Somerville earns Purple Heart Community designation

Somerville has been named a Purple Heart Community by the Military Order of the Purple Heart organization, joining more than 100 municipalities in Massachusetts and hundreds more nationwide in recognizing those wounded or killed in combat for their country. The Military Order of the Purple Heart awards the designation to cities and towns, schools, teams, and other entities committed to honoring and commemorating Purple Heart medal Recipients and their families.

(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

On October 7, 2017, Newport Construction and their subcontractor Northern Tree Service removed 38 street trees along Beacon Street in Somerville, MA. They did this with none of the notice or public process required under either city ordinance or state law.

Join in on Saturday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville, for Boston Tap Party for dancers, theater-goers, and lovers of the art form.

The Somerville Fair Housing Commission recently held their regular meeting, largely addressing issues brought before it concerning tenant rights and violations by landlords.

By Yoko Zhu

The Somerville Fair Housing Commission, which advocates for tenant rights and deals with fair housing violations, held their monthly meeting on Thursday, July 27.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

The tree my sister had planted next to the house had gotten too big and we had to have it removed. My sister passed away in 1992 and my boys and I planted a tree where her other tree was. It was around 1999.

UPDATE: The City of Somerville has extended the public comment period for rent stabilization. Written comments will now be accepted through August 31, 2023. 

A neighborhood meeting was recently held concerning new developments in the 28-44 Broadway project. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Ana Celerier

On Monday, July 24, a neighborhood meeting was held to present new developments in the 28-44 Broadway project. The lead permitting council for the developer of this project, Jennifer Schultz, took the lead on the meeting.

(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 Will Mbah
Candidate for Somerville City Councilor at Large

The process of Participatory Budgeting began this year as an experiment in citizen participation with the intent to help educate all residents about the methods of budgeting and, especially, to give high school students an initial experience in democratic process as they look forward to becoming active citizens when they reach voting age.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott invite you to a virtual community meeting about a new park planned for 217 Somerville Ave. The city is transforming the site, currently a vacant lot at the corner of Somerville Avenue and Rossmore Street, into a pocket park, which will add approximately .15 acres to Somerville’s open space network. Join this meeting to learn more about potential design elements and share ideas for the park. This is the first of several meetings that will take place in the coming months to gather input from the community. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 2, at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom. To learn more and attend, go to voice.somervillema.gov/217-somerville-ave.

Tenant speakers expressed concerns about the ongoing displacement of Somerville residents, at the listening session on rent stabilization held last Thursday. ~Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Maile Blume

Somerville tenants advocated for rent stabilization legislation that is stronger than that of Boston, during the second of two listening sessions on rent stabilization held by the Somerville Anti-Displacement Task Force last Thursday. The goal of the listening session was to inform a draft of rent stabilization laws for the city.