(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 Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

A monthly look at ways to get involved with your city: Don’t just live in Somerville, be Somerville!

Spring ResiStat Meetings

Each spring and fall we host a ResiStat meeting in each of Somerville’s seven Wards. There are two ResiStat neighborhood meetings left in the spring season, so consider coming to one if you’re interested in getting more involved in the community. Along with updates about things happening in your neighborhood, you can also hear about what’s going on citywide, and talk with elected officials, City staff, and your neighbors. There is time before and after the meetings for one-on-one conversations as well. Each meeting runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m., but come at 6 for a social half hour and refreshments (including pizza). You can find out more about ResiStat at www.somervillema.gov/resistat.

Update on “Grounding McGrath”

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 1, 2, and 3 City Councilors McLaughlin, Scott, and Ewen-Campen, invite you to a community meeting on plans to ground McGrath Boulevard. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the East Somerville Community School Auditorium at 50 Cross St.

By Jim Clark

A Somerville Police officer responded to the Stop and Shop store at McGrath Highway last week on a report of a shoplifter from the previous evening who allegedly pulled a knife on an employee.

The officer met with store manager and was informed that at around 10:20 p.m. on May 8, a man, later identified as Paul Anderson, of Boston, came into the store and attempted to steal a bag of groceries.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

What a weekend! PorchFest, Mothers’s Day, Red Sox win, Bruins win! It was sure a busy couple of days and now it’s back to earth.

My two sons’ band and a pick up band with my friends and I played at the first PorchFest nine years ago in 2010. This year, more than 200 musical acts performed on porches and in driveways all over the city, on a weather perfect day. Too many to list but just about all and any performing musical configurations entertained thousands of people on Saturday.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

More than 200 musical acts performed on porches – sometimes spilling into front yards and gardens – across Somerville on Saturday, May 11 as PorchFest 2019 unfolded across the city.

Facial recognition technology is being scrutinized and scorned by the members of the City of Somerville City council as an unwelcome addition to the community.

By Jim Clark

A proposed ordinance was put forward for consideration at the latest regular meeting of the Somerville City Council that would ban the use of facial recognition technology in the city.

Teen Empowerment Somerville held its 13th Annual Somerville Youth Peace Conference last weekend at Somerville High School.

The Lies We Live, The Truth We Tell, was the name of this year’s Somerville Youth Peace Conference, where members of Teen Empowerment Somerville performed a show this past Saturday at the school with three different acts in which they tackled different issues that teenagers are facing nowadays. The performances mainly focused on mental health issues, teenage pregnancy, and drug addiction.

(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 James Healy

If a theme was to define climate change it would be injustice. This injustice can be seen on a global, nationwide and generational scale.

The Medford St. bridge, in Gilman Square behind Somerville High School (SHS), will close for construction starting Friday, May 17. The bridge is expected to remain closed through the spring of 2020. For the duration of this closure, all traffic will be detoured around the work zone via Pearl St. and McGrath Highway. Detour maps and directions for vehicular and pedestrian/bicycle traffic are available on www.mass.gov/GLX in the Bridge Closures section. To stay informed about construction, sign up to receive a weekly email outlining upcoming construction citywide at www.somervillema.gov/construction. Residents are also encouraged to enroll in the city’s alert system at www.somervillema.gov/alerts to receive notifications prior to major detours or disruptive construction activity in their neighborhood. Anyone seeking assistance for an urgent Green Line construction-related matter should call the 24/7 GLX hotline at 1-855-GLX-INFO (459-4636) or email info@glxinfo.com. For additional information about the Green Line Extension project, including construction schedules, fact sheets, and the latest station designs, visit www.mass.gov/GLX.

Project will employ hundreds of union workers 

Union Square Station Associates (“US2”) announced today that it has selected Cranshaw Construction of Newton, MA for early phase construction for the first phase of its $1.5 billion mixed-use transit-oriented development in Union Square known as USQ.  Under terms of the contract, Cranshaw will begin providing constructability and estimating services for a significant portion of the D2 parcel consisting of a 450-unit residential building with ground floor retail, and new public open space adjacent the Union Square T Station.