Arrests:
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Ross Daprato, August 24, 12:18 p.m., arrested at Hawthorne St. on a warrant charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Brian Soares, of Cambridge, August 28, 8:13 p.m., arrested at Somerville Ave. on a charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and on warrant charges of uninsured motor vehicle or trailer, unregistered motor vehicle, possession/use of a false RMV document, and number plate violation.

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Review by Off the Shelf Correspondent Ed Meek

John Gardner (The Art of Fiction) would call Mercy an architectonic novel. It is written using a number of different points of view. For it to be successful, the author has to be able to create convincing characters and, when he changes point of view, we have to be invested enough in the characters to go along for the ride. And somehow, the author must manage to tie or bring these characters together. Littlefield delivers in his compelling new novel Mercy. And these days, with the stress of a pandemic and a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the notion that we could both show and use a little mercy really strikes a chord.

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Bert Stern is the author of two previous poetry collections, Silk/The Ragpicker’s Grandson and Steerage, as well as the critical book Wallace Stevens: Art of Uncertainty, and Winter in China, a monograph on American expatriate Robert Winter. He is Milligan Professor of English Emeritus at Wabash College, and has also taught at the University of Thessaloniki as Fulbright Professor of English and at Peking University. Stern served as chief editor for Hilton Publishing, and for fifteen years taught for Changing Lives through Literature, a program designed for men and women on probation. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

M7s will now be provided to both Somerville middle and high schoolers

Today the MBTA and Somerville Public Schools (SPS) announced the expansion of the City’s M7 program, which launched last school year at the high school level. This year, all SPS students in grades 7-12 will be provided with M7 cards, or M7s, which are MBTA Student CharlieCards that are pre-loaded with monthly passes for the school year and are paid for by SPS. Students with an M7 card can ride the subway, buses, and up to Zone 2 of the Commuter Rail at no cost from the date of distribution through June 30, 2023.

Jamie Laval and Amber Rose will be performing Evening of “Celtic Music and Mythic Tales” at The Burren on Sunday, September 11.

Jamie Laval, with star soprano Amber Rose, will be presenting Evening of Celtic Music and Mythic Tales at The Burren, 247 Elm St, Somerville, on Sunday, September 11, at 3:30 p.m.

U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Jamie Laval takes his audience on an exciting musical journey through Scotland, Ireland, and Brittany, evocatively reimagining Gaelic love songs, rustic peasant dances, and recounting mythic tales from the Celtic world.

On the right, ORI Summer interns (L to R) Anand Fedele, Ken Stephens, and Zeke Cochin.

The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Care for Healthy Soils Challenge recently visited Revival Coffee in Somerville. The challenge is a friendly competition with towns competing to keep established lawns natural by forgoing the use of quick-release fertilizer and chemical pesticides and herbicides. Established lawns do not need quick-release fertilizer. The Department of Agricultural Resources recommends one application of 100% slow-release fertilizer in the spring or fall.

Canary, by Desmond Beach, part of the “SALLY” exhibition at The Brickbottom Gallery, September 8 – October 15.

The Brickbottom Gallery and Brickbottom Artists Association are pleased to announce SALLY, an interdisciplinary project conceived by artist/collaborators JoAnne McFarland and Sasha Chavchavadze. The project will be on view at The Brickbottom Gallery, 1 Fitchburg St., Somerville, September 8 – October 15, with a reception for the artists to be held in the gallery on Sunday, September 11, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

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On Tuesday, August 23,  Representative Christine Barber and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne had a meet and greet for Andrea Campbell who is a candidate for Attorney General at La Catina Mexicana in Union Sq. Former Aldermen Dennis Sullivan and Bob McWatters are supporting her candidacy.