Corinne Lofchie is an Elder Care Advisor and SHINE Counselor at Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services.

By Nathan Lamb

Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, and it’s the one time of year that all Medicare recipients can change between any of the Medicare plan options. Medicare plans often change, so we recommend reviewing coverage annually, to ensure that your coverage will still be a good fit in the coming year.

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) provides free and unbiased Medicare counseling through a program called SHINE (Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone). We asked SCES SHINE counselor Corinne Lofchie for some tips on Medicare Open Enrollment 2020, and this was her advice:

On Thursday night, the city held a ResiStat meeting on coronavirus-related housing issues. Highly recommended viewing for anyone currently facing a housing issue or for anyone seeking up-to-date information about various city, state and federal housing regulations and programs during this pandemic.

The City of Somerville will hold 14 days of early voting ahead of the Tuesday, November 3, elections. All early voting will take place at Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Ave., and the schedule is as follows:

Here is the COVID-19 update for Friday, October 16. Please also check somervillema.gov/covid19 for information and resources that are updated frequently.

Residents urged to substitute safer activities for higher-risk traditional trick-or-treating

As part of the city’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Somerville Board of Health announced Halloween guidance and related updates today. They strongly urge all community members to forgo trick-or-treating in favor of lower-risk activities as defined by the Centers for Disease Control such as at-home activities and holiday crafts.

(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)

By William C. Shelton

The Senate is considering the lifetime appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. She proudly presents herself as a disciple of Antonin Scalia, and as such, an “originalist” and “textualist.”

On the occasion of the release of their new anthology “Metaphors Are Not Enough,” Doug Holder interviewed Streetfeet Women: Christina Liu, Mary Birnbaum, Limin Mo, and Elena Dodd. We talked about this 40 year old performance and literary group on Poet to Poet Writer to Writer – A Somerville Media Center show.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Originally published  July 20, 2013

Remember helping your mom stick S&H Green stamps into the booklets? In one of their heyday years, three times as many S&H Green stamps were printed than U.S. Postage stamps. They were popular from the 1930’s until the late 1980’s.

Route 86 buses carry 6150 riders per day and often get stuck in traffic in Somerville. Early morning and late-night trips take 30 minutes. During rush hour it can take up to an hour.

By Denise Keniston
tw:@denisekeniston

The city of Somerville’s Mobility Division is planning new “quick-build” bus/bike lanes for the western portion of Washington Street between Union Square and Beacon Street clearing a path for Somerville’s most-used MBTA Route 86 buses. The plan also includes new bike lanes on Washington Street – an important connection between Union Square and Harvard Square in Cambridge.