(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 Jack Connolly
Jackconnolly422@gmail.com

For well over a year, Davis Sq merchants, employees, area residents, and passersby on the way to the T station have constantly alerted the city with 311 calls, emails to elected officials, and in person meetings with city staffers, to the myriad number of ongoing problems in the Davis Sq area. What’s happening, one might inquire?

Host, Sarah Fishman speaks with Ward 4 school committee member, Andre Green.

BALA-BILA brings together two African master musicians – Balla Kouyate on balafon, calabash, bass guitar and voice, and Matchume Zango on timbila, mbira, percussion and voice – through a live concert framed as an intercultural musical conversation between the two artists. Kouyate, from the West African country of Mali, and Zango, from the East African country of Mozambique, are leading exponents of their respective principal instruments – BALAfon and timBILA – two world heritage instruments that are played together for the first time.

Robin Lipson, Acting Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs for Massachusetts; Ed Augustus, Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for Massachusetts; and Dr. Rishi Manchanda, MD, MPH, and CEO of HealthBegins, are among the featured speakers at Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services’ daylong forum on aligning social and health care to advance health, equity, and independence. The event will take place on October 9 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Boston University’s Metcalf Trustee Center at 1 Silber Way, Boston.

Somerville’s Pollinator Action Plan aims to protect and propogate species that are vital to environmental stability.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Division of Public Space and Urban Forestry (PSUF) are proud to announce the release of the city’s comprehensive Pollinator Action Plan, a community-driven initiative aimed at supporting pollinator species within the city’s urban environment. This first-of-its-kind plan for a densely populated city not only sets a new precedent for urban pollinator conservation, but also reflects Somerville’s commitment to addressing the environmental challenges of our time.

Registration is open for middle graders interested in playing winter sports. There are basketball teams for grades 6-8 and opportunities to try out for select high school teams.

Students in grades 6-8 are invited to play on our boys or girls basketball teams for middle graders. The teams will compete against teams from other towns.

The MBTA today announced that Green Line service resumed between North Station and Union Square and between North Station and Medford/Tufts at 10:30 a.m. following a derailment that occurred on Tuesday, October 1, around 5:00 p.m. near Lechmere. 

“Diseasing of America” by Stanton Peele Lexington/Jossey-Bass, publishers.

Review by Rivkah Lapidus, Ph.D., LMHC, CGP

Stanton Peele’s Diseasing of America is handy, well designed, and clear. Kudos to writing to people at this level, giving them clarity and understanding of a multifaceted problem.

My only quibble is the use of the disease model, which is a controversy in the field of experts.

Many respected scholars and researchers in the field of substance use disorder refer to a bio-psycho-social phenomenon that mimics a disease when it’s full blown but is made of many factors.