By Hongyu Liu

At their latest regular meeting, the Somerville City Council approved an order requesting that the Director of Mobility and Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management collaborate in writing responses to their questions regarding the Spring Hill separation project.

More Than $1.5 Million in Aid Awarded to 118 Businesses Since January 

The City of Somerville is expanding eligibility criteria for its COVID-19 Business Relief Program to deliver direct aid to more businesses and nonprofits. 

The city launched Round 3 of its COVID-19 Business Relief Program in January, allocating an additional $5 million for businesses facing government-mandated closures, including restaurants and businesses in Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the Commonwealth’s Reopening Massachusetts plan. Over the past month, more than $1.5 million of those funds have been administered to 118 businesses in Somerville. For a list of recipients to date, visit somervillema.gov/BizRelief.  

On Monday, March 1, at 2:00 p.m., you can tune in to watch Mayor Joe Curtatone’s midterm address. In Somerville, mayors give a midterm address every other year to update residents on work done over the past year and outline goals and priorities for the coming year. Here’s how you can watch the speech live: Tune in to Somerville GovTV (RCN channel 13 or 613, Comcast channel 22). The midterm will be worked into regular GovTV programming after it is first aired. Visit Somerville CityTV’s website, www.somervillema.gov/citycable, and click on the “Watch Live Stream” to see the speech whenever it is aired on GovTV. The video will also be shared on CityTV’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/SomervilleCityTV, where it can be watched any time.

(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)

Dear Mayor Curtatone and Mr. Rawson,

We, residents and supporters of Ball Square, anticipate a considerable increase in pedestrian and bicycle traffic when the new Green Line station opens. The requests below have arisen through discussions about street safety improvements needed in the area immediately around the new station. The area, which includes Broadway between Josephine Ave and Winchester St., Boston Ave. between Sphere Luxury Apartments and Highland Rd., and Rogers Avenue at its intersection with Boston Ave., provides a number of persistent challenges to be addressed. We propose the following improvements to balance pedestrian, bike and car uses in this area:

The Presidents Day holiday puts us in mind of those great leaders who governed us throughout our country’s tumultuous history: The American Revolution, the Civil War, two world wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam, and so on.

Greatness was thrust upon certain holders of that office by events that shaped their legacies, while others are relegated to general obscurity due to a lack of conflict and controversy during their times in office. Each one’s tenure in office should be regarded as equally important. In as much as big events could have elevated their place in history at a moment’s notice.

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Review by David P. Miller

The Japanese term renga indicates a series of linked poems. Each poem consists of five lines in two “stanzas” with specific syllabic counts, the first with three lines of 5-7-5 syllables, the second with two lines of 7-7 syllables. This, at least, is how the form manifests in standard English-language practice: the relevant concept in Japanese practice is mora or “sound units” rather than syllables. If 5-7-5 seems familiar, it is: the first renga stanza, called hokku, evolved into what we know as haiku. Typically, renga are written collaboratively, and can be quite lengthy. The linkages between poems may be based on different attributes, such as (free-)association, comparison, or contrast. (There are interesting comparisons with more recent forms such as the surrealist “exquisite corpse.” On a global, multimedia scale, have a look at the collaborative Telephone Project: https://phonebook.gallery/.)

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Poet Ann Macey writes: “I grew up in northern Ohio. I studied English and received my degree from Smith College. I read poetry at The Out of the Blue Gallery. There I was befriended by Deborah M. Priestly. I attended readings in her home. In February, I came back to this area. I had been tutoring writing to adults on Cape Ann.”

Arrests:
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Rene Peralta, February 15, 11:33 p.m., arrested at McGrath Hwy. on warrant charges of larceny from a person, assault and battery, armed robbery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Tune in to GovTV (RCN 13, Comcast 22) and Ed TV (Ch. 15) to celebrate Black History Month as they broadcast past programs highlighting Black history. Programs include Martin Luther King Jr. Day concerts and events, a Somerville Museum event honoring the first African-American US Army aviation unit, Haitian Creole (SomerViva) talk shows and events, and more. To find out when these programs will be airing, check out the  schedule at somervillema.gov/TV.