Somerville Police and Fire responded to an early morning manhole explosion at the corner of Cross St. and McGrath Highway. The manhole landed on the roof of a Cross St. home. Windows were shattered by the explosion but no injuries have been reported. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

The owners of Sligo Pub announced that it will close its doors in early June after several decades of business. My dad drank there when it was Pat Connolly’s.

Here are some comments regarding the closure:

SHS Boys Lacrosse bested MVRC at home at Dilboy Stadium 7-3 on Wednesday, May 3, in a game they controlled from the first face off.  — Photos by Alex Fredette
To see more photos from this game visit: SHS vs MVRC – Alex Fredette (smugmug.com)

Somerville recognizes the hard work of the City’s water professionals in ensuring the safety and quality of this vital resource 

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville Water and Sewer Department invite community members to celebrate Drinking Water Week from May 7-13.

Hiring of Somerville residents, members of minority groups, and military veterans for the ongoing Union Sq. development project took the focus at the latest Land Use Committee meeting.

By Jim Clark

At the latest meeting of the City Council of Somerville’s Land Use Committee, an order was put forward requesting that the Director of Economic Development update this Council on the implementation of the Union Square Covenant, which includes local and veterans preference in hiring.

(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 Wilfred Mbah

On May 15, at 6pm, Somerville city officials will hold a public hearing on proposed hefty rate increases – water rates by 12.6% for water and 18.75% for sewerage. The hearing will be at the Central Library, with a Zoom option.

Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne signs Commonwealth Development Compact.

Mayors from Somerville, Cambridge, Lynn, and Salem today joined with leaders from the City of Boston and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll to sign the CommonWealth Development Compact, committing to historic 25 percent Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) evaluation criteria in public real estate development projects within their municipalities, as well as groundbreaking DEI considerations in private real estate projects.

The City Charter is somewhat like a local Constitution, it governs the structure and functions of our local government. Members of the Somerville community are encouraged to join the virtual hearing on Wednesday, May 10, at 6:00 p.m. to share their thoughts on proposed updates to the City Charter. All residents are invited to testify at the virtual public hearing or to submit written testimony. Register to attend at: https://www.somervillema.gov More information on the city’s Charter Review, including prior meetings’ minutes and agenda, can be found here: https://bit.ly/CharterPublicHearing

(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)

We are members of Somerville’s Charter Review Committee writing in response to Nate Clauser’s letter to the editor dated May 3, 2023. While we share Mr. Clauser’s desire to rebalance the powers of City Council in our local government, and in fact made transparency one of the key values of our charter recommendations, calling a roll call vote is unfortunately not likely to bring about the outcome we all would like to see.

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It’s ramp season here in Massachusetts and this season will likely be shortened due to the warm weather we’re experiencing this week. So, if you haven’t ventured out to your local farmers market or grocery store yet, you may be out of luck. But if you’re lucky enough to have some in your refrigerator and want to prolong their shelf life, pickling them will give you a few more weeks to enjoy these tasty wild leeks.