Somerville High School was very well-represented at the SkillsUSA Fall State Leadership Conference in late November. Eleven SHS students earned several medals at the competition held in Marlborough, MA, bringing home four gold, a silver, and a bronze. Conference participants receive intensive training focused on the SkillsUSA Frameworks elements of personal, workplace, and technical skills, and have opportunities to earn the SkillsUSA Massachusetts Leader Award.

Denise Provost

State Representative Denise Provost announced on January 12,  that she will not seek re-election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in November 2020. “This week sees the start of what will be my 15^th state budget cycle. I have given my utmost to representing the people of Somerville for many years now, and it has been an honor to do so. Now, it’s time for me to step aside.”

Somerville Prevention, a division of the Somerville Office of Health and Human Services, invites all community members to the presentation of the 2019 Student Health Survey, which was completed last year by Somerville students in middle school grades. The presentation, given in a game show-style with interactive trivia and facilitated by Somerville Positive Forces (SPF) youth, will be held on Thursday, January 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Connexion located at 149 Broadway. Light refreshments will be provided.

Somerville Media Center offers a set of free Digital Literacy Workshops for anyone wanting to improve their ability to navigate and participate in the digital media sphere. These sessions aim to expand digital inclusion with expert guidance on savvy smartphone use, better internet research, media production skills, graphic design, building a user friendly website, becoming a community journalist, deepening media literacy and critical consumption. These workshops will run from January – June and you can view the full list of workshops online here.

City calls on community to help shape aggressive plan to strive for Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths and serious injuries in Somerville

 Today, Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced the release of an ambitious 5-year draft plan to work toward the city’s Vision Zero goal, which aims to eliminate traffic crashes in Somerville that result in severe injuries and fatalities. Curtatone is calling on the community to review the draft plan, which was prepared by a community task force working with city staff and regional advocacy organizations. The plan is posted online for comment and will be discussed at upcoming public meetings (see below).

(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.)

An Open Letter to Mayor Curtatone:

An economically diverse community stimulates creativity, vitality and is essential to the functioning of the community. Clearly, economic diversity is one of the most important reasons that Somerville is such a desirable place to live.

(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 Joseph A. Curtatone

Mayor Curtatone was sworn in for his ninth term on Monday, January 6. Below are excerpts from his inaugural address. You can find the full speech at www.somervillema.gov.

It is just as much of an honor to serve you now as it was back in 2004 when I was first sworn in.

The importance of the daily work we do to provide core services has not changed. Things like offering flu shots, picking up the garbage, stretching every dollar in the City budget, and educating our children. People are just as concerned about those things today as they were during my first campaign for Mayor.

By Jim Clark

On Friday, December 20, Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the Mobil gas station at 360 Medford St. on reports of a drug related offense.

Officers located the suspect, later identified as John Aceto, and held inside the gas station as they investigated the situation.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

We’re all a little bummed out that the Pats’ season ended on a low note. But when I was a kid we had nothing like all the excitement the Patriots have given us over the past 20 years.

The following is Ward 1 Councilor Matthew McLaughlin’s  inauguration speech:

Thank the board for honoring me. I look forward to serving with all of you.

Most of all I’d like to thank my family, who always supported me. I thank my brothers Danny, Mark and Stephen for always validating my beliefs. Thanks to my sister Stacy for beating up the big kids for us.  And I’d like to thank the three most important women in my life: My mother Charlene for keeping me alive, my grandmother Barbara for keeping me sheltered, and my loving wife Maura for keeping me in check.