The City of Somerville is convening a Participatory Budgeting Working Group to help plan what participatory budgeting will look like in Somerville, and all residents are invited to apply. “Participatory budgeting” means members of the public decide how to spend money in a public budget.
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— Photo courtesy of Seth Brown
Somerville firefighters responded to a reported fire at Caffè Nero in Assembly Row on Saturday afternoon. The firefighters battled large flames rising from the roof of the café, eventually extinguishing the blaze and preventing it from spreading to other nearby businesses.
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The Somerville Fire Department will conduct its annual inspection of all fire hydrants between Monday, August 22, and Saturday, September 3.
During inspections, water will be flushed from the hydrants and their mechanical operations will be checked. As a result, some sediment may be disturbed in the water mains, potentially causing rusty water in homes or businesses. The rusty water will appear dirty or discolored but does not pose a health hazard. It could stain fabric, however, so residents are advised not to do laundry while water is discolored. This rusty condition will be temporary and should clear in a few hours.
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Mayor Ballantyne, Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen Campen and members of the Somerville Community Land Trust celebrate the first property acquisition of SCLT, located at 7 Summer Street.
Watch video here
Updated August 19
Orange Line service is being suspended from August 19 through September 18. This shutdown will give crews full, uninterrupted access to the tracks, allowing them to complete multiple projects more than five years faster than originally planned.
The Orange Line shutdown will overlap with diversions on the Green Line E Branch and the Green Line Union Branch. Learn more about how to navigate your trip during these shutdowns here.
This Saturday, August 20, the 8th Annual Evolution of Hip Hop Festival takes place from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. (rain date August 21) in Union Square Plaza. This event will feature rappers, singers, spoken word poets, dancers, and visual artists from the Somerville community and surrounding cities.
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Somerville tech startup Rendever is providing quality of life enhancement to area seniors with its virtual reality systems. — Photos courtesy of Rendever
By Michael McHugh
Virtual reality, while many may dismiss it as a fad, is an ever-expanding field in the tech world. With this technology being almost forced into such a broad range of applications, from education to social interaction, it can often feel that VR is not all it’s chalked up to be.
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By Jim Clark
Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the area of Broadway and Lombardi last Friday evening on reports of a motor vehicle accident.
Upon arrival, officers engaged with a man, later identified as Daniel Herrera, who had been involved in the accident. He had reportedly rear ended another motorist.
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The MBTA is suspending service on the entire Orange Line and part of the Green Line for one month to make necessary repairs and improvements. The Orange Line will close starting Friday, August 19, and the Green Line will close from Government Center to Union Square station starting Monday, August 22.
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