A Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) program that specializes in supporting family caregivers recently earned the highest accreditation rating from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Joe’s Jazz and Blues Festival will be livening up Powderhouse Park on June 15 as a great selection of blues and jazz artists perform free for the public.

Enjoy the Jazz & Blues Festival and Night Market on Saturday, June 15, from noon to 10:00 p.m.

Join the Somerville Arts Council and the Somerville Flea for a perfect summer day while supporting local businesses and artists in Ball Square. The annual Joe’s Jazz & Blue’s Festival will kick off the day from noon to 6:00 p.m., followed by the Somerville Arts Council’s Night Market from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.

The City of Somerville, in partnership with the Somerville Media Center (SMC), has announced the release of a short documentary entitled From My Heart to Yours.

You don’t have to run away to join the OPENAIR Circus this summer. The classes for children include stilting, many forms of juggling, unicycling, hula hoops, and commedia dell’arte. For children as young as 3, there are Tiny Tot Trio and Tumbling for Two. Most classes are for older children and teens, and adult students join in every year.

Army Sergeant George Schipani was killed in action in 1951 after becoming a Prisoner of War during the Korean War. Schipani’s remains to arrive in Somerville and process by his former home on Sat., June 15. Friend and fellow soldier and POW, of Cambridge, to attend funeral of his former company member. 

For more than 30 years, the remains of an unknown American soldier were buried in the National Memorial of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, alongside other fallen soldiers. In January 2019, the remains were identified as Somerville resident George R. Schipani, and on June 15, he will finally return home.

(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

 When thinking about the economy, many of us look to the unemployment rate as a measure of how we’re doing. The unemployment rate has been on a steady decline since the recession and is now about 3.6% nationally, and about 1.7% in Somerville. On the surface, that looks great, but unemployment numbers don’t capture the growing problem of underemployment.

As part of Pride Month, Somerville Media Center – SMC and Assembly Row at Assembly Square celebrates our LGBTQ+ communities by presenting the movie screening of Love, Simon on Saturday, June 15, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. at Baxter Park, Assembly Row.

By Jim Clark

Last Friday, a police officer working in the Somerville Police Drug Unit observed a man who is known to police from prior narcotic related arrests riding his bicycle back to his residence on Flint St.

Officers set up surveillance in the area, and within twenty minutes, observations were made of a vehicle pulling in front of the residence.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

My dad has been gone since 1994. I was 41 when he died. So I had 41 years to get to know Fred Del Ponte. To say he was quite a character is an understatement.

Mayor Curtatone addressed questions posed by members of the Somerville City Council regarding hiring transparency issues as part of the FY20 budget development process.

By Erin Nolan

The Somerville City Council debated the transparency of the budget for the 2020 Fiscal year at a recent special meeting, held on Wednesday, June 5, in which the budget – amounting to some $254,654,111 – was presented by Mayor Joseph Curtatone.