SomerStreets: Carnaval returns to shake up East Somerville
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The SomerStreets 2021 season will start in a modified format, featuring a series of smaller events on Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6 (rain dates June 12 and 13). Performances will be limited to 150 attendees, and most will require a ticket to attend. Tickets are free, but attendees will need to preregister through the Somerville Arts Council at somervilleartscouncil.org/somerstreets.

Celebrate Pride in Somerville this month at the city’s annual flag raising and Big Gay Dance Party. 

First, join Mayor Curtatone and the Somerville High School Gender and Sexuality Awareness Alliance (GSA) on Wednesday, June 9, at 3:00 p.m. to raise the Pride flag in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride Month and LGBTQ+ Youth Pride. The ceremony will take place on the City Hall concourse at 93 Highland Avenue. Mayor Curtatone, Somerville LGBTQ+ Liaison Jack Treanor, Somerville High School teacher and GSA Advisor Julia Post, and a GSA student representative will speak at the event. 

High temperatures are expected this week in the Boston area. We urge residents to review the following heat safety tips, and consider some ways to stay cool in Somerville as well as precautions to take to avoid overexposure to the heat.

The new initiative aims to bring information about vaccines, safety, and resources directly to residents and businesses

The City of Somerville is launching a COVID Ambassador program to deliver information about vaccines, safety protocols, and support services directly to residents and businesses in their neighborhoods. 

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Just call me Jimmy Two Times. I had the pleasure of having breakfast last week with five other Somerville guys, most in my age group, give or take a few years. We had a breakfast /meeting at the Moccia family’s beautifully renovated Ball Square Café.

A walk-in clinic for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be held Thursday, June 3, from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the Somerville Housing Authority Activities Center at 530 Mystic Avenue. No appointment is necessary, but if you prefer you can pre-register at somervillema.gov/vaccine. The clinic is free, and open to all people 12 years or older, regardless of immigration status or health insurance. Identification is not required. 

All minors must have parent or guardian permission. Anyone 12-15 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Permission forms will be available on-site, or you can download one here. If you need assistance, please call 311 (617-666-3311).

Public officials and members of the general public attended the Highway Justice for People” event on Wednesday, May 26.  — Photo by Joe Creason

By Joe Creason

Mystic Avenue and McGrath Highway cut through Somerville like river rapids made of steel and concrete. Walking alongside it, as many pedestrians and residents of Somerville do every day, is like paddling a canoe around edges of a hurricane comprised with raging noise, industrial particulates and speeding cars. This “Corridor of Death,” as many in the community are calling it, has already claimed the lives of three pedestrians in just two years.