(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

Street guy Mike dead of drug overdose on May 10, 8:30 a.m., in Davis Sq. Plaza. Days later another OD, this time saved by a good Samaritan who had Narcan.

A week later, shots fired into a Paulina St. apartment, a few blocks up from Davis Sq. Last Tuesday, at 8:30 p.m., a disagreement between two men resulted in one man being stabbed multiple times, again in the Davis Square Plaza. For the first time in months, more than one police vehicle was present in Davis Square as several Somerville police officers and vehicles were in the plaza, dealing with a violent crime scene.

Groundwork Somerville recently held a workshop at the South Street Farm on dealing with invasive plants in the garden. — Photos by Luda Tang

By Luda Tang

Groundwork Somerville, a nonprofit organization dedicated to food and environmental justice, launched a workshop on June 11 at the South Street Farm teaching residents how to identify and remove invasive plants that may appear in their gardens.

FY23 Budget meetings are taking place. To view what is being discussed visit the city’s website at www.somervillema.gov to watch the videos of each meeting. Tonight’s topics will be fire and alarm, emergency management, police, animal control, and E-911. http://somervillecityma.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=3575.

Thirty-fourth Middlesex District State Rep. Christine Barber.

After a historic vote in the House of Representatives in February and state Senate in early May, the state legislature voted  to override the Governor’s veto of the Work and Family Mobility Act (WFMA), and it is now state law. The bill, filed by Representative Christine Barber of Somerville and Medford, with Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Senators Brendan Crighton and Adam Gomez, enables all state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license regardless of immigration status.

By Kyle Dante

On Wednesday, June 1, ten Somerville residents appeared before the Somerville City Council’s Appointments and Personnel Matters Committees seeking roles in the City Council or higher positions within their current city departments.

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I like adding tomatoes to my salads, but a lot of the time they tend not to have much flavor. One of the ways I get added flavor to tomatoes is to roast them. Roasting brings out the natural sugars in the fruit. These tomatoes are not only great in a salad, but on sandwiches as well.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to have had a strong, loving father figure in our lives, we have indeed been truly blessed.

They have served as our providers – along with mom, of course – our enablers, our staunch supporters, our coaches, our towers of strength.

Most of us love our dads year-round unconditionally, but we are immediately reminded of just how much they mean to us whenever Father’s Day rolls around in the month of June.

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Somerville Artist Jeannie Motherwell met me at her studio at Miller Street Artists Studios in Somerville. She has a large space with many of her expansive paintings both on the floor and the walls. Originally Motherwell had worked in her home studio in Cambridge, but eventually she needed a new and larger space.

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Willy Ramírez is an educator, poet, and cultural advocate residing in Massachusetts. He is the founder and organizer of La Guagua Reading Group and of the annual La Guagua Poetry Festival, hosted by Middlesex Community College, where Ramirez is Professor of English.

Arrests:
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Elida Salazar, of Wilmington, June 9, 9:17 p.m., arrested at Linwood St. on charges of operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and failure to stop for police.

William Smith, of Dorchester, June 10, 8:47 a.m., arrested on warrant charges of assault to murder and assault and battery.