SHS is highlighting graduates on their @SHS_SeniorSpotlight Instagram account.

CAP & GOWN / GRADUATION SCHEDULE

• Cap & Gown / Gift Bag Pickup is at Somerville High School. Graduation is at Dilboy Parking Lot.
• Social Distancing Guidelines MUST be followed. Masks are required. Please allow 6 feet of distance from others.
• Bring Chromebooks, textbooks, instruments, uniforms & other items to return to Cap & Gown Pickup.
• One automobile per senior at graduation ceremony, or maximum of 5 people per family if walking.
• Graduation schedule 2020

A wonderful birthday tribute took place for a special young man, Julian, who turned five on Saturday. The drive-by entourage for Julian consisted of the Fire Department, Police Department, DPW, family, friends and the mustang club. The tribute started on MacArthur St. and proceeded to Broadway. It was a fabulous birthday present for this young man and another great gesture of the community in Somerville.

(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 Editor,

I want to remind people that starting June 1^st, 2020, flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes like Kools and Newports will no longer be sold in Massachusetts. Last Fall, the Fight All Flavors campaign and many supporting partners worked to build grassroots understanding of and support for a proposed flavored tobacco restriction with an explicit focus on building youth leadership and calling out the tobacco and nicotine industry’s targeting of menthol in communities of color.

On Sunday evening, the Somerville Police Department sent officers to Boston to assist with public safety efforts not just because we have a long-standing mutual aid agreement with Boston, and not just because we are duty bound to protect all free speech, but because, as a department, we wanted to ensure that peaceful voices would have a safe place to speak up about what we also feel as trained officers and simply as people: the tragic death of George Floyd was avoidable, unwarranted, and, in our eyes, criminal. We stand with and are proud of the peaceful protesters for voicing their calls for change and for demanding that what happened to Mr. Floyd, never happens again.

Somerville non-profit receives Cummings Foundation grant

The Beautiful Stuff Project, a creative reuse center located on Medford Street, is one of 130 non-profits to receive grants of $100,000 or more through Cummings Foundation’s $20 Million Grant Program.  The Somerville-based organization was chosen from a total of 738 applicants during a competitive review process.

City buildings will remain closed to the public beyond Monday, June 1. In the coming weeks, some city offices may begin to reopen for in-person business. More details will be shared as they become available.

As a reminder, all city-sponsored and permitted events are canceled through the end of the year.

Compliant Safety Plans, and adherence to State safety guidelines required;  Blow-drying initially prohibited as safety remains under review

After a collaborative effort by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, local salon and barbershop owners, the Somerville Board of Health, and city staff, a reopening timeline and safety requirements are now in place for Somerville hair service providers. Establishments will be allowed to reopen on June 1 on the condition that they submit compliant safety plans to the city, follow all safety requirements in the State’s reopening plan, and, until further notice, do not offer blow-drying.