Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice (RSJ) host the City’s annual Juneteenth flag-raising event at the Somerville City Hall Concourse on June 18, 2024

(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)

Disgusted with Somerville Administration doing nothing

The city left a dumpster of trash that was overflowing outside of the Edgerly building (which is being used for the Winter Hill School) since Thursday, June 13th.  Overflowing trash has sat on city property in a residential area for 3 days in the hot sun, residents have called all weekend requesting the dumpster to be emptied and have no action was taken.

The Healey-Driscoll administration recently  announced that it is awarding nearly $15 million in Skills Capital Grants to 65 high schools, colleges, and educational institutions. This funding, announced at Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, will support schools and institutions to upgrade technology and instructional lab spaces, expand career programs for young people and adults, and increase capacity in workforce training programs across Massachusetts.

The Somerville Police Department and the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office will partner to host the Somerville gun buyback initiative Saturday, June 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It will take place on Franey Rd. adjacent to the Somerville Department of Public Works yard, 1 Franey Rd. The regional initiative includes several communities in the Middlesex County over the past couple of years. The focus is on providing residents with a safe and secure way of removing unwanted firearms from their homes.

Join the Somerville Arts Council  for this special ArtsUnion event on Saturday, June 22, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Rain date:  June 23) at Union Square Plaza, Somerville.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts President’s Award recipient Elizabeth Bryant.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA), the largest girl serving organization in Massachusetts, is proud to recognize Elizabeth Bryant of Somerville with the GSEMA President’s Award for the GSEMA First Aid Instructors.

GSEMA recently celebrated the dedication and skills of its 4,000 active volunteers at its annual Volunteer and Donor Recognition Celebration, which took place on Sunday, May 19. The 2024 class of GSEMA Volunteer Recognition Honorees included over 130 volunteers.

The Somerville Growing Center will be celebrating its 30th anniversary and the reaching of its fundraising goal on Saturday, June 22. ~ Photo courtesy of Somerville Growing Center

On Friday, May 31, the last day of the Somerville Growing Center’s 30th Anniversary Campaign, with the generosity of friends and supporters, they reached and surpassed their goal of raising $30,000 in support of their programming and administration.

Parkour Generations Americas is hosting the 2024 American Rendezvous (ARDV) event on Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23, an annual gathering and one of the most influential parkour events in North America. Several portions of the event will be hosted in Somerville. This is a great event to work with coaches and participants from across the globe for a weekend of shared experiences and great training. More information on the event can be found at americanrendezvous.com.

— Photo coutesy of Somerville Police Department.

On Saturday, June 8, our Somerville Police Department Community Affairs Unit was able to participate in the final leg of the Special Olympics Torch Run. They were able to join hundreds of other departments and help escort the torch on the final part of its journey. Once at the games, they were able to help cheer on the athletes. They also had the honor of giving out medals to the athletes that placed top of their event.