— Photos by Alonso Nichols, Tufts University

Alfre Woodard, award-winning actor, producer and activist, delivered the 2019 commencement address at Tufts University this past Sunday morning.

Eagle Feathers #179 – King of the Hills

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Somerville is said to be the City of Seven Hills, and Seven Hills Park in Davis Square highlights them. In reality, the city has fourteen hills known by twenty-eight different names. For over three centuries, Winter Hill has been the most notable.

It began as a way to memorialize the military casualties of the Civil War, and was originally termed Decoration Day.

Decorating the graves of the countless multitudes of fallen soldiers helped to console the grieving survivors of the debacle while uniting the once divided nation in a worthwhile common cause.

— Photos by Jeanine Farley

The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission is partnering with other local organizations to host events honoring Somerville’s history and historic assets as part of May Preservation Month.

The City of Somerville is seeking applications from Somerville residents to serve on the Mayor’s Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change (CEUCC).  The CEUCC provides the city and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Environment with technical and policy advice on the topics of climate change and energy.

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A woman who brings the burlesque to her performance and art
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Usually when someone comes to meet me in the back of the Bloc 11 Cafe in Somerville they find a white-bearded, bald guy hunched over a bagel or a newspaper – contemplating the meaning of meaning or whether it’s chicken or meatloaf for dinner. They are cautious in their approach – calculating in their movements. This was not the case with the multi-talented Somerville artist/performer jojo lazar. She burst into my quiet cocoon like a jovial Ethel Merman, as if, “everything is coming up roses” as the song goes. And indeed lazar is a performer and that is evident the first time you meet her.

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Cindy Veach is the author of Gloved Against Blood (CavanKerry Press), named a finalist for the 2018 Paterson Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in The Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day, AGNI, Prairie Schooner, Poet Lore, Michigan Quarterly Review, Salamander and elsewhere. She is a recipient of the Phillip Booth Poetry Prize and the Samuel Washington Allen Poetry Prize. Cindy is co-poetry editor of Mom Egg Review.

Arrests:
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Shannon McKim, of 5 Lincoln St., May 15, 7:07 p.m., arrested at Broadway on a warrant charge of miscellaneous statutory violation.

Noe Hernandez, of 90A Flint St., May 15, 8:04 p.m., arrested at Broadway on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

(L to R) Firefighter Christine Guelpa, Legoland Master Model Builder Megan Amaral, Lt. Francis Otting, Chief Charles Breen, Firefighter Danielle O’Hearn and Lt. Blanca Alcaraz. — Photo courtesy of Somerville F.D.

On Friday, May 17, Legoland Discovery Center celebrated the Somerville Fire Department’s women firefighters. Four of Somerville’s five women firefighters represented the department and spoke about their careers in the fire service and their love for their job. They also presented fire safety tips to the children in attendance.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 2 City Councilor J.T. Scott, and Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen invite you to a public meeting for an update on the Somerville Ave. Utilities & Streetscape Improvements project and ongoing construction in the Union Square area. The meeting will be held Tuesday, June 4, at 6 p.m. in the Academy Room at the Somerville Public Safety Building, 220 Washington St.