In the wake of Somerville’s 100th death due to the COVID-19 virus, Mayor Joseph Curtatone urges all residents to get vaccinated or booster shots, and to practice extra caution during the holiday season.

Cambridge Trust Vice President/Commercial Relationship Manager Maria Montgomery (second from left) and Sr. Vice President/Commercial Lending Brian Kelley (second from right) present a $5,000 check to SCES Home Care supervisor Alaudia Ramos (left) and Executive Director Paul Hollings. Kelley is also a member of the SCES Board of Directors ~SCES Photo

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) is pleased to announce that Cambridge Trust has pledged to match the first $5,000 of donations for the Little Necessities program this holiday season.

Little Necessities is a locally funded program that gives SCES the flexibility to meet essential needs that are not covered by government programs; a new mattress after a bedbug infestation; a microwave for someone who can no longer cook due to memory loss; or a gift card to purchase emergency groceries are just a few examples of how Little Necessities provides help.    

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Ville
There’s houses decorated on all seven hills

Civic Celebration to Be Held in Spring

Due to increasing public health concerns amid the current surge in COVID-19 cases locally and regionally, as well as the spread of the more infectious Omicron variant, Mayor-elect Katjana Ballantyne is moving Somerville’s January 3 Inaugural Ceremony to virtual and the reception will be postponed and transformed into a Civic Celebration in the spring. City Council President Matt McLaughlin and School Committee Chairperson Andre Green also announced that the swearing-in and City Council and School Committee Organizational Meetings that precede the Inaugural Ceremony will be held fully remotely and broadcast live. 

By Jim Clark

Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the Polo store at Assembly Row last week on reports of a larceny.

Upon arrival, the officers were told that a man entered the store at approximately 10:12 a.m. and stole two coats, totaling $846.

When speaking to the store employees, they said that the individual took off in the direction of the MBTA station on Foley St. Police dispatch notified the Transit Police as well.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (center right) joins IBEW Local 103 at for a holiday toy drive event.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103 were joined by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Quincy Mayor Koch, Somerville Mayor-elect Katjana Ballantyne and Boston elected officials this weekend to pack up thousands of toys for donation to local families for the holidays.

— Photo courtesy of Google Street Maps.

By Eileen Qiu

New retail spaces, restaurants and other commercial spaces are all on the table for a residential and commercial development on Elm St. and Porter St.

Earlier in October, the Urban Design Commission hosted a meeting and heard Mouhab Rizkallah lay out his plans for a development on Elm St. and Porter St.

We understand almost two years of battling this disease has created COVID fatigue. Thanks to Somerville residents continually pulling together during this pandemic, our local case, hospitalization, and fatality numbers have run well behind state and national numbers. Your efforts have made a positive difference and saved lives. We will get to the other side of this. If we pull together, we can keep each other safer during this surge. So…

Here is the COVID-19 update for Wednesday, December 22. Please also check somervillema.gov/covid19 for information and resources that are updated often.  

The City of Somerville received 16,650 free at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits from the state that are being distributed via various channels to Somerville residents who have limited access to testing, limited means to purchase at-home tests, and are at high risk of exposure.