— Photo by Doug Holder

Old Man Winter took a late bow as it graced the city with a mid-April snowfall last Saturday.

*

From the introduction by Megan Marshall:

“Scott kept writing. In the early 80’s, encouraged by the Somerville poet Doug Holder, a co-worker at McLean, he published three poems in the Somerville Community News, including Somerville, Again, and Somerville and Farther North, reprinted here. Denise Levertov, then living in Somerville, sent Scott a postcard saying she “really liked” the second of these; he saved the postcard. His only other publications were two music reviews of Suzanne Vega and Leonard Cohen for the Boston Phoenix.”

*

Poet Tyler Comito writes, “I am a senior at Endicott College pursuing my bachelors in Biology/Biotechnology and seeking to continue my education at Merrimack College to get my master’s degree in secondary education. I am originally from Clifton Park, NY, where I grew up, and was lucky enough to have the opportunity to move to the North Shore for four years of my life. I’ve always been interested in writing and being able to express my thoughts in another way. This class with Doug Holder, along with my own initiative, have allowed me to do just that.”

Dear Community Members,

Statement from Mayor Joe Curtatone on the closure of all public and private schools through the end of the school year:

I fully support Governor Baker’s decision to keep Massachusetts schools closed for the remainder of the school year. It is the only sensible decision as we find ourselves in the surge phase of this pandemic. We simply cannot secure public health at this time by sending thousands of students, teachers and staff back to school in our community.

Mayor Joe Curtatone talks about how Patriots’ Day give us some perspective on the trials we face with coronavirus.

Are you in the gig economy and you’re now out of work due to the coronavirus shutdown? You now can apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance through the state (https://www.mass.gov/…/apply-for-pandemic-unemployment-assi…). Benefits are being made available to the self-employed, artists, independent contractors, workers with limited work history and others.

Mayor Curtatone is putting out the call for people to donate to the Somerville Cares fund at https://www.somervillema.gov/somervillecares. The money raised will help those who find themselves in need here in Somerville.

Mayor Curtatone orders CDBG funds be made available for emergency small business support

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone  announced the launch of a $1 million Somerville Small Business COVID-19 Relief Fund to provide financial support of up to $10,000 to Somerville small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded by existing and pending federal Community Development Block Grant monies, support will be available to food establishments and other small, independent, locally-owned businesses impacted by forced closures during the crisis.

Restaurants can sell grocery items as part of pick-up and/or delivery services.

In an effort to both expand resident access to groceries and help restaurants affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Somerville Board of Health have issued an order allowing restaurants to sell grocery items for the duration of Somerville’s local state of emergency.