The first phase of COVID–19 vaccinations is underway. Somerville Public Safety personnel are getting vaccines next week. Cambridge Health Alliance has been steadily vaccinating health workers with success, and now the city has just received 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that were administered to first responders and 911 staff starting January 12 as part of Phase 1 vaccinations. For information on where you fall in the state’s vaccine rollout plan, check the timeline on the state’s website: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-vaccination-program. This is rapidly evolving information that may be subject to change, and city staff will continue to keep you updated via emails, their website, and other outreach. Have more questions about the vaccine? The Department of Public Health has a list of FAQs online and watch for a continually updated list of more FAQs at somervillema.gov/covidvaccine.

The city’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony will be held virtually this year with a pre-recorded program. Beginning Monday, January 18, the pre-recorded ceremony will air on City Cable (RCN channel 13 and Comcast channel 22) and the city’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/SomervilleCityTV. The event will include remarks from Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, School Committee Chair Andre Green, and Somerville resident Keidrick Roy; readings from student essays; music from the World Percussion Ensemble; and poetry by Arthur Collins.

Eagle Feathers #221 – Voyage to China

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Joseph Barrell was born in 1739 and died in 1804. He was a Boston ship owner, a fishery merchant, a former member of the patriotic organization, Sons of Liberty, and was an exceedingly wealthy trader. Ten years after the American Revolution in 1793, he purchased Cobble Hill in Charlestown, which is now Somerville, and the over 211 acres of land surrounding it.

The annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day reminds us of the importance of tolerance and embracing diversity in these times, just as it was in the days when Dr. King was still with us. We celebrate this once again next week.

The civil rights movement of the 60s may seem like a distant and detached part of American history for some, perhaps as remote as the civil war itself in the minds of the young who did not live in that time. And yet, there was never a time in our history when the principles involved in that struggle were more relevant and meaningful than today, and even more so as we step forward into the future.

Arrests:
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Jonathan Denning, of Roslindale, January 6, 7:14 p.m., arrested at Washington St. on a warrant charge of felony daytime breaking and entering of a vehicle or boat.

Anthony Moore, January 9, 5:15 p.m., arrested at McGrath Hwy. on warrant charges of unarmed robbery and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.

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The hippies of the 60s evoked flower power in their fight against the “system.” Now in 2021, Arthur Halvorsen conjures up the power again, in the city of Somerville and beyond.

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Every once in a great while, I publish a poem of mine. My mother passed at 94, in a nursing home on Long Island, NY. Because of COVID we were unable to visit her, to hold her hand, to look into her deep blue eyes. I hope this poem speaks to you in some way…

SomerSocial offers free, fun, online afterschool classes and activities for Somerville youth in grades K-8. From local community partners like Somerville Media Center, Parts and Crafts, the Beautiful Stuff Project, Farrington Nature Linc, and more. Classes are free but you must register to attend. 

On the final day of the 2019-20 legislative session, the House and Senate gave final approval to An Act promoting awareness of safe recreation in public waterways, filed by Representative Denise Provost (D-Somerville), Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) and Representative Linda Dean Campbell (D-Methuen).

East Somerville Community School Music Teacher Adam McLean directs the Somerville All-City Middle School Marimba Ensemble. Normally, this group meets at the East Somerville but this year they worked together remotely. Enjoy this fun “groove-inspired” concert with student performances!