Meet Jeffrey Shwom, whose efforts to further a sense of community to the Ball Square area has culminated in the creation of the ballsquaresomerville.com website.

By NaBeela Washington

The need for community has never been more critical. With COVID-19 continuing to dismantle daily routines and shift how individuals are able to engage and interact with one another, community has come to mean and look like something very unorthodox; something critical for making sense of and navigating current events. 

This interview with Jeffrey Shwom illustrates how one small neighborhood of Somerville, known as Ball Square, is banding together to redefine community and overcome the odds:

The Somerville Museum presents: Voices from Somerville’s Haitian Community. A local dancer whose work received a Governor’s citation. A son who runs a Somerville restaurant started by his mother. A pastor who co-leads a local congregation that purchased its church in 2008. Come hear members of the local Haitian community talk about their work in Somerville’s neighborhoods and listen to a historian from Somerville discuss connections between Haitian and U.S. history on Wednesday, October 14, 6:30 p.m. This event is part of a Somerville Museum Zoom Series called Voices from Somerville: Culture, Community and History. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84212593903?pwd=cEYzTXZTdEJCR1o5b1VQamhPUUlmQT09.

(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 Ben Ewen-Campen
Ward 3 City Councilor

I’m very happy to say that my wife Alex and I are expecting our first child in November. So, even more than usual, I’ve been thinking about the future of Somerville. This city is an incredible place to be born – if you can afford to stay. Every year, rents and home prices ratchet up relentlessly, and it becomes harder and harder for anyone who isn’t already well-off to live or start a family here. We all want a diverse and economically just Somerville, yet today’s status quo is pulling us in the exact opposite direction.

By Emmanuel Vincent

The Somerville Bike Advisory Committee held a meeting last Thursday. Held monthly, data was examined and discussed during the duration of the event.

One of the items on the agenda was bike count, done throughout the city. This is critical because it plays a role in taking the necessary steps in keeping cyclists safe. “The individual counts have had some variability, but in aggregate we’ve found the bicycle and pedestrian counts useful for understanding where a lot of people are walking and biking where safer infrastructure is most needed,” explained Tom Lamar, Chairman of the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Who among us actually likes getting a shot of any kind? There are certainly a given number of masochistic types out there who don’t mind taking a little jab in the arm or … elsewhere.

Eagle Feathers #215 – America’s Attic

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

On August 10, 1846 the United States Senate passed an act establishing the Smithsonian Institution. It was formed with over $500,000 in gold sovereigns that were bequeathed from James Smithson (1765-1829).

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Our own Doug Holder, out on his daily walk on Monday, came across this festive Halloween display at a Hanson Street residence.

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I am a poet, so I work with my words. My canvas is a computer screen or a blank piece of paper. So, I was pleased to find an artist who incorporates words into her art. Csekö, through her murals and other works confronts racism, consumerism and other vital issues head on.

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Dexter Roberts has had his art featured throughout Boston and Cambridge. His poetry has been most recently published in Stone’s Throw.

A local dancer whose work received a Governor’s citation. A son who runs a Somerville restaurant started by his mother. A pastor who co-leads a local congregation that purchased its church in 2008. Come hear members of the local Haitian community talk about their work in Somerville’s neighborhoods and listen to a historian from Somerville discuss connections between Haitian and U.S. history on Wednesday, October 14, 6:30 p.m.