The Urban Forestry Committee recently hosted a meeting informing the public about its latest efforts in managing the city’s green spaces.

By Luda Tang

The Urban Forestry Committee hosted a virtual meeting on Thursday, July 21, which discussed some concerns from residents and presented several updates of the on-going projects.

Committee members started the conversation by sharing the possibility of the emergence of one invasive insect in the city of Somerville, which is the spotted lanternflies. They attack trees like the tree-of-heaven variety. In the early stage, lanternflies are black and small, and become red with white as they grow. A small population of lanternflies were detected in Worcester County last year.

Food and Farms Manager and Educator Emily Reckard-Mota from Groundwork Somerville was but one of the panelists at the first session concerning food access in the community.

By Michael McHugh

For the first session of a monthly speaker series held on Wednesday, July 20, Somerville’s Office of Food Access and the Friends of the Community Growing Center invited panelists from local hunger relief organizations and businesses to have a conversation about their work increasing food access.

A neighborhood meeting for 35 McGrath Highway will take place tonight, July 27, at 6:00 p.m. Join Councilor JT Scott, The DeNunzio Group on behalf of the owners of 35 Realty Trust and the City of Somerville for a neighborhood meeting under SZO Section 15.1.3. Login: https://bit.ly/35McGrathMeeting1, Meeting ID: 812 9681 9443, Passcode: 355683. Join by phone: (646) 558-8656. For more information about the meeting, please contact Ward 2 City Councilor JT Scott at jtscott@somervillema.gov.

11 health care providers now administering the JYNNEOS vaccine statewide

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) on July  21 announced 30 additional cases of monkeypox in adult males within the past seven days, bringing the total number of monkeypox cases in the Commonwealth to 79 residents since the state’s first case was announced May 18. DPH provides public updates on monkeypox on a weekly basis each Thursday.

Summertime is a great time for outdoor gatherings celebrations. Part of the fun is indulging in the pleasures of grilling and sharing good food and drink with family and friends.

But certain safety measures must be followed to make sure that these grand epicurean hoedowns don’t end in catastrophic property – and personal – damage caused by fire gone out of control. Especially considering how dry and combustible everything is during these recent heat waves.

Arrests:
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Lismael Moreira, of Medford, July 22, 10:52 p.m., arrested at Medford St. on warrant charges of failure to stop or yield and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

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I have had the pleasure to interview former Somerville resident and documentary filmmaker Olivia Huang a number of times. And I have even appeared in a documentary she did about the Grolier Poetry Book Shop some years ago. Now Huang turns her discerning eye on Graffiti Alley in Cambridge, with her new documentary, City as Canvas: Above the Free Walls. I attended a screening of the film, and later chatted with Huang.

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Laura Plummer is a Massachusetts-born writer and poet. Her work has been featured in numerous print and online publications, including The Sun and Chicken Soup for the Soul. She lived in Boston for seven years before relocating to Gloucester in 2014. Read more at lauraplummer.me.

Whether you’re camping, boating or doing yard work, these are all summertime activities that need fuel. During the month of July, which is Fuel Safety Month, advocates are reminding everyone to stay safe while pumping and using fuel.