratitude that comes in moments of quiet reflection just in time to validate ourselves as worthy recipients of such blessings.

*

Whenever I ask what I can bring to a gathering, this particular appetizer is the most requested. I have made other recipes over the years for stuffed mushrooms, but have been disappointed with the stuffing coming out soggy. After multiple testings of my own recipe I finally came up with a combination where multiple textures are experienced, moist on the inside and crunchy on the top.