The Somerville Public Schools (SPS) is offering free Preschool Screenings for 3- to 5-year-old children residing in Somerville. Screenings are scheduled on February 26, and April 30, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Capuano Early Childhood Center, 150 Glen Street, Somerville, MA.

Annual review survey open through March 31, public hearing scheduled for March 26 as CPA Committee prepares for FY26 funding round

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is inviting residents to help shape the future of Community Preservation Act (CPA) investments by participating in the CPA Annual Review process. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) has launched a survey to gather public input on community needs and priorities for CPA funding. The survey is open through March 31, 2025, and can be accessed at this link.

Interested in learning more about upcoming bridge repairs and safety improvements on Maffa Way and Mystic Avenue? MassDOT is hosting a public information meeting to review the planned improvements and provide a look ahead to upcoming construction. February 26, 6 p.m. Somerville Central Library, 79 Highland Ave.

Portico Brewing has earned silver designation as a Bicycle Friendly Business from the League of American Bicyclists, taking its place alongside more than 1,100 businesses across the country contributing to the movement to build a more Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

Service changes are taking place to support critical signal upgrade work on the Orange and Red lines, MassDOT’s Maffa Way/Mystic Avenue Bridge Superstructure Replacements project, Maintenance of Way work at Bowdoin, and signal upgrade work at North Station.

The MBTA  announced service changes in March on the Orange, Red, Blue, Newburyport/Rockport, Haverhill, and Lowell lines.

Riders can find more information on service changes through in-station signage, in-station public announcements, and at mbta.com/alerts. Transit Ambassadors and MBTA staff will be available on-site to offer information and assistance during these service changes. Riders are encouraged to subscribe to T-Alerts or to follow the MBTA on X @MBTA, @MBTA_CR, and @MBTA_CR_Alerts for up-to-date service information.

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Mayor Katjana Ballantyne celebrated the power of organ donation and the life-saving impact it has on families across our community. Somerville with New England Donor Services (NEDS), the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), and donor families and recipients to mark National Donor Day and raise awareness of the “Have a Heart and Get a Heart” campaign on February 14.

By Dennis Fischman

There’s a name we in the Somerville Public Library’s mystery book group have given to a certain type of mystery novel. We call it “a murder cabin.”

The murder cabin is a descendant of a type of classic mystery from the Golden Age of Mystery, a hundred years ago. In those celebrated novels, a group of people have been collected in an isolated place: on an island, as in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, or in a country house (like Peter Wimsey’s family home, Riddlesdale Lodge, in Clouds of Witness). Somebody gets killed – perhaps, more than one – and only the people in that place can be the suspects.

Lumentation offers quality photo developing and printing services via an online marketplace. ~Photos by Jeffrey Shwom.

By Jeffrey Shwom

At the corner of Lowell Street and Highland Avenue, Lumentation is one of those walk-by-and-look-twice businesses. A few folks still think it is Somerville Quick Stop that closed a few years back. “People ask do you sell chips, cigarettes, earbuds? Convenience store stuff,” remarked manager Imaya Jeffries. When you walk inside, however, the first thing you’ll notice is that the fridges are filled with much different items … film.