— Photo © Jirapong Manustrong / iStock via Getty Images Plus

Spring is the season of warmer weather and blossoming flowers, but it is also – usually – the season of taxes. Tax Day is typically April 15, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently extended the deadline for filing and paying your 2019 federal income taxes to July 15, 2020.

Normally there is an editorial from Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone in this space, but this week the City is instead sharing important information and updates about COVID-19.

Reopening Somerville
Somerville will be working off a different reopening timeline than the general guidance announced earlier this week by Governor Charlie Baker. Some elements of the State plan will be enacted immediately, some will be modified, and some will undergo further assessment to make sure workers and residents are being properly protected and that the local economic recovery is better insulated from a potential second surge of the disease.

As more activity resumes, the mayor cautions coronavirus remains an active threat. The local schedule allows for continued new case count decline, expanded testing capacity, and launch of mobile testing unit to quickly identify potential new outbreaks 

After a review of Governor Charlie Baker’s phased reopening plan, the City of Somerville has set a Monday, June 1, start for on-premises businesses such as manufacturing, offices, and certain personal services. The extra time added by the city will allow for new local case numbers to continue their steady decline and for COVID-19 testing efforts to be expanded both in number and with a new mobile testing unit.

A three alarm fire heavily damaged a two unit dwelling at 2 Quincy Street on Wednesday evening, May 20. The fire was reported at 10:07 p.m. and arriving firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the upper floors and flames threatening to spread to an adjacent home at 4 Quincy Street.

By Alberto Gilman

The Somerville City Council gathered remotely on Thursday, May 14, discussing a resolution submitted and headed by Ward 3 Councilor Ewen-Campen, other councilors and the mayor in support of Somerville restaurants.

By Jim Clark

Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the 711 on College Ave. last Friday on reports that a man had broken a glass window of the store. Initial reports indicated that the suspect had been encountered by a police officer earlier in the evening around the same the location.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Let’s face it. What’s better than free stuff? We all love something free. Sometimes people don’t even care what it is as long as it’s free. “It’s a stress relieving, squeeze ball thing with a non-popular candidate’s advertising on it!” Oh yeah, give me two!

Concerns over contaminated PPE littering are prompting the city to actively confront the issue.

By Alberto Gilman

The Somerville City Council gathered Thursday, May 14 for their regular weekly meeting. All 11 members were in attendance remotely.

On the agenda for the night, item eight of 46, ordered by City Councilor At-Large Kristen Strezo, was discussed due to health concerns for Somerville residents.

James Beard Best Chef Award nominee, Cassie Piuma, chef and owner of Sarma.

By Isabel Sami

Cassie Piuma, chef and owner of Somerville restaurant and bar Sarma, was recently nominated for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast for the sixth year in a row. A native of Duxbury, Massachusetts, Piuma has been cooking for over 20 years and has worked in the kitchens of Oleana, Sel de la Terre, and The Butcher Shop in Boston before opening Sarma in 2013.

In an effort to provide more walking and biking routes that allow for more social distance, the city’s Mobility Team has been developing a shared streets plan based on international best practices and customized to Somerville’s public health needs. By the end of May, the first shared route will be set up and more will follow citywide over the summer. For Shared Streets, low-volume or residential side-streets are opened up to pedestrians, cyclists, and other users while still allowing vehicles but limiting those vehicles to abutters, first responders, and delivery. Shared Streets provide new options for residents to safely make essential trips for food, healthcare, or other needs, while also offering the wellness benefit of new routes outdoors. Signage and flexible barriers alert all users to the shared use to help keep everyone safe. Somerville’s program will use temporary materials that can be modified based on our experience with the pilot. More info to come.