New bus stop sign where service will change, covered by a temporary bag showing current service.

The MBTA continues to get ready for the Phase 1 launch of Bus Network Redesign. In addition to new signage and information already available onsite, MBTA staff will be in person December 5 – 20 at key bus stops and stations to answer questions from riders.

The MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign is a major initiative aimed at improving bus service reliability, frequency, and connectivity throughout the region. The initiative’s first phase will go live on December 15. Phase 1 will launch four new Frequent Bus Routes by increasing service on  Route 86, Route 104, Route 109, Route 110, and Route 116/117 in Chelsea, Everett, Revere, Malden, Somerville, Cambridge, Allston, Brighton, and East Boston.   

— Photo by Ryan Sullivan

Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) President Mary K. Grant has announced that May Chau (BFA ’07, Arts Education), Visual Arts Supervisor for Somerville Public Schools, will be one of six recipients of a 2024 MassArt Common Good Award. Chau, a resident of Arlington, will receive the Frances Euphemia Thompson Award for Excellence in Teaching, in recognition of her dedication to fostering creativity and critical thinking through arts education.

The full cohort for the 2024 Nibble Entrepreneurship Program Workshop Series plus our great translators.

By Jeffrey Shwom

Enrollment for the 2025 Nibble Entrepreneurship Program has begun and will run until December 22, 2024.

Entrepreneurs receive business development instruction and mentoring, teach classes, try their restaurant ideas and concepts at Nibble Kitchen restaurant (Bow Market in Union), festivals, and farmers markets, receive hands-on experience and training, and gain access to bilingual business workshops. This is the 12th year of the program.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is inviting the community to celebrate Small Business Saturday this Saturday, November 30, by shopping locally and supporting the vibrant small businesses that make our city unique. From artisan shops and cozy cafes to family-owned stores and specialty services, Somerville’s small businesses are the heart of the Somerville community and play a vital role in its economic vitality.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

If you’re a Somerville resident like me, we have a lot to be grateful for. I’m grateful that there aren’t more bad roads, construction and detours. Personally, I’m grateful for my reasonably good health. I ‘m glad my kids’ grandmother is still with us and more importantly with it. I’m glad I can pay my parking tickets over the phone. I just can’t get that street cleaning schedule down.

Thursday, November 28, the Somerville Road Runner’s 28th annual Gobble Gobble Gobble road race (srr.org/gobble) will be held in and around the Davis, Teele, Ball, and Magoun Square areas.  Beginning around 8 a.m., detours will be in place around the start and finish lines in Davis Square. (Holland St. at Elmwood St./Elm St. at Grove St.) 

After an extensive renovation, the Goodwill Store in Davis Square reopened for shopping and donating on November 1. Attending the ribbon cutting two weeks later were, from left, City Councilor Kristen Strezo, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Goodwill President and CEO Joanne Hilferty, City Councilor Jake Wilson, and City Councilor Wilfred Mbah. Goodwill, a community-based nonprofit, has been a presence in Somerville since the 1950s and has been at its current location since 1990. Check it out at 230 Elm St. 

David Colombo, “Celebrating Cimmerian Mirth”. — Photos by Jeffrey Shwom

Brickbottom Artists Association and Gallery and Joy Street Studios presented their annual Open Studios, featuring over 65 artists in The Brickbottom Artists Building and roughly 20 at Joy Street Studios.

A draft of the City of Somerville’s Armory Master Plan has been released, with a final version expected to be adopted by next month. — Photo courtesy of Arts at the Armory

After an extensive community process, the City of Somerville has released a draft Somerville Armory Master Plan, a roadmap of how to best preserve and envision a future for the Armory building, located at 191 Highland Ave., as a thriving community arts center for years to come.